Just checking in. I didn't realize Kris is keeping up with this blog. Cool.
I was just thinking about the fact that people keep telling us that we haven't been waiting all that long for our referral. Yes, that's true, but the overall adoption process has been REALLY long. We first started in 2004, as our fertility treatments were nearing the end. The last treatment cycle worked, which was great, even if it did mean we'd have to put the adoption off for awhile.
We probed about restarting adoption in mid-2005, only to be told that the country we had hoped to adopt from (Ukraine) was shutting down for a time. Shortly after that, Kris decided to leave the military, and it was a year & a half before he was out, into a civilian job, sold our other houses & into this one. Granted, it would've been hard to adopt another child when Cerri was so young, but our feelings were mixed, since we still felt drawn to adopt as we had intended.
Finally, last year (Dec 11, 2007) we went to an Adoption Expo in Washington and started over from scratch. We decided on a different country (Russia), chose a different agency (one that is local to us & has good post-adoption support). We didn't move very fast at first, but we decided on/applied to our agency in March and completed our homestudy paperchase done by June.
Completing our dossier took a little extra time, but we had it in by the early September. And now we wait & wait & wait.
So, we've been "waiting" since September, but we've been working on it for a year. And it's going on five years since we took our first real steps toward adoption. So, it really doesn't feel as though we "haven't been waiting all that long."
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Well the waiting continues. We are still waiting for our referal even though it seems that nothing will be happening til the beginning of 2009. Oh well we can still hope. We did get one bit of good news that was we recieved our I-171H yesterday in the mail. So that is one less thing to worry about. At least we will be nearly done with dossier part 2 by the time we travel on trip 1.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Waiting and Waiting
So now we are in the waiting phase. We are just waiting for the referal. We have started part 2 of our dossier but many of the documents required for that have a time limit and must be submitted after trip one. So we are just waiting for a referral the waiting is getting agonizing. We are just going on with our lives knowing that someday the call will come. We just hope that the wait is not too long. We are hopefull that we will have the first trip before the end of this year. Any little snippet of hope makes us wonder will the call be coming anytime now. Well all we can do is just wait for the call to come. As agonizing as this part is I am sure the wait between trips will be even more agonizing. As then we will have met our future adoptive child and then just hoping that all goes well to join our family together from across the globe. So looking forward to meeting our future child to join our happy family.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Dossier Part 1 Submitted
We now have submitted all of our Dossier part 1. We finally recieved our apostilled marriage certificate from London. Since we had the legal part of our wedding in England while we were there the apostille had to come from London. Well we also had one document which somehow we missed when we originally sent the documents to our adoption agency so that went out as well. So now we are back to the waiting game. Hopefully it will get translated and submitted to the Education department in Perm quickly and we will get a quick referral. We can start working on the part 2 of the Dossier but some of those things are only valid for 90 days and they want you to submit part 2 shortly after trip 1. So we will get what we can accomplished for part 2 but some we will have to hold out on.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Dossier Back
Well Yesterday we recieved our Dossier back with everything apostilled except for our marriage certificate since we were married in England this has to be done by the London Office. We were hoping to be able to just state and notarize that this was a true and accurate copy of the original but the Virginia department of State could not do that. We have sent away for our British Version but it may take another few weeks to get back to us. I originally was told that the British Embassy here in DC could apostille the document but when I went there they were able to certify the document but not put an apostille on it. So we are waiting on 1 document to be able to submit part one of the dossier. We also had our USCIS fingerprinting appointment yesterday. That went relatively smoothly.
In other news the update to our daughters injury she had the cast off last week and is doing great.
In other news the update to our daughters injury she had the cast off last week and is doing great.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Off-Topic, Household Injury
[Mrs. Krispe, writing again]
Cerri broke her wrist last night (Wednesday). She had climbed onto the roof of a piece of toddler playground equipment. Of course, we tried to tell her no, but once she saw other kids doing it last Sunday, there was no stopping her. But this time there were no other kids, just her, reaching forward to hit a tree branch with a stick, and down she went. I can recall it in slower motion than it actually occurred. Even so, it could have been no more than a bruise -- She has deliberately jumped from higher spots. But it was the falling that did it, because I'm sure she instinctively reached out with her hand to break the fall.
