Some news is better than no news????? LOL!!!!

Well, here is the news we have to update you with.......which isn't much, but it is something. Our I600-A expired and we had to go to the USCIS office, better known as the Immigration office in Baltimore, Maryland, to refile it....just for the US government to take more of our money.....$545.00 to be exact.....plus $70.00 each for refingerprinting to make sure neither one of us have commited any criminal acts since the last time we were fingerprinted 15 months ago! China could care less....they don't even want the updated information.....just another excuse for our great government to squeeze more money out of us! Anyway............LOL!!!!!!!!!!

We received updated letters from our physician stating that we had no communicable diseases and that we had normal life expectancies (which I guess is good news) to update our home study and Brittany (our daughter) had to get a brand new physical. Then our social worker from the adoption agency came over on Monday, 1/29/06, to update our home study. By the way, Maureen, our social worker, has been the one stabilizing force in this scenario since day one........she has saved countless lives........and that's all I am going to say about that!!!!!!!God Bless you , Maureen!

So, at least China has gotten through placing referrals with those families with LID's (Log In Date) up to October 13, 2005! We are LID January 5, 2006....and looks like they are getting about 15-20 days worth of LID's done at time in a 2-4 week time period.......so if this trend continues.........we could hope for a referral by the end of the summer and then to travel to China and bring our son home by Christmas 2007..........hopefully!!!!!!!!! Maybe even before then..........but I ain't bettin' the house on it....that's for sure!!!!!!

Well, what else is there to say........go buy some baby stuff and make us feel better and ship it to us! At least it will give us something to play with until then.
If you don't know our address, then you will just have to email me for it....and if you don't know my email address, then obviously I don't trust you enough to give you either....so don't bother! LOL!

OK....on a completely serious note........here is to praying to everything in God's timing.......and to God speed! May He richly bless us all! <><

Here's another registry at Baby Depot for you to look at....if you're interested!

IF you are interested, visit our newest registry at the Baby Depot (part of Burlington Coat Factory). So, now you have two choices to window baby shop at if you are interested. Merry Christmas everyone....and Happy Birthday, Jesus!!!! <><

Still waiting....patiently....and registering while waiting! LOL!

Well, in our continuing waiting process, I decided to register for some baby things online. Since we don't know the exact age of the child we are going to be adopting (only a range from around 6-18 months old at time of referral), I registered for things that I figured we would use no matter what age the child would be in that age group. So, feel free to take a look if you like! It was fun anyway....I will save the real shopping for when the referral comes! We are hoping, by the way the referral trends are looking, that we will be traveling to China sometime in the summer 2007. Here's to praying for miracles and God speed! <><

Babies R Us Link:
http://www.toysrus.com/ControllerServlet?lastName=Eyler&firstName=Renee&cityOrState=MD&target=search&userType=giftGiver&searchForPerson=primReg&whereTo=viewRegistry&x=0&y=0

Update.....FINALLY!!!!!!

Hello everyone....well, anyone that is still following this blog b/c it has been SUCH A LONG time since I posted anything about our adoption journey. So today, I am going to bring us all up to date and attempt to fill in the gaps...........from most recent date......here we go!!!!!!!!!!

Friday: April 14, 2006
Today we found out that we are officially expecting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
One of the great things is we won't have the traditional "morning sickness" to go along with expecting since we are adopting! LOL! But nonetheless, we are STILL EXPECTING!!!!!!!!!! I can't tell you how happy we are...we have been waiting for this for a LONG time.

Our LID is 1/5/2006.......that is Log In Date.........which means that is the day that the CCCA (China's government) entered all of our information into their database to begin the process of "matching" us to the child we will be offered to adopt (which is called a referral). The latest news, that I can find as the most reliable, is that the wait time from LID to referral is 12 months or less. Although the referral time has increased since we started this journey....and it is about 3 months longer than a typical pregnancy.....we are still excited and can't wait to hold our son in our arms for the first time....whenever that may be!

Basically, we won't receive much more news at all until a few months or weeks before our referral....and that will be information that we need to update (re-do paperwork that may expire before our referral or additional information that the China government may want). Then we will receive our referral, which will be a photo(s) of the child they will be offering to us to adopt and some information about the child (usually medical information, how tall, how much they weigh, how they eat, etc.). Then we either accept or reject the referral...which I can't imagine that we would EVER reject it unless there was something that we weren't expecting like a serious medical condition (b/c adopting a special needs child is a whole different process to get ready for...not because we are biased towards only healthy children, b/c no-one really knows what will happen with their child). Then we wait for our approval to travel....which is usually 4-8 weeks after the referral.....which is when we will travel to China to pick up and officially make our child a part of our family! I can't wait for this day........or should I say DAYS.....we will be in China for approximately 2 weeks. Hurry up time!!!!!!!!!

