I just received a call from Anna at Children's Hope! They received their copy of our 171-H Approval. That means ours is sitting in our mailbox at home!!!!!!!!!! I can barely believe it. I am praying that work lets me out early today, so we can get our documents notarized today! We may actually have all of our documents ready by the end of the year! Everything is really falling into place. It is so wonderful, but a little scary! After we get our documents completed then I have to start applying to grants, start the nursery, and make sure we have everything to travel at a moment's notice.
It is all worth it though! 2008 looks like it will be an exciting year. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us during this time.
Kristin
Friday, December 21, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Great News!
Children's Hope International has received their accreditation in Russia! Well, you are probably wondering why this is good news and what I am talking about. I never really went into this issue because I didn't want to add any confusion into the process. Basically, each adoption agency that works in Russia needs to be accredited by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. Children's Hope was, but like so many other agencies, theirs expired. Without accreditation the process slowed down immensely. Some regions even shut down. Now Russia has issued us a non-expiring accreditation, so things should start moving! Not only will some of their regions begin opening up, but they are also planning on opening up new regions. This should lead to more referrals. My adoption consultant won't say how much things will pick up, but I do believe that Nicholas will be home sooner than we thought.
We also plan on having our documents notarized either this weekend by someone at our bank or on the 31st by someone at our adoption agency. It all depends how are schedules pan out. Once everything is notarized and certified, Evan will take the documents to the Secretary of State in Columbus to have them apostilled. We'll have everything ready and waiting for our 171-H Approval from Immigration. Then our papers will be Russia-bound!
It feels like things are really starting to move. Even though we will have to wait for our referral an undetermined amount of time, I feel more hopeful and excited.
I want to leave you with one final question. I purchased something last week from Amazon.com. The question is: A toy for Nicholas or a toy for Evan? You decide.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The Big Reveal
Since I have not posted in about two weeks, I figured it was time to reveal our son's name. I, personally, wanted to name our son something that had a special meaning, not just something that sounded good with our last name. With that said, his name will be Nicholas James.
Now for the meaning behind it . . . We have had a boy's name picked out for years. Nicholas was not that name. However, my father-in-law mentioned it and we liked it. I had to look up its meaning before I agreed upon it. Nicholas means "victory of the people". Maybe I am stretching it, but I think the name's meaning is great. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ." My prayer for our son is that no matter what trials or tribulations come his way (including spending the first year of his life in an orphanage) that he turns to Christ for the victory.
The middle name "James" also has a special meaning to us, but not because it means "supplanter". This past March my grandfather passed away. Years ago, he began a spiritual legacy for our family. He chose to accept Christ as his personal savior. His decision led others in our family to make their own personal commitment. I will be forever grateful to him for this legacy. Nicholas will never personally know his great-grandfather, James. However, I pray that he also will make the decision to accept Christ as his personal savior and continue this legacy.
So, that is the name we chose and the reason behind it. I wish I had other news to share in this post about the adoption process, but things are at a standstill now. We are still waiting for our 171-H approval from Immigration. Hopefully, after the 1st of the year we will know more about our wait.
I will try not to let this much time lapse between posts. I am hoping next year Nicholas will be home for Christmas.
Kristin
Now for the meaning behind it . . . We have had a boy's name picked out for years. Nicholas was not that name. However, my father-in-law mentioned it and we liked it. I had to look up its meaning before I agreed upon it. Nicholas means "victory of the people". Maybe I am stretching it, but I think the name's meaning is great. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ." My prayer for our son is that no matter what trials or tribulations come his way (including spending the first year of his life in an orphanage) that he turns to Christ for the victory.
The middle name "James" also has a special meaning to us, but not because it means "supplanter". This past March my grandfather passed away. Years ago, he began a spiritual legacy for our family. He chose to accept Christ as his personal savior. His decision led others in our family to make their own personal commitment. I will be forever grateful to him for this legacy. Nicholas will never personally know his great-grandfather, James. However, I pray that he also will make the decision to accept Christ as his personal savior and continue this legacy.
So, that is the name we chose and the reason behind it. I wish I had other news to share in this post about the adoption process, but things are at a standstill now. We are still waiting for our 171-H approval from Immigration. Hopefully, after the 1st of the year we will know more about our wait.
I will try not to let this much time lapse between posts. I am hoping next year Nicholas will be home for Christmas.
Kristin
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Step 1 is Complete!
Our Home Study is finished! I was going to wait until I had a copy of it in my hand to make the announcement, but I felt it was time for a new post. Now we are onto the next step. I have prepared our registration documents that will be sent to Russia. Our adoption consultant has been looking them over and making sure that they are perfect. Once we get the "okay" I will print them out so we can get them notarized and apostilled.
Next, we wait for our I-171H approval from immigration. This is the last document we will need before the registration documents can be sent. I think it is safe to say that the approval is at the top of our Christmas list.
Step 3 will be the worst stage - WAITING! We will wait to be assigned a region in Russia. Then we will wait for a referral from that region. We have no idea how long this wait will be. During the wait we will start to get the nursery in order. And, we will probably buy a few more items here and there from Babies R Us. I love researching, so I have already started looking at what we will put on our registry. I even look at the customer ratings on each item. It is so much fun! I won't be officially registering until we are closer in the waiting process though.
Also, we have a name picked out for our son! Some of you already know it. For those of you who do not, I will be posting it in a future blog. I will explain why we chose the name we did. I figure it will give me something to blog about in the future. But, do not worry, I will not make you wait too long.
