Lilypie Waiting to Adopt tickers

Friday, February 25, 2011

Next steps

It's been over a month since we received our referral and sent in our letter of intent to adopt Amelia. Now we are waiting for our "LOA" which is a letter from China approving us to adopt this specific child. The time it takes to get this document varies widely -- anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months. The average wait seems to be about 45 days, which has us hoping that ours will arrive by the middle of March. Once we receive our LOA we can apply with USCIS to bring Amelia into the country as an immigrant. Then we wait to receive our travel approval. We are still hopeful that we will be able to travel in June. Please pray with us that our LOA comes quickly!

We were allowed to send a photo album and small (12 in. square) blanket to Amelia. We found a really great website where you can make customized board books with your own pictures. We had fun choosing pictures of all of us to send -- Amelia's first look at her new family. We went to a fabric store, and Elizabeth chose a really soft purple and pink fabric with butterflies on it. My mom sewed a little blanket to send, and she'll make another one, a bit larger, for Amelia to have once she comes home. Each little thing we can do for her makes it all seem more real!