LID and Katie picture

This week's picture is not a particularly great shot.  This is one of the photos we received with her referral, and I have no idea when it was taken.

Waiting parents tend to analyze all the background details in their child's photos.  You make observations and inferences.

I look at this picture, and I'm happy to see TOYS.  We didn't see toys when we visited Hannah's orphanage.  I wonder how much of this is due to Half The Sky working at Katie's orphanage.  I've read that kids at orphanages where Half The Sky has programs are usually more on track developmentally and have fewer sensory issues.

Particularly in light of some bad things coming out about one facility in another part of China, I am glad to see that she is in a good place.  Our agency was at Katie's orphanage in May, and I trust them.

Speaking of our agency, I was informed on Wednesday that our dosser was logged in on 1/15!  We have our LID, so now we move on to waiting for our LOA, which is Letter Of Approval, after China has reviewed all our documents.  We may or may not hear when our dossier is out of translation.  Please pray for quick and accurate translation, and a speedy LOA.  The time for this step ranges anywhere from 11 to 90 days right now, with no rhyme or reason as to why some take longer than others.  Hannah's LOA came at 35 days, so I'm trying to not think about it until that point.

The one plus about not hearing about our LID until a week after it happens is that we get a little "boost" at the beginning of our LOA wait.  Instead of starting from day 1, we started from day 8.  I made this ticker for Katie's page so it's easy to see how long we've been waiting.  See, PAPs (prospective adoptive parents) have a tendency to obsess a little.  So it's not uncommon for people to share, "We got LOA today!  Day 27!" and then everyone who is still waiting at less than 27 days thinks, "Hey, that's early!  Ours could come soon!" and everyone who's waited longer than 27 days thinks, "Man!  Why can't they process these things in the order they're received?  Oh well, that's one more file out of the way."

While we wait for the next steps, we're saving and fundraising for the next fees.  In addition to travel costs, we make a final payment of 1,904 to our agency prior to travel.  We have applied for a grant to cover a portion of this, so please pray that we will be selected as a grant recipient.  We just got a $19 check from our Just Love Coffee page.  Coffee might make a good gift for your Valentine, don't you think?  :)

I'm anxiously awaiting Chinese New Year so we can send a package to Katie and hopefully receive new pictures in return!  I want to see that my girl is still doing okay.  I hope they're letting her hair grow.  

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