Okay, so - It looks like we are getting closer and closer to our referral. Today, someone outside the China adoption loop asked me what a "referral" is. So, I thought I'd take a minute and explain a few of the basics.
LID - "Log-In-Date." This is the date China received our paperwork. The paperwork that took us 7 months to complete. Our LID is 8/15/o6 or 8/20/o6. We're not clear on that currently.
Dossier - the original paperwork that is sitting in China, waiting to be matched to a child. The dossier is what got the LID stamped on it.
Referral - When China actually "assigns" us a specific child, this is known as a referral. The referral is basically a picture of the child and paperwork accompanying the picture. The paperwork lets us know basic information - child's disposition, health information, birthdate (if known), etc. At the time that a referral is made, we then have the right to review the information and decide whether or not we will accept the referral. (as if there is any question that we would not accept the child we are matched with!)
China sends out batches of referrals approximately once a month. Over the past 5 years, the batches of referrals have become smaller and smaller over time - meaning, fewer and fewer children are being allowed to be adopted internationally from China. The referrals are referred to by LID - or Log-In-Date. Referrals for this month just made their way across the ocean, and the cut-off date for this month is August 2, 2006. This month's batch included 5 days of LIDs. So, the dates included were July 29-August 2. Last month, the batch included 14 days of LIDs. That was considered a HUGE batch! On average for the past couple of years, the batches include 5 or 6 LIDs per month. If that trend continues to hold, we could receive our referral in 2 or 3 months!!!! This is amazing. We have waited sooooooo long!! (Note the counter at the top of the blog.) After we receive the referral and we accept it, we make application to the United States Immigration Services for permission to bring an orphan into the country. That approval can take up to 3 months. We then receive our permission to travel and bring her home!!! We are looking at adding to our family in the next 6 months or so.
Please pray for us as we continue to walk down this road that God has paved for us! We can hardly wait to see it through to completion!!
Jami
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