Here I am trying again. In October, we were able to get an extension until February 16th. Due to issues with both our agency and homestudy provider (mostly the homestudy provider), we will not be done by 2/16. There is no guarantee that we can get a second extension. I know that some agencies are able to get a second extension because of the relationships they have with CCAA (the Chinese govt officials who handle adoptions). I don't know where our agency falls in that category.
One of the bad things that happened with our agency in October, was the Chinese gentleman who was in charge of the China program left the agency. He was very good at his job and very competent. I cannot say that about the woman who has taken over his position. We received our PA (pre-approval) in August, the first time she ever called me to "check on things" was December 29th! I won't even go into the stories about how she doesn't reply to e-mails.
Then there is our homestudy provider. I am so upset with this woman, I can't even go into it. If you live in Florida and are considering adoption, contact me privately and I will tell you who NOT to hire as your homestudy provider. I don't know if she is going through some personal issues in her private life, or she is just so incredibly unorganized, unprofessional and incompetent. But if China does not grant us a second extension in February, and we lose the whole adoption, most of the blame will rest on her shoulders.
Let's hope God has it all in hand and just wants it on His schedule. Not only would it be heart breaking for us, but a little girls life is at stake, and there is no guarantee that she would go on a different list for adoption, or if another family would step up to adopt her. The older the child the harder it is to find a family.
So... that is a brief synopsis of the negativity we have been going through these last few months. Of course there are many more details, which I really don't want to go into.... believe it or not, I am trying to stay as positive as I can. But for the sake of posterity, I thought I would catch people up on what's going on. An international adoption is not without its emotional ups-and-downs. That has certainly been our case.
Our I-800 went to USCIS on January 14th. First it has to go to a payment processing center in TX, and then they send it to Lee's Summit, MO. (We live in Florida, but our agency is in Colorado, thus the more-Western offices being used).
We need your prayers and positive thoughts.
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