Today, all of our paperwork was sent to China for the last time. This is the step where our agency requests appointments for us at the US Consulate in China to do our final paperwork - Jacinda's visa to get into the US, her medical exam, etc. Once our agency finalizes these appointments, we will find out our travel dates. We should probably get official Travel Approval (TA) around mid-late August. Then, we should hopefully travel in probably late September or early October.
Today, we also mailed off our passports to the Chinese Embassy in DC for our visa applications.
So we're definitely in the home stretch as far as paperwork goes. We still have a lot to do in the next few weeks .... finishing Jacinda's room, making a packing list, and getting a few major things for our trip (video camera and typhoid shots, to name a few).
Things you can pray for ..... that our final paperwork goes smoothly, that our passports don't get lost in the mail, that we all stay healthy (here and in China!), and that we all stay sane as we prepare for the greatest trip of our lives!!!!
Sherry, Aaron, and Luke
Monday, July 27, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
LOA is here!!!!!!!
We just got the phone call from Holt that our LOA from China has arrived!!!!!!!! This is what China sends to us approving us to adopt Jacinda. We're one step closer!!!!!!!
We're hearing that families are getting their Travel Approval approximately a month after LOA. And then the actual travel takes place about a month after that. So there's a realistic possibility we could be traveling around the end of August or beginning of September.
However, we're not getting our hopes up. The State Department has issued a travel advisory for China due to the Swine Flu. Our agency is still allowing families to travel, and we plan on going as long as we are allowed to. We want Jacinda home!!!!!
We're hearing that families are getting their Travel Approval approximately a month after LOA. And then the actual travel takes place about a month after that. So there's a realistic possibility we could be traveling around the end of August or beginning of September.
However, we're not getting our hopes up. The State Department has issued a travel advisory for China due to the Swine Flu. Our agency is still allowing families to travel, and we plan on going as long as we are allowed to. We want Jacinda home!!!!!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Updated Pictures!!!!
We got a pleasant surprise this evening via email. 2 new pictures of Jacinda! We also got some updated stats: 22lbs, 29.5 inches tall. We think she might not be as tiny as we originally thought!
Without further ado ............ (Click on the pictures to make them a little bigger)
Without further ado ............ (Click on the pictures to make them a little bigger)
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Another Question ........ and a sort of answer
When are you traveling to pick up Jacinda and why does it take so long?
To be honest, we don't have a great answer to this question. Our agency is saying we will travel sometime between August and November. We're holding out hope it could be earlier than that, though. It takes so long for a couple of reasons.
First, China has more paperwork requirements we have to complete. Second, US Immigration has new rules and it's sort of a guessing game at this point what those rules are. We believe that the overall goal of changing the rules to make international adoption more regulated is good. We just wish we weren't caught in the uncertainty of the rule-changing.
Right now, we are preparing a package of documents to send to our agency … they include the contract that we agree to accept Jacinda, several documents that get sent to China, the biggest check we've ever written (gulp!), and a travel release form. Once the Chinese government approves all our documents, we'll get a travel approval. This will probably take several months.
In the meantime, we're getting ready to travel. We've gotten some shots, and have more to go. We're figuring out bedrooms and furniture for both Luke and Jacinda. We're getting our house ready for 2 toddlers!!!! Sherry is finishing up the school year. We're getting ready for our Disney vacation with Sherry's family in June. We're definitely keeping ourselves busy while we wait!
To be honest, we don't have a great answer to this question. Our agency is saying we will travel sometime between August and November. We're holding out hope it could be earlier than that, though. It takes so long for a couple of reasons.
First, China has more paperwork requirements we have to complete. Second, US Immigration has new rules and it's sort of a guessing game at this point what those rules are. We believe that the overall goal of changing the rules to make international adoption more regulated is good. We just wish we weren't caught in the uncertainty of the rule-changing.
Right now, we are preparing a package of documents to send to our agency … they include the contract that we agree to accept Jacinda, several documents that get sent to China, the biggest check we've ever written (gulp!), and a travel release form. Once the Chinese government approves all our documents, we'll get a travel approval. This will probably take several months.
In the meantime, we're getting ready to travel. We've gotten some shots, and have more to go. We're figuring out bedrooms and furniture for both Luke and Jacinda. We're getting our house ready for 2 toddlers!!!! Sherry is finishing up the school year. We're getting ready for our Disney vacation with Sherry's family in June. We're definitely keeping ourselves busy while we wait!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Questions .... and Answers
There are several questions we've been asked lately and we thought we'd share the answers in case you were wondering, but haven't asked! We'll make this a series of posts so it doesn't get too long.
How much does it cost?