Kristin
Next, we wait for our I-171H approval from immigration. This is the last document we will need before the registration documents can be sent. I think it is safe to say that the approval is at the top of our Christmas list.
Step 3 will be the worst stage - WAITING! We will wait to be assigned a region in Russia. Then we will wait for a referral from that region. We have no idea how long this wait will be. During the wait we will start to get the nursery in order. And, we will probably buy a few more items here and there from Babies R Us. I love researching, so I have already started looking at what we will put on our registry. I even look at the customer ratings on each item. It is so much fun! I won't be officially registering until we are closer in the waiting process though.
Also, we have a name picked out for our son! Some of you already know it. For those of you who do not, I will be posting it in a future blog. I will explain why we chose the name we did. I figure it will give me something to blog about in the future. But, do not worry, I will not make you wait too long.
Kristin
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
A Reason to be Thankful
On Monday we finally got our Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Results from the State Of Ohio. Yesterday I faxed copies to our agency and immediately put them in the mail. Our agency was going to try and complete our Home Study by today, but unfortunately, our social worker left for the holiday and it will not be completed until early next week. That's okay, I guess. I am starting to believe that any delay that happens in this process is happening for a reason. Although, it still is frustrating.
I am sure the next couple of weeks will involve us getting our registry documents notarized and apostilled. Thankfully, Evan is in the Columbus area almost every day and that is where we have to go to get the documents apostilled (better known as verifying that our notary is really a notary in the state of Ohio). I am excited that we are getting to this stage. However, once all the paperwork is complete, how long do we wait? The wait times have been changing and not for the better. We know that this can change at any time, so I am not going to get too worried right now.
That is all the news for now. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Kristin
I am sure the next couple of weeks will involve us getting our registry documents notarized and apostilled. Thankfully, Evan is in the Columbus area almost every day and that is where we have to go to get the documents apostilled (better known as verifying that our notary is really a notary in the state of Ohio). I am excited that we are getting to this stage. However, once all the paperwork is complete, how long do we wait? The wait times have been changing and not for the better. We know that this can change at any time, so I am not going to get too worried right now.
That is all the news for now. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Kristin
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Getting Closer . . .
So, yesterday we got our fingerprints taken. We got in and out fairly quickly, which was surprising. Usually you have to sit forever in the waiting room for these kind of things. Our fingerprints were taken a little different than they were for the home study. They still used a computer, but they had to roll each individual finger, so they could get the sides of the fingers as well. The guy who did mine must have been having a bad day. He never smiled and I think he rolled my fingers a little harder than I would have liked. But, it's done.
Evan and I both took the day off from work, so we decided that after our appointment we would go to Target and Babies R Us to look at items we will eventually put on our registry. That was a lot of fun! We also picked out the bedding and bought the crib sheet to solidfy that decision. :) We bought a few other things here and there. Nothing crazy.
We also met our new new nephew, Carter. He's just a little guy, but very cute!!! Sorry, there are no close-ups just yet.
We do have some good news. Yesterday when we got home from our day out, we found a voicemail waiting from our agency. It turns out that they called the State of Ohio about our Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Results and now they will be in our mailbox by Friday! I don't know what they said, but I can't wait until they are finally here. Then we will be focusing on getting our registration documents ready to send to Russia.
I will keep you posted.
Kristin
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Two Posts in One Day!
I know it is amazing for me to post this much. However, I forgot to mention something very important. November is National Adoption Month!!! If you have any free time, please listen to this program: http://www.mbn.org/GenMoody/default.asp?SectionID=CBD5EDA2339845878FBDDDB995E526E7
It is a radio program from Moody Bible Network that is talking about adoption. It will be a great resource for those interested in adoption or helping others that want to adopt! Just scroll down to the 11/05/07 program. Click on "audio". Enjoy!
Kristin
It is a radio program from Moody Bible Network that is talking about adoption. It will be a great resource for those interested in adoption or helping others that want to adopt! Just scroll down to the 11/05/07 program. Click on "audio". Enjoy!
Kristin
Attachment and Bonding
Yesterday we had our two and a half hour seminar on attachment and bonding. When I first saw that it was going to be that long, I wondered how I was going to sit through it. How much can one person talk about on one topic? Well, it turns out that it was very informative and not very boring. There were probably 20-25 people there. There were families that were adopting from China, Vietnam, Ethiopa, Columbia, Kazakhstan, and one other person from Russia. It was great to meet people going through the adoption process like us. We voiced our frustrations with the process, but also what we were looking forward to as well. One of the highlights of the morning was when a woman brought her recently adopted son in, so we could meet him and ask her questions. He was 2 1/2 years old and from Vietnam. He was absolutely adorable!
I guess I will give a couple of examples of ways to bond and attach with our child for those that are interested.
1. Don't let your child be passed around or go to others until they are attached. The length of time varies from child to child. (He needs to know that we are his parents. I know this will be hard for family at first.)
2. Hold your child as much as you can. Use a stroller on a limited basis.
3. Only mother and father should hold, feed and nurture, not extended family and friends until child is attached. Parents should provide basic needs, physical and emotional. Meet the child's needs to establish that you are reliable providers and they don't have to rely upon themselves.
4. Provide high nurture and high structure.
5. Encourage loving eye contact in every way you can.
6. Reparent your child as if younger. (This also helps the baby rely more on us. In the orphanage he will be more independent because the orphanage workers can only give limited time to each child).