January 2006 (don't have the EXACT day documented)
We found out that our Dossier (which is all the paperwork, investigations, pictures, etc....that make up the huge PILE of paperwork we have been gathering for the past year for the China government) was officially translated into Mandarin and sent to China on 12/22/2005.......which is our DTC date!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!! Usually LID (log-in-date) is about 2-4 weeks after the CCCA (China's governement) receives the Dossier. The LID is CRUCIAL....as that is the date everyone uses to determine how much longer it will be before you receive your referral (which is a picture and information about the child that China is offering to you to adopt)....which time from LID to referral at this point is about 9-12 months.......and then 4-8 weeks after that you travel to China to pick up your sweet child and bring them home....FOREVER!!!!!!!! So, the DTC date is also a very significant date!!!!!!!!! Come on LID!!!!!!!!!!!


December 4, 2005
(this is an email from me to our adoption agency and then her reply to me)

Fran,

Hi there! We received the authenticated documents from the China Embassy on Thursday, 12/1/05, and made three copies of everything that evening. I sent you two copies and the originals, the two photo pages, a copy of each of our passports (the China Embassy said they didn't need copies, so those were not included in the authenticated documents), and a check for $3850.00 on Friday, 12/2/05, via Express Mail delivery. The US postal service said they would attempt delivery on Saturday, 12/3/05, but since I didn't think anyone would be in the office that day, they should they would reattempt on Monday, 12/5/05, b/c we required a signature for the package. The good Lord
knows that we don't want THAT package lost!!!!!!!!! LOL!

If you will email me or call me when you get the package to let me know you received it, that would be great!!! Also, I am sure you will keep us informed of the status/steps going forward. Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Renee' and Paul Eyler <><

__________________________________________________________________________________

December 6, 2005
Hi Renee,

Your dossier packet arrived undamaged. I was out yesterday and am in the process of double-checking your dossier before I send it on. Jun is going to send your dossier without the new documents. She did not believe this would be an issue at log-in - but please be mindful that your Gold Seals may need to be repeated down the road. I would not recommend doing anything until we hear from the CCAA months from now - the documents may be fine.

Fran


Tuesday, November 29, 2005 10:46 AM
(this is an email from the executive director, Fran, at our adoption agency)

Hi Renee,
Great news about the progress of your dossier. I share your concern about the time-frame of a couple of your documents. I will forward them all on to the translator and see if she has any concerns before your dossier is sent to CCAA. CCAA may request up-dates 1-2 months before referral time.
I will answer your questions below within your e-mail.

Fran

FYI: Fran's answers are in red - my questions are in black ( in message dated 11/27/2005)

In a message dated 11/27/2005 5:29:35 PM Eastern Standard Time, Renee' writes

Fran,

Hi there. I just wanted to update you on our progess to date.

This past Wednesday, Paul and I had all of our dossier documents certified at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. then walked/rode over to the Embassy of PRC and left them there to be authenticated. We left them with an Express Mail prepaid/self addressed envelope and the embassy employee said that our official authenticated documents should be mailed to us this coming Wednesday, November 30th and we should receive them on the next day, Friday 12/1/05.

When I receive them, I will be making three copies of the entire dossier (is that correct?).
Then I will mail you two complete copies and the originals, along with our two picture pages and our visa photos (is this correct?). You are correct.

Is there anything that I am missing? You will need to send a check made payable to Adoption Resource Center, Inc. for the dossier translation fee ($350) plus $3,500 of the foreign fee (the remaining $4000 of the foreign fee is either wired to China right before travel or you can take it in cash) for a total of $3,850. Kim did not forward me the contracts you had signed so I am not sure of the breakdown of the payments of our program fee. I will ask Maureen to fax me the contracts when she goes to the office on Thursday.

I will be making the copies the day I receive the dossier items from the embassy and mailing them to you for next day delivery, express mail packaging. Please send them to Adoption Resource Center, Inc., 1999 University Drive, Suite 201, Coral Springs, FL 33071 (954-255-3226)

I am assuming then you send them for translation ASAP since a few of the documents are definitely on the verge of having to be redone if the timeline isn't in our favor. What else goes on on your end after you receive the documents from us? I check your dossier and include fees and overnight everything to the translator.

How long after you receive the documents do you mail the dossier to China? The translator completes your dossier and she sends it to CCAA. Generally, I would say this takes about 2 weeks to complete.

When are you notified of a long in date and referral on it's way? The log-in date is available about 2 months after your dossier has arrived and I will let you know what the date is as soon as I am given it.

