Picking an Agency

We have looked at so many different agencies online. We've called or emailed to ask questions, requested their information and then thoroughly looked through it, watched their DVDs and we still have absolutely no idea which would be a better option for us to go with. We have narrowed it down to an agency in the same state we will live in (Holt International) or two China only agencies. (Great Wall or Chinese Children) The fees are relatively similar between the agencies; they vary by about $2,000 but each offers just slightly different services. China's adoption program is so regulated that each agency offers nearly the same services but can tailor it just slightly to their liking.

I haven't received the affidavit to change the spelling on my birth certificate yet. I can't begin to imagine what the wait is going to be like once our dossier is in China if I'm already anticipating the affidavit in the mail after 5 days.

I told J. a couple of days ago that whenever I think about our little Chinese daughter joining our family I see a face and her name is Ally (Alli, Ali, Allie, whatever we decide). If Matthew was a girl we had picked the name Allyson and probably would have called her Ally. Throughout the years I have found a couple other names I like more but anytime I think of a precious black haired, brown eyed Chinese daughter I think of calling her Ally.