I often go to take pictures and find random works of art on my camera. It is always a series of photos with one main subject. More often than not it's Eva photographing Lydia. I just never know what treasure photos I'll find.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
"Cuties" series by Eva
I often go to take pictures and find random works of art on my camera. It is always a series of photos with one main subject. More often than not it's Eva photographing Lydia. I just never know what treasure photos I'll find.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Just Kidding...see if you can make sense of this
That document wasn't our VISA approval; it was our I-800 Approval.
Apparently there is another step I was unaware of. We will now wait until we receive a letter from National Visa Center. This letter needs to be sent to our agency as soon as we receive it, since this is needed for the article 5 to be issued. The article 5 letter is basically the US State Department agreeing(again and again and again) with the adoption(I thought they just did in the I-800 approval). NBC(the Immigration group that just sent us the document in the photo) sends NVC the approval and NVC will send electronically the visa information to US Consulates abroad in 2-3 days from the time they receive it from NBC; in other words, the Consulate may have received the visa information, but they still need a copy of the letter from NVC.
"I (our agency liason)can give you a time frame based on what happened with one family recently: there were 9 days between the I-800 provisional approval and the letter from NVC(we are at day 11). It is NOT the travel approval. Travel approval will be sent by CCAA once they have the article 5. I will know the day when CCAA receives the document and will email the liaison to go to CCAA and ask those guys to issue the TA ahead of time; I’ll explain it was a too long time and hope they will agree. Unfortunately, I cannot do anything about the Consulate appointment without having the TA, they won’t do anything."
Apparently there is another step I was unaware of. We will now wait until we receive a letter from National Visa Center. This letter needs to be sent to our agency as soon as we receive it, since this is needed for the article 5 to be issued. The article 5 letter is basically the US State Department agreeing(again and again and again) with the adoption(I thought they just did in the I-800 approval). NBC(the Immigration group that just sent us the document in the photo) sends NVC the approval and NVC will send electronically the visa information to US Consulates abroad in 2-3 days from the time they receive it from NBC; in other words, the Consulate may have received the visa information, but they still need a copy of the letter from NVC.
"I (our agency liason)can give you a time frame based on what happened with one family recently: there were 9 days between the I-800 provisional approval and the letter from NVC(we are at day 11). It is NOT the travel approval. Travel approval will be sent by CCAA once they have the article 5. I will know the day when CCAA receives the document and will email the liaison to go to CCAA and ask those guys to issue the TA ahead of time; I’ll explain it was a too long time and hope they will agree. Unfortunately, I cannot do anything about the Consulate appointment without having the TA, they won’t do anything."
Friday, March 26, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
We had a blanket, camera, photo album and birthday cake sent to Yu Lei for his 5th birthday. We requested photos and they were taken of Yu Lei and his cake, but on the disposable camera. After a second request of "photos, now, please" we received these this morning.
We had friends travel to China last May and sent with them a package for Yu Lei to leave with their friends in Shanghai to send to Yu Lei when we got the O.K. His Little Spiderman shirt and the Firefox toy in his hand were two of the items in that package. I never knew if he received it, but they purposely got him all outfitted for photos for his family. I'm not a huge fan of Spiderman but the shirt lights up and I had a small package to make a big statement for a little guy. He is little; I think the shirt was a size 4.
On another thrilling note, after four weeks of waiting for our I-800 approval in determination I called INS and talked to an adjudications officer of the Department of Homeland Security and he told me our I-800 was approved and in the mail. Looks like travel can happen in May.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Contented Heart, Patient Heart
I have decided we can't secure tickets yet. I really thought I'd just do it, but once again there seems to be a delay in our paperwork for no reason. We should be traveling two months after our Letter of Acceptance and it is now almost two months after our LOA and no travel in sight. We still need U.S. immigration to pass our I-800 provision. It is all protocol but again and again we find ourselves on the longest wait possible for each step. When I contact immigration they tell me I just have to wait. They say they can't "expediate" this process. EXPEDIATE, mind you, we have now waited longer than anyone I've ever heard of for just this part of the process, not even taking into consideration all of our other long waits.
And so I am left to get down on my knees and cry out to the Lord, which is where He wants me to be throughout this whole process. Our adoption journeys have been so intense and it has been our experience we have an Adversary and he hates adoption. We truly feel during these times when we are in the adoption process, "anything and everything you say or do if not completely upright, clear of any offenses, will be held against you".
It is so hard at this time not to compare our journey with other blogger's journeys. But I have to remember this is our life, and God has always had a specific plan for our family.
I think I have a good grasp of "God's timing is perfect". I live it, I walk it, sometimes it makes me crazy, but I do in my inner being believe it.
I am reading a perfect passage for my life for this time.
It is common to hear women bemoaning thier lack of patience as if it were the most difficult gift to pry from God's hand. In fact impatience stems almost solely from our exaggerated notions of what is due us. If we could but lower our estimation of the importance of our time, our plans and our feelsings, we would find ourselves almost automatically more patient.
Patience is a positive trait. It is the ability to bear affliction, delay and interruption with calmness, perseverance and confidence in the goodness of God. It is inward peace as well as outward control. It is the submission of our schedules, our viewpoints, our dreams to the greater plan of God, with the conviction that he has a good reason for every delay he allows to come our way.
Yes!
And so I am left to get down on my knees and cry out to the Lord, which is where He wants me to be throughout this whole process. Our adoption journeys have been so intense and it has been our experience we have an Adversary and he hates adoption. We truly feel during these times when we are in the adoption process, "anything and everything you say or do if not completely upright, clear of any offenses, will be held against you".
It is so hard at this time not to compare our journey with other blogger's journeys. But I have to remember this is our life, and God has always had a specific plan for our family.
I think I have a good grasp of "God's timing is perfect". I live it, I walk it, sometimes it makes me crazy, but I do in my inner being believe it.
I am reading a perfect passage for my life for this time.
It is common to hear women bemoaning thier lack of patience as if it were the most difficult gift to pry from God's hand. In fact impatience stems almost solely from our exaggerated notions of what is due us. If we could but lower our estimation of the importance of our time, our plans and our feelsings, we would find ourselves almost automatically more patient.
Patience is a positive trait. It is the ability to bear affliction, delay and interruption with calmness, perseverance and confidence in the goodness of God. It is inward peace as well as outward control. It is the submission of our schedules, our viewpoints, our dreams to the greater plan of God, with the conviction that he has a good reason for every delay he allows to come our way.
Yes!
Springtime view greeting us from our upstairs
Simon's first track meet
As you can see, he was a threat!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Planning and Princesses
The "Princess For A Day" Event was a great success. After months of planning 200 foster girls and girls from the community were given the royale treatment. My responsibility was finding and scheduling the "Godmothers" and "Princes". This was the second year of the event and the first our girls were able to attend. A dear friend paid for the girls to go and they couldn't have loved it more!
And now that that planning is over I am ready to buy tickets to China. We have our LOA from China but after receiving that our I-800, part 2, needs to be processed by the U.S. Immigration. It has taken an extra month to get to that point because of the turnaround time of getting Meggie's fingerprints taken and processed and our addendum being accepted. We are now waiting for the I-800 provisional approval and then we submit our article 5 to China. After China accepts the article 5, travel is approved and our agency can make an American Consulate appointment. Can you believe it????
From LOA it usually takes two months to travel. We are arranging travel four months after LOA. You would think that would be acceptable. Our agency is not recommending we make arrangements until we have a Consulate date, but look at how many steps it takes to get there! And just think how much more the tickets could be. I'm stepping out in faith!
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