7. Bottle feed (or use sippy cup) with eye contact even if a child has been weaned from a bottle. Parents should hold the bottle and place the food in the child's mouth as soon as they can progress to it. You want to increase dependence on you, not have the child rely upon orphanage training and self-reliance.
8. Sleeping arrangements: Don't let your child "cry it out" at night - go to them or sleep near them if they cry.
These are just some of the many suggestions we received. Some children will come home and bond/attach fairly quickly. Others take longer. We know that it is going to take a lot of patience on everyone's part. Even though our son will come home at 12-18 months, we probably will have to treat him like he is younger for awhile.
I do want to mention that our agency will be holding a Family Day in February They invite family and close friends of those adopting to come and hear more about the process. They will also touch on these issues.
I do have a non-adoption related announcement. It seems I was not far off in my last post. We do have a new addition to the Morgan family. Friday night my sister-in-law had her son, Carter. We are very happy for her and Jason!
As I type this entry, my parents are scheduled to touch down in Minneapolis in less than an hour! Hopefully, they will catch their flight to Cleveland. Last year Customs held them up and they missed their plane. Evan and I will be picking them up at Hopkins airport early this evening.
With my parents going to Latvia these past two years and stumbling upon that Guatemala adoption blog last year at this time, I really see how God has led us to adopting our son. I really do feel like adoption is a great option, whether infertility is a factor or not. There are so many orphans out there and so many people that could provide them with loving homes. I do not know if God will call us to adopt more children, but I know that if He wants us to, then I am definitely open to it.
Well, the next post will probably be about our fingerprinting adventure. Stay tuned.
Kristin
I guess I will give a couple of examples of ways to bond and attach with our child for those that are interested.
1. Don't let your child be passed around or go to others until they are attached. The length of time varies from child to child. (He needs to know that we are his parents. I know this will be hard for family at first.)
2. Hold your child as much as you can. Use a stroller on a limited basis.
3. Only mother and father should hold, feed and nurture, not extended family and friends until child is attached. Parents should provide basic needs, physical and emotional. Meet the child's needs to establish that you are reliable providers and they don't have to rely upon themselves.
4. Provide high nurture and high structure.
5. Encourage loving eye contact in every way you can.
6. Reparent your child as if younger. (This also helps the baby rely more on us. In the orphanage he will be more independent because the orphanage workers can only give limited time to each child).
7. Bottle feed (or use sippy cup) with eye contact even if a child has been weaned from a bottle. Parents should hold the bottle and place the food in the child's mouth as soon as they can progress to it. You want to increase dependence on you, not have the child rely upon orphanage training and self-reliance.
8. Sleeping arrangements: Don't let your child "cry it out" at night - go to them or sleep near them if they cry.
These are just some of the many suggestions we received. Some children will come home and bond/attach fairly quickly. Others take longer. We know that it is going to take a lot of patience on everyone's part. Even though our son will come home at 12-18 months, we probably will have to treat him like he is younger for awhile.
I do want to mention that our agency will be holding a Family Day in February They invite family and close friends of those adopting to come and hear more about the process. They will also touch on these issues.
I do have a non-adoption related announcement. It seems I was not far off in my last post. We do have a new addition to the Morgan family. Friday night my sister-in-law had her son, Carter. We are very happy for her and Jason!
As I type this entry, my parents are scheduled to touch down in Minneapolis in less than an hour! Hopefully, they will catch their flight to Cleveland. Last year Customs held them up and they missed their plane. Evan and I will be picking them up at Hopkins airport early this evening.
With my parents going to Latvia these past two years and stumbling upon that Guatemala adoption blog last year at this time, I really see how God has led us to adopting our son. I really do feel like adoption is a great option, whether infertility is a factor or not. There are so many orphans out there and so many people that could provide them with loving homes. I do not know if God will call us to adopt more children, but I know that if He wants us to, then I am definitely open to it.
Well, the next post will probably be about our fingerprinting adventure. Stay tuned.
Kristin
Thursday, November 8, 2007
So close, but yet so far away . . .
I am getting excited about all that is happening in the next week for our adoption. Saturday morning we have our training/last home study visit. Tuesday is our Immigration fingerprints. Everything is moving along as it should be. However, we still have that small problem with the State of Ohio. I called them Tuesday to inquire about our Child Abuse and Neglect Registry results. It turns out that our files were on one woman's desk and since I called they would be moved to the proper woman's desk. I asked her if that meant we would receive them soon? She said it should help. Not a very definitive answer, but I am hoping my phone call means it will be here by Friday's mail. This one little document is all we need for a complete home study. And, a complete home study is all we need to send to immigration so we can receive our I-171H approval, so we can register our documents in Russia. I know it will all work out, but it is still frustrating.
On another note, my parents will be flying home from Latvia on Sunday. We have received a few updates from them and it sounds like their trip is going very well. I look forward to hearing more and seeing pictures from their trip.
Also, we are anxiously awaiting the birth of our son's cousin. Evan's sister, Amanda is due any day with her son. The cool thing is that our son with only be months apart from Amanda's. It will be nice that the cousins can grow up together.
So, that is the news for now. Hopefully, I will have good news for our next post.
Kristin
On another note, my parents will be flying home from Latvia on Sunday. We have received a few updates from them and it sounds like their trip is going very well. I look forward to hearing more and seeing pictures from their trip.
Also, we are anxiously awaiting the birth of our son's cousin. Evan's sister, Amanda is due any day with her son. The cool thing is that our son with only be months apart from Amanda's. It will be nice that the cousins can grow up together.
So, that is the news for now. Hopefully, I will have good news for our next post.
