Hmmm...Looks like we in RUSSIA! At least on Paper anyway...

Our documents were over-nighted to O in Russia and we are officially on the waiting list for referrals. Hooray! V was kind enough to take my call after hours and we chatted a bit about Carrington and other child related things. She filled me in as much as she could on where we are in the ‘line up’.

So, barring any of the unknowns that can arise out of the blue during an international adoption, here is what should be happening. (Just typing that ‘out loud’ makes me laugh! There are no certainties with international adoption!)

February – Lest you forget, we ARE IN February right now - Our agency finally receives its accreditation. They are next in line for the upcoming batch to be approved. Oh please, let’s humor me here…At the present writing we’ll not even consider the possible thousands of other waiting parents that have been on a list for months, even years waiting to adopt. (It does come down to the region you are working in though…this can make ALL the difference)

April – There are three dossiers total waiting for referrals of little girls. We are one of them. If all goes according to plan and we follow the same time line as in the previous referrals of a little girls, (as independents, during the re-accreditation process; before they were this close to completing the process) we should receive a referral for out little girl in April. I will graciously give or take a 30-day cushion. Hee hee hee…

HAH! I will BELIEVE that when I SEE IT!

I will always remember Trey’s Words: All things happen in God’s good timing, so we shall see…we shall see…

Way to go Steph...

So, here is the note from my good friend Steph in Fresno:

Ok here you go......its in the mail. Tracking #(edited)

AND I counted and looked 4 times. THERE ARE...15 Apostilles and 15 certifications in this fed ex envelope.

I had quite a conversation with the man behind the counter and there was no way in !@#$%^&* that he would EVER admit that his office did an error. He said it is all automated....I told him it would be interesting to really find out where those fancy $20 apostiles went because we paid for them and they were not there. So I had him stand there at the counter when he finished his job, and we counted every one together. I took alot of his time and I'm positive I was a pain in the behind.

Sooooo keep me posted on whats next.....I like this adventure. Except when things get messed up.
love ya,
Stephanie

Way to go Steph...Way to go!

And to all of those with SWEETHEARTS...Hope you had a terrific Valentines Day!

Paperwork is on it's way...Again...

So, here we go again! I find venting to be an acceptable form of therapy. (Buying shoes is good too, but I am currently on a budget.)

My freshly notarized and certificate clad paperwork is on its way to Fresno. My friend Stephanie will be standing toe to toe with the girl (and I do mean girl) at the counter and we will see if she is able to pull off getting them to correct their mistake (or let’s just say it true for what it was – lack of knowledge and bad judgment) and Apostille four forms that they we suppose to complete the first time.

If you remember, they charged me for the Apostilles, but only attached one sheet to them. (After they bundled them together of course) After further investigation of my paperwork, this is what we (hubby and myself, with the play by play account from Stephanie) figured out they did. (For entertainment purposes I will re-enact the scene)

My friend Stephanie: “I need all of these forms Apostilled for a Russian adoption. We need one for each notarized paper in this folder."

Girl behind the counter: “Okay, there is a charge for each one of $20.” She goes through each one and checks to make sure there are Certificates of notary attached to each one. She counts them twice. “I’ll be right back” she says and exits the counter to go into a back room.

Ten minutes later she returns. Okay, that will be $$$$$…cash check or credit card? Stephanie writes them a check and after collecting the receipt places the finished documents in the Fed EX envelope to V and calls me to say the deed is done.

Here is what took place behind scenes: The girl that obviously did not know WHAT she was doing looked at the forms. Saw that there was the same notary and date on three of them. Sooooooo, she removed the certificates, stapled them together, then attached the to one cert and applied an Apostilled paper to it, separated the forms a bit on the side and marked it with a nice red stamp. She looked at the other papers; saw the same notary that had different dates, then did the same. The certificates that I had to pay $$$ for, the went IN THE TRASH. She did this THREE different times. Dummy. She charged me for each one of the Apostilles then only attached papers to the ones that had the one certificate on it.

So…this time tomorrow Stephanie will stand at the counter. She will calmly yet firmly EXPLAIN to girl behind the counter that EACH one has to be APOSTILLED SEPERATELY, and will not leave unless is done RIGHT. Hopefully after presenting the receipt of transaction they will NOT charge me for six I am having redone. Barring no additional problems, they should be in the mail to V and received the next day. Only time will tell what happens from there.

I feel better now.

Folks, these are our tax dollars at work. Doesn’t it just make ya proud?