April Update
So its been awhile, sorry. We do have some good news. Tonight Steph and I signed our names about 20 times to complete our dossier. 20 times, thats not much, right? Well I had to sign my full name which is 21 letters one comma and one period. Steph had to sign her name, including her maiden name, which is a total of 30 letters plus two parethecies (you know these things which I can't spell). That's a lot of signing!
We were thrown a bit of a surprise last week. Steph contacted our adoption facilitator in KY last week and we were asked to attend a meeting on Saturday because some forms had changed. This initially concerned us because we thought we were done. We got up at 4:00 AM and drove to Lousiville. While sitting in the meeting we realized the changes were very minor and would not set us back any with regard to time.
We were excited to spend some time with a couple who is nearly at the same stage in the process as we are. We met Brad and Tina way back in September, at the "If You Were Mine" adoption conference when were just thinking about adopting, we actually sat at a table with them during the conference. Steph has been communicating with Tina frequently via e-mail and has found her to be one of very few people who can truly understand her feelings and her experience. As we were eating it occurred to me that we were all in Louisville together, yet in the future it would be much easier for us to meet in Greenville. Steph and Tina had no idea that Troy, Ohio is so close to Winchester, IN.
There were about 10 other couples in this meeting. Steph and I were the only ones in attendance who had received our INS approval. That was a great feeling. Kathy was asked about timelines, just like everyone asks us. She is very careful to always explain two things, the timeline is set by God not us, and sometimes God let's the Ukraine Adoption Center wait a long time to respond. She gave us homework to complete. She said' "Go home and make a sign that says 'I DON'T KNOW' and put it on your refrigerator." She said when you get frustrated and want to call to ask 'when do we get to travel to Ukraine', she can say look at your refrigerator. She did however make two guarantees with regard to time; 1. no one in the room will travel within the next 6 months and 2. we will all travel to Ukraine prior to receiving our first Social Security check. (political note: I am certainly not counting on getting the first SS check, especially since it seems unlikely due to, so called 'progressive', obstructionists that I will ever be allowed to invest a small portion of my own money into my own personal account so that I could manage my money myself)
There was a great deal of discussion about how difficult the wait time is after you complete your dossier. One lady noted that it is like Steph is pregnant, but it will not be a normal 9-month pregnancy, it is more like an 18 month pregnancy. So in other words we may end up with a hippopotomous? We recognize that it will not only be difficult for us, but for our freinds and family as well, as we are all anxious for the day to arrive when we can bring home our child.
Within the next couple of days we will have all of our documents notarized. The we will take the completed dossier to the Indiana Secretary of State to be apostilled. Then, the formal document will be sent to Ukraine for translation and submission.
The Great Wait begins.
We were thrown a bit of a surprise last week. Steph contacted our adoption facilitator in KY last week and we were asked to attend a meeting on Saturday because some forms had changed. This initially concerned us because we thought we were done. We got up at 4:00 AM and drove to Lousiville. While sitting in the meeting we realized the changes were very minor and would not set us back any with regard to time.
We were excited to spend some time with a couple who is nearly at the same stage in the process as we are. We met Brad and Tina way back in September, at the "If You Were Mine" adoption conference when were just thinking about adopting, we actually sat at a table with them during the conference. Steph has been communicating with Tina frequently via e-mail and has found her to be one of very few people who can truly understand her feelings and her experience. As we were eating it occurred to me that we were all in Louisville together, yet in the future it would be much easier for us to meet in Greenville. Steph and Tina had no idea that Troy, Ohio is so close to Winchester, IN.
There were about 10 other couples in this meeting. Steph and I were the only ones in attendance who had received our INS approval. That was a great feeling. Kathy was asked about timelines, just like everyone asks us. She is very careful to always explain two things, the timeline is set by God not us, and sometimes God let's the Ukraine Adoption Center wait a long time to respond. She gave us homework to complete. She said' "Go home and make a sign that says 'I DON'T KNOW' and put it on your refrigerator." She said when you get frustrated and want to call to ask 'when do we get to travel to Ukraine', she can say look at your refrigerator. She did however make two guarantees with regard to time; 1. no one in the room will travel within the next 6 months and 2. we will all travel to Ukraine prior to receiving our first Social Security check. (political note: I am certainly not counting on getting the first SS check, especially since it seems unlikely due to, so called 'progressive', obstructionists that I will ever be allowed to invest a small portion of my own money into my own personal account so that I could manage my money myself)
There was a great deal of discussion about how difficult the wait time is after you complete your dossier. One lady noted that it is like Steph is pregnant, but it will not be a normal 9-month pregnancy, it is more like an 18 month pregnancy. So in other words we may end up with a hippopotomous? We recognize that it will not only be difficult for us, but for our freinds and family as well, as we are all anxious for the day to arrive when we can bring home our child.
Within the next couple of days we will have all of our documents notarized. The we will take the completed dossier to the Indiana Secretary of State to be apostilled. Then, the formal document will be sent to Ukraine for translation and submission.
The Great Wait begins.
posted by Baldwin at 9:04 PM
2 Comments:
Joe & Stephanie,
We are so excited for you and know the Lord has this whole process in His hands! It's been wonderful to share with you this experience and we're anxious to hear every new development. The blog site is definately a great plan - but so is keeping a journal. When you look back or your children look back on the dedication, love and perserverance that you two put into play to share your love with them, it will become a piece of history to cherish for all generations. If the road gets rough or the waiting seems endless, looking back from where God has brought you will encourage you once more. We love you and pray for you daily. Your child has Jesus on his side and nothing will be greater than your joy in bringing them home and sharing the love of Jesus and this journey of love with him.
You've mentioned us twice by name now so I figured it was time to leave a comment...
This blog thing is cool. Tina and I should do something similar. If for no other reason than to simply give our child something back to look on. Neither of us are much for writing though, so it probably wouldn't be very interesting.
Anyway, congrats on being painfully close to wrapping up your dossier. We are thrilled for you two.
Tina and I are still waiting to give the immigration people our fingerprints so that they can in turn give us their approval to adopt a child.
It was great seeing you in Louisville over the weekend. That's a bit far to go to meet for lunch though, so I agree that Greenville would be a much more convenient rendezvous location in the future :)
Best wishes to you both. God is good, and He will unite you with your child in His perfect time.
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