Update!

We were blessed to receive a little update on Noah.  Our agency asks for an update about 3 months after submitting our LOI.  Many orphanages don't provide updates, even when asked, so we feel very blessed to get this news.  Noah is nearly 31 inches tall and about 22 pounds.  He lives in the orphanage and they call him Xin Xin.  He eats noodles rice, vegetables, meat and soup. According to the update, he has had surgery on his lip and palate.  It is clear that his lip is repaired.  I'm surprised that his palate has been repaired, but that's what it said.  And they sent a precious picture of our boy.  He is surrounded by items from the care package we sent.  I am entirely captivated by his eyes. 

LOA

We are thrilled and a little overwhelmed.  I am holding in my hands a letter from China called the "Letter Seeking Confirmation of Adopter," better known in the adoption community as LOA (I guess we are really bad at acronyms - LOL).  It signifies official approval of our dossier and asks if we really want to adopt Noah -- um, YEAH! 

We now go through a series of steps to finalize approval from US immigration, after which our travel authorization (TA) will be issued by China.  Our agency estimates that we could travel in 10-13 weeks.

Here's a little info about where we will be going.  Noah is living in Kaifeng, located in the province of Henan, kinda in the middle of China.  I believe that most of our time will be spent in Zhengzhou.