Merry Christmas from the Busters.....

We had a great Christmas today...  We spent the day with my mom and Philip's dad & brother.  It was nice to slow down for at least today to spend time with family.  Devin got everything he wanted with the exception of a kitty.  He asked Santa for a real kitty this year.  Two dogs and a new little one on the way is more than enough right now.  I don't want to take on the responsibility of another animal.

I am just sitting here finishing up the mountains of paperwork that needs to be completed before I leave for China.  It is definitely getting down to the wire...  My life is pretty hectic right now with preparing for the trip, finishing up loose ends at work, and on top of all that the holidays...  While it is pure chaos I am really excited to get on a plane next week and go pick up our little one.

While I am in China I will do my best to update this blog and/or my Facebook.  My mom and I leave on January 2nd.  Check back soon for updates :)

Travel Approval

Going fast now...  We got our travel approval on Friday and we are leaving for China in 10 days...  That is right 10 days...

My mom is going with me to China to pick up Jaelynn.  Philip is going to stay home to take care of Devin and the dogs.  I really wish he was going with me.  However, I won't have to worry about Devin. 

Below is our schedule:
January 2 - leave Orlando for China!!!
January 3 - arrive in Nanchang that evening
January 5 - Gotcha Day....  Yay!
January 16 - Visa appointment and taking oath..
January 17 - Pick up her Visa and head to Hong Kong by train
January 18&19 - sightseeing in Hong Kong
January 20 - Depart Hong Kong to come home!!

Between the holidays, camping, work, and getting ready for the trip I will be CRAZY busy the next 10 days.  Wish me luck...

Article 5 -- check!!!

We received our article 5 on December 10th... The only thing we need now is final travel approval from China.  Then we can make arrangements to go pick up our little one.. Our agency expects that to take a couple weeks.  I am hoping this will be a early Christmas present...



Next Steps:

1. Travel Approval: Once the CCCWA has your signed LSC and the Consulate’s Article 5, they will begin working on your Travel Approval. This takes them about 3-8 weeks to send to us.

2. Departure will be 3-5 weeks from when we receive your Travel Approval.

Moving right a long...

This past Monday the National Visa Center sent us a letter confirming our approvals have been forwarded to the Consulate. So, now we await article 5 and then travel approval. 

Next Steps:

1. Article 5: This is a document the Consulate issues to our Guangzhou staff stating that all of your immigration approvals are up to date and you are approved to adopt your child. Once issued by the Consulate, it is picked up by our staff and then sent to the CCCWA. The issuance of the Article 5 takes 2 weeks from the time your child’s visa application (DS-230) is dropped off with an additional time frame of ~1 week in mailing time back and forth from Beijing .
2. Travel Approval: Once the CCCWA has your signed LSC and the Consulate’s Article 5, they will begin working on your Travel Approval. This takes them about 3-8 weeks to send to us.
3. Departure will be 3-5 weeks from when we receive your Travel Approval.

New Pictures......

We received an update on our little one yesterday!!

They sent photos with it which was awesome.  I was disappointed they cut her hair :(  However, it will grow back.  She does look happier in these pictures which is much more important then her haircut....  Glad to see a little smile on her face..  Counting down the days to when we can pick her up!!

She is 33 inches tall and 26 pounds...  Jaelynn turned 28 months on the 9th of this month.. 

I800 approved....

We got our I800 approval today which puts us one step closer to picking up our little one.  So, now we await our NVC letter...


So, here are our next steps 

1. NVC confirmation: Once the I-800 is approved, the National Visa Center will send you a letter stating your approval has been sent to the Consulate. (This is separate from the I-800 approval notice). We send this letter to the Consulate along with your child’s visa application (DS-230). The timeframe to receive this letter is ~10 business days after the I-800 Approval arrives.
2. Once you receive your I-800 approval and the NVC letter, you will send the completed LSC Package back to Great Wall. We will process these documents and forward to our staff in China the next business day, if all requirements have been met.
3. Article 5: This is a document the Consulate issues to our Guangzhou staff stating that all of your immigration approvals are up to date and you are approved to adopt your child. Once issued by the Consulate, it is picked up by our staff and then sent to the CCCWA. The issuance of the Article 5 takes 2 weeks from the time your child’s visa application (DS-230) is dropped off with an additional time frame of ~1 week in mailing time back and forth from Beijing .
4. Travel Approval: Once the CCCWA has your signed LSC and the Consulate’s Article 5, they will begin working on your Travel Approval. This takes them about 3-8 weeks to send to us.
5. Departure will be 3-5 weeks from when we receive your Travel Approval.

Big brother picked her name

When Philip and I started this adoption 7 years ago we really liked the name Jaedyn. 

Recently when we talked to Devin about this he was insistent we name her Jaelynn.  So, Philip and I thought about it and decided that we want him to be a part of this process.  So, Jaelynn it is...  A perfect name picked by a perfect big brother.

Her middle name will be Lee.  That is a common middle name in our family.  Philip's mom, my mother, my father, and my niece Brandy all have this middle name.   What are the chances of that?

First round of paperwork out.......

Ten days post referral and we are moving along... Last Thursday, I completed the first round of paperwork to bring our little one home.  I filed our I-800 & I-864.  Now we just wait on approval which takes 2-4 weeks... 

Below is a chart that outlines the next steps in the process for us!  We are hoping to travel by the end of January or beginning of February. 

Come on I-800 approval..........

Introducing Jaelynn Buster.........



We got the call today...  Our precious little girl is 27 months old from the Jiangxi province in China.  It will be probably about 3-4 months before we can go pick her up.  It really depends on how quick we get our paperwork done and how quickly things get approved.  I am going to work diligently to get things done on my end ASAP. I will keep you posted along the way....   

Soooo close.....

After 7 long years, we found out on Thursday that we have been matched with a child from China.  Our adoption agency is waiting on the referral packet from China with all the information.   So, right now we don't have any information on our baby.  Once the agency receives that they will call us to go over all the details.  That could take up to a week :(   Oh well, what is another week when you waited 7 years...

Our journey to start a family

After several failed attempts at IVF we decided to start our family through adoption.  In 2006 we applied to adopt a child from China.  We expected to have a child from China within 12-14 months.  Here we are 7 years later and still on the waiting list.  About 1 year into that process we realized it was going to take a lot longer than the 12-14 months we initially thought.  So, that led us to our little man in Guatemala.  In August of 2007 we decided to pursue another adoption and were matched with Devin when he was only 1 week old.  We brought him home in May 2008 when he was 9 months old.  That process was quick and we are so grateful for that.  Devin turned 6 this past August and is in first grade.  He is a wonderful kid!  We couldn't ask for better! 

Now we await the arrival of our next child to complete our family.  Devin has had mixed feelings about this.  Initially he didn't want anything to do with a sibling.  Devin is very apprehensive about change so I think that was a big part of it.  The more we talk about it the more he has warmed up to it.   There is no doubt that he will be a great big brother.  He is so loving and patient.  For the most part.

Welcome

It has been over 3 years since I last blogged.  Devin has kept us busy.  I started a blog when we started Devin's adoption and kept it going until he was about 3 years old.  I thought now would be a good time to start blogging again since we are getting close to being matched with a child for our China adoption. 

Happy Reading!