Join us on our journey to adopt our daughter who is waiting for us a half a world away. We want to share this experience with all of our family and friends, who have extended such loving support and encouragement during this incredible time in our lives.
Most of you know that we were married in August of 2000. We both felt fortunate to find each other and combine our lives along with, Marie, Tom's daughter, who was 8 when we first met and who is now, incredibly, a 15 year old sophomore in high school. We are both very proud of Marie and her accomplishments in her studies, as well as her sports and music.
We started the adoption process about 21 months ago (Feb. 2005). At that time, we decided that our happy, fulfilling life was missing someone. We chose to adopt and to pursue an international adoption. We sought the opportunity to raise a young, healthy child in our loving home, and after much consideration, we knew that our daughter was waiting for us in China.
We began the seemingly endless mound of applications, letters, and reports that asked us to answer and provide information on the most personal aspects of our lives. Working with our adoption agency, our social worker, the China Center of Adoption Affairs, and BCIS we slowly, but surely made progress. An education process in and of itself, it made us appreciate those individuals who assist other couples in uniting them with their children. We are now very well versed in such terms as "DTC," "LID," "dossier," "authentication," etc. To say that it is "a mountain of paperwork to adopt" is an understatement. It's a team effort - Renee fills it all out and Tom signs his name.
We started the adoption process about 21 months ago (Feb. 2005). At that time, we decided that our happy, fulfilling life was missing someone. We chose to adopt and to pursue an international adoption. We sought the opportunity to raise a young, healthy child in our loving home, and after much consideration, we knew that our daughter was waiting for us in China.
We began the seemingly endless mound of applications, letters, and reports that asked us to answer and provide information on the most personal aspects of our lives. Working with our adoption agency, our social worker, the China Center of Adoption Affairs, and BCIS we slowly, but surely made progress. An education process in and of itself, it made us appreciate those individuals who assist other couples in uniting them with their children. We are now very well versed in such terms as "DTC," "LID," "dossier," "authentication," etc. To say that it is "a mountain of paperwork to adopt" is an understatement. It's a team effort - Renee fills it all out and Tom signs his name.
The most important step in our process was the day our dossier (The mountain of paper sent to China) was officially received by the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). This date (our LID -- log in date) was September 9, 2005. Well, a few vacations and about 50 of Marie's softball games later, our wait continues.
Right after we submitted our dossier, the process in China slowed down quite a bit. What was anticipated to be a 6-7 month wait from September 9, 2005 has grown into a 15 month wait (and climbing). We've had to resubmit our fingerprints for a background check (the background check is only good for a year), and we've had to reapply for our official approval for advance visa from Department Of Homeland Security (formerly INS). So, the paperwork also continues.... Renee continues to fill in and Tom just keeps signing his name!
Right after we submitted our dossier, the process in China slowed down quite a bit. What was anticipated to be a 6-7 month wait from September 9, 2005 has grown into a 15 month wait (and climbing). We've had to resubmit our fingerprints for a background check (the background check is only good for a year), and we've had to reapply for our official approval for advance visa from Department Of Homeland Security (formerly INS). So, the paperwork also continues.... Renee continues to fill in and Tom just keeps signing his name!
The last batch of referrals (child to parent matches) that China issued was on Nov. 30, 2006. These referrals matched all LID's with a date through 9/8/05. With an LID is 9/9/05, we missed it by one day. Our disappointment was quickly overcome by the knowledge that we are 100%, unequivocally next to receive our referral!
That's where we are and how we got here. We will use this blog as a communication tool for you to be able to join us on the final stretch of our journey. We will post information and photos as often as we can while traveling. We invite you to become a part of our lives as we journal our activities from the moment we meet our daughter for the very first time!
Tom & Renee
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