The answer is no.
Adoption takes on many forms but this is how our process is going.
We chose an adoption agency. We filled out an application and got accepted. Now we are working on our dossier (all the paperwork to be sent to China to prove we can provide and are good candidates to adopt). Part of the dossier is also the home-study. The dossier is a lot of paperwork. There are forms upon forms and background checks. Then it has to be notarized, certified, and authenticated. It makes our heads spin sometimes, but we are getting the hang of the lingo.
Once we submit our dossier to China (this will approximately take until near the end of February), then we are on the list to be matched with a child. After we are matched then approximately 11-15 weeks later we will go to China for about two weeks and then bring our daughter home! It is the waiting time to be matched that makes the whole time-line "unknown" to a certain degree. Our agency says the whole process usually takes about 18-24 months.
Here is what we do know about our daughter.
- At the time of referral she will be 0-18 months.
- She will have some special needs. This could be cleft palate/lip, clubbed feet, missing digits, etc.
- She will have come from an orphanage or foster home in the Henan province.
- She is deeply loved and longed for by us -- and prayed for more than daily.
This journey is long and not a whim. It is a commitment and a prayer that we have long prayed about and sought God's will on. Will you join along side of us and pray for our daughter?
