Brown Envelope

We received the "Brown Envelope" from the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China, containing the paperwork we'll need to complete in China to get Maelynn's visa.

It was funny. Erich called me on the cell while I was on my drive home from work.
E - 'Hi Hon. Are we expecting paperwork from China?'
R - 'Uh, no.'
E - 'We got something in a brown envelope.'
R - 'Oooohh! The Brown Envelope! Yes, that's good! Yes, we need that. Yessss! We got the brown envelope!'
E - 'Uh, what is the brown envelope?'
R - 'Oh. I can't remember, but I know we're suppose to get one and it's a good thing! I know other families on blog's have talked about getting it, I just can't remember what it is.'

Turns out to be the paperwork for Maelynn's visa. It also provides us with an official number given to us by the US government.

Log-In Date

Yesterday we recevied our official Log-In date. All the running around like crazy, taking extra days off work to get it done, and stress have paid off. Our log-in date is April 29th. What does this mean? I can officially start counting! Referrals from China have varied over the last year. It could be the agency receives all referrals for an entire month of log-in, which means referral in October. Or, most recently (and can change over the next 6 months), the CCAA cuts it off near the end of the month and then we could expect November. CCAA is the China Center of Adoption Affairs.

So what happen's now? Here is an exerpt from the letter our adoption coordinator at FTIA sent us:
"Dear Erich & Robin:
Your dossier was submitted to the CCAA by our staff in Beijing on 4/28/2005 and was logged in by the CCAA on 4/29/2005. The date your dossier was logged in at the CCAA is your “DTC” date. We are in regular communication with the CCAA officials in China. We know it will be quite a wait before you receive a referral--please try to be patient. We did say “try.”
Your dossier is going to essentially go through four departments at the CCAA. Your dossier will first be logged in at the Administration department. Administration also arranges for translation of your dossier. Your dossier will move from Administration to what is commonly referred to as “Review 1”. In “Review 1” your dossier is reviewed page by page and decisions are made regarding your qualifications to adopt and if your paperwork meets the CCAA requirements. After “Review 1” has completed its review, your dossier is forwarded to “Review 2” (or “Matching”). In “Review 2” further review of the family takes place. “Review 2” is also where the referral of a child is matched up with a family. “Review 2” forwards referrals to our agency, which we then immediately translate and send by courier to you.
As soon as we receive your acceptance of the referral, we forward it back to “Review 2”. After “Review 2” receives the acceptance, your dossier returns to the Administration department and it is then forwarded to the Archive department. Your dossier will stay at the Archive department until all post-placement requirements are met. The Administration department forwards the final travel approval to our agency and we will then make an appointment and travel arrangement for you."

Did you notice she reiterated the word 'try'? I'm just going to pretend that this is a form letter and they tell that to all the waiting parents. That pretty much sums it up. This also serves as a sanity warning to anyone in contact with Robin in October. Please continue to keep us and Maelynn in your prayers.

New Adventure

It's official. I am now a Stampin' Up demonstrator. My goal is to raise money for the China trip and have a lot of fun doing it. It will also keep me busy and keep me from going crazy waiting! My first show is June 3rd here at the house.

Erich is busy with the upcoming mission trip in June with Sacred Heart in Fairfield and as tech director for Wizard of Oz in BlueAsh.

Logan is enjoying pre-school. However, he did give me a very trying Mother's Day weekend. We ended up in Urgent Care twice within 24 hours! The first time was a double ear infection and sinus infection. The second he got hit in the forehead with a croquet ball. He is healing well minus a huge bruise on the forehead and 2 black eyes!

We haven't heard anything from the agency as far as our official log-in date yet. It'll still be 2-4 weeks before we hear. We are hoping to go to the FTIA reunion in July.