well, 2012 has been a bit different than expected...
/
(First, a reminder: I have a giveaway going on here! It will close on Monday at 8pm.)
This past Christmas, we didn't write or send a Christmas letter out. I didn't have a nice or recent family photo to share, I didn't have the wherewithal to coordinate the logistics of having a picture taken as I was still in physical therapy for my stubborn knee, and I didn't feel like we had anything noteworthy to share about the coming year.
Well.
That changed.
On January 28, a friend contacted us about a baby girl who needed a family.
On February 7, we accepted the referral to be her family and named her Zoe Amanda.
On February 8, we started our home study.
On February 29, we overnighted our dossier to Taiwanese officials in Atlanta for authentication.
On March 1 or 2, the folks from that Taiwanese office mailed our authenticated dossier to Taiwan.
On March 13, we were issued a court date in Taiwan.
On March 30, we put our house on the market.
On March 31, it was under contract.
On April 7, we made an offer and entered a contract for the purchase of our new-to-us home.
On April 10, our adoption coordinators represented us at our court date in Taiwan.
On April 18, we were issued our first ruling, indicating the judge's intent to grant the adoption. (YAY!)
On May 4 and 7, we closed on the old and new houses, respectively, and began the move, with a few weeks of overlap between the two houses as we rented our old house back from the new owners.
On May 25, we were issued our final ruling, which legally made us Zoe's parents. (YIPPEE!)
On May 26, we turned over the keys to the old house, having fully transitioned to life in the new house. (The jury is still out, though, on when we'll be settled and fully unpacked!)
On June 12, our court documents were available in English, and we requested our visa appointment from the US officials in Taiwan.
On June 21, we received an email with our visa appointment (July 10).
On July 3, we'll board a plane to Taipei. (Well, to New York. And then to Taipei.)
On July 5, we'll fly into Taitung and our friends will bring us straight to Zoe.
She'll be placed into our arms.
And I'll finally get to kiss those chubby cheeks!
(Wow. The friends who only keep up with us through our Christmas letter are surely going to be surprised, aren't they?)
This past Christmas, we didn't write or send a Christmas letter out. I didn't have a nice or recent family photo to share, I didn't have the wherewithal to coordinate the logistics of having a picture taken as I was still in physical therapy for my stubborn knee, and I didn't feel like we had anything noteworthy to share about the coming year.
Well.
That changed.
On January 28, a friend contacted us about a baby girl who needed a family.
On February 7, we accepted the referral to be her family and named her Zoe Amanda.
On February 8, we started our home study.
On February 29, we overnighted our dossier to Taiwanese officials in Atlanta for authentication.
On March 1 or 2, the folks from that Taiwanese office mailed our authenticated dossier to Taiwan.
On March 13, we were issued a court date in Taiwan.
On March 30, we put our house on the market.
On March 31, it was under contract.
On April 7, we made an offer and entered a contract for the purchase of our new-to-us home.
On April 10, our adoption coordinators represented us at our court date in Taiwan.
On April 18, we were issued our first ruling, indicating the judge's intent to grant the adoption. (YAY!)
On May 4 and 7, we closed on the old and new houses, respectively, and began the move, with a few weeks of overlap between the two houses as we rented our old house back from the new owners.
On May 25, we were issued our final ruling, which legally made us Zoe's parents. (YIPPEE!)
On May 26, we turned over the keys to the old house, having fully transitioned to life in the new house. (The jury is still out, though, on when we'll be settled and fully unpacked!)
On June 12, our court documents were available in English, and we requested our visa appointment from the US officials in Taiwan.
On June 21, we received an email with our visa appointment (July 10).
On July 3, we'll board a plane to Taipei. (Well, to New York. And then to Taipei.)
On July 5, we'll fly into Taitung and our friends will bring us straight to Zoe.
She'll be placed into our arms.
And I'll finally get to kiss those chubby cheeks!
(Wow. The friends who only keep up with us through our Christmas letter are surely going to be surprised, aren't they?)
