GOTCHA Day! 10/19

GOTCHA Day!!!

(As a friend calls it: God Ordained This Child's Happy Adoption Day)

We landed in Beijing late on Saturday 10/18. We thought we would have Sunday to relax but our driver said we would be going to get Maddie the next morning! I couldn't believe it! We didn't sleep much at all that night.

We all woke up around 5AM and enjoyed a very nice buffet breakfast. Our guide and driver showed up around 9AM and we headed to Maddie's orphanage. We were asked to wait in the waiting room while the director showed up. We were a little early. Then we were brought to the office. One of Maddie's caregivers brought her in and I know my heart skipped a beat or two or even more. I can't describe the feeling of seeing your child brought in to you after 8 months of waiting. Even with an out of date photo I knew it was her! They brought her right to me and I knelt down to hold her. She immediately grabbed for my face. She was, and still is, very intrigued by faces. Colby had my old camera and he took some photos. Mike took photos with our camera. Eventually we all held her, including Colby. All he said was, "She's too heavy".

From very early on Maddie would stare at us, right in our eyes. Her eyes looked so sad but yet so curious, She knew something was going on. That things were changing for her. She wasn't sure what to make of everything so she just took it all in. We gave her a little Minnie Mouse which she seemed to like. But mostly we just held her. We also had to sign a paper to take custody of her for the day. A 24 hour "trial" period. Then we were able to take her to the hotel.

The first day was a little bit of a blur. After we left the orphanage we went to eat at a KFC. We all thought that was funny because one of the first restaurants we ate at in Russia was a KFC. Since Gotcha Day we have had KFC quite a bit. We also went to a WalMart to buy a few snacks, PullUps, and a stroller. Our guide, Alice, was amazing and with her help, and a little help from some other customers, we had what we needed.

Overall, we had a busy, emotion-filled day. We finally saw our Maddie! We finally HAD our Maddie! We still had more paperwork to do but we HAD HER!!!

Headed to China 10/17!

Well, this post is a little late, OK a lot late, but I have good reasons. We made it to China! We are here! We are in Beijing. As I write this I have 2 sleeping little ones next to me. I can't believe it still!!!

We left for China on Friday, October, 17th. We had an early morning flight and Grandpa Tom and Grandma Laurie brought us to the airport. I was very nervous how Colby would react to the long plane ride, 15 hours, but he was a real trooper. We took a huge 777 plane that was equipped with a TV screen in front of every seat. Colby and Mike even played Battleship against each other! Our first flight took us to Hong Kong where we had about a 2 hour layover. Then we had a flight to Beijing. We had a driver pick us up and bring us to the Novotel right in the center of Beijing. It was late at night on Saturday 10/18 due to the 12 hour time difference, when we finally checked in. We thought we would have Sunday to rest but to our surprise the driver told us he was picking us up with our guide the next day at 9AM. We would have GOTCHA on Sunday 10/19 not Monday 10/20 like we thought. I was such a bundle of emotions. Neither Mike or I slept much that night. We would soon be a family of 4! I didn't think this day would ever come.

TA and CA!!! And a Surprise Baby Shower

WE DID IT!!!!!

WE HAVE TA!!!

WE HAVE CA!!!

Yes, we finally made it. All the paperwork chasing is over. We received out travel approval right before the Chinese holiday. It arrived on 10/1, just before I could have a panic attack. It came! It really came!

The next step after our travel approval was for our agency to request a Consulate appointment and have it confirmed. Our agency asked for a Consulate appointment for 10/30 with a Gotcha Day of 10/20. That's in less than 2 weeks! Oh my gosh! 

We had to wait for the Consulate to reopen yesterday to get our Consulate appointment confirmed but they approved it right away. Our agency emailed me with the confirmation yesterday and all I could do all day was walk through the halls at school singing:

"I'm a leaving on a jet plane

Don't know when I'll be back again."

(Yes, you can sing along too!) My students thought I was crazy and the teachers were all happy for me. I wish I could say they are all excited for me, but it really is different. They are all very excited about the teacher who is pregnant and due in February, but with me, they seem interested but not overly excited. I guess it is hard to understand. Hopefully they will all be excited when I bring her by for a visit.

