Taking a break

It's time for a blog break. I have too much to get done in a short period of time and I am feeling overwhelmed. Isn't that how it always works out? When it rains it pours....here's what's going down:

- I have a couple of homework projects needing some serious attention...

- A quick trip to Seattle this coming weekend...

- My Dad is coming for his visit next weekend...

- Prep work for the two classes I'll be teaching next semester...wait what? Oh yes, I found out on Friday that I have been hired as part-time faculty next semester!!! I will be teaching two classes, Intro to Entrepreneurship and Intro to Computers. Holy crapola. Exciting though...

and I was worried about keeping busy during the wait....

I'll be back soon!

Quick Update

I spoke with my agency today, my dossier (adoption paperwork) is at the Chinese Consulate in D.C. It should be back and sent to China the week of...drumroll please....November 6th!

Predictions

Here's my referral timeline prediction...

As of today, the wait is 14 months from DTC to referral

I will be DTC November 2006

If the wait stays the same, I will get my referral January 08

Estimated travel to China February/March 2008

All the above is subject to change of course, but today, this is where we are at...too long if you ask me, but there isn't anything I can do about it except hope and pray that the wait time speeds up.

What next?

This past Friday, my agency sent all of my documents to the Secretary of State in Boise for certification. Certification is the process of verifying the notary signatures that were required for my paperwork. This step should take approximately 3 working days.

Then, my agency will send my documents to the Chinese Consulate in D.C. where the Secretary of State Certification paperwork is authenticated (verified). This takes approximately 7-10 working days.

Finally, my agency will send my documents to China on or around the week of November 6th!

Once there they…………to be continued.

I-171H ~ The Story

Here it is! Is this not the most beautiful sight ever? This my friends is THE LAST PIECE OF PAPERWORK I NEED FOR MY ADOPTION (for now anyway)!! WHOOOHOOO!!

Let me back up and tell you the story of The day the I-171H arrived...

The day started like any other day. Got up, went to work, wondered if this day would be the day, but honestly, after the disappointment of the day before I wasn't expecting anything. I went home for lunch (which I rarely do), decided to make some rice to go with my dinner, and was standing at the kitchen sink when the mail lady came to the door. She looked at me through the window...I ran to the door, swung it open, and she said "I think your important piece of paper is HERE!! I have it!! It's from immigration!!".

How did she know you ask? Well, she knew because I had been stalking the poor mail lady for the past couple of days. I started to cry, of course, and gave her a hug. She probably thought I was crazy, but she was oh so very sweet and said "congratulations!" What I thought was so special was the fact that when she saw I was home, she took the time to walk it up to the door so she could give it to me in person.

I love my mail lady.

Then I started the calls. First to my Mom, then to my brother, then to my friend Shelb, then to Hannah, then to someone special, then an email to my Dad, and then I smelled something burning. Oh crap!! The rice...yep, it was burned to a crisp and to be honest...I don't think the pan is going to survive either. It's still soaking as I type this. So, I headed back to work with the ol' I-171H in hand ready for my co-worker Pam to notarize it. My friend Ana yelped when she saw that I was holding a white envelope and my China notebook. I hadn't even opened it yet, so everyone gathered round and we all looked at it together. I have to say, this is one of the best sentences I've read since I started this process:

It has been determined that you are able to furnish proper care to an orphan or orphans as defined by Section 101 (b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Cool.

All of my co-workers were so excited for me and I feel so blessed to have their constant support. Thank you.

Today, I sent all of my oh so important notarized original dossier documents to my agency via USPS priority certified mail. As I was standing in line, I kept thinking...this is so BIG! This is it! All of the paperwork I have been working on, waiting on, is now out of my hands. There is nothing more I can do, I have done everything I possibly can to adopt this little girl. Now it's in the hands of my agency and soon it will be in the hands of the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs. Holy crapola! This is sooooo exciting.

How weird it was to be standing there, ready to explode from excitement, yet no one around me knew how important this moment was. I wanted to shout out "Everyone, look, look, my documents, my documents are almost on their way to ChinA!!

I refrained of course, I didn't feel like dealing with USPS security.

So, what now? Hmmmm, I'll give your eyes a rest and tackle it in another post...