We spent a rough evening in the E.R., but in some ways, it was much better than many hospital visits. We only had to wait a little over 1/2 hour before they brought her back to examine. And not long after that they were able to X-ray. I honestly expected then that we'd have a very long wait only to be told it's just a sprain, they'd wrap it up & send us home. But they called us back very quickly & showed us the X-ray of a completely displaced bone. There was some talk of surgery that fortunately wasn't needed. Cerri kind of had a meltdown or two as they prepped her for conscious sedation, but we were able to help her calm down. Once they got her "under," the doctor was able to completely reset the bone, and she was all done & cast in just a very few minutes. Then once she was over the effects of the sedation, we were able to get her home, stopping at a 24-hr WaWa to get her a milkshake on the way.
We had promised her an ice cream cone before all of this happened, and though the place we had planned to go was closed, she still wanted ice cream. I pointed out that a cone was probably not going to work with one hand but that she could choose ice cream in a cup (which I would feed to her if she wanted) or a milkshake. I still had to hold the cup & the straw in just the right way for her, but she got to enjoy a strawberry milkshake on the way home.
She's sleeping now, and I imagine she'll be pretty worn out for the next couple of days. I have to say, I do NOT envy those parents whose children need to go through multiple surgeries in childhood. It did occur to me that our adopted child(ren) may need some minor surgery, and it's scary to think about. I know that it made a HUGE difference that I know exactly what soothes my girl, and I could read her reactions very well, such as when one very well-meaning nurse was talking entirely too loudly & animatedly.
I know she meant well, and I hated to hurt her feelings. But I also wasn't willing to stand there & allow my daughter to be further distressed by it. And I couldn't take the nurse aside to discuss it because it was in the middle of 2 other staff members prepping Cerri for the sedation. I think she was trying to distract Cerri from what was happening, but it was just making her more upset. So, as politely as I could, I said something like "I think it would help her a lot if we could just use quiet voices." I wanted to reassure the woman that I wasn't trying to criticize, just recognizing that my daughter was feeling overwhelmed by too much noise & activity all at once. But I didn't have the opportunity to say anything more about it, and after that minute or two of prepping, I didn't see that nurse again. And I can't honestly say that I would recognize the woman again, at this point. There were a LOT of staff members that did one thing or another for my little girl, and I appreciate all of them, including the kind intentions of that nurse. And in fact, she did tone down immediately, so that was good. I guess I just want to send out a little good karma to her, because I probably hurt her feelings (not sure how much). I would have let it go & spared her feelings had it not been for my daughter's well-being in the midst of this trauma. And for my daughter's sake, I'd do it again if I had to.
Granted, toddler body language isn't exactly subtle. I think even with a completely unknown child on my hands, I could quickly figure out if something was causing them to get upset. But it will take time to learn what soothes my new children and/or them becoming accustomed to the kinds of soothing gestures that I tend to make. I suppose we'll start to mesh fairly quickly, though, so even if some kind of procedure were needed, we'd manage. But as scary as I know all of this was for Cerri (with a fully intact attachment to her birthparents, us), it would be so much more terrifying for a child in the midst of culture shock with parents that they weren't completely sure about yet. And how harrowing for the newly adopted parents, with a child who has only recently been placed in their full care, that they are only just beginning to discover and take over the deepest places in their hearts.
This past evening's experience drove home for me the realization that I am not one of those adoptive parents who can take on those kinds of medical issues intentionally. Of course, the unexpected can always happen -- A child (bio or adopted) who was believed to be healthy could turn out to have an illness or sustain an injury (like just now). And then you do what you have to in order to help the child & the rest of the family get through it. But no, I really can't see myself deliberately taking on the trauma of repeated surgeries & whatnot.
Right now, all I want is for Cerri to have a full & speedy recovery so that she is back to her old self again (albeit, just a LITTLE more cautious). Here's hoping...
Cerri broke her wrist last night (Wednesday). She had climbed onto the roof of a piece of toddler playground equipment. Of course, we tried to tell her no, but once she saw other kids doing it last Sunday, there was no stopping her. But this time there were no other kids, just her, reaching forward to hit a tree branch with a stick, and down she went. I can recall it in slower motion than it actually occurred. Even so, it could have been no more than a bruise -- She has deliberately jumped from higher spots. But it was the falling that did it, because I'm sure she instinctively reached out with her hand to break the fall.
We spent a rough evening in the E.R., but in some ways, it was much better than many hospital visits. We only had to wait a little over 1/2 hour before they brought her back to examine. And not long after that they were able to X-ray. I honestly expected then that we'd have a very long wait only to be told it's just a sprain, they'd wrap it up & send us home. But they called us back very quickly & showed us the X-ray of a completely displaced bone. There was some talk of surgery that fortunately wasn't needed. Cerri kind of had a meltdown or two as they prepped her for conscious sedation, but we were able to help her calm down. Once they got her "under," the doctor was able to completely reset the bone, and she was all done & cast in just a very few minutes. Then once she was over the effects of the sedation, we were able to get her home, stopping at a 24-hr WaWa to get her a milkshake on the way.
