Tuesday, March 30, 2004
CHECK!
One more step in the process checked off the list!
I went to school this morning to teach for half a day and Steve went to a doctor's appointment. We decided to meet at about 11:00 at Fuddruckers, the center of Steve's outside world. After Steve grabbed an ostrich burger for lunch, we hopped in the car and headed for Charlotte. We made it in record time. We walked into a non-descript building, reminding me of the DMV, but on a day that it is closed and empty.
We handed in our papers, showed our passport identifications, wrote out a short information sheet, and were told to line up in "Line 1". There were no other people at all in the line for fingerprinting, so we kind of looked like two little pre-school kids practicing line formation in preparation for the first day of kindergarten. Fortunately we didn't have to look like dorks for too long, because the two technicians were staring at us as we lined up. Steve and I were called forward immediately. We were asked to rub our hands and fingers with "Cornhuskers Lotion" and then meticulously electronically fingerprinted. Different groupings of fingers, special rolls of fingers, repeated fingers, wiping the screens, re-doing thumbs... Again a little like kindergarten fingerpainting on a computer. Our fingerprints were checked by a quality control manager after a loud yell of "QC!!" And we were out the door in less than 15 minutes!
We were back in Asheville by 4:00! Amazing. Now we wait for the I-171H form - the last paper in this arduous chase!
I went to school this morning to teach for half a day and Steve went to a doctor's appointment. We decided to meet at about 11:00 at Fuddruckers, the center of Steve's outside world. After Steve grabbed an ostrich burger for lunch, we hopped in the car and headed for Charlotte. We made it in record time. We walked into a non-descript building, reminding me of the DMV, but on a day that it is closed and empty.
We handed in our papers, showed our passport identifications, wrote out a short information sheet, and were told to line up in "Line 1". There were no other people at all in the line for fingerprinting, so we kind of looked like two little pre-school kids practicing line formation in preparation for the first day of kindergarten. Fortunately we didn't have to look like dorks for too long, because the two technicians were staring at us as we lined up. Steve and I were called forward immediately. We were asked to rub our hands and fingers with "Cornhuskers Lotion" and then meticulously electronically fingerprinted. Different groupings of fingers, special rolls of fingers, repeated fingers, wiping the screens, re-doing thumbs... Again a little like kindergarten fingerpainting on a computer. Our fingerprints were checked by a quality control manager after a loud yell of "QC!!" And we were out the door in less than 15 minutes!
We were back in Asheville by 4:00! Amazing. Now we wait for the I-171H form - the last paper in this arduous chase!
Monday, March 29, 2004
Fingerprinting
The fingerprinting notification arrived today and we are so excited! Every little slip of paper brings us closer! This is the requirement for the last form we need before the dossier is ready for translation and the last federal certification in Washington, D.C.
The only issue with the fingerprints is that the appointment is for next Tuesday, April 6th. That would mean leaving my parents' 50th celebration weekend in Florida earlier than we had originally planned. Although we know it would be totally understood, I would miss precious time with family who are traveling from Canada to visit. (Have I mentioned that I have 82 first cousins in Canada? A small percentage of them are coming...)
Steve and I did notice a sentence in the letter from Charlotte that seems to imply we can come earlier than our appointment if we have a scheduling conflict. So we are hitting the road tomorrow and driving two and a half hours one-way banking on the small print chance that we can fingerprint one week ahead. So little of this process is within our control, that when it appears we may be able to move one small detail along, we will at least try.
And if the government refuses to interpret the small print our way, there's always next Tuesday.
The only issue with the fingerprints is that the appointment is for next Tuesday, April 6th. That would mean leaving my parents' 50th celebration weekend in Florida earlier than we had originally planned. Although we know it would be totally understood, I would miss precious time with family who are traveling from Canada to visit. (Have I mentioned that I have 82 first cousins in Canada? A small percentage of them are coming...)
Steve and I did notice a sentence in the letter from Charlotte that seems to imply we can come earlier than our appointment if we have a scheduling conflict. So we are hitting the road tomorrow and driving two and a half hours one-way banking on the small print chance that we can fingerprint one week ahead. So little of this process is within our control, that when it appears we may be able to move one small detail along, we will at least try.
And if the government refuses to interpret the small print our way, there's always next Tuesday.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Spring Saturday
I've decided to start a new category - "While We Were Waiting"... a log of memorable days as we wait for our girl(s) to come home.
