Timeline
July 8, 2010 = Approval of I-800A - Received I-797
May 24, 2010 = USCIS received/logged in I800-A
May 20, 2010 = Mailed I800-A to USCIS - Dallas, Texas
May 14, 2010 = Completed Maine Home Study
January 2010 = Began Maine Home Study at IASC
January 2008 = Moved to Maine
July 5, 2006 = Dossier passed through China Center of Adoption Affairs "Review Room" and is now in the "Matching Room"
May 11, 2006 = Log In Date (LID)
April 27, 2006 = Dossier mailed to China (DTC date)
April 2006 = Completed "paperchasing" to collect all data necessary to adopt
February 2006 = Official adoption process began at Heartsent Adoptions in Fair Oaks, California
January 2006 = Final decision to adopt a daughter from China

Waiting For Referral

This "ticker" indicates the amount of time that has passed since our dossier (application, photos, legal documents, etc.) was logged in to the China Center of Adoption Affairs office. This date begins the countdown to when we will receive a referral of our daughter. The referral is a photograph and description of a baby girl that has been matched to us and offered to us for adoption. We will not see her or know anything about her until this information is sent to our agency and then passed on to us. When we receive this information, we sign approval paperwork and then get clearance to travel to China approximately three months later. The current wait time to receive a referral is 4+ years.

The Nursery

This was Charity's first bedroom in California. Cliff and I embarked on a project of turning the office into a baby's room. With no previous experience we jumped in and started the search for a main color for the room. When we decided on yellow -- we had no idea there were 45 different shades of yellow -- with each manufacturer! The decision was made when I saw the name on the color chart. It was Sunbeam yellow. I knew this was the color for Charity's room. We both agreed immediately...one of my favorite songs as a little girl was about a sunbeam. The rest of the colors and the theme fell quickly into place and we were able to send a picture to China with our dossier. This little girl has already created a spark of color and creativity in us that we never knew we had. What a joy to prepare our hearts and our home for her.

Note: Since moving to Maine, we have not yet painted her new bedroom. It was difficult to leave this first room, but we have set up her furniture in the new bedroom. Having the room set apart for her helps remind us that there is going to be a child at the end of this long waiting process. We have changed so much in the past four years that the room may take on a whole new look when we get our referral and see her face. The room is still a place of cheerfulness and expectancy.