On the other hand, I have AMAZING friends here in town. I really think the best thing Mike and I did was move here. We have found, and Colby has found such a great group of friends. Mike is Colby's Cub Scout leader and two of my friends help him as assistants. Four of our friends (Moms to Colby's friends) tricked me into going to the Cub Scout meeting last night. They threw us a surprise baby shower. Little cupcakes and cookies and juice for the boys and presents for Maddie. I was so surprised I was crying. Mike was shocked. We've never had friends care so much for us. We received some great gifts including a hand-sewn bunny, my favorite color green, a cute dress, photo album, tea set, and so much more. LOVE true friends and we really have found some. 

So, 10 days to get packed for 4, tickets booked, work organized, and a house organized. Not sure how I will do it but we are headed out!!!

Maddie Here We Come!!!!

Watch out China, Colby's coming to town!!!

School, A Care Package, and We're Almost There......

Well, we have certainly been busy. The school year has begun and we are slowly getting back into the routine. Colby is now in Second grade! Amazing! I am still at the same school this year and it is as crazy as ever. We have begun a new assessment system so I was back early for training on our new iPads. Then I had to give the professional development. Change certainly is tricky but I think this new system will be much more helpful than the old DRA reading assessment we gave previously.

Anyway, as for our little peanut. She still waits for us in Beijing. I did order her a care package through Ann at Red Thread. It was easier to order a few things through her than send them through customs. I was able to order a stuffed panda bear, some cookies, a thumb drive so the orphanage can give us a few photos of her, and a little photo album. Hopefully she will get them soon and she can see who her mama, baba (daddy) and big brother are.

As for paperwork, all of our paperwork is at the US Embassy in China. It is waiting for an Article 5 which really gives us permission to take custody of her. The I800 that we got at the end of August gave her permission to enter the US as a legal immigrant now the Art5 lets us take custody of her. It is the last piece of paper we need to get our travel approval. All the paperwork was dropped off on Tues 9/2. It takes 10 business days to get an Art5, not counting holidays. There was a Chinese holiday on the 8th so we won't have our Art5 until this Thurs 9/18. We are praying for a quick travel approval before the Chinese government shuts down for the first week in October for another holiday. We should have it before then but it will be close. Hopefully we will get it and we can then ask for the first available Consulate Appointment (CA). Just a few more steps and we will be in Beijing holding our little peanut. We are so close but yet still waiting. It is getting harder and harder, especially knowing we can't hurry anything along and that a holiday is what is keeping us from her.

So, please continue to pray that we get our Travel Approval quickly and we get a CA in October. I don't think I can wait much longer to hold sweet Madeline Mae!

Getting Closer

We finally got it! We received our I800 approval!!! It came on Monday 8/25. I can't believe we finally moved a step closer to getting to China and to our Little Peanut!

So now what? Well, after our I800 was approved it was sent to another USCIS office to be given a GUZ number (I guess like an official government case number). I had to wait for that and it can often take about 5 working days to get. I was able to get mine on Thursday 8/28 in the afternoon. I needed that number and an invoice number to access the online Immigrant Visa application form. So, I was able to do that this morning. It is done! That was my final piece of paperwork on this side to bring our daughter here!!! I'm waiting on the official I800 approval paperwork but that's in the mail and we should have it tomorrow or Tues (another holiday on Monday, ugh!). I also need the emailed PDF form for our DS260 but that should come soon too. I will then forward that to the agency and they send it all to China and we just wait for paperwork to be dropped at the consulate in China, hoping for Thurs 9/4. Then pickup should be in 2 weeks. We'll be given a consulate appointment and travel approval. We are SO CLOSE!!! Timeframe?? Maybe 5-6 weeks. It is hard to say because of the week long holiday in China the first week of October. Still praying to travel for Mike's birthday 10/11.

But I think all the warm thoughts and prayers are helping. We moved through the GUZ number and DS260 process so quickly. Thank you all!!!

And any guesses on a name??? Need a hint????

