I-800 Approval

"Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative"

Our I-800 approval came in the mail today.  Our LOA was on 4/23 and so our I-800 packet was sent to the NBC (National Benefits Center) to request this next step in immigration approval.

Nothing has gone quickly, or smoothly it seems, for us in this process.  We missed being DTC by a few days before the new regulations were implemented which in turn added a time and paperwork to our process.  We had issues with our FedEx delivery of documents that had to be sent to the state of WI for authentication.  Once we were finally DTC at the end of October (10/24), it took forever to get our LID.  Nobody could believe that we missed a couple months of updates to the SN list in China because we couldn't be matched without that darn log-in-date.  Coincidentally, we were finally issued our LID on the same date that Katie was able to match us in January (1/16, almost three months after DTC).  We rushed to research and gather information, submitted LOI and did receive our PA in a pretty timely fashion.  But then came the BIG wait.  From PA (1/31) to LOA (4/23) was a whopping 83 days!  I guess this is apparently within the "window" of expected time, but WOW did it seem to take forever!

**UPDATE - Someone told me earlier that that the LOA wait time starts with the LID.  So, if we count back to our log-in-date, that's 98 days!

So, as I voice my complaints about the ongoing hurry-up-and-wait process we're going through, I am reminded again of just how perfect the plan is that we are lucky enough to be a part of.  As frustrating as this journey can be, we are reminded of the holiness of the "wait,"  the grace in God's timing, and the impending joy we'll experience the day we meet Luke.  We're almost there, Luke!  :)

What's next?  Crossroads will forward this approval to the NVC (National Visa Center) so they can upload whatever needs to be in the international visa system on-line so paperwork can be issued for Luke in China.  Once his information is in the system and can be accessed by the US Visa Center in Guangzhou, our DS-230 packet (final collection of all our necessary documents) can be hand carried by the liaison in China to the US Embassy there which will in turn, after about two more weeks, issue the final document (Article 5) prior to our travel approval.  WHEW!  Does that all make sense at all?

P.S.  Nothing heard back from the care package we sent.  We had our hopes up pretty high for some updated pictures and maybe some questions answered from the letter we sent.  It's so hard to wait.  And, let me tell you, it does NOT get easier.

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Boy!!!

Oh my goodness how we love you already.  We're thinking of you today and praying that you've had extra snuggles and love on your special day.  We pray that you are happy and healthy and that someone is telling you that your forever family is coming for you very soon.  Here our pictures of our little birthday dessert in your honor.

We started out with Grandma's Rhubarb Pie.

An Oreo cookie was more Hope's style.  :)

These are the happy eyes of a proud big sister.

Luke's First Care Package

Once we received our LOA we made the decision to contact a service in China to try to get a care package to Luke before his birthday.  We didn't have a lot of time to get our act together on this, but we really wanted to make sure that Luke had a 1st birthday party with his friends at the SWI.  We worked with Ann at Red Thread China to send our first package.  For Hope's adoption we chose to send our own package of things collected here, and we may choose to do that again later, but for now because Luke's birthday is so close, we decided to try Ann's service.  Ann sent us these pictures last night of some of the items that were sent in his package.  We also sent some toy cars and there should be a cake that will be delivered, along with some decorations of some kind.  We sure pray he has a special celebration.  It's hard to not be with your baby on his first birthday.

Gethsemane Spaghetti Dinner

- This was written 4/29/12 -

Today we were blessed by our congregational family at Gethsemane Lutheran Church.  What can I say?  The service was so fun!  Our contemporary group played (Dad on the drums, Ron playing harmonica, me with a microphone...Rick, Dennis, Jake, Roger...We have so much fun!).  The choir sang, our organist played an extra piece, and our resident cellist shared his wonderful gift offering special music as well.  After the services, the women of the church prepared a delicious spaghetti dinner which they offered for a free will donation on our behalf to support our travel to Luke.  It was such a wonderful social time and we were so excited to share Luke's information with everyone.  It has been so hard to keep things a secret so long!  We had so many friends there from Gethsemane, as well as some of our travel group from Hope's adoption, and aunts and uncles who traveled across the state just to join us for lunch.  What an awesome afternoon!

Hope went table to table showing off her new brother's picture.  She is a proud sister!  It's AWESOME!

FINALLY - LOA

- This was written on 4/23/12 -

It is with great excitement and happy hearts that we introduce you to our new son and brother Han Le Guang, soon to be Luke LeGuang Heutmaker.  He was born May 5, 2011 in Jiangsu Province, China.  We cannot wait to bring him home sometime this summer (hopefully).  Isn't he just the cutest little guy?!

