God is up to something, and I can't wait to find out what it is! I keep asking myself: Why are we adopting from Rwanda? Why that country, and why now?
Some people might think we chose Rwanda because of our friends Peter and Laurel Greer, who recently adopted their son from the same orphanage where we'll (most likely) be united with our son or daughter. We loved watching the Greers' journey, and Tim and I did make our decision to pursue adoption while they were in Kigali meeting Myles. But the truth is, Rwanda wasn't even on our short list at that time!
And then there's Joyous Derner, another treasured friend, whose compassion and talent have contributed to our love of Rwanda and its people. Yet as much as Joy has influenced our hearts, I'm convinced that something deeper drew us to adopt specifically from Rwanda at this precise time in our lives. (I'll reserve the practical details about how we chose Rwanda for another blog post.)
When we first decided to move forward with adoption, it seemed like a huge endeavor. Intimidating, exciting, and eternally significant. It is all those things, yet ever since we began this journey our vision has continued to grow. "Explode" is probably a better word for it. No longer are we content to provide a forever home for one child. No longer does what we're doing seem unique or particularly praiseworthy. We are obeying, pure and simple, and obedience doesn't stop with one act.
These are the truths that have filled our conversations and thoughts lately, often creating intense frustration in my heart. I want to do MORE, and I want to do it NOW. Tim and I have been praying for guidance, vision, and resources to accomplish whatever God has planned for us, but I confess a severe lack of patience!
Thank God, He began to answer our prayers recently through my dear friend Laurel (yes, Myles' Mommy!), who is co-founding a non-profit designed to help the vulnerable children of Rwanda. Please click here to visit this organization's blog and find out more about their mission.
Laurel and Peter, Joyous and her husband Rob, me and Tim...all of us in the same Sunday school class at the same church with the same passion for the people and children of a tiny country the size of Maryland.
God is definitely up to something big.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
I Had A Dream...
I tend to have weird dreams. They usually take place in odd locations, involve insane conversations, and rarely star me as myself. I'm usually in another person's body interacting with the real Alison, or I'm an uninvolved observer, or I'm a little blond, naked black girl running through the Hawaiian hills while dodging WWII bombs and trying to escape a pack of wolves who bark with British accents.
But last night I had a different dream. A strange one, for me, because it didn't involved jogging through saltwater taffy or playing "Pin the Tail on Obama." This time I dreamed that I was in Rwanda, waiting in a room at the Home of Hope orphanage to meet my new son or daughter.
I didn't know who my child would be yet - boy or girl, infant or toddler. There were five other couples waiting with me, and all of the women were seated with their husbands standing by their sides.
Suddenly the door opened and several nuns walked in, each carrying a child. The babies were wrapped in pink or blue blankets, depending on their gender. I instantly focused on the blue blankets, certain that one of the boys would be mine, as I'd suspected since the beginning of the adoption process.
A nun walked toward me carrying a little girl, and I shifted my legs to the side so she could pass and deliver the child to the woman behind me. But then I realized she wasn't passing by...she was stopping. I looked up, and the woman smiled kindly as she lowered the child into my arms.
A girl...? We get a girl?! Shock paralyzed me for a nanosecond, but it immediately melted to joy as the child's weight settled on my lap. I gazed into those beautiful chocolate eyes and felt mine burn with a sudden rush of tears. Everyone else in the room disappeared as my daughter and I drank one another in, and then I was weeping, totally overcome with the reality of our belonging.
I couldn't stop sobbing as I touched her hair, kissed her sweet cheeks, and told her how much I loved her. And I did. The strength of it was like a tide carrying me to a place I'd never dreamed, and I knew there was no end in sight. That kind of love had no end.
I woke up short of breath, my chest aching from the intensity of my tears. I hadn't physically been crying, but my heart didn't know that.
I'm not one to read into dreams, and I don't take this one to mean we'll be getting a girl, that we'll be in Rwanda with five other families, or that the babies there are dressed in pink and blue! But I do think God might have been showing me something last night...
Just yesterday I was telling a friend how real the adoption is beginning to feel now that we're almost done with our dossier. That's true, but I also have to admit that until recently I've had very little emotional connection with this child. I hear other adoptive moms talk about how difficult it is to be patient, and how much they already love these nameless, faceless children...and I feel DEFECTIVE! I want to be overcome with feelings of love. I want my arms to ache for this child. But they don't. At least, not very often.
