We received an email from our agency yesterday. All of our paperwork has been sent to the USCIS! WOOHOO!!! This means that we have to wait about two weeks for an invitation to be fingerprinted, then after that it is another waiting game for our fingerprints to come back from immigration.
Then, we send all of our paperwork to the state to be certified.
Then, we send all of the certified paperwork to our agency and they send it to the Chinese consulate to be authenticated.
Then they receive it back, and SEND IT TO CHINA!!
Seems simple enough. Shouldn't take too long.
Did I mention that it could take up to 3 months to get our fingerprints back from immigration?
Then did I mention it would be another 2 weeks to get things certified?
Then did I fail to mention it would take up to another month to get things authenticated?
HHMM, another 4 1/2 months?
I pray this is the absolute worst case senario...
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Who is this??
Just look at our little guy, he is getting so big. I can't believe how tall he looks. Doesn't he look like he will just fit right into our family?
He is 24 pounds and almost3 feet tall. According to my research, he is in about the 45 percentile for size, on American charts. A little small, but really for Asian, not too small.
It also sounds like he is getting potty trained, and he has a vocabulary of 3 words. He understands a little more than that but as far as vocalizing, 3 words is it. But apparently there is hearing, that is wonderful!
Come on paperwork!!! He is waiting for us!!!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Craziness abounds!
As is usual - it is crazy in our household - we are preparing for school...
Jacob will be a sophomore this year:
getting his driver's license - so he drives everywhere - we have to keep track of his hours...ugh
basketball just ended, football will be starting in the next two weeks and then we are off on the never ending - except for two weeks in the summer - sports seasons
he just went in for his physical - he is 6' tall and weighs 153.2 pounds - he was very concerned because he lost 2 pounds...again, ugh!
Nathan will be in 8th grade this year:
he just finished his rocket for 4H, we shot it off yesterday, this is the fourth year he has done a rocket and it was by far the best launch he has ever done
Nathan just finished softball - they got 2nd, now he waits until the first day of school to start junior high football - there will be a new coach this year :( so he is a little concerned about that...
Nathan is about 5'4" so he is starting to be able to look me eye to eye - you can tell he is liking that.
Kylie will be in preschool this year, or pretty school as she calls it
We bought her her PE tennis shoes - anyone who is from out here understands what this is all about - and she is so excited. But she can't figure out why she cannot wear them...so she just carries them around.
John will be in preschool too - just not as long.
He could really care less about the whole thing. Preschool to John is just a word, although he does love to play with other little ones that aren't his sisters. He probably does need the influence of other little boys - he wears a lot of high heels, pushes strollers, and likes pink...you get the picture
Kaycee will also be in preschool - we just haven't figured out where yet...To make a REALLY long story short - I would like to have her in a program with other deaf and hard of hearing kids...but we aren't getting there yet - with the resources we have - not to mention the nearest one is about 1 1/2 away from us....
Leonard is going to be starting his graduate degree on September 2. He is nervous and excited. He will actually be getting a dual masters - organizational management and project management. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? I am very proud of him.
And of course, me - I will be in my 9th year of teaching - ugh 9 years. Anyway, I am still in grad school too - I have 19 credits to go...39 down...I am tired, VERY tired!!! But oh well......
It is kind of funny actually - we are ALL getting ready for school this fall, we will all be in school from 2 years old to, well, me who is somewhere around 29-39 years old.
Jacob will be a sophomore this year:
getting his driver's license - so he drives everywhere - we have to keep track of his hours...ugh
basketball just ended, football will be starting in the next two weeks and then we are off on the never ending - except for two weeks in the summer - sports seasons
he just went in for his physical - he is 6' tall and weighs 153.2 pounds - he was very concerned because he lost 2 pounds...again, ugh!
Nathan will be in 8th grade this year:
he just finished his rocket for 4H, we shot it off yesterday, this is the fourth year he has done a rocket and it was by far the best launch he has ever done
Nathan just finished softball - they got 2nd, now he waits until the first day of school to start junior high football - there will be a new coach this year :( so he is a little concerned about that...
Nathan is about 5'4" so he is starting to be able to look me eye to eye - you can tell he is liking that.
Kylie will be in preschool this year, or pretty school as she calls it
We bought her her PE tennis shoes - anyone who is from out here understands what this is all about - and she is so excited. But she can't figure out why she cannot wear them...so she just carries them around.