We had promised her an ice cream cone before all of this happened, and though the place we had planned to go was closed, she still wanted ice cream. I pointed out that a cone was probably not going to work with one hand but that she could choose ice cream in a cup (which I would feed to her if she wanted) or a milkshake. I still had to hold the cup & the straw in just the right way for her, but she got to enjoy a strawberry milkshake on the way home.
She's sleeping now, and I imagine she'll be pretty worn out for the next couple of days. I have to say, I do NOT envy those parents whose children need to go through multiple surgeries in childhood. It did occur to me that our adopted child(ren) may need some minor surgery, and it's scary to think about. I know that it made a HUGE difference that I know exactly what soothes my girl, and I could read her reactions very well, such as when one very well-meaning nurse was talking entirely too loudly & animatedly.
I know she meant well, and I hated to hurt her feelings. But I also wasn't willing to stand there & allow my daughter to be further distressed by it. And I couldn't take the nurse aside to discuss it because it was in the middle of 2 other staff members prepping Cerri for the sedation. I think she was trying to distract Cerri from what was happening, but it was just making her more upset. So, as politely as I could, I said something like "I think it would help her a lot if we could just use quiet voices." I wanted to reassure the woman that I wasn't trying to criticize, just recognizing that my daughter was feeling overwhelmed by too much noise & activity all at once. But I didn't have the opportunity to say anything more about it, and after that minute or two of prepping, I didn't see that nurse again. And I can't honestly say that I would recognize the woman again, at this point. There were a LOT of staff members that did one thing or another for my little girl, and I appreciate all of them, including the kind intentions of that nurse. And in fact, she did tone down immediately, so that was good. I guess I just want to send out a little good karma to her, because I probably hurt her feelings (not sure how much). I would have let it go & spared her feelings had it not been for my daughter's well-being in the midst of this trauma. And for my daughter's sake, I'd do it again if I had to.
Granted, toddler body language isn't exactly subtle. I think even with a completely unknown child on my hands, I could quickly figure out if something was causing them to get upset. But it will take time to learn what soothes my new children and/or them becoming accustomed to the kinds of soothing gestures that I tend to make. I suppose we'll start to mesh fairly quickly, though, so even if some kind of procedure were needed, we'd manage. But as scary as I know all of this was for Cerri (with a fully intact attachment to her birthparents, us), it would be so much more terrifying for a child in the midst of culture shock with parents that they weren't completely sure about yet. And how harrowing for the newly adopted parents, with a child who has only recently been placed in their full care, that they are only just beginning to discover and take over the deepest places in their hearts.
This past evening's experience drove home for me the realization that I am not one of those adoptive parents who can take on those kinds of medical issues intentionally. Of course, the unexpected can always happen -- A child (bio or adopted) who was believed to be healthy could turn out to have an illness or sustain an injury (like just now). And then you do what you have to in order to help the child & the rest of the family get through it. But no, I really can't see myself deliberately taking on the trauma of repeated surgeries & whatnot.
Right now, all I want is for Cerri to have a full & speedy recovery so that she is back to her old self again (albeit, just a LITTLE more cautious). Here's hoping...
Thursday, July 3, 2008
We're going to Perm!
[Mrs. Krispe again] Our home study, while not finalized, is approved by our agency (CHSFS). I guess they want some minor writeup revisions to make sure it's rock solid when it is submitted to USCIS. That's good, actually. I've been reading from others who had to get their social worker to revise & resubmit their home study, and that would be uber-stressful. CHS works with hundreds of families, so I'm confident that they know what they're doing & will make sure it's right. They're definitely earning their fees!
I've also read stories from others having all kinds of miscellaneous issues with paperwork & whatnot. It makes me realize that we chose wisely. So far, there has been so much clarity about what papers we need to provide when, where, to whom, etc. When we have questions, they respond quickly and (so far) accurately. It's still a lot of work, but not as much uncertainty as I've heard from others going through this.
