A..D..D..

I am a total mess now.  You'd think it would have gotten better now that we have made our decision but it's sort of a mish mash now.  What the heck do I do next?  I'm still all jittery.  A mix of sleep deprivation & mental/emotional depletion with a sprinkle of nerve ending reconnection by way of emotional decision completion makes for a little anxiety and much excitement.  A foggy headed emotional hangover is about where I'm at now.  I'm spent and excited but trying to keep it at a minimum just in case something falls through.  Just from reading this, it's apparent, I have a bad case of A.D.D.!

Since posting on Saturday night that we're moving forward with a little cutie, I've been busy.  Most importantly I've been busy getting our ducks in a row.  In order for our agency to submit our on-line application directly to the CCWAA, we had to provide the following:

- Passport photo jpg ME
- Passport photo jpg PARKER
- Family photo jpg
- Letter of Intent (LOI)
- Family Info Sheet
- Homestudy

I got to work first thing yesterday morning to get everything emailed to our coordinator.  Mission accomplished save for one edit to the LOI which Parker made late last night.  Whew!  I sent in the next check covering a couple of fees on the long a$$ fee schedule.  Once our coordinator receives the check, she'll have everything she requires in order to submit our application.  I'm hoping she'll be able to send it in either tomorrow or Wednesday.  I heard through the yahoo group, however, that she is busy sending out LOAs (letters of authorization) so if she has her hands full with those right now, it may not happen until Wed/Thurs.  Side note - Our coordinator is sort of a one man show in our agency.  She does it all, from translations, to matching, to communicating with the CCWAA.  As you can imagine, she has to work on the most important/urgent matters first, not just a first in/first out type of communication.  I totally get it and I'm sure when we're next in line to travel I'll be glad she answers me immediately and makes the poor suckers waiting for their match wait... until then, we're kind of those suckers.

After our application gets sent in, we wait for our PA, or pre-approval.  The next steps are as follows:

PA: Pre-Approval. After submitting your LOI, you receive pre-approval from the CCCWA to adopt a specific child. Typically, you will receive your PA anywhere from 1 – 10 days after your LOI is submitted.

DTC: Dossier to China. This is a celebration day! You have finally collected all of the required paperwork. This is the date that your dossier is mailed to China.

LOA: Letter of Acceptance. This is the official approval from China to adopt your child. This comes after LID.

I just may be holding my breath until we get PA. After that, we'll feel confident enough to share more about our little girl, show you some pictures and.. ee gads.. let the boys in on it!  

Concurrently, we're gathering everything for our Dossier so that once we are granted I-800A approval, we will be ready to send our DTC.  We still haven't been advised of our fingerprint appointment from USCIS for this step of the I-800A so I'm assuming we're at least a month away from approval.  After we get approval, we'll have our Dossier documents ready.  Our agency will courier everything to the embassy in San Francisco where everything will be authenticated, then they'll translate and send to China (DTC).  All in all, we're looking at about 1-1 1/2 months for I-800A approval, 2+ months from DTC to LOA (letter of authorization to adopt our specific child) then another 2 months to apply and be granted a visa for her from USCIS with TA (travel authorization) shortly thereafter.  I think.  I will confirm all of these boring details as we get closer.  So many hoops to jump through. Seems if there's a loving home ready and waiting, they would make a carpool lane for us to zoom through .. it would be better for all, especially the little girl who now has a family that she won't get to meet for another grueling 6 months.  That's sooooo freaking long in the life of a child.  I am killing myself with thoughts of all the things we could do and accomplish in that time.. and all of the things we will miss in her life!

On a fun note - we're hoping to work with a 3rd party to get updated medical info, growth values, etc., and some new pictures.  It should be easy as they're supposed to help you out if your files are 9 months old and our files are close to, so by the time the request goes in, we're hopeful we'll get what we're asking. For $40. Silly.  If only they knew what we'd be willing to pay.

I can't seem to tear myself away from all the discussion groups.. I found one that's dedicated to special needs adoption just for the province where this little girl is at ... how wild!  And sometimes you can hook up with a family who is traveling months before you and they'll snap a pic of your kid while they're there picking up their kid.  Strange little adoption world!  Strange yet helpful and fascinating at the same time.  

I'm all over the place people.. and I don't expect it to get any better anytime soon. Once we get PA, I'll breathe a sigh of relief but I won't be able to calm down and accept it all until we get LOA.. so hold onto your hats, it's gonna be a long-winded ride.