Friday, February 27, 2004
Darn It!
I was hoping that when I checked this blog today, there would be some progress!
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Our Last Home Study Visit
I wasn't sure what this final home study visit would be like, with our social worker coming into our house and all. A white glove inspection was not what I prepared for, although I did have tulips growing out of a pot and coordinated candles in a pretty impressive, color-coordinated arrangement on the table... the smell of homemade cinnamon rolls coming from the oven and a steamy cup of raspberry tea. Too much?? Well our sw did tease me that now she could stamp "verified" on my favorite childhood memory of cinnamon rolls and hot tea on Saturday nights.
We showed her our home, the books (explained all of the themes in every room and stairwell), the yard area where the girl(s) will play, the room for the baby(ies) that will hopefully magically transform itself while we are in China (since Steve doesn't seem to think we need to work on it until we are home, each carrying a twin on a hip!)
From here... a few more reference forms and a document need to arrive in the mail for our agency to complete the study. Then we will proofread the home study and send it off to Charlotte to immigration. We will be contacted for fingerprinting appointments and then wait about two to three months for a very special paper called I-171. While we are waiting, our other paperwork will continue to enjoy their little trips to stamping offices around the state and eventually make it to federal buildings in Washington, D.C. They will be translated into Chinese and be already for the big trip to China about ten months before we are allowed to go.
Just think, you may get to read this blog for a whole year... I've been warned that the waiting months are pretty quiet, like throwing our precious, stamped, translated dossier treasure into a deep black hole where there is only long, disturbing silence!
We showed her our home, the books (explained all of the themes in every room and stairwell), the yard area where the girl(s) will play, the room for the baby(ies) that will hopefully magically transform itself while we are in China (since Steve doesn't seem to think we need to work on it until we are home, each carrying a twin on a hip!)
From here... a few more reference forms and a document need to arrive in the mail for our agency to complete the study. Then we will proofread the home study and send it off to Charlotte to immigration. We will be contacted for fingerprinting appointments and then wait about two to three months for a very special paper called I-171. While we are waiting, our other paperwork will continue to enjoy their little trips to stamping offices around the state and eventually make it to federal buildings in Washington, D.C. They will be translated into Chinese and be already for the big trip to China about ten months before we are allowed to go.
Just think, you may get to read this blog for a whole year... I've been warned that the waiting months are pretty quiet, like throwing our precious, stamped, translated dossier treasure into a deep black hole where there is only long, disturbing silence!
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Winding Down
Well it finally feels like the paper chase is winding down. Today a friend, who is a notary, went with me (on a snowy day off from school!) to the doctor's office to watch our doctor sign off on our medical papers. I quickly drove to Kinko's and copied all of the paperwork we were required to turn in for this installment. Then I drove to our agency to drop off the papers. Meanwhile Steve was being interviewed upstairs for his "alone" part of the home study. Mine was a week ago. Our home visit will be Tuesday morning at 10 and we will be all finished with the home study. We are waiting for one document from out of state and a few more reference letters.
There will be some celebrating going on when we hear that the home study is mailed to the immigration service. Next step is fingerprinting and waiting for the I171 form from immigration. When that is finished, everything gets translated and sealed -- off to China. Our hope is that it will be in China by May. So far we are on schedule, but anything can happen.
I saw a teacher friend in Barnes and Noble this afternoon. My most vivid memory of her is from about 15 years ago when I was doing an interim in a room near hers. She was waiting to hear news of a domestic adoption. I happened to go in her room in the morning and say, "What does it feel like to know any moment you could find out you have a baby?" A short while later she was in my room with tears streaming down her face because she now knew! The agency had called. It was such fun to tell her about our plans to adopt with her two almost grown girls sitting at the table. Two girls...hmm.
There will be some celebrating going on when we hear that the home study is mailed to the immigration service. Next step is fingerprinting and waiting for the I171 form from immigration. When that is finished, everything gets translated and sealed -- off to China. Our hope is that it will be in China by May. So far we are on schedule, but anything can happen.
I saw a teacher friend in Barnes and Noble this afternoon. My most vivid memory of her is from about 15 years ago when I was doing an interim in a room near hers. She was waiting to hear news of a domestic adoption. I happened to go in her room in the morning and say, "What does it feel like to know any moment you could find out you have a baby?" A short while later she was in my room with tears streaming down her face because she now knew! The agency had called. It was such fun to tell her about our plans to adopt with her two almost grown girls sitting at the table. Two girls...hmm.
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Getting it in Perspective
Steve and I are trying our best to pull together all of the paperwork that is left... had our 2" photos taken and placed in "little white folders", received the employment letter from my work, checked to be sure all of the reference letters were received by our references... And there are times when I am totally overwhelmed by waiting for miscellaneous paperwork to be collected. It's a control issue, I'm sure.
Getting it in Perspective... Back in November, I discovered "China Adoption Stories" on the internet. The Miller family caught my attention because they were all finished with paperwork and had only the waiting left for the referral. I followed the family by checking the website periodically.... I saw the referral arrive in November.... saw the travel arrangements come in December... and watched the January calendar as they traveled to pick up their baby. Yesterday I turned to the web site one more time to see if there was any baby news. There was...
As I clicked to the pictures of the China trip, I was reminded of our goal. I turned to the slide show without words (all 210 beautiful photographs) and remembered why we are doing this long, and tedious process. There before me was the visual history of the amazing mystery of adoption, an alone little girl on the other side of the world lovingly united with a mom and dad on our side of the planet who had waited and waited and waited...
It was just the encouragement I needed to keep going. So today I'll begin cleaning the house for the home study... better start upstairs where we don't live much because our social worker doesn't come for a week.
(If you want to view the slide show I saw, http://www.familymiller.homestead.com/)
Getting it in Perspective... Back in November, I discovered "China Adoption Stories" on the internet. The Miller family caught my attention because they were all finished with paperwork and had only the waiting left for the referral. I followed the family by checking the website periodically.... I saw the referral arrive in November.... saw the travel arrangements come in December... and watched the January calendar as they traveled to pick up their baby. Yesterday I turned to the web site one more time to see if there was any baby news. There was...
As I clicked to the pictures of the China trip, I was reminded of our goal. I turned to the slide show without words (all 210 beautiful photographs) and remembered why we are doing this long, and tedious process. There before me was the visual history of the amazing mystery of adoption, an alone little girl on the other side of the world lovingly united with a mom and dad on our side of the planet who had waited and waited and waited...
It was just the encouragement I needed to keep going. So today I'll begin cleaning the house for the home study... better start upstairs where we don't live much because our social worker doesn't come for a week.
(If you want to view the slide show I saw, http://www.familymiller.homestead.com/)
