Timeline

• Summer-Fall 2013: Started seriously discussing adoption and reading about it together
• Winter-Summer 2014: Researched adoption options (domestic infant adoption, international adoption, embryo adoption, foster care adoption...); talked with adoption agencies and adoptive families; read books, blogs, and other online info; watched a video series...
• Summer 2014: Leaning toward China Waiting Child (special needs) adoption, researching agencies
• July 2014: Filled out initial "Medical Conditions Checklist" for CCAI (Chinese Children Adoption International) agency
• September 2014: Formally applied to adopt through CCAI and to do our home study through LSSI (Lutheran Social Services of Illinois)
• October 2014: Visited CCAI while in Colorado for a family vacation
• Oct-Nov 2014: Researched additional medical conditions and updated our MCC (Medical Conditions Checklist)
• Oct-Dec 2014: Started gathering paperwork for LSSI and CCAI (Home Fact Sheet, medical exams/forms, background checks, passports, new birth and marriage certificates...)
• January 2015: Continuing to gather paperwork for the home study (LSSI) and dossier (CCAI), starting the required training for the home study.
• February 2015: Finished the paperwork for the homestudy and dossier (all docs except the homestudy report and I800A federal form)
• March 2015: Got the dossier documents notarized, certified by the secretary of state, and authenticated by the Chinese Consulate in Chicago (including 2 trips into the city)
• April 2015: Completed the homestudy interviews and required training, got child abuse clearances from all states we've lived in since age 18 (minus France, which doesn't have a registry, and South Dakota, which "doesn't have the authority to provide this information"!) 
• May 15: Received the home study draft from our social worker for review!  Got a couple things corrected and had it finalized by the 19th.  Now waiting for DCFS approval. 
• WAITING WAITING WAITING... DCFS stopped approving home studies due to a bill that will  eliminate that step...  April 15 passed unanimously by IL House, May 15 passed unanimously by IL Senate, May 31 "Passed Both Houses", June 29 "Sent to the Governor"...
• July 15: IL Governor Bruce Rauner signed the bill eliminating the DCFS requirement!!
• July 16: Home Study officially sent from LSSI to CCAI for approval (I sent it to them unofficially last week to start reviewing, so hoping to get it finalized soon)
• July 23: Unexpected call from CCAI telling us about little boy's file they'd like us to review!
• July 30: Received approved, notarized home study (lost a week when CCAI didn't receive it from LSSI, then another week while our social worker mailed it to her supervisor in Chicago for notarization then had her mail it back).  Sent it off to USCIS with I800A the same day.
• August 4: Locked in our child's file
• August 19: Received official Pre-Approval from the CCCWA (Chinese government) for us to adopt our child
• August 20: Sent CCAI all remaining dossier docs except for I800A approval (still waiting for that one)
• September 12: Received our I800A approval in the mail from US Immigration (last dossier doc!)
• September 16: Mailed I800A to CCAI (after getting it notarized, taking it into Chicago for certification, and expedited 2-day authentication)
• September 18: CCAI sent our completed dossier to China
• September 25: Log In Date (LID).  Our dossier is now being reviewed by the CCCWA (China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption)
• November 2: Soft LOA (email announcing our approval by the CCCWA)
• November 5: Hard LOA (official Letter Of Acceptance from the CCCWA)
• November 6: I-800 filing 
• November 30: I-800 Provisional Approval (PA) received (came while we were away last week, was issued Nov.25)
• December 3: Got NVC letter (National Visa Center letter with our case number to apply for a visa for our son), filled out visa application DS-260. 
• December 7: CCAI delivered all our visa documents to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China
• December 18: Finalized our transfer to new home study agency LCFS (Lutheran Child and Family Services) for post-placement reports (LSSI is closing their adoption programs in January so we had to find a new agency, after researching a number of options, this seemed like the simplest as they have a special relationship)
• December 19: Dropped off our Visa applications for China with the courier for the Chinese Consulate (Learned the courier is more reliable for the visa than going in ourselves, but she's on vacation after Christmas so needed to make sure she got it this weekend!)
• December 21: CCAI Guangzhou staff picked up our Article 5 acceptance letter from the US Consulate and sent it to the CCCWA (last step before Travel Approval!)
• December 26: Received our passports back in the mail from the courier, with 10-year visas for China!
• December 30: Travel Approval (TA) received!
• December 31: Consulate appointment scheduled, and booked flights to and from China