Fingerprints are in the mail

Today was a big step forward.  We mailed our fingerprints to the FBI along with permission for a complete background check.  According to our social worker, the time frame for return on the fingerprints is 8-12 weeks. Apparently, fingerprinting is often a source of delay due to poor quality of prints or failure to fill out the application correctly. I was so nervous today putting it all together.  I am praying that every was done correctly! The goal is to have our home study completed by the time our prints are "approved" so that our dossier can be sent to China.    It is an amazing amount of work to complete, but we are getting it done.  We spent 2 hours last night online working through our seminar modules.  Six more hours of that and then we will move on to something else. . . autobiographies, required reading, study of China from the state department, written questions, and so on.   Our first interview with our social worker will be September 13th.

One good thing from Obamacare

I spoke with our health insurance carrier today and found out that no matter the medical need our baby has, it will not be excluded as preexisting.  Definitely good news!  We also started our medical screening process and I have begun compiling a voluminous amount of personal information.   Adoption is going to be labor intensive, too.  I even took the dog in to make sure she is current on vaccinations.  Gotta show proof of that also.

Let's get this started!

Karla from Lifeline called this morning to let us know that our application was being processed and we would begin organizing the home study portion next week.  She confirmed that we had received documents that were emailed and asked us to sign the formal contract.  I have started a binder to try and keep this organized.  One of the most amazing things about beginning this process is that I have the excitement and constant preoccupation with baby stuff that I had when I was pregnant (minus the nausea and fatigue).  I think about my little girl constantly and can't wait to meet her:-) 

Beach August 2011

Our 3 "babies".  There is definitely room for one more on the beach:-)

The Application is in the Mail!

8/5/11- Today is my 35^th birthday and the best part of my day was a trip to the post office to mail in our application to Lifeline to begin the process of adopting a little girl from China! We are both excited and anxious to get started.  The application should be received by the agency on Monday.  I am not sure what happens next, but assuming our application is approved, the next several months should be spent completing our home study and gathering documents for our dossier.