I'm learning to forgive myself for this. It helps to remember that I felt the same way during pregnancy. It wasn't until the last trimester with either of my children that I began to really feel any connection. Yet the moment I heard their first cries, I knew I would lay down my life for these kids.
People are built differently, I suppose. But the fact remains that I want to bond with my adopted child now, not later. So a few days ago I began praying that God would give me a greater love for this unknown baby.
I wonder if last night's dream might be His way of saying, "Fear not. I have made everything beautiful in its time." I think He let me feel the smallest touch of His love for our child, and it was nearly enough to crush me. So I'm not worried anymore. The God of love has more than enough to go around, and He knows exactly what He's doing in my heart.
But last night I had a different dream. A strange one, for me, because it didn't involved jogging through saltwater taffy or playing "Pin the Tail on Obama." This time I dreamed that I was in Rwanda, waiting in a room at the Home of Hope orphanage to meet my new son or daughter.
I didn't know who my child would be yet - boy or girl, infant or toddler. There were five other couples waiting with me, and all of the women were seated with their husbands standing by their sides.
Suddenly the door opened and several nuns walked in, each carrying a child. The babies were wrapped in pink or blue blankets, depending on their gender. I instantly focused on the blue blankets, certain that one of the boys would be mine, as I'd suspected since the beginning of the adoption process.
A nun walked toward me carrying a little girl, and I shifted my legs to the side so she could pass and deliver the child to the woman behind me. But then I realized she wasn't passing by...she was stopping. I looked up, and the woman smiled kindly as she lowered the child into my arms.
A girl...? We get a girl?! Shock paralyzed me for a nanosecond, but it immediately melted to joy as the child's weight settled on my lap. I gazed into those beautiful chocolate eyes and felt mine burn with a sudden rush of tears. Everyone else in the room disappeared as my daughter and I drank one another in, and then I was weeping, totally overcome with the reality of our belonging.
I couldn't stop sobbing as I touched her hair, kissed her sweet cheeks, and told her how much I loved her. And I did. The strength of it was like a tide carrying me to a place I'd never dreamed, and I knew there was no end in sight. That kind of love had no end.
I woke up short of breath, my chest aching from the intensity of my tears. I hadn't physically been crying, but my heart didn't know that.
I'm not one to read into dreams, and I don't take this one to mean we'll be getting a girl, that we'll be in Rwanda with five other families, or that the babies there are dressed in pink and blue! But I do think God might have been showing me something last night...
Just yesterday I was telling a friend how real the adoption is beginning to feel now that we're almost done with our dossier. That's true, but I also have to admit that until recently I've had very little emotional connection with this child. I hear other adoptive moms talk about how difficult it is to be patient, and how much they already love these nameless, faceless children...and I feel DEFECTIVE! I want to be overcome with feelings of love. I want my arms to ache for this child. But they don't. At least, not very often.
I'm learning to forgive myself for this. It helps to remember that I felt the same way during pregnancy. It wasn't until the last trimester with either of my children that I began to really feel any connection. Yet the moment I heard their first cries, I knew I would lay down my life for these kids.
People are built differently, I suppose. But the fact remains that I want to bond with my adopted child now, not later. So a few days ago I began praying that God would give me a greater love for this unknown baby.
I wonder if last night's dream might be His way of saying, "Fear not. I have made everything beautiful in its time." I think He let me feel the smallest touch of His love for our child, and it was nearly enough to crush me. So I'm not worried anymore. The God of love has more than enough to go around, and He knows exactly what He's doing in my heart.
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." Isaiah 49:15-16
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Hurry Up and Wait
Hallelujah! The mailman brought us a precious gem this morning - three copies of our notarized home study! As I write this, one of those copies is already on its way to the USCIS field office in Philadelphia, and the countdown to our I-171H has officially begun!
Those of you who understand the significance of this moment, dance a little jig with me, will you?! And for those of you who are wondering what all the excitement's about, allow me to explain...
The adoption process is a series of hurry-up-and-waits. First, it's "hurry up and get the preliminary paperwork completed," followed by a wait to move into the home study phase. Then it's "hurry up and get the home study materials together," followed by a wait to schedule the meetings. And sprinkled throughout the first several months are lots of little "hurry up and send a request for this-or-that document," and the ensuing wait to retrieve them.