M_________ M____ Pronovost

Another Hold Up

I must start by saying that it has been a crazy week or so around here. Finding out that our I800 paperwork was misplaced was devastating. Thankfully I am such a control freak and found the error. Our agency worked quickly to recopy the paperwork, making sure a copy of our signed application was ok, and sent it all overnight. USCIS has had it since 8/13. The agency also has worked with USCIS to get our paperwork through the"lockbox" quickly and it was already on an officer's desk by this Monday 8/18. It can take up to 2 weeks to get through to an officer. So.... great news right!!!

Well...... our paperwork was given to one officer who was away for the week. Ugh! Then it was sent to another officer right away. At first I was a little upset because that officer doesn't answer her phone. But I was able to get her email and she responded right away. She told me on Monday that she would try to get it done on Tuesday. She looked at it Tuesday and.... issued an RFE, or request for evidence. She sent me an email saying she requested the evidence but not what it was. I tried to get her back but she had already left for the day. This morning she replied very early to tell me the evidence is a letter from our agency that hadn't been signed. Ugh! Another mix up. However, she emailed the agency and they are sending the new letter to her today, overnight. Great! However, the system is being shut down for an update on Friday and she probably won't be able to work on our approval until Monday. Monday will be 4 weeks since our LOA, approval from China.

4 WEEKS!!! Others with our LOA date have their I800 approval and are well on their way through the next couple steps. They are lined up for October travel. Us? Please pray it will be October. Hopefully these 2 setbacks will be it and we can move this along. We still have a bit of a wait after this approval as we wait for our little one's Visa to be issued and a Chinese Consulate appointment to be issued. That is my worry, that the appointments will all be given and we'll have to wait for a later one. I'm still praying to travel around Mike's birthday (10/11) but it will probably be later. Just pray it isn't in November. I just can't wait any longer. Our sweet pea needs to get home. Oh, and we just might have a name for her.......

Paperwork Blunder... Not on My Part

Well, yesterday certainly was a mixed bag of emotions. I was so excited to receive the update and 2 new photos of Little Miss and then....ugh!

I am so grateful to be a part of many Facebook groups of parents adopting from China. There is a group of us who all logged in our paperwork in China in May. Having such wonderful people around who are going through the same experience has been a huge help. I have also been able to "stalk" their timelines to see how we are progressing through our paperwork. Well, through that stalking I KNEW our I800 paperwork should have been received and ready for approval early this week. I called Immigration Friday and again yesterday to see if it was received and they couldn't find it. The officer tried to locate it but it wasn't even in the system. So I called the agency. Long story short, somehow our paperwork was sent to China instead of to Immigration. 2 weeks have passed. 2 long weeks in which we should have received our approval. The agency has been great about trying to get the paperwork resubmitted, and they sent it last night. It is now at the "lockbox" waiting to be dealt with. Our officer has been notified and the file has been "tagged". Hopefully they will bump it ahead in the pile. But, 2 weeks are gone and now I don't know when we will travel. So, please pray that this doesn't set us off too bad. With the week long holiday the first week in China I can only pray we will travel mid-October.

Just goes to prove my point about why I am such a control freak. If I hadn't caught this, we'd still be waiting. UGH!!!

So, the adoption rollercoaster continues. Trying to "roll with it" but not feeling happy today.

Photo Time

Well, I just realized that I never posted a photo of our cutie, Little Miss. I didn't want to post her photo before we had our official approval. Now that we have it, here are the few photos I have of her. The first few are from her file, dated June 2013 so aged 2 1/2. 

 I love the smile on her face!

And now today I received a wonderful gift- an update. A few of my questions were answered. We have new measurements for our peanut. She hasn't grown much. She's about as big as Colby was when we picked him up at 22 months. But I'm so thankful for new photos to look at. And here they are:

LOA!!! LOA!!! LOA!!!

We have our LOA!!!!

We just received our LOA. This means we are approved to adopt Little Miss. One HUGE step forward. Now to finish paperwork and get our travel approval. Praying to travel late Sept but probably in October. We're coming soon my little peanut! We're coming soon!

LOA....Still MIA

Well, we have had our dossier in China since May. We know we have a DTC of 5/9 and a LID of 5/21. We also know that our dossier has been OOT since the week of 6/9. And now what? We are still waiting. UGH!

We have been LID for 60 days now. 60 days of waiting. 60 days closer but still 60 days. Most LOAs have been coming around 60-70 days so hopefully we will be coming soon.

