Possible Complications

Yesterday, at lunchtime I was in the process of doing the final assembling of the immigration documents to submit to the immigration office in Texas.  I received an email from David suggesting to hold off on submitting the forms due to a slight change that might be needed on the forms.  When I got home, a 2nd email from David suggested that we change our home study to open up adoption to possibly younger kids.

The problem is that our two kids are expected off the adoption registry sometime in July.  There is the concern that the children could be presented by the SDA to another family (unknown at this time, but a possibility). 

After sending in the immigration forms, final approval could come within 4-5 weeks.  Four days needed to get apostilled and delivered to Ukraine and 3-4 more days to prepare and submit the dossier.  After that, it appears it would take 6-7 weeks to get the opportunity to travel.   There is a period of exposure from the time we would be able to travel and when they could be available for adoption.

Definitely a need for prayer and to rely on God when things are out of your control, which I believe is what God wants from us anyway.  Ultimately, God wants our trust and reliance on him.

Final Copy of Home Study Received

Today, we received the 4 notarized copies of the preplacement adoption assessment, along with a copy of Nathanson's license.  On Thursday, David sent us the filled out I-600 forms that needed our signature.  All that is left to do is to get a copy of the marriage license, copies of our passport photos, and a photocopy of Nathanson's agency license.  I feel like I am copying the same forms over and over again :) 

As much as the paperwork can be a cause of headaches, it ultimately is for a good cause:  the adoption of Ilya and Snezhana.

Preplacement Assessment Completed!

Today, we received the draft of the preplacement assessment from our home study.  I was pleasantly surprised at receiving this after less than a week after our 3rd interview with the social worker.   Now, it is a matter of doing a final review, along with our adoption coordinator. 

Final Home Study Visit

Diana and I went to the library in Morrisville for our 3rd and final home study visit.  This was a fairly quick visit as Liz, our social worker, clarified a few more questions and took up our documentation:  home study medical forms, 2011 tax form, financial disclosure sheet, copies of each of our birth certificates, marriage license, criminal record checks, etc...

I anticipated that gathering all of the forms would be the most tedious of all of the tasks, but ultimately, paled in comparison to getting the final medical forms from the doctor's office.

Now, we wait for Nathanson's to review and approve our home study.

Before the Final Visit...

So far, we have had the first two visits that have gone smoothly with our social worker, interviewing the three of us and taking a tour of the house.

The third and final visit involves collecting the various forms and records.  We have had to assemble the following:

1. Original birth certificates
2. Marriage certificate
3. Our 2011 tax form
4. Three letters of reference
5. Medical exams + TB and AIDS tests
6. Child abuse clearances
7.  Criminal Record checks
8.  Separate Medical reports for the Home Study
9.  Financial worksheet
10. Guardianship.

Medical Forms, Part 2

I receive notice from the doctor's office that the forms have been redone.  Diana calls up the office to verify that the forms have been completed correctly and discovers that they are missing the most important forms that have to be completed first - the medical forms for the home study. 

I call the doctor's office and Dr. Richards will not be able to complete them on Friday.  I email his assistant and him the medical forms for the home study so he will have a chance to have everything completed before our final home study visit on Tuesday afternoon.