Thank you for reading my blog and thank you for supporting me through the ups and downs of this process. Yesterday was a GREAT day!

My I-171H has arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More to come later, just wanted to shout it out to ya'll......it's here!!

I can't stand it..**updated**

I'm so excited to run home and check the mail tonight!!

To be cont...

That's a big N.O. for today folks. It isn't in the mailbox....insert curse word here.

News

My friend Hannah received her I-171H today!!!! They already have their referral and can now make arrangements to travel to Vietnam and pick up their precious little girl...

My I-171H did not come today, but I know it's on it's waaaaayyy because Hannah and I applied on the SAME day!

Tomorrow is my Mom's birthday and the fam is coming over to my house for dinner. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to celebrate her birthday and the arrival of the oh so important immigration authorization to bring my little munchkin into the U.S...

On the agenda...

Since I just know my I-171H is coming soon, I must MUST finish putting my dossier pictures together this weekend. I have just two left to take - the ones of the inside of my home. The delay in completing this task has been largely due to the fact that I still need to clean the sliding glass doors in the living room because they are covered in dog slobber. Gross. :-)

Good Times

I had the opportunity to visit with my friend Sandy and her daughter Ellen one on one for an hour last night!! It was so wonderful and inspiring to play with little Ellen and just talk with her Mom about their China adoption experience. Ellen has been home just over a year and turned two last week. She is sooo adorable, well adjusted, and happy. I loved every minute of it.

Good news...I think

I emailed the adoption contact at the immigration office this morning to check the status of my I-171H processing. Here is the response I received:

Sara~

Your file is currently with the adjudicator to review. Thanks!

On October 2, her response was:

Sara~

Your file is still waiting for an adjudicator to review it. Thanks!

I'm taking that as my file is now being reviewed. Do you think that's what it means? If so, not much longer!

6 weeks

This is all I'm gonna say about it today...

Lists...

I am a list maker. Plain and simple. I think I get it from my Dad, he is the ultimate list maker. This past weekend my sister (who is pregnant) and I found ourselves in the Target baby section. We were in the aisle that has all of the formula, bottles, feeding stuff, you name it, it was there. As we were ooohing and aaaaahing over all the neat stuff we started chatting about registering and I asked her "when are you going to do it and how do you know what you need?" Her response was "well, I don't know, but I plan to bring someone along that has had a baby before and knows this stuff". Well now, that's a good plan.

I, however, have some time on my hands...like 14 months. So, I went home, googled my little heart out, compared tons of lists and then made my own...draft 1 for stuff I need when baby comes home. Here's what I've got down so far.

Baby stuff to get

Basic Clothing
Onesies 6-8
Blankets
PJ's
Clothes (some, but only random clearance sale stuff...will get serious after I found out her size) socks

Basic Necessities
First Aid Kit
Thermometer
Brush and Comb
Baby Shampoo
Baby Bath Soap
Baby Lotion Vasoline
Baby Powder
Cotton Swabs
Baby Wipes
Diaper Rash Ointment
Nail Scissors/Clippers
Booger Suction Bulb
Baby Laundry Soap
Bleach
Sunscreen
Night Lights
Diapers
2 pckgs cloth diapers

Bath
toys
washcloths
hooded towels

Nursery and Bedding
Bedding Set (Comforter, bumper pad, skirt)
Crib Sheets 3-6
Crib Pads 2
Crib Matress Pads
Crib Mattress
Changing Table
Changing Table Pad
Changing Table Pad Covers
Rocking Chair
Clothes Basket
Garbage Can
Lamp
Storage (PBK)
Closet Shelving system
rug
wall rack for books
curtains curtain rod (PBK)

Other Furniture & Durable Baby Accessories
Stroller
Playpen
Car Seat
Diaper Bag
Baby Carrier (ie. front pack)
Car Rear Window Mirrors (Allows you to see your baby in the back seat.)
High Chair/Booster Seat
Floor mat for under booster seat
Baby Monitor

Misc.
Adoption Announcements
Toys
Books (I've bought a few, but you can never have too many books!)
Lifebook

Safety (did I ever mention that my family calls me Safety Sara?)
Cabinet Locks
Corner Guards for coffee table
Outlet Plugs Drawer
Cupboard Latches

Kitchen & Feeding
Bibs 5-6
Disposable Bibs (Pampers Bibsters)
Bottles 6-8
Bottle Brush
Dishwasher Bottle Holder
sippy cups
plastic bowls w/ lids (for Cherrios and stuff)
Meal Dishes and Utensils

There ya have it, my first "what I need to get for when baby comes home" list! Fun!

