For the last three months, we have worked as steadily and as diligently as we possibly could to process our paperwork quickly. After a roller coaster kind of few days, last week we sent our entire packet of paperwork, minus on very important document, to our agency - 15 papers, all signed, sealed and authenticated and ready for mailing to China. We received word on Friday that our final piece, the 16th, has been signed, sealed, authenticated is on its way to our agency! Our dossier - compilation of 16 documents - should be mailed Monday, May 2 to China! YAHOO!
Phew! Now, we can sit back and wait.
And while we wait, we thought we would share a little about our Chapman.
*Chapman waits in an orphanage in the northern part of China.
*She is currently 20 months old.
*She was born in August, 2014, so she is exactly 2 years younger than Maryn.
*She is part of the Waiting Child program in China. She was born with spinal meningocele (spina bifida).
*Her meningocele has not been repaired.
*She has a head full of hair and the the most angelic little lips.
*She seems to hearty, southern style liking for food - her file info mentions how she loves to eat sausage and eggs, add some grits to that diet and she will be good to go!
*It is said that she is a deep sleeper and tends to suck on her fingers for comfort, sweet girl.
*It is also said that she is fairly extroverted, active, likes to play with toys, and she loves music!
We are currently hoping to receive and update on her development and, of course, updated pictures!
The next step? We will likely wait for 2ish weeks to hear that our paperwork has been received (Log-In Date or DTC as it is referred to in adoption land). From there we anticipate a three month wait or less on our Letter of Acceptance (official approval from China) and then we wait two more months for our invitation from China to travel and adopt our girl.
Or, in a shorter version, we have been told we will travel in 4-6 months.
One thing that I will note that is SO different from our previous adoptions is that this time we have a face. MK, Maddox and Maryn were all matched to our family following our paperwork being finished and in China. Having a face to look at, knowing that your daughter is in need of medical attention that she has not received, knowing that she is getting older by the day - well, it is just a different kind of experience. Many ask if the paperwork is easier. No. We are required to do every.single.document over from our birth certificates to our marriage license to everything. Is it faster? No. Adopting from China means that you are working with the Chinese government and their laws as well as the US government and their laws.....so, the timing of how fast or how slow an adoption from China takes is dependent upon these two entities.....and you have to wait on one to do their part in order for the other to do their part, they must work together and they cannot work ahead. MK was adopted in two years.....Maddox was adopted in 10 months....Maryn was adopted in 14 months....hopefully Chapman will be home in time for a 10 month process.
We are thankful for the many prayers for our sweet girl and for our family. We look forward to sharing photos as soon as we are able.....but, until then, know that she is adorable from the tips of her tiny little toes all the way up to her beautiful head full of black hair.
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