Dossier to China--HUGE STEP

For those of you who don't already know (and we keep telling everyone we see), our offical paperwork is on its way to China (more specifically, the China Center for Adoption Affairs).

From here, it's all a waiting game, and I thought I would try to outline the process. Part of my attempt here is to explain why we can't just go pick up our baby next month, which seems to be the standard plea of our dear daughter's grandparents.

Upon arrival, our dossier will be grouped by color and agency, logged in with an offical date (the date upon which our referral is based), and set on a shelf to sit and sit and sit. Sometimes, these dossiers sit for a year; other times, the wait is only a few months.

Here is a picture taken (no idea to whom to give credit) inside the waiting room:
















After their wait, they are sent to the "REVIEW ROOM," where they are checked for authenticity. Once clear of the review, dossiers travel to the "MATCH ROOM," a magical place that pairs parents with kids. The twenty or so workers in the Match Room pour over the dossiers trying to pair the perfect child with the perfect parents. The matchers take into account the parents' interests and hobbies and compare it to what information they have from the orphanages. Hundreds and hundreds of dossiers are matched each month. Based on our list of hobbies and interests, we expect to be matched with a 1960's singing, crocheting, hiking outdoors kind of baby. I'm sure the orphanages know that kind of stuff.

After the dossier has been matched, our adoption agency will receive the finalized referral, and in a short time, we'll have a special package, delivered by the FedEx man, with her pictures and medical information.

After we accept our referral, we'll start trying to secure a meeting with the American Embassy in China, and in a short 6 to 8 weeks, we'll be in line for 24 hours worth of travel to pick her up.

Once in China, we'll have a few days of sightseeing (probably in Beijing) before we fly to our baby girl's province to pick her up. We'll stay a few days in her province, and then we'll head to the American Embassy in Guangzhou, where we will spend a few days securing her visa and shopping. Then, with a vocal toddler in tow, we'll get on another plane and travel half way around the globe back to Indianapolis, Indiana.

Whew! I can hardly wait.