Fundraising

For this adoption, we have been trying to fundraise to cover the travel and in-country cost. It has been really hard to say the least. The girls and I have been making blankets (both quilted and crocheted), potholders, headbands and anything else we can think of. Last weekend, we had a booth at a local business to sell our items. We made around $80. The girls were disappointed, but I explained to them it is $80 more than we started with and everything helps. We have done good selling handmade bracelets made by Haitian families and we are selling right many movie posters on Ebay. So far, we have made approximately $1000 from these items. We still have a long way to go! This Saturday, we are going to have a booth at our local Chick-fil-a to sell blankets. If you are in the area (Apopka-Huntclub location) please stop by and say hello. We will also be handing out Reece's Rainbow bracelets.

I800A Provisional Approval

On Saturday, March 28 we received our letter from USCIS stating we are approved to classify Elana as a relative. Next we wait for approval from the National Visa Center and then we can apply for Elana's visa. Hoping to travel in early June.

LOA Received

On March 6, 2015, we received "the call." This is when the agency calls us to say they have our LOA (Letter of Acceptance). China has given us approval to adopt Elana! Now, things will be moving fast. Next we submit the 1-800 application to Immigration and wait for the "Provisional Approval" to be issued. The case is then transfered to the US Consulate in Guangzhou and Article 5 is issued. Once the Article 5 is issued, we wait for Travel Approval (TA) from China. We are hoping to bring Elana home in the next 3-4 months.