Gung Hay Fat Choy

Happy Chinese New Year!

We sent for another update a couple weeks ago on Isaiah. We woke to an email yesterday morning with answers to our questions and 4 new pictures!

We were able to send 10 questions and finally had success in getting them answered. They described his personality as outgoing, but did say he will cry if strangers hold him. It sounds like he still loves to eat as they mentioned it several times. :-) They said he also like his pacifier. They gave us updated measurements on him as well ... he is 16.5lbs and about 26.5" tall. Anna, at that his age, weighed about 1 1/2lbs more and was 1 1/2" taller. So, that gives us a better idea of what size clothes to buy.

Here are a couple of the pictures they sent. We have been told it is pretty cold there and there is not much heat ... he's as bundled up as the kid on Christmas Story!

Article 5 Submitted!

I started emailing the NVC late Monday night and by noon yesterday we had our pdf in our inbox and our agency had it forwarded to their in China contact within the hour! She dropped off our paperwork to the US Embassy in Guangzhou today!

The normal turnaround time for her to pick it up is 2 weeks, however with the Chinese New Year closing everything down the week of Jan 23rd, that will push our pick-up date to Feb 2nd.

Once our Article 5 is picked up, we are officially waiting for TRAVEL APPROVAL! My best guess is that we'll have our TA by the end of Feb and travel the 2nd or 3rd week of March. So.much.to.do.  - better stop typing and start doing....

p.s. Our sweet boy is 13 months old today.  I'm thinking we'll meet him either the day he turns 15 months or the week after.

Forever Family Day

Two years ago today we were sitting in a small cold room at the Civil Affairs office in Kunming, China. We were sitting with our backs to the door completing some paperwork as we heard the sounds of people entering the room. We knew when we turned around we would see the little girl we had been praying and dreaming about for so long.

The anticipation of that moment was huge - we were so anxious that we didn't sleep the night before. The moment we met Anna is so vivid in our minds, even today ... it will never be forgotten ... that sweet, smiling face all bundled up in a big pink fleece jacket. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it now. She literally took our breath away. I remember Greg and I had no words. We just kept looking at each other, tearing up and shaking our heads in amazement of the moment.

Our lives were forever changed two years ago today. We are so blessed to have Anna as our daughter. It's hard to believe that she is already 3 years old ... she is a sweet, smart, energetic, funny, beautiful little girl.

Here are some of the first pictures we took just minutes after we met her.

Tonight we will celebrate with Chinese food and looking at pictures and video from that day. Anna is always asking for us to tell her a story of when she was a baby, she loves when we tell her about this day.

I800 Approved!!

I couldn't take it any longer, so I broke down and called the USCIS office to check on our case status ... they said our I800 was approved yesterday!! This means our approval will now be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) and then be cabled to the US embassy in Guangzhou, China.

Next week I can start calling the NVC to see if we've been cabled yet. As soon as they cable our file, we can request they email us a pdf letter stating our petition has been forwarded to the Embassy. Our agency needs this NVC letter in order to proceed, so this is an important step! All of this should happen in about 12 or so days.

After we have our NVC letter, our agency forwards is to their in-China rep. Our in-China rep will take the NVC letter to the US Embassy in Guangzhou along with our LOA and Isaiah's visa application. About two weeks later our rep will go back and pick up our Article 5 letter (which basically says everything is in order for us to adopt Isaiah).

Once our Article 5 is picked up from the consulate, it will be delivered directly to the CCCWA for Travel Approval!! The current average from Article 5 to TA is about 17 days.

We're looking at about 47 days until our TA ... however, the Chinese New Year will factor in to that as things will be closed for about a week in China at the end of this month.

Once our TA arrives, we could leave in 1-2 weeks, depending on when our agency can get our Consulate Appointment! So, we should be looking to board that plane early to mid-March! No wonder we are feeling this urgency to get things ready ... March will be here SO fast!

The list making has already started and the shopping is soon to follow!