Our Timeline

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. ~Ancient Chinese proverb Early 2004 – We had discussed adoption for some time and now decide to slowly move forward with international adoption plans. We research adoption agencies and choose to work with the agency All God’s Children International (AGCI) in Portland, Oregon. Summer 2004 – Adoption plans are put on hold because God blesses us with a pregnancy! We eagerly look forward to the birth of our first child. December 13, 2004 – Our hearts are filled with grief when God calls our daughter, Emalie Rose, home to be with him. How grateful we are that we will see her again someday in heaven. April, 2005 – We decide to begin the process to adopt a baby girl from China. We choose China because of its predictability in processing adoptions and because children in orphanages there receive good care. May 10, 2005 – Our application, contract, and initial fees are sent to AGCI. We now begin compiling all the required documentation for this adoption. May 18 – We have TB tests done to fulfill one of the first adoption requirements. May 23 – Since our international agency is located out of state we chose a local agency, Wyoming Children’s Society, to conduct our home study. Today our application packet is mailed to Wyoming Children’s Society. June 14 – One requirement from the government of China is that we pass a physical, so we have that done today. June 20 – Fingerprints and criminal background checks are done as required by the state of Wyoming. June 30 – Our application to adopt is mailed to US Immigration. They will also do a fingerprint and criminal background check and then issue us our FDL (Favorable Determination Letter), which is the United States granting us permission to adopt internationally. We must have that letter before we can submit our paperwork to China. July 8 – We have our first of three hepatitis shots to prepare for travel to China. July 14 – A day we’ve been waiting for – our first meeting with Lesa, our social worker, who will conduct our adoption home study. July 29 – We travel to the US Immigration office in Denver to have our fingerprints done. August – Our home study is finished and sent to US Immigration for their review. The phrase “hurry up and wait” epitomizes the adoption journey. We have worked hard to complete all paperwork, but we now must wait for US Immigration to complete their part. November 1 – We receive our FDL from US Immigration! Our entire documentation can now be certified by the state of Wyoming and sent by overnight Fed Ex to our agency in Oregon who will then check all documents and send them to China. December 2 – Our paperwork is hand-carried into the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) in Beijing, China. December 12, 2005 – This is our official document log-in date at the CCAA. All adoptions progress according to the log-in date, so this will be our date to remember! Now our expected 7-8 month wait begins! 2006 – China has slowed down considerably in processing adoptions. Wait times have doubled. We now hope to travel to get our daughter in early 2007. Meanwhile, some of our US documents are expiring. November 30, 2006 – We go to US Immigration in Denver to have our fingerprints redone since they had expired. December, 2006 – This fall we remodeled some rooms of our house to make them more “kid friendly.” Now the nursery is completed. We still wait. Early 2007 – Wait times for adoptions from China have now tripled or quadrupled. We are still waiting, with no end in sight. February 20, 2007 – We resubmit paperwork for another FDL (Favorable Determination Letter) from US Immigration because our original document is expiring. All of these resubmissions also mean paying additional fees. Spring, Summer, Fall 2007 – We feel like we’re in a holding pattern with cycles of discouragement, questioning, and wondering if and when we will ever bring our daughter home. December 6, 2007 – The long-awaited referral of our precious daughter arrives! We praise God for his faithfulness and for this precious gift! We are packing our bags and preparing for the trip of a lifetime! In a sense, many of you will be traveling with us, for without your love and support this journey would not be possible.

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