NVC Letter Arrived - FINALLY!

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!  After a VERY late night of shopping, I finally decided to get out of bed and see if the long awaited letter from the National Visa Center had arrived in my inbox.  Unfortunately, I quickly realized that it was not there.  I began my phone calls and sent an email.  I spoke with two different women at the NVC who were helpful, but they would only tell me that the visa petition was cabled on Wednesday.  I would received a copy of the PDF by email in 3-5 days and a letter in the mail.  I was explained that I was upset because we were told on Wednesday that the cable was going out, and that we would receive an email that night.  Since we didn't receive anything, I explained to the nice women that no one said 3-5 days, they said tonight.  I asked to speak with a supervisor, but none were available.  As I was typing out my frustration in an email to Karla, an email arrived in my inbox with the exact PDF letter that I needed!  I just knew God felt that I was on the edge of having a complete mental breakdown and needed to stop it right away. 

Now that we have received our PDF letter, Lifeline's China team will take everything to the consulate in Guangzhou on Monday (instead of today like I hoped).  This will begin our Article 5.  The Article 5 takes EXACTLY 2 weeks to complete.  If our paperwork is dropped off on Monday, it will be picked up from the consulate two Mondays later.  During this time, the consulate reviews our visa paperwork and makes sure that Amelia meets all of the qualifications to be issued an immigrant visa and that the adoption can take place.  Once this step is complete, our paperwork will be picked up from the consulate and taken directly to the China Center Adoption Affairs (CCAA) office for Travel Approval (TA)!  Please pray for a speedy TA!  We have had so many delays in the past month that I would really LOVE it if the TA came fast, especially since we will be trying to get a Consulate Appointment (CA) during the holidays.