Since my last posting, Mindy and I have been fortunate to enjoy some time off from work. In late April, early May, Mindy traveled with me to Las Vegas for a business trip. I was attending the Pulse Annual Conference that we held at the Wynn in Las Vegas. We were very spoiled yet glad to get home and be out of Vegas. Two days after returning home from Vegas, we took a week off for vacation and traveled with my parents and met my sister and her family at Disney World. We had so much fun while there and it was wonderful to be able to spend it with all of our family. Also in May, Mindy and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. In July, we took a week off around the 4th of July and went to Ruidoso for the week. The weather was incredible for the middle of summer. We took my two nieces and Mindy's dad with us. We all had a great time and most importantly got some much needed rest. Since then, both of our lives have been very busy with work. Oh, I almost forgot, I finally finished college on June 18th. On July 15th I was able to participate in the graduation ceremony for University of Phoenix in Dallas. There were about 1,000 students that walked and it was held at the American Airlines Center. Mindy, my parents, and my sister and kids were able to attend. I finally have my Bachelor's of Behavioral Science in Business Administration. Since that time, I have very much enjoyed more free time and getting my life back. I think Mindy is glad it is over as well because we are able to do more without having to worry about school. As for the adoption, we have now officially been waiting our referral for 10 months. According to the last email that we received from Great Wall, we still have about a year to go if nothing changes. The last group that got there referral had a log-in-date of November 22, 2005. The process has been somewhat discouraging, but we are remaining hopeful and patient as we know that we will one day be united with Maylee. Something exciting that is about to happen is that our church is preparing to start an adoption ministry. Back in May, myself and one other guy had a chance to visit with two of our minister's and we mentioned this and they really have grabbed hold of this opportunity. They definitely see the need for this type of ministry and it will be very exciting to see what God is able to do through this ministry. We have a meeting on September 16th that will officially launch things and begin the planning for the ministry. There are many exciting things going on in our lives and we are definitely keeping ourselves busy. We will continue to keep everyone updated and ask for your continued prayers. God Bless!!!!

Update on Progress

We have now been waiting for just over 5 months for our referral and only about 12 more to go. Believe it or not, the time is going by somewhat quickly. April 14th marked one year since we started the entire process. At that time, the referral waiting period was only about 9-12 months. Now, it is up to 16-18 months. A little discouraging but we are holding up nicely and knowing what the final day will bring only brings tremendous joy to our heart. So, where are we in the referral process? Our dossier has been through translation and is now pending review. After review, it moves into pending referral until the day we get our referral. We have been told that steps are being taken to try and reduce the referral waiting period but we are still waiting to see some results of this. We will continue to keep you all updated and I apologize for not posting anything for a long period of time now. I will try to post an update each month as we receive our monthly updates. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and especially our daughter Maylee.

Log-In Date

Mark your calendars...we have received our log-in date which is November 22, 2006. This is the date that we will use to follow the progress of our paperwork in China. When referrals are announced, the agency uses the log-in dates to announce to families that they will be going to China soon to pick-up there son or daughter. At this point, the referral process is continuing to lengthen and we are now looking at a possible 2008 timeframe for picking up Maylee. I know this sounds like a long time, but Mindy and I are confident that the time will go by quickly and that God is in control. We have been informed that the CCAA is taking steps to address the length and so it is possible that the process could speed up which we would of course welcome. Right now, our dossier is in the translation phase. All of the documents have to be translated into Chinese before it continues through the process. After this, we will move into the review phase which can take several months. After review, we move into the final stage which is referral which again is taking several months. It is a long process, but we know the outcome. At this point, that is all I have for an update, but I will continue to let you all know where we are at in the process.

On October 27, 2006, our Dossier was officially mailed to China. We received word on Monday, November 6th that our Dossier was hand delivered by the Great Wall office in China to the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA). We are now awaiting our official log-in date which is the date we will use for when we receive our referral. We would ask that you please continue to pray for us as we enter this new phase. It looks like for now the referral process is taking up to 14 months. We appreciate all your prayers and support as we eagerly anticipate our reunion with Maylee. God bless!!

Paper Pregnancy Is Complete

We have officially mailed our Dossier to Great Wall. The adoption agency will now go through and make sure everything is in order and then it will likely be sent to China on Friday, Oct. 27th. Once to China, the agency will hand deliver the Dossier to the China Center for Adoption Affairs where they will translate the documents and provide us with our log-in date. The log-in date is huge as this is the date that we will use to receive our referral. When the agency receives referrals, they simply send out a mass email to there families letting them know that those with a log-in date of this will be receiving their referrals. We are entering the phase now of just waiting. Last we heard, the referral process is taking upwards of 14 months. This could speed up or it could slow even more. We are hoping maybe for an early Christmas present next year. We are one step closer to bringing Maylee home and we are so excited. As we learn more, we will be sure to post and keep everyone update.

Great News!!! We finally received our I-171-H from the Department of Homeland Security. We have been officially approved to adopt from China. On June 22nd, we mailed our application, then on July 22nd, we went and got fingerprinted in Lubbock, and then on September 21st, we received our document. Almost 90 days to the day, we got the document. Things should progress rather quickly now with our paper pregnancy. Just this morning, we mailed the last few documents to the Secretary of State to be certified. By the end of this next week, we should have those back. We will then send all of our paperwork to the Chinese Consulate in Houston to be authenticated. We think that within the next two weeks, we should have everything completed and we will work on getting things organized into our dossier. If everything works out, we could possibly have a log-in date from China in October. Keep praying for us and continue to pray for our daughter Maylee.

We find ourselves still waiting to receive our immigration document from the Department of Homeland Security. On July 22nd, Mindy and I went to Lubbock for fingerprinting and have been waiting ever since. Until we receive this document, we are pretty much at a stand still. This is the final piece that we need for our dossier. A few weeks ago, we received word that the referral process (waiting period) is now taking upwards of 13-14 months. We have not entered this phase and will not until our dossier is logged in with the China Center for Adoption Affairs. The waiting period could be shorter or longer, it all depends on China from what we are told. We remain patient and excited and know that the end result will be well worth the wait. We continue to look forward to our reunion with Maylee with much excitement. Keep praying for us and we will continue to keep everyone updated.