Delays, Delays, and More Delays

No good news to report...yet!   There have been may delays across the board in the last 3 or so weeks.  At the end of May, things on the China side shut down for the adoption system to be re-vamped.  They re-opened June 3rd and things were a mess!  There were a lot of kinks and they were not really ready at all.  There still are kinks a week and a half later.   This system was supposed to speed everything up...well "supposed to" are the key words.  We have yet to see that.  So far it has done nothing but slow things down, basically to a standstill.   No one is getting their pre-approvals, letter of approvals, or travel approvals.  There were no travel approvals issued in about 3 weeks.  Finally yesterday, we saw the first travel approval posted via another agency.  Thank God for some movement- hoping it opens the flood gates.  There are a handful of families who have been waiting longer than us still waiting for their travel approval and many who are days behind us and the list just keeps growing.  To make it all worse, on the US side, the consulate in Guangzhou is closing in July to move buildings.  The last consulate appointment available is July 11th and then they won't have one available until July 24th.   The consulate appointment is near the very end of your trip.  Everything about your trips hinges on the consulate appointment.   This news means that July 8th gotcha days are no longer an option.  It is either July 1st or you wait until July 15th or 22nd.   July 1st is Reid's birthday.  July 15th is Lena's 1 yr gotcha day and Elijah and Jonah's birthday.  We need a miracle- we need our travel approval (TA) to come by the middle of next week, preferably today or tomorrow in order to get a July 1st gotcha day.  It is looking as if our TA is not being medically expedited either...not sure if that is China or our agency. Frustrating all around for many waiting parents and for the kids who are stuck waiting.  I saw this video today and it reminded me of the frustrations of the process.   http://vimeo.com/68088208

On a positive note, my wonderful sister-in-law so kindly dropped off and picked up our power of attorney document at the consulate to be authenticated (should Rick not be able to travel with me) and our passports to get our Chinese visas- you must get them prior to travel and they are not cheap.  We will see her Sunday and have those in our hands then.  Besides packing, we are set to go.