Its an international adoption, but I'm going to stop thinking globally

I want to apologize for the whiny nature of my most recent blog. I really need to practice "think before you blog." I was having a particularly difficult day on Friday and I let it get the best of me. I felt quite overwhelmed and quite annoyed with the situation, but I've worked through it. A weekend of busied activities, thoughtful discussion, and tiny progress seemed to help.
I've decided that I need to approach our adoption in a completely different way. I've been focusing on the end result, which is to bring little Sera home. However, the daunting and convoluted process to get to that finality has infected me with frustration and anger at times. I believe that we need to stop focusing on the end result (the global picture) and start focusing on all the tiny little accomplishments we will make that will help us reach Sera.
This weekend, we further climbed our long ladder to parenthood. Craig and I sat down to complete all the forms that are required for our additional background checks and those forms were expeditiously sent to their bureaucratic destinations. God speed, little forms. We also sent our home study worker a check to make the revisions and some additional information, which she required. We reviewed the pictures from our recent photo shoot and picked the best pictures. Those pictures will be included in a book, along with pictures of our happy home and adorable furbabies. This book will then be sent to our adoption agency and eventually China, providing a human aspect to a stack of inanimate forms and other papers bearing our name. Craig and I also sat down and reviewed a checklist of potential special needs. We decided what special needs we could handle and what special needs were likely beyond our capabilities. I also managed to gain access to China's "Shared List," which we would not be able to officially see until our home study is completed and China has our paperwork. The Shared List and the checklist are a little on the overwhelming side, but we saw little rays of hope in it, too. IFS' individual list seems a little more promising and Craig and I oohed and ahhed over all the adorable kids, most of which we would take home in a heartbeat. (For an explanation of the Shared vs. Individual/Exclusive list, read here.) Most of them are boys and we'd be happy to welcome a son, if we could only agree on a name. I like Henry and Lucas, but Craig is worried about being teased for giving our son the same name as Star Wars genius, George Lucas.
Minus the home study and some immigration paperwork (which requires the home study), we are set to contract and send our dossier to China. The dossier includes all of the certified documents required to complete an adoption. Many potential parents describe an annoying "paper chase" process, which they do not commence until after the homestudy is complete. However, it appears that we thought ahead, since these are the documents that I obtained last summer and fall. So, when the home study is complete, our dossier should be near completion, sans the immigration pre-approval and Craig's passport. Here is what is required of the dossier and our progress:
A completed homestudy.....waiting
Certified birth certificates for both parents.....check
Marriage License.....check
Divorce decrees.....check
Medical statement of good health for both parents.....check
Letter of Employment for both parents.....check
Financial Statement.....check
Police Reports for both parents....federal-check.....state-waiting on Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota
I-800A Approval.....waiting
6 photos of your family life.....check
3 copies of each parent's passport.....waiting on Craig
2 passport photos of each parent.....waiting on Craig
Adoption Application Letter (or Letter of Intent).....can't do until the homestudy is done


So, it appears that we are getting there, one tiny, Sera-sized step at a time.