Friday, June 25, 2010

Early morning gifts, and progress

Like many of my friends' kids as of late, my daughter has begun waking up (and waking me up) much earlier than normal.  I'm not going to tell you the time, but suffice it to say it's early for ME.  We've always been a "late to bed, late to rise" kind of family.  She shares a bedroom with her brother, and usually I'm able to whisk her out of there without waking him up.  I bring her into my bed where she is uncharacteristically sweet, funny, and cuddly.  (No sleep actually occurs.)  I wish she'd stay in bed longer, but I'm gradually coming to view these tender moments with her in the morning as the gift that they are. 

On a slightly related note, I found a dime in my bed.  I'd been sleeping on it...like some bizarre twist on The Princess and the Pea.  I didn't feel it underneath me, so does that mean I'm not a true princess? 

Adoption progress made today!  Here's a brief overview of the process, if you're interested:

International adoption requires the notarization of many, many documents--medical exams, signed agreements, bank statements, home study report, employer verification (I even have to write a letter stating that I am a SAHM and therefore, not employed), etc.  This is somewhat tedious, but not so difficult given the abundance of notaries. 

Then, every single document has to be sent to the Secretary of State in the state where it originated to obtain a seal of authentication, verifying that the notary who signed it is indeed a true notary in that state.  Yesterday I sent our birth certificates off to KS and FL for authentication, a feat which is not nearly so simple as it sounds and which had me on the verge of tears once before the letters were in the mail.
 
THEN, once every. single. document. has been state authenticated, the documents are sent to the appropriate Chinese consulate (most of ours will go to Chicago) for its final seal of authentication.  This entire collection of documents, including photos in which no one has bare feet, is called the "dossier," and will then be sent to China.  DTC ("dossier to China") is a monumental accomplishment in the adoption process! 

If you're wondering how to pray specifically, I'd ask you to pray for favor and for NO mistakes in this document-collecting process.  There is so much room for error along the way, and I've been asking God to make the rough places smooth for us as we do what He's calling us to do.  

3 comments:

Valerie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Valerie said...

I am amazed that we don't have to undergo this kind of authoriziation and authentication to become birth parents!

I applaud you for your tenacity and patience.

L said...

I had no idea you all were planning this! Congratulations. we will keep you guys in our prayers!