The Process

The China adoption process is divided into 3 stages:

The paperchase. We are here in the first stage. It is simply assembling a collection of documents referred to as a dossier. Imagine buying and selling a home times 100 when it comes to the amount of paperwork that you must collect. These documents have to be notarized, certified, and then authenticated before they can even leave for China. Once our agency (Great Wall) looks everything over, it then leaves for China. Our agency actually has an office in China and hand delivers all dossiers weekly on Fridays to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). They are the federal agency that oversees all adoption-related activities in China. They maintain a database that holds all the information and placement criteria on children from over 200 orphanages and foster homes. Then once the dossier arrives in China, it has to be translated too! This stage normally takes 4 - 6 months. That is partially because you are waiting for the government to process things such as your I-600A. They are currently taking about 4 months just for that!
The waiting stage. This has got to be the worst stage to be in! You just wait. Currently the wait here is 18 - 22 months. Some say it is only going to continue to get worse and others say it can only get better. Please pray that it gets shorter! The process of matching a family with a child is called a referral. The referral is composed of a medical profile, two photographs, and a brief biography. This information is typically outdated by the time you receive it. While being matched with a child, your dossier moves through 3 different "rooms". They are translation, review, and matching.
Travel stage. Once you have accepted your referral, you begin planning the details of your trip. This is the third and final stage of the adoption process. Most families travel within 6 - 8 weeks of receiving their referral and stay in China for about 2 weeks. While in China, families complete additional paperwork, become acquainted with their child, and tour some of the country's cultural sights. Currently we plan to take all 3 girls with us. We know it is a long flight but think it will help them all bond quicker. We also think it is a wonderful opportunity for the girls to see where their new sister comes from in person. The girls currently have Disney banks that they have been saving for their trip back to Disney in. I asked them if they would like to go to China (and see the Great Wall - they are studying walls and bridges this year as the theme at school) and they said YES! So now when they put money in their vacation bank, they say it is their China money. We have asked Pete's sister Sue to travel with us. She said No at first but I think with time she will come around. We haven't traveled far without her! It just wouldn't be the same. Plus I am aiming for a 1:1 adult to child ratio for this trip.