John will be in preschool too - just not as long.
He could really care less about the whole thing. Preschool to John is just a word, although he does love to play with other little ones that aren't his sisters. He probably does need the influence of other little boys - he wears a lot of high heels, pushes strollers, and likes pink...you get the picture
Kaycee will also be in preschool - we just haven't figured out where yet...To make a REALLY long story short - I would like to have her in a program with other deaf and hard of hearing kids...but we aren't getting there yet - with the resources we have - not to mention the nearest one is about 1 1/2 away from us....
Leonard is going to be starting his graduate degree on September 2. He is nervous and excited. He will actually be getting a dual masters - organizational management and project management. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? I am very proud of him.
And of course, me - I will be in my 9th year of teaching - ugh 9 years. Anyway, I am still in grad school too - I have 19 credits to go...39 down...I am tired, VERY tired!!! But oh well......
It is kind of funny actually - we are ALL getting ready for school this fall, we will all be in school from 2 years old to, well, me who is somewhere around 29-39 years old.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
continued
Computers...uugghh!
Anyway, now with the I800 - it takes up to 2 or 3 months to get the appointment for fingerprints, get our fingerprints, then wait about 2 months to get approved.
THEN we send all of our dossier to our agency (after it has all been notarized) then they send it to our state to get it certified, then to the Chinese consulate to get it authenticated. All of that can take maybe 1 or 2 months, depending.
SO - when will we have our paperwork to China? I thought maybe it would November - now I think that is hopeful! Our LOI went in May - really we only have until August to have few problems. If we take until November, we could have a "bumpy road" according to our agency. After November? Who knows, it would be horrible to think about...
All while a little boy sits in China, no language, no hearing, and no family.
Anyway, now with the I800 - it takes up to 2 or 3 months to get the appointment for fingerprints, get our fingerprints, then wait about 2 months to get approved.
THEN we send all of our dossier to our agency (after it has all been notarized) then they send it to our state to get it certified, then to the Chinese consulate to get it authenticated. All of that can take maybe 1 or 2 months, depending.
SO - when will we have our paperwork to China? I thought maybe it would November - now I think that is hopeful! Our LOI went in May - really we only have until August to have few problems. If we take until November, we could have a "bumpy road" according to our agency. After November? Who knows, it would be horrible to think about...
All while a little boy sits in China, no language, no hearing, and no family.
Worried...
So it has been a really long time since I last wrote. It isn't because there isn't anything going on, it is just that well, you know, we have been busy!
We finished up the home visits part of the home study, all but one child has their physicals- the last one is Monday and Leonard and I have ours done.
We are in a stand still with the adoption. It is crazy, sickening, worrisome, and long. And really, it is hard to explain, but let me try!
There are 24 hours of parenting classes required by the federal government for adopters. We have taken 30 with social services, and 22 through our homestudy agency = even though I didn't major in math, I think that comes out to 52 credits taken...I would say that is more than enough, but no. It isn't.
Ok, here comes the complicated part...some of it is our fault, some of it isn't.
Since we adopted Kaycee, something new has been implemented by our government - it is called the Hague. In the adoption community, this really is not a pleasent word.
All agencies must become Hague accredited - meaning they have to jump through a lot of hoops, fill out a lot of paperwork and be approved. HHMMM, does that sound like international adoption?
Ok, with the Hague, they are requiring all parents to take 6 classes, each 4 hours long. We have taken 3, been given credit from our 30 hours for 1 and have 2 left.
These are not offered again until the middle of August.
Supposedly, we cannot complete our homestudy and apply for our I800 until these are done. I have spent many sleepless nights, many times on the phone and many emails to our agency. FINALLY! The immigration specialist stated that we could put a note in our homestudy that states we understand these classes need to be taken before we travel - ok, no problem! Got that under control.
Some people, including my husband ask why one month would make sure a huge difference. Why was I worried so much...here goes the explanation:
Noah's file came to our agency late last year. It was under the old system - where China sent an actual paper file to the agencies, and each agency got their own list of SN children.
We didn't decide to adopt Noah until February. We were NOT ready in the least - finacially or paper ready. So we knew it would take a long time to get done.
