ALMOST there...

Hello -- if you have time to read and want details, proceed. If you don't, just know that our paperwork should be going to China within a few weeks -- watch for that much-anticipated blog soon.

OK, ready? I have been mad at myself because after being ridiculously meticulous about our adoption paperwork, I let something slip through the cracks!

Here's a synopsis (as brief as possible): Because my company's HQ is in Michigan, once I received my employment letter from my HR stating that I do indeed work for Entertainment, I could have sent it off to the Secretary of State of MI for authentication. I did so with each of our birth certificates (to the SOS of CO and SOS of LA, respectively) but FORGOT the employment letter. (Everything else we have goes to the SOS of MN.)

SO...NOT ONLY did it get sent out late, but we weren't receiving it back. I finally got ahold of the right person in MI last Thursday and it turns out that it was rejected because there was a problem with the notarization. I immediately called my HR dept. and spoke to the woman who notarized the document and since she had moved to a new county, it messed up her notary status.

SO...she jumped into action and re-did the letter with a new notary, and overnighted it directly to the SOS of MI with an airbill enclosed for them to send it to me overnight.

SO...if all goes according to plan, I should receive this document on the 6th of Feb (whilst you are reading, perhaps!) and can then send ALL of our stuff (except Lee's birth certificate, which has already been sent to the Chinese Consulate in Houston) to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.

THEN...when we receive these packages back from the Consulate offices in Houston and Chicago, we will send our entire, completed dossier to America World and it will be off to the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) for LOG IN!!!! YEAH!!

SO...you don't have to tell me. I know that there is no such thing as a delay because God has a daughter for us and the right girl is already chosen to come here. BUT, my hang-up is that we have been working alongside our newfound friends and neighbors--the Woykes--who have consistently been at the same pace as we have, and they were able to send their paperwork off to the Consulate LAST MONDAY. Ideally we would love to travel in the same group as them, but if it is not meant to be... My true ideal is that our daughters come from the same orphanage because then they would have that familiarity, but again this is not up to me!!

AS ALWAYS...please pray for us to learn patience! Even though a problem came up, it was resolved with efficiency, but what bugs me is that if I had mailed that letter to the MI SOS earlier, even with the problem it wouldn't have delayed anything! OH WELL! I'll let y'all know when I receive the letter from the MI SOS!

- Dawn