DTC

The adoption world is full of acronyms. This one stands for "Dossier to China" and means that all of our paperwork is finished and has been sent to the Chinese officials who will take over the process. Next will come our LID or "log-in date", which is the date from which we will start counting as we wait for the next big event -- the LOA or "Letter of Acceptance." We anticipate a wait of at least two months for that. Then the US side of the paperwork starts again, and we submit our application for Peyton's visa. This is a new step in the process and, unfortunately, it slows everything down! We're still a long way from bringing her home, but this is a huge step in the right direction!!

Being DTC also means that we can request updated information and pictures! Can't wait for that!!

Peyton (or is it Payton?)

I just realized that I haven't provided any details about our little darling. She turned four in June, so she is about 8 1/2 months younger than Tyler. She is from Guangdong Province on the southern coast, and she has had open heart surgery to correct several abnormalities -- very similar to what both Conner and Tyler had. We plan to name her Peyton, but we're having a debate about whether to spell that with an "e" or an "a." Any input is welcome!

These are her referral photos --

We're approved!

Out of curiosity, I decided to email the National Benefits Center on Tuesday to find out the status of our application for immigration approval. Much to my amazement, I got a reply stating that our approval had been issued that day and congratulating us and wishing us well on the remainder of the journey. Wow -- someone who seems to care and isn't just stamping documents! What's even more amazing is that she faxed the approval notice to me instead of making us wait for it to arrive in the mail; so I have already had it certified and sent it on its way to the Chinese Consulate for authentication. All of the other documents have already gone through this process and are at the agency's office waiting to be sent to China. This is the last piece of the paperwork puzzle, and it is being put in place ahead of schedule thanks to a kind immigration officer! Kind of makes up for the bad experience with the postal worker on Monday. Madison needs a new passport, so she and I went to the post office Monday afternoon to file the application. There was a male employee at the counter, and he greeted us with "We don't take passport applications after 4:00." It was 4:03. I thought he was joking. The rest of our conversation went something like this:

Me -- "It's only three minutes after."
Him -- "We don't take passport applications after 4:00." Turning toward Madison, "How old are you, Miss?"
Madison -- "13"
Him, directed to me -- "You'll need both parents here to sign unless you have an affidavit."
Me -- "I have the affidavit."
Him -- "Do you have a copy of your driver's license?"
Me -- "Yes, I have everything you need."
Him -- "We don't take passport applications after 4:00."

Give me a break!! Did I mention that we were the only customers in the building, and they don't close until 4:45? He suggested that we come back on Saturday morning. I think maybe we'll ALL go up there on Saturday . . . and maybe take some of our loudest, most irritating toys to pass the time!

Making progress

The only thing we need before we can send our dossier to China is our immigration approval, and we hope to have that by the end of the month. We were scheduled to have our fingerprints taken on August 19th, but that is the first day of school; and we just couldn't miss Reagan's first day of Kindergarten (not to mention that it would be impossible to get everyone to school, drive three hours to the USCIS office, wait for the fingerprints, and drive back home in time to meet the bus)! I called the USCIS office, and a very nice immigration officer told me we could just go whenever we want and not to worry about the date they gave us. So, we're going this week and hoping she knew what she was talking about!

With any luck, all of our paperwork will be delivered to China by the first of September. Then we wait again.