Kristin
Thursday, November 1, 2007
We Got The Appointment!!!
I haven't had the chance to update this blog, since I got my mail a couple of days ago. Inside was two important looking envelopes from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. We received our fingerprinting appointment for immigration! On Tuesday, November 13th, Evan and I will be going downtown to complete a very important step in the process. Once we receive Immigration's approval (which may take 4-6 weeks or more after fingerprinting), then we can send our documents to Russia. It's very exciting!
However, we still need our Child Abuse and Neglect Registry results from the State of Ohio. I tried calling yesterday to get some kind of status update, but was transferred all over kingdom come. I have our agency looking into it. We really need that document, so our home study can be complete. Immigration needs are home study for our approval as well, so it would be nice if they had it by the time we are fingerprinted. So, please continue to pray that we receive this document this week.
Onto other news . . . my parents leave this morning for Latvia. Many of you may wonder, "Where is Latvia?" Well, it's next to RUSSIA! My parents are going there on a missions trip with Buckner Orphan Care International (http://www.helporphans.org/). They will be bringing shoes for the babies and children in the orphanages. They will also be conducting VBS for the children. They went last year as well. Hearing my parents talk about how easy it was to love these children may have also sparked my interest in adoption. They will be gone from November 1-11. Please keep them in your prayers as well.
Well, I hope to have more exciting news in the next couple of weeks. I can't wait until all the paperwork is complete and sent to the appropriate places. Then, we can really focus on getting everything ready for the baby!
Kristin
However, we still need our Child Abuse and Neglect Registry results from the State of Ohio. I tried calling yesterday to get some kind of status update, but was transferred all over kingdom come. I have our agency looking into it. We really need that document, so our home study can be complete. Immigration needs are home study for our approval as well, so it would be nice if they had it by the time we are fingerprinted. So, please continue to pray that we receive this document this week.
Onto other news . . . my parents leave this morning for Latvia. Many of you may wonder, "Where is Latvia?" Well, it's next to RUSSIA! My parents are going there on a missions trip with Buckner Orphan Care International (http://www.helporphans.org/). They will be bringing shoes for the babies and children in the orphanages. They will also be conducting VBS for the children. They went last year as well. Hearing my parents talk about how easy it was to love these children may have also sparked my interest in adoption. They will be gone from November 1-11. Please keep them in your prayers as well.
Well, I hope to have more exciting news in the next couple of weeks. I can't wait until all the paperwork is complete and sent to the appropriate places. Then, we can really focus on getting everything ready for the baby!
Kristin
Sunday, October 21, 2007
That Was Painless!
So, our social worker came yesterday to our house. The visit was pretty simple and was over before we knew it. She collected more of our paperwork and answered any questions that we had. We also showed her around our house and showed her where the baby would be sleeping. We were not expected to have it looking like a nursery yet. However, we are going to start planning that out in the next few months. That will also help us feel more like a child is coming (See Retail Therapy Part 2 below).
Now we have only one more home study "visit" left. We are going to a training session, which is coincidentally going to be held at our church. This counts as a visit, so we will be done with our part by November 10th. Besides that "visit" there is only one document that we need to have for our home study to be complete: Ohio Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Results for each of us. It takes 6-8 weeks for them to find out that we do not have a record of being child abusers. We are at 6 weeks now, so it should be here any day. So, please pray that it comes this week!
Also, we are anxiously waiting our fingerprinting appointment from the United States Citizen and Immigration Services office in Cleveland. Yes, we have to get fingerprinted again. The State of Ohio needed them done and now the Federal government. I guess they cannot share the results. ;) We need this to happen ASAP. It will move us one step closer to being approved to adopt by the United States, so we can send our dossier to Russia. It would be nice if we could have our dossier translated and sent to Russia by January. I hope I am not too optimistic about this timeline.
Onto Retail Therapy Part 2 . . . I guess Evan also struggles with feeling like this adoption is real. I purchased a small amount of items for the baby last weekend and this weekend was his turn. Please see the pictures below.
Now we have only one more home study "visit" left. We are going to a training session, which is coincidentally going to be held at our church. This counts as a visit, so we will be done with our part by November 10th. Besides that "visit" there is only one document that we need to have for our home study to be complete: Ohio Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Results for each of us. It takes 6-8 weeks for them to find out that we do not have a record of being child abusers. We are at 6 weeks now, so it should be here any day. So, please pray that it comes this week!
Also, we are anxiously waiting our fingerprinting appointment from the United States Citizen and Immigration Services office in Cleveland. Yes, we have to get fingerprinted again. The State of Ohio needed them done and now the Federal government. I guess they cannot share the results. ;) We need this to happen ASAP. It will move us one step closer to being approved to adopt by the United States, so we can send our dossier to Russia. It would be nice if we could have our dossier translated and sent to Russia by January. I hope I am not too optimistic about this timeline.
Onto Retail Therapy Part 2 . . . I guess Evan also struggles with feeling like this adoption is real. I purchased a small amount of items for the baby last weekend and this weekend was his turn. Please see the pictures below.
Kristin's Retail Therapy
Evan's Retail Therapy
Evan has an easier time spending money than I do. While it is nice to buy a few things here and there, I did remind him that we will have a baby shower in the future. :) In reality, I am happy that he is excited.
