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?

Happy Birthday!

I turned 42 on the 24th...Good thing I usually feel about 32!

Given tthe recent chain of events, I think I need a little bit more energy...

WHERE is my coffee??????

Frustrated...

I could just SCREAM, but I sat down and cried instead…

You know, I have TOTALLY taken my time with the Dossier stuff. I got in my mind to really start the ball rolling on 1/1/08…so I have been fine with most of the progress so far. BUT, I should have known…obviously things were going too smoothly. All I knew was my Dossier was in Russia and the ball was rolling...HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To make a long story short I came home to ½ of my Dossier documents in a Fed Ex envelope. No notice, no email, no call from my agency warning me they were coming back, nada. Apparently the Secretary if State office decided to ‘bundle’ John and my health documents together for Apostilling, along with several others, and therefore they were rejected. (My fault in part because I did not clearly communicate this to my friend who took care of it for me in Fresno that there had to be one Apostille for each individual notary). And, since she put them in the mail from there, I never saw them. HOWEVER, why in the HECK didn’t my agency catch this BEFORE they sent them to the team in Russia??? I am shaking my head because V has a proven track record with me and stuff like this just hasn’t happened before. So a big warning for those Apostilling….NO BUNDLING OF DOCUMENTS!

So, I now have to separate all these documents, take them the county clerks office for notary cert for each #@$&*(! one, then drive to Fresno to have them Apostilled. Oh yeah, and they now want three separate power of attorneys done along with a financial statement and the stupidest thing I have EVER heard of…a document filled out by a licensed real estate agent stating the size of my home, # of rooms, etc. along with a copy of his license. Isn’t this why I ran like a mad woman during my lunch hour to get a copy of my Deed of Trust to my home??? Good thing I have a co-worker with a real estate license…and he is so nice to help me out with it. And OF COURSE, it all has to be authenticated and apostilled….God help me these people are NUTS! What in the world did I pay all that money for a home study for if they were going to want the same stupid information outside of it…I just cannot figure this all out…And of course don’t forget the $$$ I will spend again on Fed Ex, gas and the paperwork.

I also just figured out I am missing my copy of my home study…I sure hope my agency got it because I think my friend sent it along with all the other paper work (They sent the certified copies straight to her and not me).

I asked V the other night in the phone, are you SURE we can’t consider the Ukraine for a healthy baby girl? I am so comfortable with the Ukraine! She stated again ‘No”…Sigh, sigh, SIGH! I am already sick of Russia and I haven’t even received a referral and traveled yet.

Happy New Year!

Aidan with Santa

It will be a GREAT 2008!

I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW QUICKLY TIME HAS FLOWN! Christmas was wonderful, our third with Carrington! What a difference time makes. He was disappointed to not receive a X-BOX, however he was for-warned it would not happen. I refuse to buy anything that puts him in front of the TV anymore than he already is! But, he enjoyed his day just the same. Aidan was a hoot – loving everything. He is so easy to please! Just give him anything Power Rangers and he is charmed to the core.

Chris slept over as usual to greet Christmas morning with us, and we had a yummy breakfast at the Ihop, then we slept. Dinner at Uncle Russell’s and then we slept…a lot! All in a wonderful, wonderful day!

As you recall my gift was my pantry, which turned out fabulous. John really did a wonderful job and I couldn’t be happier. I was able to move all the food off the big shelves in the garage, and out of the kitchen into it…making for plenty of room! Life is now so sweeeeeeet! I have my dishes all organized and I am still moving things around to my satisfaction. The draw back is that the men in my house are creatures of habit, and now they can’t find anything! Hee hee hee. They will figure it out soon enough, as I have faith in ‘em!

Our dossier is in Russia! We are waiting on the fate of re-accreditation of the agency our team works with. I was not aware this was happening as I was informed that we would be going independent. However, it would appear the agency our team works with is so close to being re-accredited, that we may have to wait until that is done. They are supposedly in the last batch that will happen at the end of this month. Anyone involved in this current situation would say "I'll believe it when I see it!" Any way, as Trey reminded me with Carrington, God’s timing is always perfect. I am calm at the moment and secure in the fact that it will happen when it is suppose to happen.

I leave you with this great writing my co-worker sent today. Very touching…Happy New Year to ALL!


One Flaw In Women

Women have strengths that amaze men.

They bear hardships and they carry burdens,

but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy

and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer

when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without, so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel

and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about

a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member,

yet they are strong when they

think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss

can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you

to show how much they care about you

The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have the compassion and ideas.

They give moral support to their

family and friends.

Women have vital things to say

and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Christmas countdown....

Only three more shopping days till Christmas…are you done???

Well, I am sorry to say that for me the answer’s “No”. I have been successful in most items, including the boys buying for the boys and other family members. But, as far as my #2 sweetness (Bryce) we are still looking for the right gift.

My husband has been working diligently at my requested gift this year…a new pantry. Given the current expenses associated with an International adoption, I have asked for the gift that keeps on giving…and nothing keeps giving more for me than an addition/upgrade to my home.

We have a coat closet off our dining room that is really serving no purpose other than wasted space…so I have asked John to turn it into a pantry for (thanks to many good eaters and Sam’s Club – LOVE my Sam’s Club!) the gob’s of groceries that need to be stored. As it is we have two Gorilla storage shelves full of food out in our garage. Being a neat freak, I am happy to have the larger, less used items out of the kitchen cabinets where they take up precious storage space. (Ya know – Wok, bread maker, pressure cooker, Seal-a-Meal, food processor, etc.)

The most expensive part of this closet transformation is the special ordered pantry door the actually reads “Pantry” in etched glass. My brother owns a door and window store, so I was fortunate to have it ordered at a very good price. The good ones aren’t cheap! This item John was priming last night. His goal is to have this project finished by Christmas. Carrington said “You are not suppose to see your gifts until Christmas morning, mom!” John explained that it is not like he can put it under the tree, now can he? Too funny!

Another interesting event is Carrington and his gift shopping. That child had a list of people a foot long. It included such gifts as Xbox games, Super big Nerf guns, etc…We needed to have a eye opening talk about spending someone else’s money (like MINE). All was well when he thought it was coming out of my pockets, but when I suggested he buy the times for his 29 friends he had listed…that was another story. With this new found information that mom was NOT going to finance his gift giving adventures he cut WAAAY back on his list and shopped a little more frugal. All in all, he did very well.

Carrington was showered with gifts when he first visited us, then was showered again last year when he came home. He just thinks this is the way it should be with everyone. Money, of course, does not grow on trees. A child who grew up with basically nothing, and came to lot’s of everything, has no former teaching in the ways of income and money. So, to improvise, Carrington has decided to make very large amounts of Borsch to give to those he cares about…and I will be more than happy to help. We may even bake some yummy cookies too…

Three more days till Christmas…are you ready????