LID!

Today we were notified that we are officially LID in China!  Our dossier has been received and officially logged in by the Chinese authorities.  We are a "real" family on paper in China now!  What does that really mean?  It means now our family is "on the list" at our agency as a family that is completely paper ready to accept a referral for a child.  We have dotted our i's and crossed our t's and we have everything set to swing into motion the instant we get "the" match.

Over the course of the last couple of days, it has become incredibly clear to me that I have much work to do spiritually to be ready to say "yes" to a child.  I'm not going to get into the details, but there is extreme clarity that we are at what will likely be the most difficult juncture in this process.  Getting from "adoption is our dream" to "this is going to be our child" is a leap across a wide cavern and we will fall into the pit of doubt, despair, and hopelessness without the mighty work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  It is going to be a very scary leap.  We need to rest in the knowledge that we are not leaping without a net.  We know He will work all things together for good in our lives and in the life of our future daughter.  Specifically, pray for:

• overwhelming clarity for both Chris and I when the time comes to say YES
• the Holy Spirit to move in our hearts toward a child at the right time
• a medical need we can meet and feel comfortable with
• preparation of our hearts to view files, potentially being comfortable to say no
• preparation of our family to change forever
• openness to medical needs 
• opportunities to talk with our interact with others with similar medical needs

Lastly, pray for all the little ones out there who need homes.  The need is so great and the loss is so real in these little lives.  We want to be able to say yes to them all.  Pray specifically for our Little One, that her journey to find us will be short and that she feels loved.

Little One, we are coming!  We are eager to find you!

DTC!

We got "the e-mail" yesterday.  It was the date marking four weeks exactly from the time we began authenticating our dossier.  It was the maximum time of their 2-4 week approximate timeline.  I'd popped in to check on things last week and sort of got a mixed response of, "yeah....your dossier should be close to done...it should be somewhere...our email hasn't worked, etc."  It was a bit vague and open ended.  So yesterday I wrote and thought I'd press for more detail of exactly where it was.  Our social worker responded quickly and said she actually had an update for us.  We should be DTC that day!  I told her I needed to know when we were officially DTC so we could celebrate with our Chinese family dinner.  She wrote back in about another hour and gave us the green light to eat Chinese for dinner!  Wahoo!  We are DTC!

So, I know no one outside the adoption world knows what DTC means.  It represents the words "dossier to China."  Even translated, I know that still means nothing to lots of folks.  This means our dossier--all sealed and authenticated for validity--all those documents we chased for weeks and month, they are now uploaded to China!  They are also being mailed.  This means we exist on paper as a prospective adoptive family in China.  We are "in line" for a placement (though there really isn't such a thing as a line).  DTC is a BIG milestone. 

What next?  We wait for China to confirm they actually received our dossier and we really, really exist to them.  We will be "logged in" to their system.  This is called "logged in date" or LID.  LID is our next big step and ought to take about three weeks from the date of DTC.  After we are LID we are officially waiting for "the" call or "the" email from our agency.  The one that says, "we have a file we would like you to review for a possible match."  This is "the" call and email that would lead us to potentially staring in the face of our future daughter.  This wait can be long.  Our agency says anywhere from 6-9 months waiting after LID to be matched with a child of our specifications.  We could move faster....or slower.  It just depends on the files available and how closely they match our ideas of what we can handle (and our social workers ideas, as well).

Now is the time to pray.  Financially there will be lots of fees once we commit to a child.  Spiritually it will be difficult for us to take that leap of faith and commit to a child we only read about on paper.  While I am thrilled to be to the point of waiting for "the" call, I am also a touch terrified.  Saying yes is a big deal.  Saying yes will alter our family forever and we want to be ever so wise....for the children we currently have and for our future daughter.  Please pray our daughter is safe, well loved, and bonded with at least one caregiver.  Pray her belly is full and she is warm at night.  Pray her time in the orphanage will be short.

So, LID, here we come! 

A Little of the Latest

Things have been busy in the Burri home lately.  We wrapped up "summer" with a flurry and have jumped in with two feet into our new school year.  I say "summer" because let's be real.  It is August.  In Kentucky.  It will be summer until at least mid-September.  Or later.  However, in the sense that summer vacation has ended and a new school year begun, we are right in the thick of it.  This year is a whole new adventure for our family.  We've decided to home school for this year and prayerfully consider each year that comes.  Right now, I see it as a wonderful fit for Jacob.  I love it, but I will be real, it comes at a price, for sure.  Things are a challenge with two three year olds in the thick of school, but we are learning and finding a daily groove that works.  I am amazed how quickly our work can be accomplished in a day!  Jacob is bright and an eager student.  I am kicking myself for sticking with the first grade reading program....should have jumped up to 2nd grade. He loves math class (everyone does, Mommy included, which is surprising to all those who know me well).  He adores reading and zips through too fast so I make him read to the twins.  He hates phonics (likely because it is way too easy for him).  Penmanship isn't his favorite, but he's keeping a good attitude.  Memory work is his forte.  He's thrilled he's in first grade and learning cursive this year.  We joined a co-op and will begin that this coming week and everyone is excited.  The twins will go with us and get to "go to school" too.  They are way too happy mommy bought them lunch boxes to carry!  Big kids!  So, here's to a new year and lots of new adventures as a family!