Archive for February, 2012
Kind of a lot and kind of nothing all at the same time. Bottom line: we are still (impatiently and anxiously) waiting.
For people who speak the language of Chinese adoption – our DS230 and NVC cable were dropped off on 14 February with pickup set for 28 Feb. (I can’t wait for this weekend to be over.)
For people who don’t speak that language this means that the American consulate in Guangzhou has our visa application for Merry and should be rubber stamping it any day now. Once that is done then the completed paperwork will head to Beijing where travel approval from China should be forthcoming. The current turnaround time for TA is ~14 days. This makes me panic in a good way. We hope to have an idea of when we will be traveling by mid-March.
And….
(drum roll, please)
we got another update. With a picture!!
And (another drum roll, please) in her hands are the photo album we put together and the teething keys we sent in the first care package. I cannot tell you how happy I am to see that her care package made it to her and that they have allowed her access to the items we sent. I hopehopehope that someone is showing her the pictures and telling her that these strange looking people are mama, dada, and (not so strange looking and super cute) big sister in the pictures. Even if she doesn’t understand I hope that this will help her to adjust a teeny bit easier to us once we show up and rip her away from everything she knows.
I’m also hoping they are giving her the vitamins that we sent. Please cross your fingers that this is happening. She’s still a teeny thing and desperately needs to gain some weight (don’t be fooled by the 4+ layers of clothing) before she has surgery.
The small update that came with the picture says that she is happy and outgoing, has 4 teeth, has not gained any weight 
since the last update (although it’s only been a couple of weeks), takes a bottle every 4 hours, eats a little bit of noodles and congee, and can say mama. If I chart her on the American growth charts she’s just barely on there but I’m not overly worried about this since Ava still hangs out near the bottom of it, too. They do say that other than the cleft she is healthy.
The updates are wonderful and even the tiniest scrap of information is gratefully and joyfully accepted and acknowledged but I would be lying if I didn’t say they also make me a bit sad. She needs us. Really, really needs us in a way that Ava, who was in a wonderful foster home where she was tremendously loved, didn’t. It’s also very hard watching her grow up in pictures. She looks so different now.
And the growing out buzz cut? Oh my heavens. I so hope they leave it alone from now on…
Look what I found posted on another blog (a charitable organization who is working with her orphanage) tonight. Another unexpected and very, very welcome surprise.
We were beyond thrilled – waaaayyyyyy beyond thrilled – to see this. She looks awesome! Tiny but she looks healthy, I think. And, be still my heart, just look at those nom-able cheeks.
And you know what else? Ava is sleeping upstairs in an identical pair of pj’s. They are her favorites.
This picture is going to absolutely blow her mind when she sees it in the morning!!! She will be so excited to see that her little sister matches her already!
Ahem. May I have your attention, please?
You are hereby notified that our petition to adopt has now been cabled to the consulate.
That sounds so old school and official (and fancy), doesn’t it?
Yeah, well. What it really means to us is that our paperwork has been sent to the consulate in Guangzhou where our visa interview will take place. And technically speaking, it was emailed – - but whatever. They have it and I am HAPPY!
To recap, it was receipted in to NVC on 2/8 and cabled on 2/9. We received a copy of the letter via email today and now we wait until our agency’s China branch can take still more paperwork (the actual visa application) to the consulate in order for them to issue our Article 5. This step will take 2 weeks and unfortunately the countdown doesn’t start until they drop it off next Tuesday (which is the next day the consulate will accept the paperwork). The Article 5 is the last piece we need from the US government in order for China to issue our travel approval.
(Must remember to breathe. And start freaking out about how much my luggage weighs. And maybe argue with J a little bit about how we need new luggage for the trip anyway.)
Christmas? In February?
Well, it feels that way anyway. We anxiously stalk the mailbox (both physical and email) for the next packet, piece of paper, or scrap of information. Also, the FedEx and UPS guys are frequent visitors due to the (somewhat restrained this time) retail therapy that is helping me cope. Oh, and the joy when we get that unexpected mail/email with good news – well, that’s better than any gift.
Today brought us our official I800 approval letter, an email from the NVC (National Visa Center) notifying us that our petition was entered into the system on 2/8, and an email from our agency letting us know that the required documents have been fed-ex’d to Guangzhou and will be hand carried to the consulate as soon as NVC cables our approval. Oh, and a Lamaze Dee-Dee the Dragon to take with us to China.
This whole process seems so surreal to me. We waited so long (relatively – nothing compared to the 60+ months people are waiting now) for Ava that it seems like this whole thing with Merry is moving lightning fast (again – relative). We’ve consistently hit the best case scenario dates and I think we’re solidly on track for travel in/around April. As always, this timeline is subject to change and travel could be delayed due to the gigantic trade fair in Guangzhou in April but – - – wow.
We’re going to China again. And bringing back another baby. Wow.
(OMG! I’M NOT READY!!)
(Ava is though. She can hardly wait.)
We got our Chinese visas today.
Last time we needed these J and I took a day off to go to DC and do them ourselves. Easy-peasy except for the painful parking situation – but we were in and out in one day for only a small additional fee that was well worth it. This time, due to procedural changes, it would have necessitated a 2 day trip so I decided to use a courier.
Wow – so let me tell you how stressful it was for control freak me to hand over my passports for someone else to handle the process. It went fine and the courier we used was very helpful as far as providing directions on how to complete the visa forms (which have gotten way more complicated since we last filled them out) but the experience overall left me kind of dissatisfied (mainly due to, IMO, less than stellar communication from the courier) so next time we need Chinese visas I will suck it up and make the trip myself again.
But, end result is that they are done and this is one less thing I need to worry about. That makes me happy(ish). Now I just need the NVC to get a move on…