However, most of the early hurry-up-and-waits are relatively condensed and not too painful. The "Big Ones" begin at the end of the paper chase, with the submission of the I-600A to USCIS. Here's how it works (I'm an amateur, so bear with me):
Big One #1: The I-600A/I-171H
Well, if you've muscled your way through this much of an incredibly long and technical post, you deserve something a little lighter! A new friend of mine who is also adopting from Rwanda inspired me to document some of our paperwork. See her humorous post here.
First, allow me to introduce The Notebook. Not very creative, I know, but it's what we call it. It might not look like much, but it represents many precious hours of labor! Annabell and Liam grew in my uterus. I can't contribute that part of myself to this baby, so instead I'm using The Notebook. In that light, here's a photo of "pregnant" Alison:
The Notebook holds calendars, to-do lists, copies of all correspondence, instruction guides from our agency, and receipts from every expenditure. It also houses The Folders, which contain originals and copies of the documents we've worked so hard to collect.
To-Do lists are like oxygen. Here's a photo of my master list, which I created in the beginning of the adoption process after receiving our dossier guidelines from the agency.
That's all for tonight, folks! Thanks for sticking with me!
Those of you who understand the significance of this moment, dance a little jig with me, will you?! And for those of you who are wondering what all the excitement's about, allow me to explain...
The adoption process is a series of hurry-up-and-waits. First, it's "hurry up and get the preliminary paperwork completed," followed by a wait to move into the home study phase. Then it's "hurry up and get the home study materials together," followed by a wait to schedule the meetings. And sprinkled throughout the first several months are lots of little "hurry up and send a request for this-or-that document," and the ensuing wait to retrieve them.
However, most of the early hurry-up-and-waits are relatively condensed and not too painful. The "Big Ones" begin at the end of the paper chase, with the submission of the I-600A to USCIS. Here's how it works (I'm an amateur, so bear with me):
Big One #1: The I-600A/I-171H
- The I-600A is an application to adopt internationally, which is processed by the United States Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Upon approval of the I-600A, the adoptive parents receive the coveted I-171H, which is essential for bringing an adopted child to America.
- Once we have the I-171H, our dossier is complete. We can zip up to Harrisburg to have all the documents certified by the Secretary of State, and then ship the dossier off to Washington, D.C. to be reviewed, translated, and delivered to Rwanda.
- Here's the catch: it takes an average of 8-12 weeks for the I-600A to be processed. Some people have waited as long as 5 months, others have set a record with 2 weeks! In most cases it's the longest wait for any of the dossier documents, but you can't get the wheels turning on it until the end of the paper chase, because that's when the home study is finished.
- Once our dossier arrives in Rwanda (after a few weeks of traveling to our adoption agency, the U.S. State Department, the Rwandan Embassy in D.C., and finally to Kigali, Rwanda), we will wait several months (probably at least 4-6) to receive the government's approval to adopt a Rwandan orphan.
- Once we're approved, the powers-that-be in Rwanda will work on choosing a child for us. This portion of the adoption process has recently undergone some changes, so I don't know exactly how it works. Families currently in this stage have been assured they will receive their referrals no more than 2 months after approval.
Well, if you've muscled your way through this much of an incredibly long and technical post, you deserve something a little lighter! A new friend of mine who is also adopting from Rwanda inspired me to document some of our paperwork. See her humorous post here.
First, allow me to introduce The Notebook. Not very creative, I know, but it's what we call it. It might not look like much, but it represents many precious hours of labor! Annabell and Liam grew in my uterus. I can't contribute that part of myself to this baby, so instead I'm using The Notebook. In that light, here's a photo of "pregnant" Alison:
The Notebook holds calendars, to-do lists, copies of all correspondence, instruction guides from our agency, and receipts from every expenditure. It also houses The Folders, which contain originals and copies of the documents we've worked so hard to collect.
To-Do lists are like oxygen. Here's a photo of my master list, which I created in the beginning of the adoption process after receiving our dossier guidelines from the agency.
That's all for tonight, folks! Thanks for sticking with me!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Home Stretch for the Home Study
The long-awaited email arrived last night informing us that our home study has been approved by AWAA with minor corrections! We received a final copy today (which still had a few slight errors, but nothing major), so hopefully this important document will soon be in the hands of the USCIS. Once it has been submitted, the clock really begins ticking down to our dossier completion! Unfortunately there's no way to predict how long it will take to get the USCIS approval letter (called the I-171H in adoption speak), but while we're waiting we'll be wrapping up loose ends on the rest of our paperwork and trying not to stalk the mailman.
