Adoption process

So, we have officially done EVERYTHING we can do to this point. All of our paperwork is done for the home study and NY and NJ are busy certifying their portions of our dossier. We completed our home visit and our book reports and our parent training. Done. Now begins one of many waits - though fortunately this one won't be too long.

I received an email from our social worker today that told me that she plans to have the home study done and reviewed by her social worker, and maybe CCAI too, by the end of next week. Woohoo! Of course, I want it done now, but seriously, she is doing a great job and getting this done quickly.

Once we have the home study, not only can we apply for grants, but more importantly, we can file our I800A with immigration that gives us permission to bring an orphan to the USA. That process has been reportedly speeding up lately - moving from 90+ days to 30-45 days. While we're waiting for that, we will move ahead with sealing the rest of our dossier in Harrisburg and then sending it to the Chinese Consulate in NY for their authentication.

One big unknown right now is whether I will have to get a letter written from my previous therapist about my depression from 2002. I know, crazy right? But there are certain cultural stigmas and depression is one of them. It doesn't seem to matter that I have never suffered a relapse (despite three post-partum experiences). We'll see. Hopefully, I'll find that out quickly once CCAI reviews the home study. They told me that depending on how the social worker addresses the issue, I may not need anything. I'm praying for that route.

In the meantime, we got a new video of our baby girl in her orphanage. It shows her sadly shorn head (that's how they do hair in the orphanages with the younger kiddos) as she crawls around the room. That in and of itself is amazing because the amount of clothing they layer on the kids (lack of heat in the orphanage) it would be like trying to crawl in a double snow suit. Impressive! She is so precious and we can't wait to get her home.

I would love to post it, but I'm going to keep playing it safe..... :) Stay tuned for our first fundraiser coming up this weekend - adoption t-shirts!