Kristin
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Retail Therapy
I am not a shopper by any means. I love to save money, not spend it. However, this past weekend I found that spending a little bit of money actually made me feel a little better. My sister and I had talked about heading over to Babies R Us for the past month. I wanted to get some ideas of the things I would need and get some ideas for the nursery. Also, we have a baby shower coming up soon, so we decided on Sunday to kill two birds with one stone. After leaving the store with some toys and a pair of overalls for my baby, I never felt better. I know it will be a while until we head to Russia, but doing small things, such as buying a pair of overalls, makes me feel like my child is really on his way.
Onto paperwork news . . . We are still trying to get the fire inspector to come to our house. It turns out that when he said he was "part-time", he meant "barely-any-time". He only works 5 days this month!!! So, hopefully, we will get an appointment on one of his many days. :)
Also, I have decided to teach myself Russian. Even though we will have a translator with us in Russia, it will be nice to be able to read signs and menus on my own. It may also help initially to speak to our son in Russian a bit. Although, I am sure the pronunciation may be a bit botched. Even with all of my years of Spanish (7 1/2 - No, I am not fluent!) I was always better at reading and writing it than I was speaking it. But, I am determined to at least master the basics.
So, that is what is going on right now. I will update more after our social worker's visit on Saturday.
Kristin
UPDATE: The fire inspector is coming at 1:00 PM today!!!
Onto paperwork news . . . We are still trying to get the fire inspector to come to our house. It turns out that when he said he was "part-time", he meant "barely-any-time". He only works 5 days this month!!! So, hopefully, we will get an appointment on one of his many days. :)
Also, I have decided to teach myself Russian. Even though we will have a translator with us in Russia, it will be nice to be able to read signs and menus on my own. It may also help initially to speak to our son in Russian a bit. Although, I am sure the pronunciation may be a bit botched. Even with all of my years of Spanish (7 1/2 - No, I am not fluent!) I was always better at reading and writing it than I was speaking it. But, I am determined to at least master the basics.
So, that is what is going on right now. I will update more after our social worker's visit on Saturday.
Kristin
UPDATE: The fire inspector is coming at 1:00 PM today!!!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Is this real?
Since this adoption process has started, I have really struggled with feeling like this is real. Are we really adopting a child? Sure, we are filling out a lot of paperwork, but there really is no other evidence of a child. It is not like a physical pregnancy where your body is changing. I am having physical symptoms too, but mostly from stress.
When we started this process, I decided that I wanted to deal with any issues that I had that may stop me from being the best mom I could be. I asked God to bring them to light and boy, did He! So, if you could just keep me in your prayers as I go through this refining process. I know that as parents we can pass down to our children good traits and habits, but also a lot of our bad traits. I do not want my son to come home and learn from me how to be fearful or to be a worrier. I decided that I want to deal with all my "baggage" now. It has not been easy, but I know that the rewards will be great later.
For all of you early birds with the Discovery Health Channel, I have a show for you. At 6:30 A.M. (yes, A.M.), is "Adoption Stories". They follow the journey of parents adopting children, both domestic and international. Watching these parents meet their children for the first time really helps me have hope and excitement for when we meet our son. So, check it out (or use your DVR, if you have one)!
Well, that's all I have for now. We meet the social worker again in less than two weeks. Once our Home Study is done, we will start on our dossier. That will be another step closer, to meeting our son.
Kristin
When we started this process, I decided that I wanted to deal with any issues that I had that may stop me from being the best mom I could be. I asked God to bring them to light and boy, did He! So, if you could just keep me in your prayers as I go through this refining process. I know that as parents we can pass down to our children good traits and habits, but also a lot of our bad traits. I do not want my son to come home and learn from me how to be fearful or to be a worrier. I decided that I want to deal with all my "baggage" now. It has not been easy, but I know that the rewards will be great later.
For all of you early birds with the Discovery Health Channel, I have a show for you. At 6:30 A.M. (yes, A.M.), is "Adoption Stories". They follow the journey of parents adopting children, both domestic and international. Watching these parents meet their children for the first time really helps me have hope and excitement for when we meet our son. So, check it out (or use your DVR, if you have one)!
Well, that's all I have for now. We meet the social worker again in less than two weeks. Once our Home Study is done, we will start on our dossier. That will be another step closer, to meeting our son.
Kristin
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
I Am Still Alive
My sister has gently reminded me several times that I have not updated in awhile. Not too much has happened with the adoption. We are just working on getting the last bit of paperwork done for our Home Study. Our Social Worker is in Africa for the next two weeks, but I made sure we set up another visit with her when she comes back. So, she should be coming to our house on October 20th. Our agency is holding a "training day" on November 10th where they will be talking about attachment/bonding and cultural issues. Since, the home study is also about educating us, this will count as our last visit. After the seminar, we will be done with our part of the Home Study. So, that's all the adoption news right now.
Onto the rest of our life . . . this past Thursday was a very eventful day. I had been having trouble with my sinuses and especially my ears, so I made a doctor's appointment before work. Evan and I had already planned on taking my car in because the brake light kept coming on. Well, on the way to the doctor's office the "check engine" light also came on, followed by a horrible noise. So, we were glad we planned on taking the car in that morning. Fast forward a few hours . . . I was at work when Evan called to tell me he had some bad news. My car no longer was safe to drive. Basically, we needed a new car right away. That really wasn't what I wanted to hear since we have a lot of expenses with the adoption.
So, goodbye 1998 Sable
Hello, 2007 Taurus
Onto the rest of our life . . . this past Thursday was a very eventful day. I had been having trouble with my sinuses and especially my ears, so I made a doctor's appointment before work. Evan and I had already planned on taking my car in because the brake light kept coming on. Well, on the way to the doctor's office the "check engine" light also came on, followed by a horrible noise. So, we were glad we planned on taking the car in that morning. Fast forward a few hours . . . I was at work when Evan called to tell me he had some bad news. My car no longer was safe to drive. Basically, we needed a new car right away. That really wasn't what I wanted to hear since we have a lot of expenses with the adoption.