On another note, congratulations to the Limmers, Higgins, and Himes families, who returned home from Rwanda (via Ethiopia) today with their precious children!! It has been such a joy to share their journeys via blogs, Twitter, and our AWAA Rwanda chat group. Technology can be a wonderful thing!
On another note, congratulations to the Limmers, Higgins, and Himes families, who returned home from Rwanda (via Ethiopia) today with their precious children!! It has been such a joy to share their journeys via blogs, Twitter, and our AWAA Rwanda chat group. Technology can be a wonderful thing!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Ups and Downs
To demonstrate the daily ups and downs of this crazy paper chase, I thought I'd follow up this morning's exciting news with an excerpt of an email I wrote to a friend about the adoption-related chaos of my afternoon:
So, there you go. A day in the life of the paper pregnancy. Thanks for tagging along!
I, too have been feeling overwhelmed by paperwork, which is odd since I keep telling myself we're pretty much done with everything. Anyway, this morning I sat down and looked through the five-page checklist I created for the dossier documents back in June or July. From that list I made a shorter to-do list for items to accomplish this afternoon. Well, I got them done, but now I have a whole new to-do list to tackle!
First I decided to send our birth certificates off for state certification... Mine went to Vermont, and that was easy enough because I was able to find mailing instructions online. But then, for Tim's, I had to call the Indiana Secretary of State's office for instructions. Turns out the birth certificate I ordered from VitalChek (per the dossier guidelines instructions) is a county-issued certificate, and therefore not valid for certification! So I had to order a NEW birth certificate from the state's Department of Health. This time it will have the state seal on it instead of the county seal. Once I receive it I can send it back (probably to the same building from which it came) for certification. How long will this take, you ask? "Well, ma'am, the birth certificate will take up to TWO MONTHS to be issued, and another 7-10 business days for shipping." WHAT?!? Okay, maybe we'll still be twiddling our thumbs in 2+ months waiting on our USCIS approval, but I don't want to risk a silly birth certificate holding us up! So, I splurged and paid for expedited service, which cost $40 instead of $10 for the whole enchilada. Ugh.
So, after carefully checking my VT birth certificate to make sure it carried the state seal, I stuck it in an envelope with a cover letter and slapped on some stamps. At the last minute I decided to weigh the envelope on my food scale and check online to make sure I had the right postage. I did, but barely, which made me realize that the police clearance requests I sent out last week might have had INSUFFICIENT POSTAGE! I am SO careful about everything else, how could I make such a dumb mistake!
I called the state police and explained my dilemma, but they couldn't tell me whether or not they'd received the envelope. They said to call back in 2 weeks to find out if the requests have been processed. If they haven't been, then they probably didn't get there. So, I guess I'll be checking the mail every day hoping they're returned if the postage wasn't enough. I don't want to lose those money orders!!
So, I took my lone birth certificate to the post office, mailed it, and then stopped by AAA on the way home to have a couple of documents notarized. That went well except for Liam discovering the light switches (don't ask). When I got home, I decided to check my messages because earlier in the day I had left a voicemail for the notary, confirming our appointment at my doctor's office in the morning. Well, she called back, all right - to CANCEL! Apparently she had left a voicemail on my cell phone and assumed I got it. Little did she (or I, at the time) realize that my cell phone is sitting in a Walmart two towns away, where it was either left by me, dropped by my kids, or stolen by someone else yesterday morning.
...This is after 4 this afternoon. After a few minutes or panic I got online and started calling every notary I could find listed. After five or six unsuccessful attempts, I finally found someone who "might" be able to do it tomorrow, but not at the time of my appointment...and Friday would be better. Since the notary I originally found is out of town for a funeral and won't be back until next week, I decided to try to reschedule my doctor's appointment for Friday morning. I called the doc's office at 4:45, and guess what? Closed until tomorrow at 8. So I guess I'll be crawling out of bed early to drive to Walmart for my phone and call the doctor to cancel/reschedule my appointment. I should probably also email our social worker since I told her the dates on the physical would be 9/10, and now they'll probably be different. She'll need to revise the home study, but I would think that'd be a simple change to make.
So, there you go. A day in the life of the paper pregnancy. Thanks for tagging along!
Home Study Submitted to AWAA!
