Tick...tock...tick...tock... That is me "patiently" waiting.  We are just under two weeks in to our wait for the I-800A process, which is being estimated to take 70-90 days.  The good news is I did send all of our documents from MN (which is 11) to Chicago to get authenticated last Friday.  I received an email confirmation yesterday stating that our courier delivered the documents to the consulate and that they will be sent back to us by Monday signed, sealed, and authenticated.  Once I receive these back we will send everything minus the I800A to CCAI to make sure everything is ready for our dossier.  We need this time to save up, which will be tricky as we approach Christmas.  When our papers are ready for China we will need to pay a big chunk of change, some to China and the rest to our agency for all the work they are doing, which is a lot.  We had to get passport pictures taken, pictures of us as a couple, pictures of us with others, and a slew of other misc. documents. 

I looked closer over our total timeline and am getting excited.  If things go according to "plan" then we are actually looking at February/ March of next year being able to go to China and complete our family.  I know that seems like a long ways away, but to think that is just little over a year is so exciting!  I am glad things won't happen in the late summer or fall either.  This way I can dedicate this time to my job and helping my own kids adjust to a routine before all our excitement takes place. 

Tonight I spent a lot of time putting our Christmas cards together.  I had so much fun looking over our pictures from this past and reflecting on all the wonderful memories we made.  It did seem strange to me not to include our baby on our card - is that strange?  I know we don't have a match right yet, but I think about this kiddo as often as I do ours in their beds right now.  Next Christmas I already have a plan for how to include our newest addition on our card :) 

Have a blessed night!