We're DTC!!!!

We're DTC!!!!! What does that even mean?! I have learned through this process that there are a ton of adoption acronyms, and I still don't know what a lot of them mean, but this is a BIG one! DTC is Dossier To China! For months we worked on our home study, chased paperwork, and pursued government clearances so that all these documents could be sent to China, and now, they're on the way! Woo hoo! The next step will be LID (Log in Dossier or Log in Date, I've seen it both ways). This is when we are officially entered into China's system. Our social worker said we can expect that notification in 3-4 weeks, then it will be translated, reviewed, and we'll be eligible to match, sort of. Our home study will still need to be updated to include Charlie before we can match, and that won't be done until late October/early November, but we are definitely moving forward! I was just telling someone on Tuesday how hard it is to know our daughter is "out there", but we don't know her yet and that I get a little jealous of the Chinese Olympians because they get to go home to the country where our girl lives. The timing of the DTC notification is definitely a blessing and is a good reminder that we ARE getting closer to knowing who she is and to bringing her home! While we eagerly anticipate being closer to receiving our match, we are also aware of the precious time as a family of four, because, compared to most families, it won't be long before there are five of us. Charlie is such a sweet baby and has made the transition to four pretty easy so far. We're so thankful for making this big step toward five today!
Why the picture of plate of cookies? Since Charlie was born I try to be intentional about doing special "big boy" things with Graham. This afternoon, we made homemade chocolate chip cookies! I was just taking the first batch out of the oven when I heard Tom call out from his office, "We got an email!" I'll admit I had no idea what he was talking about until I went in and saw the email from our social worker letting us know that this afternoon we were DTC! Woo hoo! And now we have cookies to celebrate!

WOO HOO!!!

Snuggles with Charlie this afternoon while our cookies baked :-)

Graham walked to the Bog Garden with Grandma this morning. Yay for a fun DTC day!