Argh!!!!!

Although we were on Cloud Nine after getting our LOA on Friday, this weekend was a nightmare as far as getting the next round of documents ready. Why can’t the government just once create a form that does not require a team of experts to decipher? The new Hague-compliant Form I-800 (Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative) was such a joy to complete! NOT! Unfortunately, it will require a call to our social worker before every blank is filled in, lest we answer a question incorrectly. Nevertheless, we ought to have two overnight packages going out tomorrow via UPS: one to CWA which includes our signed Letter of Acceptance, and one to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) which includes our (soon to be) completed I-800 and a bunch of supporting documentation.

So what are the steps and timeframes from here? CWA will return our Letter of Acceptance to the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) so that they can complete the processing of our “Notice of Traveling to China for Adoption” or the “Final Approval” or “TA”. Before doing so, however, the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China has to give consent to the CCAA. They will give their consent upon receiving notice from CIS that our I-800 has been processed and approved. It should take about 2-3 weeks for us to get word back (same timeframe for the US Consulate) on our CIS approval. Figure another week for them to review and forward their consent to the CCAA, and that makes it about 4 weeks until getting our TA.

Once we get our Travel Approval, we apply for our China Travel Visas, which are done through a travel agency CWA recommends. At the same time, CWA requests visa appointments from the US Consulate in Guangzhou. Figure another 1-2 weeks for this step. Once the appointment dates are set, we can proceed with making travel arrangements. So, we should be making our plane reservations in about 6 weeks, with travel 2-3 weeks after that. That puts us in the mid-June timeframe for departure.

We are responsible for the international flight to Beijing and home from Hong Kong. CWA makes all in-country arrangements including hotels (the Wangfujing Grand Hotel in Beijing and the White Swan Hotel near Guangzhou), meals, flight from Beijing to Guangzhou, sightseeing, guides, etc. We will most likely be introduced to our son on the first day, and he will be with us from that point on. We will be in Beijing for about 10 days where we will spend a considerable amount of time sightseeing (Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc.) in between getting adoption items taken care of, and will then travel to Guangzhou for about 4 days for Cameron’s medical exam, visa appointment and swearing-in (or however that’s done for a child). Since both Angie and I are traveling to China, he will be a U.S. citizen upon touching down in the States.

That should give you a pretty good overview of what lies ahead for us over the next 2-3 months. Those followers of this blog who are adoptive parents (or prospectives) are likely quite familiar with this process, while those who aren’t may think this is pretty involved. If you are the latter, let me just say that I have put forth a greatly abbreviated version. It can be quite confusing, even with detailed instructions. If you have not gone through the laborious and time-consuming task of adopting internationally, you likely have no idea of the toll this takes on you, both emotionally and physically. Suffice it to say that this journey has been quite an adventure so far, and it’s only just begun. We would have it no other way. Hang in there, Cameron, we’ll be there in a couple months!

LOA Has Arrived!!!

We just got notice this morning that our Letter of Acceptance has been received by our adoption agency and they are overnighting it to us along with a packet of information to guide us through the final stages of our adoption preparation. It will be a busy weekend of filling out paperwork which needs to then be overnighted to others: US Immigration Service, China, and our adoption agency. We were not anticipating getting our LOA until around day 90, so getting it on day 63 was quite a pleasant surprise. We should be travelling to China in about 8 weeks, or mid-June, barring any significant holdups. I'll post more over the weekend and after we get our packet.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

It’s been several weeks since our last post, but not much new to report. Today is day 58 of our LID-LOA wait. We have gotten some recent information that indicates some LID-LOA times are currently in the 75-80 day range, although we have also heard of several that are much higher, including one at 123 days. We certainly don’t want to get our hopes up too much, but will begin to be on the lookout for our LOA in another few weeks. The adoption agency we are working with for the completion of this adoption, Christian World Adoption (CWA), currently has several employees in Beijing working on a second Hope Project group of children at the #2 Children’s Welfare Institute where our little guy (Cameron) resides. Mei, our social worker, is one of the employees in Beijing and, upon her return to the States next week we are hopeful for an update. There seems to be some online discrepancy as to if and when the children are made aware that they have a family in process, as well as if and when they are given the care packages that are sent to them. We have absolutely no idea right now what Cameron does or does not know, or even if he has been given his care package.

Cameron turned 10 on April 6th. Angie made him a small cake and had her folks come over for some cake and ice cream. No candles, though, as he needs to be here to blow them out. Angie’s coworkers got him a couple Bionicles, which are small lego creatures. They are actually kinda cool, and are perfect to take with us to keep him occupied a bit on our trip. Also, a “friend of a friend” of Angie’s gave us some size 8 jeans and shorts that they were going to include in a garage sale. They found out that we were on the lookout for some size 8’s since Cameron is smaller than his age might indicate, and they were very generous in donating them to us.

I’ve been able to get in a few bike rides this year. This picture was taken last weekend when I hooked up with a bunch of cycling friends for a FreeWheel Training Ride. From left to right: Pedro, Cindy, Sylvia and me. Pedro is sporting his new bike, an Orbea Orca……a very sweet ride! I cannot begin to express how great it felt to be back in the saddle again after my accident last year and to share the road with some great friends, even with the wind howling at 30-40 mph. I really wish I could ride FreeWheel again this year but, alas, I simply do not have enough vacation time built up and I have to prioritize taking a week or two off upon returning from China. My new work hours will allow me to ride a lot more, at least until Cameron arrives, and I’m aiming to average 100-120 miles a week. My legs are only good for about 25 miles right now, but with a few more weeks of training I ought to be back up into the 50-60 mile range at a pretty good pace and, hopefully, do at least one century ride (100 miles) before we leave for China.

We are celebrating Easter later today at Angie’s parents…..an indoor egg hunt (due to heavy rain) for the nieces and a nice dinner afterwards. We volunteered at church last night and attended the service afterwards. Pastor Willie had an awesome message that really hit home for a number of people. Andy and the band did an awesome rendition of Amazing Grace with video testimonials of redemption between verses that really fit in nicely with the sermon title: (Because) He Was.....I Am (Redeemed). It was quite moving.