Today I received my home study in the mail! This was the first big step. Plus all fees associated with it are paid! 

I also mailed by I-800A application off to be processed. This is the next step - it is immigration approval. The social worker told me currently this has been averaging around 45 days. I also sent it the amount needed for this (thank to my tax return) :) 

After I got I-800A back I will work to get my dossier ready to send to China. There are still a couple pieces of paperwork to complete - I will spend the next couple weeks getting them! Once everything is gathered I will drive to the state capital to get it certified. Once certified I will send it to a courier who will take to the Chinese Embassy to be authenticated. (This step will take at least a week by the time it is mailed, dropped off, picked up, and mailed back to me). I am hoping to have all these steps done by May 1st and send it on to my agency to go to China! This will also mean I have another sum of money to the agency (around $5,000) by May. 

Now that my home study is completed I will be working on writing grants and other fundraisers to continue making payments for the adoption. Thank you to everyone who has helped so far!!