DOSSIER (aka ton of paperwork) TO AGENCY (DTA):
On Tuesday, we received our last bit of paperwork authenticated from the Chinese Consulate in Houston. Woo hoo! Since March, we have collected 13 different documents. Each one of these documents had to have the notary stamp certified by OH or FL. Then after that, they had to go to either NY or Houston to the appropriate Chinese Consulate to be authenticated. We were 13 for 13! Each document went through the 1st time (this is where my OCD and organizational obsessions have come in handy). Hmmmm Gram there goes that #13 again (Grandma D's lucky #...we saw it in my seat that I sat in at the USCIS office in New Orleans). Beyond these 13 documents, we had to have references, photos, etc. Basically in the adoption world this Dossier is known as your "paper baby", so handing these documents that we have been quite protective of was a little hard, but a bit of relief that we were moving forward.
Adoption Yard Sale:
Thanks to EVERYONE for your wonderful support and donations for our Adoption Yard Sale. We ended up raising approximately $450, which is sitting in our adoption fund ready to go for when we are matched! This is HUGE and we can't thank you enough. We had random strangers offering hugs and stories of encouragement.One SHOCK for those NFL/Browns' fans is that I learned that I had a celebrity of sorts at my sale. Someone asked me if I remembered selling a chair at the sale. I had many things donated to sell and this was one of them. I did remember this sale because I threw in a stuffed animal. Here come to find out this lady (who bought other things as well) was TRENT RICHARDSON's GRANDMA!!!!! Yes, EVERYONE is coming out to HELP bring Baby Smith Home! Too bad he's not on the team anymore. I blame it on the Shields' curse of buying shirts with people's names on it...(many trades have happened after buying Cleveland Indian's shirts....Carlos Baerga, Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, and now I guess that Bob has a Trent Richardson Browns' Shirt that he was destined to be traded).
What's next?:
The Dossier will arrive at Holt (our agency) on Monday. They will review it and contact us with anything we need to add, change or questions they may have. IF everything looks good, we may possibly have our Dossier to China (DTC) by Friday the 6th. The BIG date we have been looking forward to is the LID (Log in Date). This is when China logs our paperwork into their system. Basically, this is the last thing to be done before we can get a referral (matched with a child) from any of the multiple ways this happens. Currently, we could only get a referral with a child that is designated to our agency through their partnerships with orphanages.Keeping Ourselves Busy:
Bob's been learning new songs on the keyboard. This pieces range from Beatles, Classical pieces, and Peanuts. I laugh at the range of genres. He also has been EXTREMELY busy at work. He's been working a lot, which has been extremely helpful to pay for different paperwork to be processed, etc. When Bob puts his mind to something, he achieves it!I'm busy making earrings and necklaces. www.etsy.com/shop/OperationChinaAdopt
Also, I continue to share my story about Advocare (if interested, let me know) www.advocare.com/130725429. Plus we are hoping to put another order in this weekend for our Adoption shirts that I helped design. I'm just a few short to make an order. Also, check to the side for a Fondue Fundraiser!
Like our page to follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/Operationbringbabysmithhome
Shirts cost $18.50 shipped using paypal or order on etsy for multiple orders (SAVE shipping costs).