This morning I did a very unusual thing for a Saturday. Steve teases me about popping out of bed as early on a Saturday as school day. But this morning, I got out of bed at about 8:00 to make lattes and then went back to bed until until 11:30 when I finished a book by Anne Tyler, The Amateur Marriage. What a great read! It was worded as carefully as a folk song - I loved it! At one moment, at the end of the 6th chapter, I gasped at her genius in writing and the perfect timing of a phrase. Not telling anymore! You'll have to read it!
In the afternoon, Steve and I both worked outside for awhile. The forsythia are blooming, the daffodils are in full bloom, and the hostas are poking through the ground already. Since I had not cleaned up leaves at all in the fall, I have filled about 6 bags of leaves already. But it is invigorating to be in the sunshine of spring.
Next year this time, we should be waiting for our travel plans to China.
This morning I did a very unusual thing for a Saturday. Steve teases me about popping out of bed as early on a Saturday as school day. But this morning, I got out of bed at about 8:00 to make lattes and then went back to bed until until 11:30 when I finished a book by Anne Tyler, The Amateur Marriage. What a great read! It was worded as carefully as a folk song - I loved it! At one moment, at the end of the 6th chapter, I gasped at her genius in writing and the perfect timing of a phrase. Not telling anymore! You'll have to read it!
In the afternoon, Steve and I both worked outside for awhile. The forsythia are blooming, the daffodils are in full bloom, and the hostas are poking through the ground already. Since I had not cleaned up leaves at all in the fall, I have filled about 6 bags of leaves already. But it is invigorating to be in the sunshine of spring.
Next year this time, we should be waiting for our travel plans to China.
Friday, March 12, 2004
Our Home Study
Our home study is finally in a Fed Ex box and on its way to BCIS in Charlotte...
A study of a "home" is so much more than the study of a house. Before we went through this process, I thought the "home study" was about child-proofing a house and a white glove cleaning. But our social worker truly studied the union of two individual people and the home we make together. The house is the shell around a home, the rough hewn crate around the treasure.
Another step in the process and we are thrilled to be this far!
A study of a "home" is so much more than the study of a house. Before we went through this process, I thought the "home study" was about child-proofing a house and a white glove cleaning. But our social worker truly studied the union of two individual people and the home we make together. The house is the shell around a home, the rough hewn crate around the treasure.
Another step in the process and we are thrilled to be this far!
Sunday, March 07, 2004
Freaky Me
Twice this past week, I have been able to see dear friends who are incredibly excited about our adoption. One friend met me here in Asheville and the other friend I visited this weekend in Atlanta. Both times they brought a handled gift bag with a precious baby gift inside, honoring the baby we love already. Both times, I thanked them for their thoughtfulness, but then guardedly asked them to save the gift for later in this process.
Am I being freaky? I don't know. But I have miscarried four times in my life, twice physically and twice "adoptively", needing to return maternity clothes and bury baby paraphernalia, in addition to the overwhelming job of returning all my dreams for the child. Right now, it feels like this international adoption is a very long process with too many variables. When a woman is pregnant, there is a baby moving beneath her skin. A pregnant woman always knows her daughter is there and even though many things could happen in the process, the baby is right there in front of her. She physically knows the status of life. My baby is in my heart already. But I just can't hold anything tangible right now that looks like "baby" ... at least not until I know our paperwork is on the same continent as her crib.
We are making good progress by the way, lest you fear we have a premonition of doom. Our home study should be finished this week and sent to BCIS in Charlotte soon.
Am I being freaky? I don't know. But I have miscarried four times in my life, twice physically and twice "adoptively", needing to return maternity clothes and bury baby paraphernalia, in addition to the overwhelming job of returning all my dreams for the child. Right now, it feels like this international adoption is a very long process with too many variables. When a woman is pregnant, there is a baby moving beneath her skin. A pregnant woman always knows her daughter is there and even though many things could happen in the process, the baby is right there in front of her. She physically knows the status of life. My baby is in my heart already. But I just can't hold anything tangible right now that looks like "baby" ... at least not until I know our paperwork is on the same continent as her crib.
We are making good progress by the way, lest you fear we have a premonition of doom. Our home study should be finished this week and sent to BCIS in Charlotte soon.
