OCAD-Obsessive Compulsive Adoption Disorder

Last Friday at 3pm (not that Im stalking my computer or anything), I received a PDF by email from the State Department's National Visa Center informing me that our petition to "classify" (baby butterfly)"orphan as an immediate relative" was forwarded to Guangzhou China.

Woohoo we've been CABLED!!


There were about a dozen items including passport sized photos, original immigration approvals, our LSC and LOA (and blah, blah, blah) that needed to go to my agency along with the cable notice.  I tossed them together that same day and sent the whole caboodle by overnight mail to my agency.

According to my FedEx tracking number the package arrived as expected at 8:54 this morning.

I'm assuming my Article 5 (the notice from the US that informs China we are suitable adoptive parents and that Miss Butterfly will be able to enter and reside permanently in the United States.) will be dropped off tomorrow, maybe right now--it is 10 am Tuesday in China after all.

The Article 5 is then picked up in 14 days so I'm expecting that on January 24th-ish.

The only thing left after that is travel, glorious, travel approval and that could come anywhere from 1-3 weeks later.  (Sometimes longer but since we've had more than our fair share of delays I'm going to pass this time on the delay cart.)

We are asking for the first available Consulate Appointment which right now is out to the end of the first week of February.  There are only 24 spots, four days per week available so occasionally there are backups, again we are taking a pass on all further delays, thank you very much!  So I'm assume we will have a CA 3-4 weeks after our TA.

So then looking at all best case scenarios all the way around and assuming a gotcha day 9 days prior to CA, I COULD be holding my daughter as early as ......

FEBRUARY 12TH!

(probably not but just for a while I'm going to enjoy the possibilities.....ahhhhhhhhhhhh, February 12th.)

And if you think all of this minute by minute tracking and stalking and counting down of the minutes left between now and the moment I finally get to hold my daughter for the first time is obsessive and unhealthy and maybe even warrants medical intervention...

...well then you probably haven't ever adopted before.

obsessive clicking on the perky juggling chick is much appreciated!