Great news! We heard from our social worker last night that our home study has been submitted to our family coordinator at AWAA for review and approval! Once it is approved by the agency, Tim and I will review the final report, and then we'll be able to send it to USCIS (US Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services) so they can begin processing our application to adopt internationally. We have already completed the required fingerprinting at the USCIS center in Philadelphia, so we're hoping our application moves ahead quickly. Other than the police reports we've already applied for and should be receiving soon, the USCIS approval is the FINAL document we're waiting for before sending our dossier to AWAA, and subsequently to Rwanda. We're getting there, one step at a time!
Another encouragement the past few days has been following the blogs of three other AWAA families who are in Rwanda right now meeting and bringing home their children. All Rwandan adoptions have come from the same orphanage, the Home of Hope in Kigali, founded by Mother Teresa. That means our child is most likely in the orphanage these families are visiting RIGHT NOW. If you'd like to check out their photos and reports, here are the blog links:
www.limmerfamilyadventure.blogspot.com
www.higginsadoption.blogspot.com
www.lifechange.typepad.com/lifechange/adoption/
Another encouragement the past few days has been following the blogs of three other AWAA families who are in Rwanda right now meeting and bringing home their children. All Rwandan adoptions have come from the same orphanage, the Home of Hope in Kigali, founded by Mother Teresa. That means our child is most likely in the orphanage these families are visiting RIGHT NOW. If you'd like to check out their photos and reports, here are the blog links:
www.limmerfamilyadventure.blogspot.com
www.higginsadoption.blogspot.com
www.lifechange.typepad.com/lifechange/adoption/
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Book Review - FEARLESS by Max Lucado
As most of you know, I consume books like most people consume water - sometimes sipping, sometimes guzzling, but never passing a day without it. Below is a review of the latest addition to my collection, courtesy of Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers.
Once in a while a book comes along that is guaranteed to be a bestseller based on its title alone. Fearless is one of those. Tailored to current events and backed by the credibility and dependability of Max Lucado's proven talent, this book is sure to fly off the shelves before they're even fully stocked.
As an avid reader, I'm a bit ashamed to admit that Fearless is my first experience with Lucado (apart from my kids' love of the Wemmicks and Hermie). I probably own at least ten of his titles, but for some reason they have sat on my shelves - until now. If Max's other books are anything like Fearless, I'll probably breeze through them in weeks. Between his conversational style, effortless dry humor, and Scripture-based insight, it seems like every other sentence is worthy of stenciling on the wall as a trustworthy quote.
Considering the monumental influence of fear and its destructive role in the Christian life, I'm perplexed that more authors haven't addressed it so directly. Because fear has been a personal battle for me, over the past year I have read several books, including the out-of-print Trading Your Worry for Wonder by Cheri Fuller. While both that book and Lucado's proclaim truth and offer refreshing perspectives, after each reading I found myself hungry for more.
The fact of the matter is that the only true source of courage comes from our relationship with Christ, which means the most powerful book we can read to battle fear is the Bible. For months I searched for comfort in C.S. Lewis, John Ortberg, Neil T. Anderson, and others. It was only when I turned back to Scripture that the seeds sown through those wonderful books finally began to sprout. The same will be true of Fearless. I applaud Max Lucado for basing his message on concrete Scripture rather than his own opinion or experience, and I encourage readers to consume the book slowly, taking time to independently study those passage in more depth.
Fearless, like the other titles I've read, divides fear into categories (fear of violence, fear for our kids, fear of disappointing God, etc.). Each one of those issues could fill a book, if not a whole library. I understand the reasons for breaking fear up into consumable portions, but those who are in the midst of an intense struggle in one particular area would do well to read the book with an accountability partner or small group while utilizing the discussion guide in the back of Fearless.
My only other suggestion would be to read the final chapter, "William's Psalm," first. It addresses the media's shameful use of fear as a motivator and the resulting culture of fear we've created, which I believe provides an important lens through which the rest of the book becomes even more meaningful.
Aside from these minor alterations, I wouldn't change a thing about Fearless. Except, perhaps, for having it packaged with the wall stencils already included.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Ponderings
Where are the limits? That's the question I've been asking myself lately. As Tim and I learn more about Rwanda's painful history and the overwhelming need of the orphans, we struggle with our decision to adopt just one child. After all, there are 618,000 orphans in a country the size of Maryland. That translates to one parentless child for every thirteen people! How can we open our hearts and home to one precious soul and shut the rest of them out?
