Referrals are on the way

The current buzz is that referrals are on the way from China. For those who aren't familiar with how this process works, here are the steps:

1. Our file got matched with an available baby (this should have already happened)

2. Our referral (along with the other 4 families in our agency's travel group) will be sent with a picture & information about the baby.

3. This info is translated into English & we are called with basic information (aka 'The Call')

4. We will go to the agency to get our picture, file & letter of acceptance (LOA).

5. We sign the letter of acceptance once we are comfortable with the information provided (& have the medical information reviewed by an adoption specialist) & this gets sent back to China. Hopefully this part won't take more than a couple of days.

6. China then sends us an invitation called a Travel Approval (TA) allowing us to make our consulate appointment (CA) with the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China.

7. Once our CA is made, we can make our travel plans & start packing!!

Hopefully getting the above steps c0mpleted won't take more than about 4 weeks so we can have about 3-4 weeks notice after that before we travel. As soon as we get information I will post this. Hopefully this will be Tues or Wed at the latest.