Break Through!

This week I had a break through! After weeks of looking at our dossier guide as if it was written in a foreign language I am so excited to say that I understand (I think)! I felt like if I looked at it enough times it would start to make sense and it finally does!

To give you an idea of what has to be compiled for the dossier:
*Our birth certificates and marriage license have to be ordered from our birth/marriage states - once we receive official copies from our respective states we then [mail them back to that state to the Secretary of State (SOS) to certify. Once we get them back from the SOS, we then send them to the U.S Department of Authentication. Once we receive them back we send them on to the Chinese Embassy Consulate for authentication]. *Employment verifications must be written from our places of employment on official letterhead and notarized - then repeat [ ]'s above. *We write our financial statement, get it notarized - then repeat [ ]'s. *We both go to the doctor and get a physical exam (including a liver check -???), get it notarized, and- repeat [ ]'s. *We both get a police clearance report and repeat [ ]'s. *Complete home study with a social worker - repeat [ ]'s above. *Once home study is complete send in the I 800 form to immigration - then wait for an invitation to get finger printing. *Take 3 couple photos and 8 "family life" photos. *Get 6 passport photos each. *Copy passport.

Whew! Welcome to our paper chase! My goal has been December 15 - keeping in mind that we are relying heavily on state agencies to return things in a timely manner. I heard the other day that immigration has a back log of 4 and a half months for new I 800 forms submitted. So - our prayer request for today is that immigration will speed up and that we will meet our goal of December 15. We are not officially a number on a list until the dossier is submitted to China.