I know we can't save the world. Or, as Mother Teresa (who founded the orphanage from which we'll be adopting) said, "We cannot do great things, only small things with great love." But it still breaks my heart to imagine the day we will arrive at the orphanage to claim our son or daughter, knowing that when we leave we'll be turning our backs on hundreds of other love-starved children.
We have a small house, relatively speaking. Two bedrooms when we moved in, until we turned the 1-car garage into a third bedroom while I was pregnant with Liam. We figure it won't hurt our kids to share a room once our adopted child comes home, and for the time being all five of us can share the house's only bathroom. But surely five people in a home that was designed for two bedrooms is pushing it, right? Six people would be impractical, wouldn't it?
To us, maybe, but to most of the world we live in a palace. Sometimes I wonder how superficial our view of life really is. How many resources do we waste on things that have no eternal value? How many adoptions (besides our own) could we help to fund if we shopped at used clothing stores, stopped buying junk food, kept the air conditioning off once in a while, and slashed our entertainment budget. What if we (gasp) scrapped the birthday and Christmas gifts for a year or two?
Every few weeks we reevaluate our budget, and we've already trimmed what little fat we could find. Until recently I saw this as a temporary tightening of the monetary belt, but the farther we travel on this journey, the more I understand that God has called us to care for the orphans - plural. Adopting one of them is a start, but not the fulfillment of our responsibility. As long as there are children in need of loving parents, Tim and I want to channel our resources into bringing them home. Whether that means fitting more tiny bodies into our little/large house, or financially assisting other adoptive families, I have a feeling this path we're on will lead through a lifetime.
I know we can't save the world. Or, as Mother Teresa (who founded the orphanage from which we'll be adopting) said, "We cannot do great things, only small things with great love." But it still breaks my heart to imagine the day we will arrive at the orphanage to claim our son or daughter, knowing that when we leave we'll be turning our backs on hundreds of other love-starved children.
We have a small house, relatively speaking. Two bedrooms when we moved in, until we turned the 1-car garage into a third bedroom while I was pregnant with Liam. We figure it won't hurt our kids to share a room once our adopted child comes home, and for the time being all five of us can share the house's only bathroom. But surely five people in a home that was designed for two bedrooms is pushing it, right? Six people would be impractical, wouldn't it?
To us, maybe, but to most of the world we live in a palace. Sometimes I wonder how superficial our view of life really is. How many resources do we waste on things that have no eternal value? How many adoptions (besides our own) could we help to fund if we shopped at used clothing stores, stopped buying junk food, kept the air conditioning off once in a while, and slashed our entertainment budget. What if we (gasp) scrapped the birthday and Christmas gifts for a year or two?
Every few weeks we reevaluate our budget, and we've already trimmed what little fat we could find. Until recently I saw this as a temporary tightening of the monetary belt, but the farther we travel on this journey, the more I understand that God has called us to care for the orphans - plural. Adopting one of them is a start, but not the fulfillment of our responsibility. As long as there are children in need of loving parents, Tim and I want to channel our resources into bringing them home. Whether that means fitting more tiny bodies into our little/large house, or financially assisting other adoptive families, I have a feeling this path we're on will lead through a lifetime.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Light at the end of the tunnel...?
What a week! Annabell and Liam started preschool on Monday. Tuesday morning they both had pediatrician visits to fill out medical reports for our home study. Today I spent the morning filling out adoption paperwork and the afternoon on the telephone, first finding out how to order our 2nd round of criminal history clearances and then tracking down answers to a long list of questions regarding paperwork we've already received. Tomorrow we'll be back at the pediatrician's office for tuberculosis checks, and Friday I'm hoping to get some documents notarized while Annabell is at preschool (Liam only attends Monday and Wednesday).
It sounds like a lot, but as I looked through our dossier checklist this afternoon it struck me how close we are to the end of this paper chase! The first draft of our home study is expected to be finished early next week, and once that is finalized we'll just be waiting for approval from USCIS before sending our dossier to the adoption agency. Once that's done, barring any errors in the paperwork, it's out of our hands!
I've been telling myself to plan on traveling to Rwanda no earlier than late summer 2010. In general I'm trying not to think about the timeline at all, apart from moving forward with paperwork as quickly and efficiently as possible. I have a feeling that once our dossier is on its way to Rwanda, the weeks will begin to seem a little longer!
Since it'll be a few months yet before we have pictures to share of our adopted child, here are a few shots of Annabell and Liam on the first day of school. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