So, goodbye 1998 Sable
Hello, 2007 Taurus
It is nice having a safer, more reliable car. The Taurus has almost 100,000 miles less than my Sable. The only feature that I required was that my new car had a CD Player. That just goes to show you how old my last car was.
I will try to update more regularly. Any day now we should be receiving Evan's passport. If he says it is okay, I will post his passport picture. Let's just say that Evan made sure his eyes were wide open! We think that may have had something to do with the delay. His picture may have been passed around the passport office. :)
Kristin
Friday, September 21, 2007
An Answered Prayer!
My prayers from yesterday were answered quickly. This morning I received an e-mail that my passport has been mailed and I should receive it by Tuesday. Now we are just waiting on Evan's. The funny thing is that his was just a renewal, so it was supposed to be processed quicker than mine. There must be something shady about him. :)
Beth asked a good question in the Comments Section in regards to which part of Russia we will adopt our son. Russia is a very large country. I think there are 11 times zones within it. Our agency works in about 8-10 regions (which would be like states in the U.S). Some of the regions are in Siberia and others are closer to Moscow. When our dossier is submitted they will look at the wait time in each region and probably give us one or two choices. Vladivostok is an 8 hour flight from Moscow, so this region may not be as appealing to us as Tver, which is a 2-3 hour drive from Moscow. Two of the regions, Pskov and Smolensk, we can travel by train. I know Evan would love one of the those regions if we are given the choice.
When we travel to Russia we will have translators and drivers holding our hands every step of the way. We are responsible for getting to and from Moscow. However, all travel within the country is handled by our agency's Moscow office. Time to save up our airline miles!
To answer Beth's other question, Evan has been nice enough not to suggest any baby names with references to Ohio State. However, I want everyone to know that our child will be entering the United States wearing an Ohio State outfit! I am sure very few people are surprised.
Kristin
Beth asked a good question in the Comments Section in regards to which part of Russia we will adopt our son. Russia is a very large country. I think there are 11 times zones within it. Our agency works in about 8-10 regions (which would be like states in the U.S). Some of the regions are in Siberia and others are closer to Moscow. When our dossier is submitted they will look at the wait time in each region and probably give us one or two choices. Vladivostok is an 8 hour flight from Moscow, so this region may not be as appealing to us as Tver, which is a 2-3 hour drive from Moscow. Two of the regions, Pskov and Smolensk, we can travel by train. I know Evan would love one of the those regions if we are given the choice.
When we travel to Russia we will have translators and drivers holding our hands every step of the way. We are responsible for getting to and from Moscow. However, all travel within the country is handled by our agency's Moscow office. Time to save up our airline miles!
To answer Beth's other question, Evan has been nice enough not to suggest any baby names with references to Ohio State. However, I want everyone to know that our child will be entering the United States wearing an Ohio State outfit! I am sure very few people are surprised.
Kristin
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Book 'Em!
This afternoon Evan and I went to jail! Technically we were at the Medina County Jail, but they didn’t keep us. We were there to get our fingerprints taken, which is required by the State of Ohio for our Home Study. It is really nice and easy these days. All you do is put your fingers on a touch pad and it shows up on the computer. Now our fingerprints are off to both the State of Ohio and the FBI. That puts us another step closer to being finished with our Home Study.
This afternoon I realized that I really had not discussed the adoption process. So, I thought I would give a general timeline of events. I figure our Home Study should be completed by the end of October. Pretty soon we will start collecting our documents for our dossier. This will take until December or January to complete. The hold-up is the government. We already sent in our I-600A Form, which is an "Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition". We will need to submit our Home Study as well once it is complete. They will also make us get fingerprinted once again in the next month or so. Then they will send us the Form I-171H, “Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition”. This is what we will need in order to be partially approved to immigrate our son to the United States (the remainder of the approval happens while we are in-country). The Form I-171H is what takes the longest.
Once the dossier is complete and we received our Form I-171H, our dossier is reviewed and sent to Russia. This is where we wait and wait and possibly, wait some more. The waiting may even take up to a year (we hope less). Then we are given a referral. Unfortunately, most of Russia’s referrals are a “blind referral”. This means that we will probably not get a picture or any information on our son. We have requested an infant boy that is 18 months or younger. That is the youngest age range that you can request. Most likely he will be 12-18 months when referred. However, a few people are referred a 9-11 month old.
Once we find out that they have a referral for us. We will be invited to come to Russia to meet our referral. We will probably only get a couple weeks notice. The first trip is about a week long. We will get to meet our son and visit him at the orphanage. We will also be given any medical information and limited, if any, family history.
Then we have to go back home – without him. This will be very hard for us. Russia is a two-trip country. Approximately 2-4 months later, we will have our court date. Yes, we will have to stand in front of a Russian Judge. This sounds just a little intimidating. We will also be able to change our son’s name here and he will be given a new birth certificate. There is usually a 10-day waiting period before we can have custody. Some judges waive this waiting period, some do not. If you would like to start praying now, we would like it waived. This trip is a long trip anyway. We will be there about 10 days. If the 10-days are not waived, we will be there for three weeks!!!!
Finally, after doing some paperwork in Moscow the last few days of the trip, we fly back home. Once our plane hits the United States, our son is a citizen.
