Well, our documents have been submitted to Kyrgyzstan and we are just waiting to hear when our court date is going to be. Hopefully everything looks ok, and we will soon be on our way to pick up our baby.
Also - the word is out. JJ stands for Jack Joseph. A friend let it slip that that was what his name was going to be and the news spread like wildfire. So now you all can know too!
We are still very excited and waiting for the word...
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
So Close...
I received a call from our Agency yesterday and our documents have been translated and are now at the embassy in Washington DC. We are waiting for a court date, and praying that all goes smoothly. We are not required to attend the court hearing itself, and once it is complete, there is a 30-day waiting period before the adoption decree actually goes into effect. Right after that we will travel and pick up our little JJ!
There are about 6 families from our agency that are going over in the next couple of weeks to meet their children and bring them home. One family is adopting a little girl from the same orphanage as JJ and she has graciously offered to take him whatever I would like to send. I have been sleeping with a blanket of his (we read this is a good thing to do so he can sense us - through smell I guess - sounds weird, but it makes sense). Anyway, I will send her the blanket and she promised to deliver it along with many hugs and kisses!
Thanks to my wonderful friends for the awesome gifts. It's so nice that everyone is excited to join us on this journey!
There are about 6 families from our agency that are going over in the next couple of weeks to meet their children and bring them home. One family is adopting a little girl from the same orphanage as JJ and she has graciously offered to take him whatever I would like to send. I have been sleeping with a blanket of his (we read this is a good thing to do so he can sense us - through smell I guess - sounds weird, but it makes sense). Anyway, I will send her the blanket and she promised to deliver it along with many hugs and kisses!
Thanks to my wonderful friends for the awesome gifts. It's so nice that everyone is excited to join us on this journey!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Double Good News!
I just received wonderful news from our adoption agency!!!! First, they received our dossier with all of the forms and it appears I filled out everything correctly (thank God!), and it is now in the process of being translated so it can be sent to Kyrgyzstan.
Second good news of the day - Kyrgyzstan has begun issuing passports! This means our little JJ can get one to come home! This is all so awesome (and overwhelming!).
We still need to wait for our court date, which should happen within 30-45 days. Its hard to say when, but I take comfort in the fact that only a few agencies are conducting adoptions in that country right now, and 75% of the other families from our own agency have already had their court date...so maybe...just maybe...they have some time to fit us in!
We need to bring this baby home so bad. He needs us just as much as we need him.
Second good news of the day - Kyrgyzstan has begun issuing passports! This means our little JJ can get one to come home! This is all so awesome (and overwhelming!).
We still need to wait for our court date, which should happen within 30-45 days. Its hard to say when, but I take comfort in the fact that only a few agencies are conducting adoptions in that country right now, and 75% of the other families from our own agency have already had their court date...so maybe...just maybe...they have some time to fit us in!
We need to bring this baby home so bad. He needs us just as much as we need him.
Monday, January 15, 2007
A Lesson In Using FedEx...
I spent a long, very long, day Thursday in Columbus getting all of our adoption docs authenticated for our dossier. This was the final step before sending it off to Kyrgyzstan where they will approve us for adoption of JJ!
The Republic of Kyrgyzstan needs to see that the documents we are providing them are authentic, and therefore need a seal from the State of Ohio before they will be accepted. The State of Ohio won’t accept the forms until they are authenticated at the county level, and the county won’t accept the forms until they are notorized by a notary public (can you see the stress level involved?). So, in the end, each of our documents ended up having 3 different seals – one from a notary public, one from the county, and the final seal from the state.
My cousin Carrie (bless her heart!) offered to go with me so I didn’t have to make the trip myself. It worked out great because she needed to stop at her office HQ near Columbus to pick up office supplies anyway. We woke up bright and early and left our houses at 7:30 a.m.
Our first stop was in London, Ohio so that we could have our State Police clearance form signed at the county. From there we drove to Columbus and had all of the papers authenticated. On the way down we received directions from the ever-so-enthusiastic security guard, who was more than animated when telling us that the nearest Kinko’s is located at Spring and High.
We spent over an hour and a half at Kinko’s making copies of all the documents, being careful not to remove a staple, make a tear, or alter the pages in any way, shape, or form. (Doing so can cause the entire packed to be invalidated). From there we needed to find a local branch of my bank so I could purchase money orders for the document processing (no personal checks allowed) and translation.