I was a little worried at first. I thought their policy about maintaining birth order was too strict. Cerri spends time (even overnight) with cousins who are older than her all the time. If anything, she's most likely to feel a loss of status as the "baby" of the family. But after thinking it through more fully, we realized that it is not equivalent. After all, Cerri's cousins have always had access to plenty of food, mental & physical stimulation, and just one consistent culture, language, parents, etc. An adopted child, even if they are older than Cerri, is likely to be smaller & in need of some developmental catch-up. If that child is actually older than Cerri, this could cause added stress and generate some resentment between the children. (Obviously, helping our children bond together is one of our highest priorities.) So, after considering all that, we're now in favor of maintaining birth order for our adoption, but I really respect that CHS let us make the final decision on that issue.
Similarly, while they "assigned" us to our region of Russia, I know that we could ask for a different region if we wanted to (within the areas where CHS has a working relationship). But we've been gathering information about Perm since yesterday, and we're actually pretty excited about it. The city looks fairly picturesque, being on the banks of the Kama River & the foothills of the Ural mountains. I'm also impressed by what I've read of the university and the cultural opportunities there.
Should it matter what the region is like where our child(ren) is/are adopted from? Well, it doesn't matter in terms of how much we'll love our child(ren) or what s/he is capable of achieving in life. But I believe it enriches a child's life when their forever family has a genuine interest in their birth culture. And this is much more tangible & specific than a general appreciation of Russia. Heheh, the adoption is not even all that close to complete, and I'm already excited about bringing them back for a birth culture tour! :)
I've also read stories from others having all kinds of miscellaneous issues with paperwork & whatnot. It makes me realize that we chose wisely. So far, there has been so much clarity about what papers we need to provide when, where, to whom, etc. When we have questions, they respond quickly and (so far) accurately. It's still a lot of work, but not as much uncertainty as I've heard from others going through this.
I was a little worried at first. I thought their policy about maintaining birth order was too strict. Cerri spends time (even overnight) with cousins who are older than her all the time. If anything, she's most likely to feel a loss of status as the "baby" of the family. But after thinking it through more fully, we realized that it is not equivalent. After all, Cerri's cousins have always had access to plenty of food, mental & physical stimulation, and just one consistent culture, language, parents, etc. An adopted child, even if they are older than Cerri, is likely to be smaller & in need of some developmental catch-up. If that child is actually older than Cerri, this could cause added stress and generate some resentment between the children. (Obviously, helping our children bond together is one of our highest priorities.) So, after considering all that, we're now in favor of maintaining birth order for our adoption, but I really respect that CHS let us make the final decision on that issue.
Similarly, while they "assigned" us to our region of Russia, I know that we could ask for a different region if we wanted to (within the areas where CHS has a working relationship). But we've been gathering information about Perm since yesterday, and we're actually pretty excited about it. The city looks fairly picturesque, being on the banks of the Kama River & the foothills of the Ural mountains. I'm also impressed by what I've read of the university and the cultural opportunities there.
Should it matter what the region is like where our child(ren) is/are adopted from? Well, it doesn't matter in terms of how much we'll love our child(ren) or what s/he is capable of achieving in life. But I believe it enriches a child's life when their forever family has a genuine interest in their birth culture. And this is much more tangible & specific than a general appreciation of Russia. Heheh, the adoption is not even all that close to complete, and I'm already excited about bringing them back for a birth culture tour! :)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
[Mrs. Krispe] Homestudy Visit Completed
[This post written by Mrs. Krispe.]
Today is the anticlimactic end of a busy weekend-plus. We kind of deferred Father's Day until next weekend so that we could focus on getting the house clean. I know, the social worker is not there to evaluate how good a housekeeper I am. Still, I wanted to show our home in its best light. Besides, it's been awhile since we did a good thorough cleaning.
I can't say that I got things really organized. It was mostly cleaning up clutter, then vacuuming and floor cleaning. And wiping down counters & mirrors & dusting... On Sunday I had Kris take Cerri to FunLand. They had a good time, and I could clean more efficiently. By the end, I felt like the house was glowing, kind of like Nemo after the French cleaning shrimp finishes with him ("Voila! He is clean!") That said, I did leave a few things undone -- a half-folded basket of laundry on a spare bed, a couple of items on the drain board. I didn't want to seem like a total perfectionist. (Whether I am or not, I didn't want to APPEAR that way.) In any case, I am fairly certain that we won't be required to take a Remedial Housekeeping course before being allowed to adopt. :)
Monday, Cerri was nicely tired out from the weekend excitement, so we managed to get through the day with minimal re-cluttering. We dined out, giving me a little break & continuing to keep the house in a state of maximum cleanliness.