I know that was a lot of information to take in. I’ll go into more detail as time goes on. But, I hope this gives you a little more insight.
Kristin
This afternoon I realized that I really had not discussed the adoption process. So, I thought I would give a general timeline of events. I figure our Home Study should be completed by the end of October. Pretty soon we will start collecting our documents for our dossier. This will take until December or January to complete. The hold-up is the government. We already sent in our I-600A Form, which is an "Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition". We will need to submit our Home Study as well once it is complete. They will also make us get fingerprinted once again in the next month or so. Then they will send us the Form I-171H, “Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition”. This is what we will need in order to be partially approved to immigrate our son to the United States (the remainder of the approval happens while we are in-country). The Form I-171H is what takes the longest.
Once the dossier is complete and we received our Form I-171H, our dossier is reviewed and sent to Russia. This is where we wait and wait and possibly, wait some more. The waiting may even take up to a year (we hope less). Then we are given a referral. Unfortunately, most of Russia’s referrals are a “blind referral”. This means that we will probably not get a picture or any information on our son. We have requested an infant boy that is 18 months or younger. That is the youngest age range that you can request. Most likely he will be 12-18 months when referred. However, a few people are referred a 9-11 month old.
Once we find out that they have a referral for us. We will be invited to come to Russia to meet our referral. We will probably only get a couple weeks notice. The first trip is about a week long. We will get to meet our son and visit him at the orphanage. We will also be given any medical information and limited, if any, family history.
Then we have to go back home – without him. This will be very hard for us. Russia is a two-trip country. Approximately 2-4 months later, we will have our court date. Yes, we will have to stand in front of a Russian Judge. This sounds just a little intimidating. We will also be able to change our son’s name here and he will be given a new birth certificate. There is usually a 10-day waiting period before we can have custody. Some judges waive this waiting period, some do not. If you would like to start praying now, we would like it waived. This trip is a long trip anyway. We will be there about 10 days. If the 10-days are not waived, we will be there for three weeks!!!!
Finally, after doing some paperwork in Moscow the last few days of the trip, we fly back home. Once our plane hits the United States, our son is a citizen.
I know that was a lot of information to take in. I’ll go into more detail as time goes on. But, I hope this gives you a little more insight.
Kristin
Monday, September 17, 2007
First Meeting with our Social Worker
One Social worker visit down and two more to go. Saturday night we went to our Social Worker, Julia's house for an informal visit. There was one other woman there who is adopting from Kazakhstan. Basically, Julia collected some of our paperwork and went into more detail about the Home Study process. It seems pretty harmless. She is not going to come into our house with a white glove or anything. She is going to help educate us on having an adopted child.
When we bring our son home we will have to treat him differently than we would a biological child at his age (12-18 months). Orphans are not use to having their needs met promptly and sometimes not met at all. Julia adopted two children herself. She gave an example of how her son had a very bad earache that most children would be screaming over. This child said nothing. He was use to handling things on his own. So, we are going to learn about bonding and attachment. We actually want our son to be less independent and more dependent on us in the beginning, so we can gain his trust.
So, basically, we only have a few more documents to go for our Home Study: a safety audit (conducted by the social worker), fire inspection, medical forms, and financial forms. I hope to have all of these completed by the end of the month.
We are still waiting on our passports to arrive. We did not pay for expediting because so many people told us that it was not necessary. It has been three weeks, so we hope to see them soon. The passports are important to have now because we have to put our passport number on most of our dossier documents. So, please pray they come quickly.
I want to close by inviting questions from anyone that has them. That will give me more topics to post about, since paperwork isn't always the most exciting topic. That way this blog will become more interactive. Either e-mail me (if you have the address) or post questions in the comments section.
Kristin
When we bring our son home we will have to treat him differently than we would a biological child at his age (12-18 months). Orphans are not use to having their needs met promptly and sometimes not met at all. Julia adopted two children herself. She gave an example of how her son had a very bad earache that most children would be screaming over. This child said nothing. He was use to handling things on his own. So, we are going to learn about bonding and attachment. We actually want our son to be less independent and more dependent on us in the beginning, so we can gain his trust.
So, basically, we only have a few more documents to go for our Home Study: a safety audit (conducted by the social worker), fire inspection, medical forms, and financial forms. I hope to have all of these completed by the end of the month.
We are still waiting on our passports to arrive. We did not pay for expediting because so many people told us that it was not necessary. It has been three weeks, so we hope to see them soon. The passports are important to have now because we have to put our passport number on most of our dossier documents. So, please pray they come quickly.
I want to close by inviting questions from anyone that has them. That will give me more topics to post about, since paperwork isn't always the most exciting topic. That way this blog will become more interactive. Either e-mail me (if you have the address) or post questions in the comments section.
Kristin
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Lots and Lots of Paperwork!
I just wanted to start out by thanking everyone for their support. Your e-mails and comments have meant so much to us. We are thankful for all of you.
Onto the topic at hand . . . we are at the paperwork stage of our journey. For those of you who know me well, I am a self-proclaimed NERD! I like researching. I like lists. And, I like paperwork! So, this adoption process is right up my alley. We have to gather documents for our Home Study. Then we have to gather more documents for our dossier. The dossier is what will be sent to Russia.
