An Online Journal of Our Adoption Journey

Two Packages

On Saturday, May 19th, we received two huge packages from Holt.  One contained a very large spiral-bound book detailing the entire process of adopting a child from China.  The other contained page after page of things we need to fill out, document, and get done.  

We spent most of Sunday looking through all the material.  The INS I-600A form was there, along with many other items.  Forms for the doctor to fill out about our health.  Forms to get a criminal background check and more fingerprints -- these for California.  Forms to give to our friends to fill out as references.  A form for financial planning, budgets, and assets.  And a 16-page Personal Data Information Form for us each of us to fill out, paragraph essay style.  It was all very overwhelming.  

The next week, Memorial Day weekend, we were off to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon to do an eight-day river trip down the lower half of the Colorado river -- a two hundred mile rafting trip that was a graduation present from Lise's mother.  We were spending it a year early because we knew that next summer would be way too packed to be able to take time away for a river trip.  

Lise began filling out her Personal Data Sheet on her laptop on our way to Flagstaff and for the three days we were there.  She did not, of course, try to take the computer on the rafting trip.  I spent the time reading all the instructions and trying to get mentally organized and set to the daunting task now before us.  

The river trip was fantastic!  Our choicest photos can be found here, under the folder, 2001 Grand Canyon River Trip.

Once back in San Diego we renewed our resolve and jumped into the pile of forms.  Lise finished her Data Sheet and I filled out the financial information.  One thing we did do while in Flagstaff was pick up a certified copy of our marriage license.  

A coordinator from Holt called to make sure we had got everything and to see how we were progressing.  I found out that the I-600A form doesn't need the home study right away, that it should be sent in as soon as possible to get that ball rolling.  And on another issue I was confused over, that yes, we do need to do two sets of fingerprints.  One for INS, and one for the criminal background check.

On Monday, June 18th, I dropped our I-600A form, along with copies of our birth certificates, marriage license, and a check for $455 into the mail.  So, along with our $15 marriage license copy fee, we were now at $680 in adoption expenses.

I also spoke, via email, with our local Holt representative, who will also be our social worker doing our home study.  She won't be visiting with us until all this paperwork we have received is filled out and sent to Holt.  I'm guessing our home study will occur at the end of July or the start of August.  If all goes well our dossier will be done by end of September and get sent off to China!

A month or so ago, while looking over the Internet for local support groups for Chinese adopters, I came across FCC-SD -- Families with Children from China, the San Diego chapter.  They had a group email system going with Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fccsd), and as I discovered, a nationwide organization composed of local support groups.  I was elated!  A few emails later and I was a member.  Then, in the mail, we received their newsletter, and we ordered a booklet put together by the LA chapter called a Parents' Guide to Adopting from the People's Republic of China.  It arrived about the same time as the packages from Holt.  It was nice to have this fresh perspective on all of the process, and it is great to know that here in San Diego there is a group with over a hundred members who have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, from China.  They hold several picnics and other social gatherings throughout the year, events where other families can come together and share the joys -- and trials -- of adoption, and kids can run and play with others who are like them.  The FCC-SD also has its own website, at http://sandiego-online.com/fccsd/.

Next: Delving deep into personal information.