Saturday, April 29, 2006

The infamous brown envelope

Yeah!! We got it today! The infamous brown envelope arrived in our mail. It is so exciting. "What is it?," you ask. You mean you don't know? Well, it is one of those few documents you actually want to receive from the government. The brown envelope contains all of the documents that we will need to fill out in China.

People say, "Don't worry if you don't get the brown envelope. All the documents will be given to you to fill out when you get there." Well I say, "stick it in your ear!" I got it! Not getting the brown envelope is disappointing, and people TELL you it is NOT a big deal. The truth is...it is a big deal! It really and truly is.

I thought it was coming. Many people have been getting them, especially those with similar LID's. I will confide in you and don't tell anyone, but I have been running and checking my mail for the last two weeks.

However, the brown envelope has arrived.................now what? The only thing that would occur between the LID and the Referral date was, yes, the brown envelope. Now it is over, finis! Well, I say bring on the referral!!

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Two Months, 3 days Down

I forgot to post on the 17th....but just a reminder that we now have 2 months and 3 days under our belts.......

Ah... What to do now

Well, I have posted many times no comments are ever made, so I wondered is anyone reading this blog? (Hence, the counter...) I have family far away for whom this started. Now, I do it for me.
In pure Ellen fashion, all the shopping is done! Finis! Complete! Yes, car seats, cribs, linens, clothes, toys.....all purchased. I am holding off on a few incidentals, like medicines and bottles as they have a shelf life. At this point who knows when our Flora and/or other daughter (yet to be named) will be picked up in China. It appears, as I have received word from various sources that a year plus six months is the referral waiting time at present. Who knows that may increase or decrease. It is entirely up to the CCAA.
So the question still remains, ah, what to do now. I guess we wait. Perhaps if that becomes old and boring we could always wait some more. Then, I guess we will wait even more. Unfortunately, the waiting gets more expensive as things that we assembled for our dossier expire. Paperwork must be updated and redone. I know! That's what I'll do! I'll update and renew our paperwork. Yippee! Something to do now, inaddition to the waiting that is.