Steps Closer

I got an email from Dianne at Hope (our Home Study agency - the one we used with Ally's entire adoption)...

Just a quick note to let you know that your Subsequent Home Study is our priority today. We have received all of the Child Abuse Clearance checks as of yesterday. We are checking the home study with a fine toothed comb to be sure it is Hague compliant.

Yeah! So, we will pick up our current marriage certificate tomorrow. (yes, we have to get a NEW one that is dated within 1 year of submitting it to China -- the ones we got almost 3 years ago won't do -- same with our birth certificates!) Yes, just another little thing to wait for and spend a little $ on. Luckily, the marriage cert is the LAST piece of paper we need to get our little hands on for our dossier!

Once our Home Study is finalized (and we do hope it meets the new Hague requirements the first time thru), it will be put with the other documents to compile our dossier. The entire dossier will be sent to China, translated, and then we wait again! Not sure of the time frame from there. We will have to get our CIS (US Immigration) fingerprints done again, as ours expire in late July. Then we will wait for the new (and improved???) 800A form! Wait, wait, wait! At least our wait won't extend as long as it did for Ally. I just hope we get to Alaina by (or shortly after) her 6th birthday.