The home visit seemed really short to me. The whole thing (including the face-to-face interview with a referrer) was completed in just an hour. The house tour was actually quicker than a typical walk-through when we have friends & family come over for the first time. She was favorably impressed of course (truly it is a fantastic house), but mainly she just took a VERY quick look in each room and jotted down answers to her set questions (number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc). She didn't go down to the basement at all. Yes, it's unfinished, but I still vacuumed it, and there are things set up down there (a freezer, an area for overwintering plants with fluorescents & a timer...) No doubt we'll be storing some of our garden harvest down there on ventilated shelves. Still, I guess that's not really relevant to adoption.
We finished a few minutes before our referrer showed up, so we were able to show her the garden. When he arrived, they actually did the interview on our canopy-swing that faces the playset while Kris pushed Cerri on the swing and I weeded the garden. And then, just like that, she was finished.
As she said, the next time she sees us, it will be with our new child(ren).
Wow.
I can't fully grasp the idea. But then, it reminds me of what it was like when I was pregnant with Cerri. I knew it was going to happen, and I knew I wanted it, but somehow the whole thing didn't seem completely real to me until it really happened. It was pretty wonderful when it did. So, it's ok with me that I can't fully imagine it. That's probably better than having a bunch of daydreams and then being disappointed if it goes differently than I imagined it. I'd rather let things unfold in their own way & be open to appreciate each moment as it happens.
Today is the anticlimactic end of a busy weekend-plus. We kind of deferred Father's Day until next weekend so that we could focus on getting the house clean. I know, the social worker is not there to evaluate how good a housekeeper I am. Still, I wanted to show our home in its best light. Besides, it's been awhile since we did a good thorough cleaning.
I can't say that I got things really organized. It was mostly cleaning up clutter, then vacuuming and floor cleaning. And wiping down counters & mirrors & dusting... On Sunday I had Kris take Cerri to FunLand. They had a good time, and I could clean more efficiently. By the end, I felt like the house was glowing, kind of like Nemo after the French cleaning shrimp finishes with him ("Voila! He is clean!") That said, I did leave a few things undone -- a half-folded basket of laundry on a spare bed, a couple of items on the drain board. I didn't want to seem like a total perfectionist. (Whether I am or not, I didn't want to APPEAR that way.) In any case, I am fairly certain that we won't be required to take a Remedial Housekeeping course before being allowed to adopt. :)
Monday, Cerri was nicely tired out from the weekend excitement, so we managed to get through the day with minimal re-cluttering. We dined out, giving me a little break & continuing to keep the house in a state of maximum cleanliness.
The home visit seemed really short to me. The whole thing (including the face-to-face interview with a referrer) was completed in just an hour. The house tour was actually quicker than a typical walk-through when we have friends & family come over for the first time. She was favorably impressed of course (truly it is a fantastic house), but mainly she just took a VERY quick look in each room and jotted down answers to her set questions (number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc). She didn't go down to the basement at all. Yes, it's unfinished, but I still vacuumed it, and there are things set up down there (a freezer, an area for overwintering plants with fluorescents & a timer...) No doubt we'll be storing some of our garden harvest down there on ventilated shelves. Still, I guess that's not really relevant to adoption.
We finished a few minutes before our referrer showed up, so we were able to show her the garden. When he arrived, they actually did the interview on our canopy-swing that faces the playset while Kris pushed Cerri on the swing and I weeded the garden. And then, just like that, she was finished.
As she said, the next time she sees us, it will be with our new child(ren).
Wow.
I can't fully grasp the idea. But then, it reminds me of what it was like when I was pregnant with Cerri. I knew it was going to happen, and I knew I wanted it, but somehow the whole thing didn't seem completely real to me until it really happened. It was pretty wonderful when it did. So, it's ok with me that I can't fully imagine it. That's probably better than having a bunch of daydreams and then being disappointed if it goes differently than I imagined it. I'd rather let things unfold in their own way & be open to appreciate each moment as it happens.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Getting Ready for the Homestudy
Well our first homestudy appointment was suppossed to be yesterday but due to unfortunate accident it has been moved to tomorrow. So we have our first interview tomorrow. We have to go to Richmond to meet with the Home study worker. Then we have the actual Home visit on Tuesday of next week. Well this is all exciting as things are going nicely now. I am sure that once this part is done things will go back to a slower pace as we wait for USCIS approval. We will be submitting the
I-600A next week sometime. We were waiting to file this since we know that USCIS will not do anything with the processing of the I-600A until they have a completed homestudy. So now that it looks like the homestudy will go quickly time to file the I-600A. Then we will have to wait to find out what region in Russia we will be traveling to. Once we have that we will know exactly what they want for the Dossier. Since each region in Russia is different we have to wait until the region is assigned to put together the Dossier. Our Agency CHSFS will not assign the region until after they get the home study at least preliminary report back. So it looks like we may have a region in a couple of weeks as our home study should be done by end of next week at least pre-approval. Then the social worker has 30 days to put together the final product and deliver it to CHSFS.