And do you know the approximate wait time for a referral after long in date, at this point? The wait for a referral is approx. 7 months though this may change - some agencies are saying this time-frame is beginning to become longer. About 1 to 2 months before your referral is expected, CCAA will review your dossier and may request new documents and/or documents be up-dated. If such a request is made, it is crucial these documents be completed ASAP as any delay will cause a delay in CCAA sending a referral.

WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING AT THIS POINT (that is after we mail you all the documents)? We don't want to get in another jam going forward...so please, let us know everything we should be doing in the meantime. After your dossier has been completed, there is nothing for you to do except wait. The seemingly endless wait is a difficult one especially when there is little to no information to pass on to you.

Wednesday, 11/2/05:

WE RECEIVED OUR APPROVAL LETTER FROM IMMIGRATION TODAY!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Can I just tell you how EXCITED we are about this! This is a REALLY big deal.........especially after the problems we ran into about not getting the I-600a filed until October 12, 2005. I spoke with the executive director at our adoption agency today and she thinks our DOSSIER will be ready to go to China in about 2 weeks!!!!!! This really makes me HAPPY......if you can't tell! Now for the next few weeks we have to work on getting our documents county and state certified, then we can take them to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Washington, DC to get them ready to go to China! Then all we have to do is wait for a referral...which is the information and picture of a child that they will offer us to adopt! YEAH!!!!!!!!!! Well, gotta go get ready for tomorrow.....it is going to be a paperwork day.......and I am actually looking forward to it! Later!

Update: 10/24/05

(This picture is of the nursery bedding that we bought!!!)

I called the USCIS office today in Baltimore, MD to check on the status of our I-600a application because we received our receipt notice in the mail informing us we could track the process of our application online. Well, that isn't true. The I-600a cannot be tracked online or over the phone. You can only find out what group of I-600a's are being processed at the current time. Right now, they are working on the I-600a's from August 15, 2005 and before. So, since our receipt date was October 12, 2005, if they stay on the same timeline...ours should be done around December 13, 2005. More waiting.......however, that is the name of this game. Paul and I are both a little frustrated with this since it may delay us even further with the whole adoption process, since we have to have the approval letter from INS before we can proceed any further. All of this is happening because our adoption agency, or the girl we were dealing with at the adoption agency, neglected to tell us when to file the I-600a. Now she is no longer with our adoption agency...as a matter of fact, the only person left in the Maryland office with our adoption agency is the social worker. So, when we run into problems or have questions about anything, we have to deal with the executive director of the agency who is down in the southeastern part of Florida via phone and/or email. Anyway......nothing we can do about it now, but wait....and pray that this doesn't cause us to have to re-do alot of our other documents for the Dossier. Oh well.....we'll just keep praying for the day we will finally meet and bring home our son from China!

This is me and my hubby on our wedding day, 8/15/1998! Amazing how even back then, or before then, we had talked about how both of us were interested in adoption to include children in our family one day.....and here we are! The journey began, officially, about a year ago. We began researching the prospect of adoption, met with agents from two different adoption agencies, and eventually decided to go with ARC (Adoption Resource Center) around January 2005. I will write later about the interesting (to put it mildly) experiences we have had thus far in our adoption journey, but this is what we have accomplished so far:
1. Decided we wanted to adopt internationally
2. Decided we wanted to adopt from China
3. Choose our adoption agency, ARC, which is able to be our local and international agency
4. Submitted application, with many supporting documents, to ARC and were approved
5. Began the time consuming process of gathering our documents for our homestudy
6. Met with the social worker, who is wonderful, on four separate occassions to be interviewed as part of the homestudy
7. Had our home inspected by the fire department, and passed
8. Got fingerprinted and received our "Gold Seal" letters of approval
9. Homestudy was approved and we were officially recommended by ARC to adopt an infant boy from China, from newborn to 18 months of age, as young as and as healthy as possible
10. Began gathering our documents for the Dossier, which is the official package that gets sent to the China government for their consideration for us to adopt from their country
11. Found out that we should have filed our I-600a a LONG TIME ago....like before the homestudy........at the immigration office. After getting all of that straight, we filed the application at the Baltimore office, I got fingerprinted that day and my husband got fingerprinted the next day at the same office.
12. We got another original of our home study sent to USCIS, the immigration office in Baltimore, from the adoption agency.....with the notarized page, ARC license attachement, receipt number from the day I filed the I-600a, and letter attachment explaining my "real" legal name (LONG story...LOL!!!)
13. I received my letter of employment today from my employer and my supervisor was nice enough to go down to our credit union with me, so I got let the notary there witness her signature to have it notarized in Maryland (thanks, KJ!!!!)
14. Basically the main thing we are waiting on now is our approval letter from USCIS to complete our Dossier. Say a few prayers for us that it happens quickly so we don't have to re-do any of our documents for our Dossier.

Well, that is all for this first post. Will write more later! :-)