This wait has been the hardest one so far. It is similar to the wait we had inbetween trips to get Colby. I've done all the paperwork, we've met all the requirements and now we wait. We wait for someone in China to say OK, all set. We wait for our dossier to be approved. Then we can get the last paper to the US to approve bringing home our Little Miss and then we get travel approval. After we get that elusive LOA we will have about 2 months before we travel. So if we get it soon, we could possibly travel in September but more likely October. That also means waiting through the week long holiday in China the first week in October and traveling through Guangzhou during the "Trade Fair". It should be an exciting time but a little more costly to stay. UGH!

So, your continued prayers for that elusive LOA to show up. I did see 3 ladybugs on our mini vacation to New Hampshire. So, hoping they brought us good luck.

Another Great Fundraiser

While we wait I want to remind you all of our Puzzle Fundraiser. We haven't had much movement on it but I have 2 beautiful puzzles with Chinese scenery on them. Please consider donating $5 for a piece of our adoption puzzle. I will put your name on the back, the puzzles will be put together and framed in our Little Miss's  bedroom. Please see the DONATE button at the top right corner of the blog.

Also, today I have a Tupperware fundraiser beginning. A wonderful fellow adoptive mom sells tupperware and hosts these parties as fundraisers to help bring kids home to their forever families. Please consider buying a great product and adding to our China plane trip fund. See the link below!

A China Princess Finds Her Family Fundraiser!

http://order.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www/!twx$eparty_ctl.p_guest_welcome?pv_eparty=2218dc88d9b995ae3fd10329345088a2

Thank you all again for your continued support and prayers! Still waiting on our Letter of Approval but with your prayers, it just might come soon!

More Waiting

Well, we have finally made it to summer. I am so happy that school is over. It was such a crazy, hectic school year, I can use the much needed rest and relaxation. The only trouble...too much time to think.

It is now June 27. We have had our paperwork into China for over a month now. It has been logged in (LID of 5/21) and we have been translated (OOT sometime the week of 6/9) so now we just wait. I have seen many with LID dates of mid-April now getting their letters of approval (LOA). I can only see this as a good sign. That means May LIDs would be next. Let's get that LOA!

So we wait, and we wait, and we wait. This is hard. It is so similar to when we had to wait between trips to go back for Colby. We first met him in late June 2008. We had 2 "play dates" and then had to leave him. We had no idea when we would be back. With the judge requesting updated paperwork, and a couple holidays thrown in, it wasn't until the very end of Jan 2009 that we returned. 7 months of waiting with only a few photos and a short video to look at.

And now, I have the same. A few photos and a short video to keep me company. We have a little better idea of when we might go, still praying for late Sept but more likely October travel. We just need that silly LOA paper. With that I know it will be about 8-10 weeks to travel.

So, what can we do? Pray for a quick LOA. Pray that someone in China gets through a big batch of adoption paperwork to approve a bunch of LOAs. Pray that our little girl stays healthy and that the ladies taking care of her love her. Pray that we survive this crazy wait as we get two federal governments to agree that our China Princess can come home. Just pray!

A Little Owl Told Me We Are 'OOT

The owl said we are 'OOT!!!

I know, sounds silly but it is another big step forward. 

Once our dossier was sent to China, it needed to be logged in first. Se we were DTC on 5/9 (arrived in China 5/12) and LID, logged in date of 5/21. I have many friends on the various Facebook adoption groups who have similar dates as we do. It is fun knowing that we might meet up in China as we travel to get our little ones. Well, we all post our "stats" and watch each other's. The other dossiers were moving on to be OOT, or Out of Translation. A big step. So, on Thursday, needing some good news, I emailed our placement agency just to see how things were going. Marilyn emailed back to say that the listings show that we are OOT also!!! So excited! 

What's next?? Our dossier needs to be reviewed and we will receive our LOA, Letter of Approval. A bit of a long dragged out process but we are moving along. Some have waited 30 days for LOA, some have waited for 100 days or more. We have no way to know how long we will wait. So please, keep praying that we move along quickly and bring home our Little China Princess soon.

