"Adoption Lingo"

I know not everyone is familiar with all of the terms that Larry & I use about our adoption process, so I thought this might help.
As I think of other terms I will add them to this post.

Traditions And Terms Found In The Chinese Adoption Community:

• The Red Thread- "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." - An ancient Chinese belief.

• Ladybugs- Believed to be good luck in the adoption community. They say if you see a lady bug while you are waiting for your referral, it means that your referral is going to come very soon!

• 100 Good Wishes Quilt-To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the Northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei or "100 Good Wishes Quilt". It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy and good wishes from all the family and friends who donated a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. Waiting families often collect the wishes along with a sample of each fabric square into a scrapbook for their new child.

• Dossier-The set of documents that represents the adoptive family. It includes the medical reports, birth certificates, employment verification letters, police clearances, financial statement, homestudy etc.

• DTC-Dossier To China. This is the milestone day when all of the documents finally make their way to China. This represents the end of the "paperchase" for the adoptive parents, and the beginning of "the wait" for a refferal of a child by the Chinese government.

• LID-Log in date. This is the date that the CCAA logs in your dossier on arrival in China.

• CCAA-China Center For Adoption Affairs. That's where the dossier's are processed, and the children who live in China's SWI's ( Social Welfare Institutions) and/or foster care, are matched with families.

• Referral-Notification from the CCAA that they have matched a family with a child. Referral information usually includes the child's Chinese name, date of birth, height/weight, a medical report, one or more photographs, and a few notes about the child's nature.