Where are we in the process?

First we must say thanks to our family, church family and friends. We have been overwhelmed by your words of encouragement, prayers and financial support. You have all been a blessing to us. Just so you all know, we have been approved for a child 0-12 months.
If any of you are familiar with the adoption process, then you would be familiar with the phrase"the paper chase." We find ourselves in the middle of the paper chase. It is a daunting and at times frustrating task of gathering all kinds of paperwork( immigration paperwork, passports, fingerprinting, background checks, employment verification, family photos etc.), all of which must be notarized, certified, and authenticated. These papers then make up your Dossier. A fancy term for profile. Once these are gathered, they go through a critical review stage by the agency and are then sent to China. This is the hardest part of the entire process.
At the same time we are gathering the paperwork, we find ourselves starting the home-study. Yep, you guessed it, more paperwork. It takes about 2-3 months to complete these two things. After those are complete, you take a deep breath and celebrate. Some days it seems impossible, but we know that over 7,200 other people have successfully adopted from China through our agency alone. It can be done. This will likely be the only progress update for awhile.
Again, we appreciate your continued prayers, specifically for patience in the next couple months. Take care and many blessings to you all till the next time.