L. I. D. !!!

So today I finished filling out our next US Government paper, the I800 approval. It requests approval to adopt a specific child. This will be needed once we have our Letter of Approval (LOA) from China. I finished it and sent it to our placement agency so they will have it waiting and ready to go once that LOA comes. I also sent the agency an email letting them know it was on its way and asking if they had heard anything about our Log In Date (LID) yet. I was getting a little discouraged as a few other dossiers that were submitted after mine already had LID. After a long day I received a quick email telling me that we do have LID.


Log In Date (L.I.D.) 5/21/14!!!!!

We're not only LID but we have had LID for 6 days already!!! A big step forward. 

Now we wait for our Letter of Approval which could come anytime from 45-100 days from our LID. UGH! Wish we could pinpoint our travel a little better. But, this means we could travel anywhere from late Sept-November. Please pray that we receive our LOA and everything goes quickly. We want our Little Miss home soon!

Waiting

Waiting. Something I have never been good at. Although going through 2 adoptions now has taught me to be a little bit more patient.....

Our dossier is now in China. I looked at my FedEx account and it was received and signed for. Big sigh of relief. DTC (dossier to China) was 5/9. They received it on 5/12, just a day before my birthday and the day after Mother's Day. I was so excited to know we were moving forward. Another adopting mom I have "met" on our Facebook groups was also DTC on 5/9. It is exciting to know that we might really meet in China while Mike and I pick up our daughter and she and her family pick up their son.

So, it has been almost 2 weeks and no word yet. The next step would be LID or Log In Date. That is when China has looked at our dossier and actually logged it into the system. This is a huge step because only then will they begin to work on our LOA or Letter of Approval. Most LOAs come anywhere from 45-60 days after LID. Well, we haven't heard yet if we are LID. A few other moms have received LID already even though they were DTC after I was. Not sure why. Made me a little sad to head into this long weekend without word. So, please pray that our LID comes this week and we can move that huge step closer. Our Little Miss is waiting on us. I feel stuck. I just want to go NOW!!!

10 Pieces

Well, our paperwork is in China. Now the waiting begins. We need to wait for them to log our dossier in and then review and translate it. Then we will receive our Letter of Approval (LOA). If timelines stand true, this will take a few months. I am really praying for travel for Mike's birthday, 10/11, if not sooner. I WANT TO GO NOW!!!

In other news, our puzzle sponsorship is up and running but hasn't gone far. Not even much out of the starting gate. However, my wonderful friend and colleague, Cheryl, graciously gave me a wonderful birthday present. Not only a beautiful card, and Dove dark chocolates (YUM!) but also a check to put towards our Little Miss. So, with that check I now have 10 puzzle pieces sponsored. It's a start but we have a long way to go. Please consider helping us bring our beautiful daughter home.

D. T. C.

Well, it has been a busy few months here, but somewhere in there I was able to pull everything together. Today I received amazing news, just in time for Mother's Day and my birthday. A wonderful birthday gift!

We are   D.T.C!!!!!

What does that mean? Well, we are one HUGE step closer to bringing home our little China Princess. All our our documents for our adoption dossier (packet) are now on their way to China. From here we start the waiting game and then we get to go bring her home. We will fill out a couple more papers but nothing big. The U.S. has approved us to adopt and bring her home. Now we wait for China. How long? Hard to say. Most other adoption timelines are anywhere from 4-6 months after DTC (dossier/documents to China). I'm shooting for travel for Mike's birthday, early October. Really wish it could be earlier but that seems the most realistic.

So, now what can we do??? WAIT! Wait! Wait! UGH! And, don't forget about our adoption puzzle sponsorship. See the post dated May 1 for details. Help us travel to China by sponsoring a piece of a puzzle. Then we will hang the China photo puzzles in her room with your name on the back of your puzzle piece(s). 

So, a little song to sing. please join in:

Happy birthday to me!  (OK, birthday is 5/13 but this is an early birthday present!)

Happy birthday to me!

Oh looky at what we have.

Today we are   D.T.C!!!!

Join in on our Adoption Journey

                                                          
Dear Family and Friends!

Many of you know that we are in process of bringing home our little girl from Beijing, China. She is currently 3 years old and as adorable as can be. We can’t wait to travel to China, experience the amazing sites, and see her cute face. And I know you all can’t wait to see her as well. 