I-600A next week sometime. We were waiting to file this since we know that USCIS will not do anything with the processing of the I-600A until they have a completed homestudy. So now that it looks like the homestudy will go quickly time to file the I-600A. Then we will have to wait to find out what region in Russia we will be traveling to. Once we have that we will know exactly what they want for the Dossier. Since each region in Russia is different we have to wait until the region is assigned to put together the Dossier. Our Agency CHSFS will not assign the region until after they get the home study at least preliminary report back. So it looks like we may have a region in a couple of weeks as our home study should be done by end of next week at least pre-approval. Then the social worker has 30 days to put together the final product and deliver it to CHSFS.
Friday, June 6, 2008
First Round of paperwork all complete. Starting homestudy
Well CHSFS finally received everything like the reference letters and clearances that were needed before starting the Home Study. We had all of our paperwork in that we had control over for the May 9th class. Now they have finally received the other paperwork. We received a call from the social worker who will be doing our HOME STUDY. Yea the process is moving along. We just now to schedule dates for two appointments to get the home study underway.
Pre Adoption Class
On May 9th we went to a pre-adoption class with CHSFS. It was nice getting to meet other future adoptive parents. Nobody else was adopting from Russia. Oh well we were hoping to meet someone else adopting from Russia. There were about 20 people in the room. They were adopting from all over Ethiopia, Korea, Mexico, Peru and of course we are adopting from Russia. Ethiopia was by far the most popular. CHSFS does seem to have a strong program for Ethiopia as well as the Russian and Korean Program. Had we not already wanted to adopt from Russia we might have choosen one of these other programs. Just before the class there was a mad rush to make sure that all of the first round of paperwork was complete. CHSFS Does seem to have a lot of paperwork that others need in the second round in the first round so maybe second round won't be so long.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Paperwork Progressing
Well we are diligently working on our paperwork. We are both about 3/4 finished with answering the questions and writing essays that are required to start the homestudy. It looks like our Pre-Adoption class will be scheduled for 9 May. Then shortly after that probably the Homestudy will be be underway. I know that the journey is a long and complicated one but it will be worth it in the end. Any thing that is this important is worth putting the effort into. This journey will change our lives forever and add an additional member or two to our family.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Paperwork Begins
Well we received the paperwork the other day. I think that we counted about twenty some documents of various types that we have to do in order to start the Home study. Some were very easy name etc. others will be be quiet time consuming and lengthy. I think that I will make it my goal to try and complete a portion of it every day until it is complete. Some of the paperwork will require long bits of writing as we answer the various questions that need to be answered. We also sent away for my daughter's passport so that we would not have to worry about that before we travel. As it is good for five years there is no doubt that it will still be good when we travel even if the process takes longer than normal. Well the paper chase has begun I think that this will be the most difficult part besides the waiting for a referral once the paperwork and dossier have been submitted. Of course anytime that you are dealing with any government office hurry up and wait is not uncommon. So therefore in the case of an international adoption where you have to deal with a minimum of 2 countries governments there is a potential for a lot of the hurry up and wait.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Russian Adoption Journey
This is our journey to adopt a child from Russia. We have just started this journey and will be providing updates as things progress. A little bit about our history, we were about to start the journey to adopt a child about four years ago (2004) when it looked like all of our Invitro-fertilization attempts had failed. Then we were blessed with a miracle, the last attempt at implanting the last of our frozen embryos actually worked. So all adoption processing came to a halt. Our daughter was born in February 2005. Now that we are settled it is time to once again start the process to adopt another child or two and complete our family. We have decided to adopt from Russia due to knowing a bit about the culture and I possess a basic understanding the language for the most part. Like I said this is the beginning of our journey and we will be adding to this journey as things progress. This is my first attempt at a blog. I will try to add feelings and frustrations as I know that the international adoption journey can be difficult at times. Hopefully this will be a journal for our child in the future as well as information source for others progressing through the adoption process. As a world traveler and adventurer, I am looking forward to the journey and sharing this journey with you.
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