We decided to adopt in March of 2012, officially began the process that summer, and we're finally ready to travel - hooray! We completed our homestudy (after a couple of hiccups in the process) in the spring of 2013, submitted our dossier summer 2013, received our log-in date (dossier accepted in China) in August 2013, accepted a referral (match with a child) at the beginning of October 2013, confirmed our acceptance on the Letter Seeking Confirmation from the CCCWA (China Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption) in December 2013, received I-800 approval in January 2014, and applied for M's US visa (form DS-260) in January 2014, and our own Chinese visas in January 2014 as well. Our Article 5 (including DS-260, Letter of Seeking Confirmation, NVC letter, and other documents) was dropped off at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou on January 9. It was picked up on January 27 by the courier, but could not be express mailed to Beijing (CCCWA headquarters) until Feb. 5 because of Chinese New Year. On Feb. 6, we received notice that our Article 5 had been received by the CCCWA. On February 12, we received Travel Approval AND set up our US Consulate appointment for M to receive her US visa! Tickets to China purchased on Valentine's Day, February 14! We're heading to China on March 5, and we will take custody of little M on March 9 in Lanzhou, the capital city of her province, Gansu.
Our little girl, "M," is two years old. She has congenital cleft lip and palate, which is currently unrepaired. She is extremely small for her age and has developmental delays, likely due to malnutrition. She has lived in an orphanage almost all her life. Time will tell what damage to her brain is long-term and what is able to be "made up" with improved nutrition, medical care, and the love of a family. Her orphanage is the Pingliang Children's Welfare Institute in the Gansu province of China (in the northern part of China, in the mountains - high elevation).
Note on naming and photos: Since M is not legally ours yet, we cannot "publish" her full name or her photo (which includes sharing online in any public forum). And, yes, we do have pictures of her, and a video too! We have chosen not to use any part of her name in this blog, other than her first initial, until we gain custody of her, which is why I am calling her "M" here. She does currently have a full Chinese name (first, middle, and last), and we have chosen to keep her Chinese first name and give her an American middle name, and of course our last name (which we don't share on this blog, either). Her middle and last names will change at the time of her legal adoption while we are in China, but her first name will remain the same.
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