As a way to get all of our family and friends involved in our adoption journey, I have decided to do a puzzle fundraiser. I have chosen 2 puzzles, each with 110 pieces. Both puzzles are photos of buildings in China. You can help us create the puzzle and unveil the amazing Chinese photos. Help us by sponsoring 1 or more puzzle pieces.  Each puzzle piece has a recommended sponsorship of $5.  All proceeds from this fundraiser, 100%, will be used toward direct adoption costs.

There is no limit to the number of puzzle pieces you may sponsor. When you sponsor a piece of our puzzle, your name will be written on the back of the piece. I will post updated photos of our progress on our blog http://3pluschinamakes4.blogspot.com/ and on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1398117607124723/ Once the puzzle is finished, we will frame it, and hang it, either in Little Miss’s room or around the house. As she grows and sees those puzzles, we will share with her the story of how our family, friends, and community came together to help bring her home to her forever family.

Please feel free to share this opportunity with as many people as you would like; friends, family, church members, co-workers, etc.  This letter may be re-posted on social media or printed if desired.  The more sponsored pieces the more exciting! 

Please mail your puzzle sponsorship(s) along with the name(s) to appear on the back of the puzzle piece(s) to: The Pronovost Family (Melissa Pronovost) 33 Grove Street, Terryville, CT 06786.

Thank you ALL for your continued love and support! Piece by piece we will bring our Little Miss home soon!

Melissa, Michael, and Colby Pronovost

US Approval and Puzzle Fundraiser

Today was certainly a very busy day. Yesterday we received our USCIS approval, I-797. This is our last document before we can be DTC, or dossier/documents to China! I spent the afternoon notarizing, state authenticating, copying, and the FedExing that document to the courier in NYC to go to the China Consulate! Hoping for a quick turnaround. Then we can be DTC! I am told, then about 4 months to travel. So, still looking at September.

And in other news, I am starting a little fundraiser. The funds we raise will help us with the plane tickets to China. I bought 2 puzzles that have pictures from China. One is a beautiful Chinese building with ornate architecture and the other is a landmark in Beijing, where our little gal is. To put them together, I am asking fr people to donate $5. For your donation, I will write your family's name on the back of a piece of the puzzle. As donations are made, Colby and I will start to make the puzzle. I will post updates of our progress as we go along, revealing the photos. Fun right! Then the completed puzzles will be hung in our little girl's room or somewhere in the house. So, check the right side of the blog, up at the top for the Donate button through PayPal! (Hopefully it works!) And, thanks in advance!

Melissa, Mike, Colby, and our Little China Princess!

A Busy Few Weeks

Well, it certainly has been a busy few weeks here. Thankfully I think Winter is finally on its way out. We have the windows open and Colby started Spring soccer today. The team did great, winning their first game! And now we head into Spring break and Easter. Amazing how quickly these months go by.

Aunt Trisha and Uncle AJ are visiting from Virginia so a big week is planned. Colby already has a playdate on Monday, a trip with Auntie and Uncle on Tues, and a sleepover at Grnadma Donna's with cousin Keith on Thursday. PLUS, a trip to the Bronx Zoo with cousin Lizzy, aunts, uncles, and Grandma Laurie and Grampy Tom. What a busy week! Somewhere in there the Easter Bunny will come too. Wow!

And some really great news: Friday was a great day here. Mike and I went for our fingerprint appointments with USCIS (Immigration). Hopefully we will have our immigration approval by the end of the month. And, all our other dossier documents returned from the NY Chinese Consulate. They have very pretty Chinese lettering on them and look all official! I sent everything we needed for the dossier to the agency on Saturday. They will start uploading everything into the system, get them approved, and ready to go to translation. Then we just need our approval and we will be DTC (dossier, or documents to China). A HUGE step towards our Little Miss. Once we are DTC I am told it will be about 4 months. It seems to be about standard on everyone's timeline. Wish we could speed it up but we have come a long way in just these few months. Please continue your good thoughts and prayers for a speedy timeline. Let's pray it stays as smooth as well, things have gone really well so far, no big hiccups!