Well, there are so many friends and family members asking how it’s all going so far and where we are in our journey. I guess from day to day not a whole lot changes. Or at least not yet.
We have signed on with an adoption agency called CCAI. They are a universal adoption agency and are very reputable. They have a base right in China so as soon as we get off the plane, they are there waiting for  us with details and next steps.
Last April (2014), I got online and filled out the CCAI’s MMC which stands for a medical conditions checklist. I didn’t know at the time that this online checklist puts us in line for a match so I am glad we filled it out last year. It sort of moved us ahead a bit. I knew that the MCC was fluid, meaning we could go back and edit it as we wished. We took it to our pediatrician and he told us a few things that were easy to check on the list-things that could be taken care of with a few doctors visits. Other things on the list are a little bit scarier, like minor heart defects, cleft lip/palate, etc. We do have those medical conditions checked. Based on research and what doctors have said and what other adopting parents have told us, these are things that can be easily repaired in the US. It’s a sad fact that parents in China are leaving their newborn babies on streets or in parks or other places for orphanages to find. They know they don’t have the money or resources to have their babies problems fixed. It’s these babies who most need a home. It’s a hard thing to tell our parents who don’t really understand why we would want to adopt a child with a medical condition. Why isn’t this baby going to be 100% healthy? What are you signing yourselves up for? I understand their concern and it’s a valid one. We have been extremely conservative regarding what we have checked on the MCC and know what our family can handle. With that being said, we aren’t afraid of adopting a baby with something we know can be fixed or repaired. Again, it’s these babies who so desperately need a loving family.

Our Dossier is being worked on now. A Dossier is a collection of papers containing very detailed information about a family. The vast majority of countries require prospective adoptive parents to compile a dossier. It involves gathering documents, having these documents notarized, and then adding various seals from your county, state, and the US government. Josh and I have already had criminal background checks, child abuse checks in all the states we have lived in, collected birth certificates and marriage licenses, completed a financial breakdown, and started the process with our home study agency, CAS-Christian Adoption Services. We have our first interview at their office in a week! Then three more meetings where they come to our home and interview first Josh, then me, and then the girls. 🙂

After the dossier is compiled, it gets sent off to China. DTC stands for Dossier to China. It’ll take three or four weeks for us to be LID, Log In Date. After we are LID, we are eligible to start receiving files. A file is where they email you a bio of the child, any medical conditions, age, gender, etc. We will have three days to decide. We’ll be able to take the file to any doctors we want and get a very good idea of any and all aspects of the child before we say yes or no. If we say no, which will be terribly sad for us, we will wait until we get another file to look at. That continues until we are “matched”. Another couple of months for travel documentation to go through, passports to be checked, and we’d be off to China to meet our little girl. (Oh, did I mention we are definitely certain we want to adopt a girl.) Thaaaaaat’s the plan…… many things could make the process take longer. We will be patient through this and will remain prayerful. I do believe the perfect baby for us is out there waiting and I can’t wait to meet her.