Miss me?

I'm so bummed about my I-171H that I haven't felt like blogging much...mostly because I get sick of not having anything positive to write about. It'll come I know and DTC is right around the corner....

Can't wait!

Moon Festival

Is anyone celebrating the Moon Festival tomorrow? If so, what are you doing? I'm looking for ideas and want to establish this as a yearly holiday tradition in my family.

I-171H Update

Anyone sick of hearing me moan and groan about my I-171H? Well, I’m sick of writing about it. However, the main purpose of this blog is my adoption journey…so I guess I’ll keep writing about it until it shows up in the mailbox. Guess what. It’s not going to be here today. How do I know you ask? Well, Hannah called the top dogs over at the central CIS office today to moan and groan about not receiving her I-171H (she was on hold for 58 minutes!)…long story short…our applications are still sitting on someone’s desk in Yakima waiting to be reviewed. I then called my agency today and said “when should I be worried?” her response “call us when it’s been 6 weeks” my response “I’ll talk to you Wednesday”.

Oh, and while I was on the phone with my agency rep I asked how long the wait is, 14 months is what they are telling people now.

This sucks.

5 weeks and 1 day

I have exciting news! As many of you know, I am aggressively pursuing my master’s degree and hope to have it complete or darn near by the time baby comes home. The degree I am working towards is a Masters in Education, majoring in Professional-Technical/Technology Education with an emphasis in Business Education. How’s that for a mouth full. So, what am I going to do with my degree? My goal is to transition to a full-time faculty position here at the college I work within the next two years. Anyway, most grad students teach a class right? So, I applied for a part-time instructor position next semester. I received a call from our HR department today and I have been approved to teach classes in three different areas (majors) next semester! So, if there is a need for an instructor to teach any of those classes, I will be called in for an interview and off I go. I’m excited, plus I’ll make some extra money…good news this is folks, very good news.

Oh and it's been 5 weeks and 1 day since I submitted my I600A and am still waiting for the ol' I-171H. Maybe it will be in the mail box today....

I'm computer free for 4 days and all hell breaks loose!

First, Heather received her I-171H over the weekend. Are you kidding me!!! I am super stoked for her, she is mere weeks away from being DTC. Lucky lady!! Which brings me to…where the F is my I171-H? According to the email I received from Yakima this morning, my application is still awaiting adjudication. Get on it people! I want to be DTC this October, not next…jeez…

I jumped onto the RQ’s website this morning and lo and behold…a rumor about the wait increasing to 24 months greeted me. Neato. The next post was a rumor stating that many agencies are indicating a speed up soon. I like that one better. Then I decided that it was all BS and I shouldn’t read it anymore, so I deleted it off of my favorites list only to put it right back on after lunch. Sick and twisted. I have a love/hate relationship with RQ’s website!

So, what was I doing while my internet was down? Let’s see…

Friday night = cards and adult beverages at JC’s house. Fun times. Saturday, I lounged around in the a.m., homework, errands, and then hung out at B’s house and played Monopoly. Not even kidding people, Monopoly. I haven’t played Monopoly since I was a kid. Sunday, now Sunday was a different story. After coffee and reading the paper, I headed out to my Mom’s house and we went for a 4 mile hike around Mineral Ridge. It was fun! We visited, talked about adoption, and took in the gorgeous views and beautiful fall colors…all with the benefits of cardio! After, I headed home and mowed the lawn. At around 8:15p.m., I realized that a 4 mile hike followed by mowing the lawn was a bit much for this out of shape gal…I popped a couple of advil, took a shower, and don’t remember watching Desperate Housewives because I was zonked!! I can feel my hike in my rear and abs today, which is a very good thing. I think we are going to do it again next week, right Mom??

Oh, and I'm back up and running...my modem pooped out on me.

Internet Issues

My home internet is down. I'm dealing and will be back up shortly (hopefully), I'm starting to have BLOG withdrawals!