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!

Big Step Friday

Well, this past week was certainly a very long one. Work has been crazy with getting ready for state testing. My schedule has been changed a bunch of times and is more hectic than ever. But, the end of the week was almost worth the craziness of the beginning.

When I got home on Friday 2 things were waiting for me.

1) We received our documents back from CT Secretary of State. They are all authenticated and official looking! Thursday we received the homestudy back from Mass so the only document we need now is the USCIS approval.

2) A letter from USCIS was also waiting. They have us with an I800a received date of 3/20! We are waiting for our fingerprint appointment but we are that much closer to having our documents done!

I am compiling everything together and will send what I have to the NYC Consulate this week. We need to use a courier or bring it ourselves. I'd love the day trip to NYC, and was planning to take the trip, but then I'd need a second day to pick them up. UGH! Not sure what we will do. I might use a courier for these 12 documents and then take a day trip to visit with Karin to complete the last document. We'll see.

But we have made huge steps toward our little girl. Still looks like a hopeful Sept travel, but I will keep pushing it to get it earlier!

Dossier Docs

Dossier docs checklist:

Only missing 2 things-

1) Official home study with agency and SW licenses attached (they send me a copy but not with the licenses)
2) Approval letter from Immigration

OK. The home study was just completed and we now wait for our fingerprint notice. Hoping soon. But, I have all the other docs for our dossier ready to get authenticated early next week. Another HUGE step forward. Hopefully we continue on this path of, although not quick, but relatively painless paper chase. Prayers please!