At 12:38 I had a missed call from Katie at Crossroads.  Well, there was some Devine scheduling of my day today, because I ended up with an unexpected afternoon off, so I was on my phone returning Katie's call at 12:41.  "Congratulations!  We have your LOA!"  Then, she said the funniest thing about how she could Fed-Ex our paperwork so we could sign it and send it back to her.  HAHAHAHA - Ummm...NO Way!  Let me just spin this car around, call Ron and we'll be there this afternoon.  Ron was able to leave a bit early, come meet me so we could ride together, and we were able to head right back to Crossroads to sign that coveted paper and get it on it's way.  Praise God!  Another HUGE step toward our son.


Now for a little explanation about why we didn't share Luke's picture prior to this.  You know from previous posts that we have had Luke's information since our referral on 1/16.  The process is so different this time around doing SN/Waiting Child adoption as opposed to the NSN process we experienced with Hope.  We were able to share her picture right away because once we had that referral in hand it was a "done deal."  Things are different for us now.  The order of the process is a little more involved.  We were carefully advised to keep our referral pictures private until we received this wonderful Letter of Approval because there is a period of time prior to this when things can still change.  The easy comparison is to just think about how most people don't announce a pregnancy until after the first trimester.  There are so many "what ifs" and until the LOA was signed this afternoon, our referral technically wasn't complete.

Thought you might get a kick out of seeing us sign the big paper.  :)

At any rate, we celebrate today, because today it is official that China has approved our referral request to adopt sweet Han Le Guang and we couldn't be more elated.  Prayers are answered in His time on His terms.  We are blessed today.

PA

~ This was written 1/31/12 ~

Guess what came to our in-box today!  PA baby!  :)  (PA = online pre-approval)  It is so hard to wait for these little baby steps now that we have our son's picture.  This process is so different from our first adoption.  After we saw Hope's picture for the first time, we had to wait just a month to have her in our arms.  It will be 4, 5, maybe 6 months before we get to bring our son home.  So, while I'm so so so happy to have his sweet smile to keep me company through a couple of snapshots, I think time is going to seem to pass slowly for a while. Anyway, here is the news:

The CCCWA agrees to "handle and process" our case.  hmmm - I realize this is not the final approval.  We need to have that signed LOA (Letter of Acceptance, a.k.a. Letter Seeking Confirmation from Adopter) in our hands to make all of this official.  However, with each baby step, I can feel the weight lifting.  CR says it could be 4-12 weeks before we see this arrive.

We've also been advised to keep our news somewhat private until the official LOA is signed and returned to China.  Although it seldom happens after the PA has been received, things could still change at this point.  C'mon LOA!  I'm not so great at keeping secrets.

LOI

~ This was written 1/19/12 ~


Had this e-mail exchange today:
~~~~~
Katie,
SEND IT SEND IT SEND IT!!!!
:)
Can I call you this morning?
~~~~~

Hi Beth!

This is great news!  I will upload your information right now and let you know when everything is uploaded successfully! :)
~~~~~

Dear Ron and Beth,

This email is to confirm the successful submission of your documents onto the CCCWA online system!

~~~~~

These messages are referring to our LOI (Letter Of Intent).  This is a letter that is written by prospective adoptive parents of waiting children that states their intention to adopt a specific child.  Whew!!!  The last few days have been a whirlwind!  After Katie called on Monday, we had 72 hours to consult medical professionals, specialists, other AP's (adoptive parents), etc...anybody we thought could offer us sound advice regarding our (I can say "our" now, yes?) little guy's ear condition.  Can I just say that these last few days of scrambling have been so hard to do under the radar.  We are trying to keep things quiet as we make these early decisions.  With so many unknowns, we just feel it is important to work through these early stages without sharing much information.  *SIGH*  I wish I could just have someone tell me what to do, that it's all going to be OK, and that we are strong enough to handle this.  Uncertainty is NOT my friend.


Anyway, we did it!  It is our intent to adopt Han Le Guang from Xuzhou SWI, Jiangsu Province, China.


Flashback to Monday night...there was absolutely nothing we could do after 9:00 in the evening about contacting anybody.  However, Tuesday morning...my dialing fingers got a workout.  Without going into the play by play, within a couple of days I was able to consult with our pediatrician, a specialist at the U of M, an ENT in Maplewood, and an AP who has two daughters with the same ear condition.  We talked for hours and asked endless questions.  The final question I asked each of the doctors was, "Do you see anything in these few pictures that would cause you not to pursue the adoption?"  All of them answered, "no."  That's it.  Let's do it!  :)  Both Ron and I sort of knew it was a done deal already.  However, with all of the questions, discussions, and phone calls, we were able to find out a lot more about what the future may hold for us and our family.


We were able to get our letter written, sent off to our agency to be translated by Tu, and sent to China, all within that short 72 hour window.  Can I sleep now?