Paperwork - Paperwork

I've had numerous requests to let those adopting know what to expect...and many are wondering what we are doing right now...what are the next steps? So, here's what has happened up until now.

8/2/07 Day Before Referral:
I was on Rumor Queen all Day and emailing and talking with other families that had LID's near us, or are with our agency. Yep, that's the day in a nutshell:o).
8/3 Referral Day 1:
Our agency called and described Mattie to us. We heard about her health, size, Chinese Name and location over the phone. We received our travel group # and learned we could send a care pkg. to her. We had opportunity to ask questions but the gal who called us was very thorough and mostly we were just ready to see Mattie (LOL). We hung up and got her photo within a few minutes - OH HAPPY DAY!
8/4 Day 2:
The next day we received a pkg. by FedEx that had 2 more photos of Mattie and her information provided by the orphanage. Inside that packet was a certificate for us to sign and date that we would accept her. (Yes we accept her! DUH!) We FedEx-ed the signed certificate back to our agency the same day. They fwd this certificate to the CCAA when they receive it.
8/5 Sunday Day 3:
Nothing involving paperwork b/c it was a weekend and our agency and mail services are closed.
8/6 Day 4:
When our Agency received our Certificate by FedEx, they put a "Travel Packet", visa applications, and instructions (Visas are for Alan and me only) on the secure site and emailed us to tell us it was there.
We downloaded and printed it. It has forms to fill out that need signed and notarized. It also told us what papers we need to take to China. These forms were informative about what we should expect and what we should do. Basically, we had to sign that we would follow the directions and if we get Mumps in China our agency is not responsible (LOL)! Everything we signed was agreeable for us...we had no trouble signing anything.
8/7 Day 5:
Yesterday there was not enough time to complete the forms and get them in the mail, by the time we received our packet. So, we airmailed our notarized forms today and our visa applications. This included sending off the passport. I took it to a UPS store and have the receipt and tracking numbers. No way would I drop that in one of those boxes and walk away!

We are working on our care pkg. and purchased 2 of everything. One to send, and one to take with us. This way if the orphanage doesn't send the items back with Mattie and she gets to have them, we have a 2nd set with us:o). Some people have sent theirs out already. I was pretty focused on the paperwork and we had such a busy weekend with the CCAI reunion that we did not get to shop for things until yesterday. I bought some things ahead for the care pkg - but not everything b/c I wasn't certain if I would be able to send one.

So, this is what has happened as far as paperwork etc so far. I am looking fwd to posting about our weekend and sharing pictures. I will do this very soon!