Just so you can get an idea of some of the documents, here are some examples:
1. Birth Certificates
2. Marriage License
3. Fire Inspection
4. Reference Letters (Thank you so much to those who are writing them! We really appreciate it!!!)
5. Various Fingerprints (State and FBI)
6. Documentation from our vet saying that our cats have all their vaccinations
7. Letters from our employers
8. Medical forms (the ones for the dossier need to be notarized!)
9. Proof of automobile insurance
10. Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Results
Most of these documents are just for our Home Study. We haven't even really began collecting our dossier documents. My goal is to collect them as quick as possible. This is the only part of the journey where we have the control. We basically hurry up and then wait. So, the quicker we complete our Home Study and dossier, the earlier we will receive our referral.
I'll try to explain some of the adoption lingo we are learning in upcoming blogs. We also have our first Home Study visit with our social worker on Saturday. She is having a session at her house with a couple of families in our area who are adopting. We will be able to bring her some of our paperwork and ask her any questions. Hopefully, I will understand the process even better myself after Saturday.
Thanks again for your support!
Kristin
Onto the topic at hand . . . we are at the paperwork stage of our journey. For those of you who know me well, I am a self-proclaimed NERD! I like researching. I like lists. And, I like paperwork! So, this adoption process is right up my alley. We have to gather documents for our Home Study. Then we have to gather more documents for our dossier. The dossier is what will be sent to Russia.
Just so you can get an idea of some of the documents, here are some examples:
1. Birth Certificates
2. Marriage License
3. Fire Inspection
4. Reference Letters (Thank you so much to those who are writing them! We really appreciate it!!!)
5. Various Fingerprints (State and FBI)
6. Documentation from our vet saying that our cats have all their vaccinations
7. Letters from our employers
8. Medical forms (the ones for the dossier need to be notarized!)
9. Proof of automobile insurance
10. Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Results
Most of these documents are just for our Home Study. We haven't even really began collecting our dossier documents. My goal is to collect them as quick as possible. This is the only part of the journey where we have the control. We basically hurry up and then wait. So, the quicker we complete our Home Study and dossier, the earlier we will receive our referral.
I'll try to explain some of the adoption lingo we are learning in upcoming blogs. We also have our first Home Study visit with our social worker on Saturday. She is having a session at her house with a couple of families in our area who are adopting. We will be able to bring her some of our paperwork and ask her any questions. Hopefully, I will understand the process even better myself after Saturday.
Thanks again for your support!
Kristin
Monday, September 3, 2007
The Official Announcement
For those of you who have not heard, we have an announcement! We are adopting a baby! We are really excited and would really love your prayers during this process.
Now for some details . . .
Why are we adopting?
We have been trying to start a family for four years. We were diagnosed with unexplained infertility, but there really isn't anything medically wrong with us. So, we realized that God has closed my womb for now. We don't know if it is forever or for just a season.
About a year ago, I (Kristin) stumbled upon the blog of someone who went to my college. They were a young couple that were adopting a baby girl from Guatemala. As I read their blog, my heart began to soften toward adoption. Finally, just a few months ago, Evan and I began to discuss adoption ourselves and realized that God had prepared both of us for this option.
Our final reason for adopting is that this is a great way for us to show God's love. God adopted us into His family. Why shouldn't we adopt a child into ours?
Domestic or International?
We will be adopting an infant boy from Russia. We looked into domestic, but did not feel at peace with it. We felt God leading us to Russia. We will be using Children's Hope International as our agency. They are a Christian organization with a local branch in our area.
How long will it take?
We are not 100% sure. We hope only a year. However, it could take almost a year and a half. Adopting a boy from Russia is quicker than adopting a girl because there is a higher demand for girls.
Some closing comments . . .
We know that some people may be turned off by the fact that we are adopting outside of the United States. However, we know that God calls us each in different ways. Evan and I feel that this is where God wants us. This will be a difficult, but rewarding process. Along the way, I (Kristin) will share more about what this process entails. For now, Evan and I just ask for your prayers. We have been waiting a long time to become parents. We feel incredibly blessed that God has chosen us to take care of our future son. I hope that through this blog you may see an example of God's love as I did when I began reading the Guatemalan adoption blog a year ago.
Now for some details . . .
Why are we adopting?
We have been trying to start a family for four years. We were diagnosed with unexplained infertility, but there really isn't anything medically wrong with us. So, we realized that God has closed my womb for now. We don't know if it is forever or for just a season.
About a year ago, I (Kristin) stumbled upon the blog of someone who went to my college. They were a young couple that were adopting a baby girl from Guatemala. As I read their blog, my heart began to soften toward adoption. Finally, just a few months ago, Evan and I began to discuss adoption ourselves and realized that God had prepared both of us for this option.
Our final reason for adopting is that this is a great way for us to show God's love. God adopted us into His family. Why shouldn't we adopt a child into ours?
Domestic or International?
We will be adopting an infant boy from Russia. We looked into domestic, but did not feel at peace with it. We felt God leading us to Russia. We will be using Children's Hope International as our agency. They are a Christian organization with a local branch in our area.
How long will it take?
We are not 100% sure. We hope only a year. However, it could take almost a year and a half. Adopting a boy from Russia is quicker than adopting a girl because there is a higher demand for girls.
Some closing comments . . .
We know that some people may be turned off by the fact that we are adopting outside of the United States. However, we know that God calls us each in different ways. Evan and I feel that this is where God wants us. This will be a difficult, but rewarding process. Along the way, I (Kristin) will share more about what this process entails. For now, Evan and I just ask for your prayers. We have been waiting a long time to become parents. We feel incredibly blessed that God has chosen us to take care of our future son. I hope that through this blog you may see an example of God's love as I did when I began reading the Guatemalan adoption blog a year ago.
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