Red Thread Letters: Together At Last

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Together At Last

"And if it wasn’t for God’s mercy and His grace
There’s no way we would be standing in this place
But because He has been faithful
Every step along the way
Here we are

Together"

"Together", by Steven Curtis Chapman

This morning around 10:30 we welcomed the most amazing addition to our family. World, meet An Xin Ran, whom we call Vivienne Joy Ann Black. She is 30 pounds and about 36 inches long. She is a bundle of energy, joy, crazy laughter, and spunky love. We have been playing, eating, laughing and enjoying every moment. We are so in love! Thank you for your prayers and all of your overwhelming sustenance throughout. This journey would never have been possible without all of you. We will update soon with a more complete description of this amazing day! God is good!

Love,

Tim and Kelly

2 comments:

BetsyDecember 2, 2013 at 5:17 AM
Hooray Black family!! Can't wait to hear more about it and more about sweet Vivi! Congrats!
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Saving Money Mommy (Kimberly Epps)December 6, 2013 at 10:03 AM
We are so happy for you!
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ADOPTION TIMELINE

2012
October 13 - Information session with agency; we decide to go with them
October 26 - Application submitted to agency
October 29 - Received email that our Medical Conditions Checklist is filed at the agency and we are officially on the wait list
November 13 - Our application has been approved and we are part of the CCAI family
December - Lots of paperwork as we begin compiling our dossier

2013
January 21 - We are matched with our daughter!!
January 25 - We informed the agency that we have accepted the match!
January 29 - After submitting our Letter of Intent, the agency formally "locks us in", indicating that this girl is ours!
February 18 - 1st part of home study is complete
February 25 - 2nd part of home study is complete. Now the paper chase for certification and authentication of documents begins!
March 8 - Certified paperwork arrives back from PA; we re-mail paperwork back to FL to be certified after one page comes back with a problem; homestudy presented to us for our approval
March 9 - Big yard sale to raise money to bring Vivi home!
March 11 - We approve homestudy; I-800A paperwork and check mailed to adoption agency for compilation with homestudy, then forwarding to government for approval
March 19 - PA paperwork mailed to NY Chinese consulate for authentication
March 20 - FL paperwork mailed to Houston Chinese consulate for authentication; homestudy formally approved by our agency and 1-800A paperwork and check are sent to USCIS for processing
March 28 - PA paperwork arrived from NY Chinese Consulate - everything approved!!
March 29 - FL paperwork arrived from Houston Chinese Consulate - everything approved!!
April 2 - All dossier paperwork arrives at CCAI FL office for review; received notice that our USCIS (immigration) form and check have been received and sent to the appropriate department for processing
April 8 - Received fingerprint appointment for immigration! It's set for the 18th, but we're going on Wednesday. :)
April 10 - Fingerprints done
April 26 - Four weeks after our paperwork was received, USCIS has finally assigned us an officer! No case review yet, but at least we've been assigned.
April 30 - We are approved and the official immigration paperwork is in the mail!
June 5 - Our last pieces of paperwork, our home study and immigration approval, come back authenticated and are handed over to CCAI. Our dossier is complete!!
June 14 - Dossier to China! Three magical words that mean that, other than loads of paperwork and more fees, this is out of our hands and on its way to China, where it hopefully will be logged-in (a big deal) within a month.
June 18 - Dossier is at CCCWA! (This stands for the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption.) Hopefully log-in takes about three weeks...
June 24 - We are logged-in!!
September 11 - L.O.A. Three little letters that mean "Letter of Acceptance" - and also that our countdown to China has begun!
September 12 - Mailed back our L.O.A. and accompanying I800 immigration paperwork to CCAI
September 16 - I800 received at governmental level and is being transferred to the correct department for approval
September 30 - Received I800 approval (this is Vivi's immigration paperwork)
October 9 - Received Case # from National Visa Center (our paperwork is now in Guangzhou!)
October 29 - Article 5 secured. Next up is Travel Approval!
November 15 - Travel Approval!!!!!!
November 26 - After much sweat and a little tears, our Visas arrive so we can now actually enter the country
November 27 - Leave for China
December 2 - Gotcha Day!!! You are ours forever.
December 11 - Consulate Appointment
December 13 - Fly home!