Of course every adoption is different, but we think ours will end up costing somewhere around $20,000. That's a LOT of money. We truly believe that we are supposed to be pursuing this particular adoption and that Jacinda is supposed to be in our family. So for that reason, we are confident the money will be provided.
One thing we've done is that Sherry went back to work full-time last August. This has been a really difficult year, but it was a necessary sacrifice for us and we've been able to put away a little in our savings account. We've also refinanced our house and taken out some equity.
We just found out that China has raised the country fee, so things will end up costing several thousand dollars more than we were expecting. Also, we still have plane tickets to China to buy and we can only estimate those prices right now. Once we have definite approval from China to travel, we'll begin ticket-shopping.
There's also an adoption tax credit that we can take advantage of once the adoption is complete. So we'll claim that next year.
All of that to say that adoption is definitely expensive, but we are certain that we are doing exactly what God has called us to do, so we are confident that it will all work out.
More questions and answers coming soon!!!! If you have questions, please ask! Maybe you'll see your question in a future post ....
How much does it cost?
Of course every adoption is different, but we think ours will end up costing somewhere around $20,000. That's a LOT of money. We truly believe that we are supposed to be pursuing this particular adoption and that Jacinda is supposed to be in our family. So for that reason, we are confident the money will be provided.
One thing we've done is that Sherry went back to work full-time last August. This has been a really difficult year, but it was a necessary sacrifice for us and we've been able to put away a little in our savings account. We've also refinanced our house and taken out some equity.
We just found out that China has raised the country fee, so things will end up costing several thousand dollars more than we were expecting. Also, we still have plane tickets to China to buy and we can only estimate those prices right now. Once we have definite approval from China to travel, we'll begin ticket-shopping.
There's also an adoption tax credit that we can take advantage of once the adoption is complete. So we'll claim that next year.
All of that to say that adoption is definitely expensive, but we are certain that we are doing exactly what God has called us to do, so we are confident that it will all work out.
More questions and answers coming soon!!!! If you have questions, please ask! Maybe you'll see your question in a future post ....
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
A Big Announcement
Yes, you read that right. Luke is a big brother.
We got a phone call last Thursday night with a referral for a special needs little girl. She is currently 15 months old and has a cleft lip and palate. Her lip has been repaired, but the palate has not. We have some of the top doctors with Operation Smile based here in Norfolk, and they assure us that the cleft lip and palate are fixable. Our pediatrician, who specializes in international adoptions, says that her development appears to be right on track!
Our agency tells us we will travel to China in 5-7 months to pick her up. We have named her Jacinda. We have not decided on a middle name. I think we are still in shock at getting a referral only 6 weeks after our paperwork was logged in with China.
Now we start raising money! We will need to pay our agency very shortly, and then travel expenses in a few months.
Without further ado ...... This picture was taken last October, when she was 9 months old.
We will be updating the blog hopefully more often now!!!!
Aaron, Sherry, Luke, and Jacinda
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Finally! An awesome update!!!!!!
So our dossier arrived to our agency last Wednesday. Last night, we were debating how long we should wait before we called to find out the status. We decided we'd call this Wednesday if we hadn't heard anything.
Well, tonight as I was frying up some ground beef for dinner, the phone rang. I checked caller ID, saw it was the agency, and quickly turned off the stove so I could answer!
They said our dossier was "perfect" and it is getting shipped to China this Friday!!!! We're ecstatic. Not only did we do all the paperwork correctly, but we're making it with time to spare in terms of the documents expiring.
Also, they said they would start immediately trying to match us with special needs children. Depending on the special need, the timeframe for referral is 2-12 months. But it could still be longer. I'm still liking that better than the current 3 year wait for healthy children, and definitely better than the rumored 5-6 year wait.
So we can breathe a huge sigh of relief at this point. And now we keep praying that our daughter that's out there is able to come home as soon as possible!!!!
Aaron and Sherry
Well, tonight as I was frying up some ground beef for dinner, the phone rang. I checked caller ID, saw it was the agency, and quickly turned off the stove so I could answer!
They said our dossier was "perfect" and it is getting shipped to China this Friday!!!! We're ecstatic. Not only did we do all the paperwork correctly, but we're making it with time to spare in terms of the documents expiring.
Also, they said they would start immediately trying to match us with special needs children. Depending on the special need, the timeframe for referral is 2-12 months. But it could still be longer. I'm still liking that better than the current 3 year wait for healthy children, and definitely better than the rumored 5-6 year wait.
So we can breathe a huge sigh of relief at this point. And now we keep praying that our daughter that's out there is able to come home as soon as possible!!!!
Aaron and Sherry
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