Monday, December 21, 2009

Where are my manners?

On Friday I posted that we had received our LOA and since then a few people have said "ok you guys that's great, but we don't know what that means."
I'm sorry I didn't explain it better, I was not thinking straight on Friday.
The LOA is the clearance we have been waiting for since we sent our paperwork to China back in August. The same stack of paperwork that we spent most of last spring putting together along with the home study report that then had to be certified from a few different government offices. This was the paperwork that was looked over with a fine tooth comb by China.
The LOA (sometimes also known as the LSC) was the Chinese government saying now they have looked it all over and in their opinion we look like a normal family (Ha! what's normal anyway). Now the Chinese government has given us the official approval to move ahead with Gavin's adoption and make him our son.
Where do we go from here will most likely be your next question, right? Well I am waiting for the UPS guy right now to deliver me these documents (maybe I should go put my bra on as I am sitting here in my P.J.'s) then Gary and I can sign them and send them right back to the agency. From there we will send more papers to Immigration and they will send the documents back to China and we will wait for our TA (travel approval). We still have a few steps ahead of us and more wait times, but the big approval is now behind us. Can you hear me breath a huge sigh of relief?
I was a little confused on some news our agency gave me on Friday. I was under the impression that we could now post Gavin's picture by having this clearence, but they came back and said "No" we need to wait until travel approval. I don't want to take my chances and do something I wasn't suppose to do. Sorry.
I hope this clears up some of the questions. I'm not real sure I even know what's going on. I just file out the papers I'm told to and send them to the address I'm given and hope we are that much closer. We have to be right?
Happy Monday!!
~Marla
  

4 comments:

Our Family said...

I would ask somebody else at your agency. I've NEVER heard of anyone having to wait 'til TA to post pictures. My agency is ultra conservative and they said to wait for LOA. Not that it's that huge a deal, but, you know, I'm sure I'm not the only one dying to see a picture!!!!!

Kristi said...

Oh how I understand being confused on what happens next. I bet I asked my friend (who traveled to meet her son back in September) 100 times this summer what happens between LOA and TA. Then I had a conference call with my social worker at our agency to double check. I pray that your steps will come quickly!

Janice said...

Every step is one step closer!!

Madeleine said...

I'm with the other person about waiting so long to post a picture. At this point it may actually be an agency thing as opposed to a China thing. I have also never heard of someone having to wait until the TA.

To tell you the truth, I didn't even ask them . :( It didn't occur to me. I posted after the LOA was signed and sent.


BUT HOW EXCITING!!!!

One step closer.