Fast forward a couple of months - China has now changed their system - it is all electronic - and all agencies share the same list of SN children. Noah's file had to be completed, with a Letter of Intent, by the middle of May.
When China was on the paper system, they would let families have at least 6 months to get their paperwork completed, now that they are on the electronic system, they only have 3 months.
Go back to the I800- with the old system, the I600, we could apply for fingerprints before our homestudy was completed, wait for our appointment, get fingerprinted, send in our homestudy, wait to be approved ,then be completly done. It took us 5 months - and that was pretty quick with Kaycee.
Now with the I800 - we have to have our parenting classes completed, then finish our homestudy (because the homestudy cannot be completed without the parenting classes done), then apply for our fingerprints
We finished up the home visits part of the home study, all but one child has their physicals- the last one is Monday and Leonard and I have ours done.
We are in a stand still with the adoption. It is crazy, sickening, worrisome, and long. And really, it is hard to explain, but let me try!
There are 24 hours of parenting classes required by the federal government for adopters. We have taken 30 with social services, and 22 through our homestudy agency = even though I didn't major in math, I think that comes out to 52 credits taken...I would say that is more than enough, but no. It isn't.
Ok, here comes the complicated part...some of it is our fault, some of it isn't.
Since we adopted Kaycee, something new has been implemented by our government - it is called the Hague. In the adoption community, this really is not a pleasent word.
All agencies must become Hague accredited - meaning they have to jump through a lot of hoops, fill out a lot of paperwork and be approved. HHMMM, does that sound like international adoption?
Ok, with the Hague, they are requiring all parents to take 6 classes, each 4 hours long. We have taken 3, been given credit from our 30 hours for 1 and have 2 left.
These are not offered again until the middle of August.
Supposedly, we cannot complete our homestudy and apply for our I800 until these are done. I have spent many sleepless nights, many times on the phone and many emails to our agency. FINALLY! The immigration specialist stated that we could put a note in our homestudy that states we understand these classes need to be taken before we travel - ok, no problem! Got that under control.
Some people, including my husband ask why one month would make sure a huge difference. Why was I worried so much...here goes the explanation:
Noah's file came to our agency late last year. It was under the old system - where China sent an actual paper file to the agencies, and each agency got their own list of SN children.
We didn't decide to adopt Noah until February. We were NOT ready in the least - finacially or paper ready. So we knew it would take a long time to get done.
Fast forward a couple of months - China has now changed their system - it is all electronic - and all agencies share the same list of SN children. Noah's file had to be completed, with a Letter of Intent, by the middle of May.
When China was on the paper system, they would let families have at least 6 months to get their paperwork completed, now that they are on the electronic system, they only have 3 months.
Go back to the I800- with the old system, the I600, we could apply for fingerprints before our homestudy was completed, wait for our appointment, get fingerprinted, send in our homestudy, wait to be approved ,then be completly done. It took us 5 months - and that was pretty quick with Kaycee.
Now with the I800 - we have to have our parenting classes completed, then finish our homestudy (because the homestudy cannot be completed without the parenting classes done), then apply for our fingerprints
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Another "Kreation!"
Here she is...isn't she cute? Minnie Mouse purse, with a Princess Kreations tutu. I think they are cute...Anyone want one? Just email me...vkrise2002@yahoo.com
Monday, June 2, 2008
Best friends are we...
We have had the pleasure of having some little "extra" people running around our house for the past two days. This little people are our nieces and nephews. Anyway, we have had a lot of fun the last couple of days but probably the best time was when Kaycee and Ellie (both have bilateral microtia) were talking.Both of them have a moderate hearing loss, both of them had just gotten up from their naps, and neither of them had their hearing aids on.
Here is the scenario:
"Blah, blah, blah..." says Ellie - very loudly.
"Blah, blah, blah..." says Kaycee - also very loudly.
Kaycee: "Yeah!"
Ellie: "Yeah!"
This went on for about 30 minutes - both talking very loudly, a lot of nodding, a lot of "yeah", a lot of jibber jabber. It was adorable!
Kaycee has been home for almost a year, and is 2 - China.
Ellie has been home for less than four months, and is 4 - Ukraine.
Nathan said it was like having the United Nations in our home this weekend...Russia, Ukraine, China and the United States. (I am not completely sure, but I don't think some of these countries are part of the United Nations, but I get what he was saying...)
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