Ella Update.

I repeat.  ELLA UPDATE!

So yesterday I got an email around lunchtime from my agency.  They had received a translation about Ella and wanted to pass it along.  It was a discharge summary from the hospital where she receives medical care.  Long story short, she had to have her shunt replaced.  It isn't a surprise - 50% of shunts fail within the first year.  I was hoping she would make it here before her shunt had to be replaced, but ultimately she is in excellent care and received exactly what she needed.  I'm so thankful.  That being said, if you remember her hair from the clapping video, it's gone. (No biggie.)  

But here is Ella - 14 months old!

I also got quite a bit of information about her!  Some of it I doubt is super accurate, but you know.  It's hard to tell.  When she was hospitalized for surgery she weighed 23 lbs.  That was a month ago.  The update now says she weighs 29 lbs.  While the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, I am guessing she didn't gain 7lbs in three weeks (she was hospitalized for a week).  It says she is trying to crawl, which is good news!  She is also standing supported for a minute or two at a time, according to the update.  I definitely hope all of this is accurate!  This would be wonderful news for her physical development.

According to the update, she says a few words and understands a lot.  When you say "touchdown," she will put her hands up in the air.  HOW CUTE?!  A little Cards fan in the making, huh?  

The update confirmed what I had assumed, which is that she is living with a foster family.  I am so grateful for this family and their loving care of Ella for the past year.  They have taken such good care of her and by the looks of things, she's gotten plenty of love and spoiling.  :)  This placement is likely due to her medical needs, as she requires monitoring by doctors at a particular medical center.  I don't know this for a fact, but I do know that she has received care in one part of China but is from another part.  Either way.  I am incredibly grateful for this family!

There were a couple funny facts in the update too.  First of all - just FYI - she still uses the diaper.  (I'm good with that.)  Also, she likes apple juice; she does not like boiled water.  :)  I am sure there is significance there, I just liked that detail!

Oh, but wait.  You don't care about that, right?  You care about this:

You're welcome. :)

 (I don't know when or if I will get another update, so enjoy this one as often as needed!)

Real live progress!

Today I found out what it actually means to get documents certified at the state and county level. (Civics lesson!)

So when you are adopting (and I guess for various other reasons), you have to get every single document notarized.  And after you get them notarized, you have to get them certified.  Kentucky has the pleasure of being one of the five (I think) states where your documents have to be certified at the county and state level.  So today I took a day off work (long story short it was supposed to be a flexible PD day but ended up being a snow make up day) and took a friend who has been through this part of the adoption process with me, and we headed out to the county and state governments!

First stop, the Jefferson County Clerk's main office downtown.  It took about 5 minutes to have 5 documents certified!  At this stop, they are certifying that the notary's seal and commission are true and valid.

Outside of the County Courthouse.  It was COLD.

Next, we headed to Frankfort.  One piece of the dossier, the State Police Check, had been notarized in Franklin County (where the capital is).  So we headed to the Franklin County Clerk and within minutes, that document was notarized too! (No pictures.)

Finally, we were off to the State Capitol.  So here is where things get sad, picture wise.  (Not really.)  I was going to take an awesome picture holding all the documents at the overlook for the Capitol or at least outside the building.  However, the GPS took us out of the area a different way and we bypassed the Capitol overlook.  So no picture.  Still.  Seven of nine documents are certified and ready!  At the state level they are certifying that the person who certified the notary is valid...you get the point.

Next, sometime later this week, I will send this first batch to a courier who will take them through the next steps in the sealing process.  After that, they'll be sent back to me and then on ahead to my agency.  (Out of my hands = hopefully better, I say.)  I am waiting for two more documents.  One is a document that I will be waiting on for probably 50 days now, which is an approval from the USCIS.  Once that comes back, those two documents will be expedited through the process, and then everything will be at the agency.  And then hopefully those three favorite letters in Chinese adoption...DTC!  I am still on track for the end of May, so that is exciting.

It was fun crossing off these steps!  There hasn't been much going on lately (other than finalizing my home study) so it's so nice to finally be in a phase where things are happening!  I'll update again soon!

Waiting, waiting, and more waiting (followed by some hurry up...then waiting).

I've told a few people lately that the adoption process is really boring unless you are the one in it.

(Even then, sometimes, it's boring.)

So, currently I am done with my end of the paperwork (I think!), and am waiting on my homestudy to be finalized.  Once that happens, a very important form will be filed with the U.S. government, which is an "Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country."  This is form I-800a, so that is what it gets called, but basically it is just the U.S. Customs and Immigration's approval form for me to adopt a child from China (the "Convention" refers to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption).  This wait can range anywhere from 30-90 days.  Back in the Fall it was at a 90 day wait, but it has been at 60 days and recently has been speeding up to around 40 (I saw 39 the other day).  So hopefully this wait won't be a big deal.  In the interim, I will be getting all the documents I have created or collected certified at the county and state levels, and then send them via courier to D.C., where they have to be sealed at the Department of State and the Chinese Consulate.

See?  I told you.  Super interesting.

Once the I-800a comes back, that will be expedited through the sealing process.  Then CCAI (my agency) will review all the documents, called the dossier.  And once they are ready, comes the magical three letters:

DTC.

Dossier to China.  That date, and my Log-In Date (LID), then start my wait for my Letter of Approval. And the paperwork keeps going on.

I am still hoping to be DTC by the end of May, and that is looking very reasonable.  It is even possible to be DTC sooner, but I am trying not to get my hopes too high.  :)  It all depends on the I-800a wait, which is my first official wait.  I am excited to start counting days.

In the interim, some exciting things have been happening around here.  First, we've had eighty gazillion three snow days in the last week.  I can't even remember how many this month or year, but I think we are to eight or nine.  It's been a lot.  It's just been a rough, cold winter, which is unusual for us, but what are you going to do?  I am thankful that I had already decided not to work summer school this year, so I will have a somewhat normal break.

Another exciting thing going on is 200 Red Envelopes for Ella!  This will be the biggest fundraiser going on for this adoption, and other than the scarves and the photo mini-session on March 8, is the only other fundraiser I plan to do!  I'd love for you to participate if you are able!

And finally, a HUGE blessing came my way this week in the form of a Rosalynn's Hope scholarship.  Rosalynn's Hope is the adoption/orphan care ministry of Ninth and O Baptist Church, where I am blessed to attend.  I am so grateful to attend a church that is so supportive of adoption, and that has a ministry designed to help families adopt children.  I am incredibly humbled to be a recipient of this scholarship.

Here's a video from January 2013 of some other Rosalynn's Hope families.  I cannot wait until next year, when hopefully Ella and I will be a part of this special video!