Once we had the money orders in hand, it was time to find a FedEx in order to ship my package overnight. It was about 4:30 by this time and we needed to move fast! We drove from Columbus to Dublin, Ohio and not a FedEx in sight. After driving all that time and going from point a to points b and c and d, my brain function began to wither and I finally found a post office, which lead to a momentary lapse in judgment. Happy to just have found ANYWHERE at all to ship the darn thing, I decided to send the package through the US Postal Service – Priority Express ($33!!!!) Needless to say, my package has not yet arrived…lets not forget that today is MLK day, therefore, no mail. I couldn’t sleep at all Thursday night and laid in my bed wondering if I made a major mistake by not using FedEx for delivery. Now that it’s Monday and my package still has not arrived, I can safely say that yes…it was a HUGE mistake.
The Republic of Kyrgyzstan needs to see that the documents we are providing them are authentic, and therefore need a seal from the State of Ohio before they will be accepted. The State of Ohio won’t accept the forms until they are authenticated at the county level, and the county won’t accept the forms until they are notorized by a notary public (can you see the stress level involved?). So, in the end, each of our documents ended up having 3 different seals – one from a notary public, one from the county, and the final seal from the state.
My cousin Carrie (bless her heart!) offered to go with me so I didn’t have to make the trip myself. It worked out great because she needed to stop at her office HQ near Columbus to pick up office supplies anyway. We woke up bright and early and left our houses at 7:30 a.m.
Our first stop was in London, Ohio so that we could have our State Police clearance form signed at the county. From there we drove to Columbus and had all of the papers authenticated. On the way down we received directions from the ever-so-enthusiastic security guard, who was more than animated when telling us that the nearest Kinko’s is located at Spring and High.
We spent over an hour and a half at Kinko’s making copies of all the documents, being careful not to remove a staple, make a tear, or alter the pages in any way, shape, or form. (Doing so can cause the entire packed to be invalidated). From there we needed to find a local branch of my bank so I could purchase money orders for the document processing (no personal checks allowed) and translation.
Once we had the money orders in hand, it was time to find a FedEx in order to ship my package overnight. It was about 4:30 by this time and we needed to move fast! We drove from Columbus to Dublin, Ohio and not a FedEx in sight. After driving all that time and going from point a to points b and c and d, my brain function began to wither and I finally found a post office, which lead to a momentary lapse in judgment. Happy to just have found ANYWHERE at all to ship the darn thing, I decided to send the package through the US Postal Service – Priority Express ($33!!!!) Needless to say, my package has not yet arrived…lets not forget that today is MLK day, therefore, no mail. I couldn’t sleep at all Thursday night and laid in my bed wondering if I made a major mistake by not using FedEx for delivery. Now that it’s Monday and my package still has not arrived, I can safely say that yes…it was a HUGE mistake.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Getting Closer...
We are getting closer...we really are! I thought this day would never come, and this process that we began a year ago may finally be coming to an end!
Today I will receive the very last form we need to complete our dossier! It is the State of Ohio police background checks for myself and Jerret. I have been tracking this package since November, and found out a few days before Christmas that my application was rejected. I sent a check for $16.00 (just as the lady on the phone instructed me to do) and sure enough, they don't take personal checks. Getting this information nearly made me cry, as I thought we were so close. I couldn't even wrap my mind around this new delay or how to remedy the situation, so I called a friend of mine and asked for ideas on getting this paper back in the shortest amount of time. A money order and two FedEx envelopes later, I will have my package! And according to the trusty FedEx tracking site, it will be here by 2:30!!!!
The next (and one of the final before traveling to get our little JJ) step is to take our dossier to the state capital for authentication. I will drive it to Columbus later this week and then FedEx the entire package to our Agency! I can't wait. We are so close...so close!
As you may have noticed, we have decided on a name for our baby. Until he is here I will refer to him as JJ. Yes, those are his initials, and I really wish I could tell you but the whole attachment thing...you know how it goes.
Today I will receive the very last form we need to complete our dossier! It is the State of Ohio police background checks for myself and Jerret. I have been tracking this package since November, and found out a few days before Christmas that my application was rejected. I sent a check for $16.00 (just as the lady on the phone instructed me to do) and sure enough, they don't take personal checks. Getting this information nearly made me cry, as I thought we were so close. I couldn't even wrap my mind around this new delay or how to remedy the situation, so I called a friend of mine and asked for ideas on getting this paper back in the shortest amount of time. A money order and two FedEx envelopes later, I will have my package! And according to the trusty FedEx tracking site, it will be here by 2:30!!!!
The next (and one of the final before traveling to get our little JJ) step is to take our dossier to the state capital for authentication. I will drive it to Columbus later this week and then FedEx the entire package to our Agency! I can't wait. We are so close...so close!
As you may have noticed, we have decided on a name for our baby. Until he is here I will refer to him as JJ. Yes, those are his initials, and I really wish I could tell you but the whole attachment thing...you know how it goes.
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