I meant to get online on Christmas Day, but our holidays were too filled with the blessings of family to spend time on a computer. :-) We were able to celebrate Christmas on three different occasions with all of our parents in the month of December--what a gift.
We are hoping and trusting that 2007 will be the last year we will celebrate Jesus' birth as a family of two. Next year we look forward to experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a child.
In Russia, the two big winter holidays are New Year's Day and Orthodox Christmas, which is on January 7. So, the government offices will be closed there from December 29 through January 9. Once they are back in business, we hope to hear news of our registration sometime in Jauary. May 2008 be a year of many blessings for each of you!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Document delivered!
Our document was delivered in Russia at 12:30pm local time today (Thursday). Woo-hoo! Now we're just waiting on the news that we are officially registered there. I would think it would happen soon, and we'll keep you posted!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Document update--good news!
Thanks for your prayers. I just got off the phone with DHL, and we got good news. They are going to mail our document to Russia for us, and will also cover the shipping charges to get it there! They think it should arrive by Thursday or Friday. It's being sent to our agency contact there, who will translate it and get it to the Ministry of Education to get us registered. I have no idea how the timing will all work out, but it looks like we should be registered by early next week. Praise God!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Hard day
Today has turned out to be a hard day. To explain, I need to back up.
On Thursday, I called our family coordinator to ask about our progress in getting registered in Russia. She said they really did want to get us registered in December, and so we needed to complete our final document quickly. So yesterday, I got up early and made the 2 1/2 hour trip (one-way) to Tallahassee. I was able to get the document apostilled (certified). Another America World family is flying to our region on tomorrow, so our plan was to overnight/Saturday delivery the document to them. They would get it today, and then take it on the plane with them and hand-deliver it for us in Russia. What perfect timing!
I've been tracking the package all day: 6:11pm last night it left Tallahassee and went to Ohio. Great! 6:20am this morning it left the facility in Ohio. Progress! 10:38am it was with the delivery courier, in a town only 45 minutes away from the family. Almost there! 2:38pm: "address information needed, contact customer service." What?
I called at 3:05pm and was told the facility closed at 3:00 and there was nothing they could do until Monday. My heart sank. There is no way the document will be on the plane tomorrow.
They did agree to refund our money, but that doesn't get our document to Russia. On Monday, I can call back to find out more. We are planning to ask them to cover the cost of shipping this document to Russia, as that's now our only option. Please pray that they will be understanding and willing to work with us. It looks like it only takes 3 days to get to Russia, so we still may be registered this month. God brought this great quote from Warren Myers to mind as we were driving home from a friend's party today:
"The Lord may not have planned that this should overtake me, but He has most certainly permitted it. Therefore though it were an attack of an enemy, by the time it reaches me, it has the Lord's permission and therefore all is well. He will make it work together with all life's experiences for good."
Last night as we were praying for the document to arrive today, we acknowledged that it would be easy for God to have it delivered, but if He chose not to do that, we would trust Him. I shed some tears today, not understanding why God allowed this, but I do know that He is good and His plans for us are good. This will not stop us from bringing our son home. He'll be here before we know it!
On Thursday, I called our family coordinator to ask about our progress in getting registered in Russia. She said they really did want to get us registered in December, and so we needed to complete our final document quickly. So yesterday, I got up early and made the 2 1/2 hour trip (one-way) to Tallahassee. I was able to get the document apostilled (certified). Another America World family is flying to our region on tomorrow, so our plan was to overnight/Saturday delivery the document to them. They would get it today, and then take it on the plane with them and hand-deliver it for us in Russia. What perfect timing!
I've been tracking the package all day: 6:11pm last night it left Tallahassee and went to Ohio. Great! 6:20am this morning it left the facility in Ohio. Progress! 10:38am it was with the delivery courier, in a town only 45 minutes away from the family. Almost there! 2:38pm: "address information needed, contact customer service." What?
I called at 3:05pm and was told the facility closed at 3:00 and there was nothing they could do until Monday. My heart sank. There is no way the document will be on the plane tomorrow.
They did agree to refund our money, but that doesn't get our document to Russia. On Monday, I can call back to find out more. We are planning to ask them to cover the cost of shipping this document to Russia, as that's now our only option. Please pray that they will be understanding and willing to work with us. It looks like it only takes 3 days to get to Russia, so we still may be registered this month. God brought this great quote from Warren Myers to mind as we were driving home from a friend's party today:
"The Lord may not have planned that this should overtake me, but He has most certainly permitted it. Therefore though it were an attack of an enemy, by the time it reaches me, it has the Lord's permission and therefore all is well. He will make it work together with all life's experiences for good."
Last night as we were praying for the document to arrive today, we acknowledged that it would be easy for God to have it delivered, but if He chose not to do that, we would trust Him. I shed some tears today, not understanding why God allowed this, but I do know that He is good and His plans for us are good. This will not stop us from bringing our son home. He'll be here before we know it!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
The power of one little word...
I am so glad that we do not serve a little God. One who is weak or unable to move mountains on our behalf. Just as we were getting adjusted to the idea of a long wait ahead of us in this journey to our son, God chose to move a huge mountain and shorten our time line considerably! In my last post, I acknowledged that God could choose to move mountains, but we didn't really expect Him to. Thankfully God is much bigger than my faith!
Last Thursday, we received a phone call from our family coordinator at America World. We small-talked a little, and she asked how we were doing with waiting patiently. I told her we've really been working on it, but of course it's never easy to wait. The next word out of her mouth was, "Well..." Oh, the power of that little word! She said it in a way that made it clear she had some news. (You can imagine the inflection.)
She told me that one of the regions in which our agency works in Russia has a number of infant boys in their orphanage right now. Our contact in Russia said he thinks he might be able to register one or two dossiers for families by mid-December. Because we are requesting an infant boy, and all of our paperwork is in order, our dossier might be registered in just a few weeks! So, she was calling to let me know we have one additional document we need to fill out in order to be registered. She emailed it to us, and we got it notarized and in the mail to be apostilled that same day. As soon as we get it back, we'll send it to our agency, who will then mail it on to Russia.
As a reminder of our process, we can't be matched with a specific child until our dossier gets registered in a specific region. Our paperwork has been done since May, but with so many other families waiting, we haven't been registered anywhere yet. Recently, once families have been registered in this region, they have been receiving referrals of children anywhere from two weeks to two months later. This means we could easily be traveling on the first trip to meet our son in the next several months!
Even if we aren't registered in December, it looks like we should be registered in January. We won't know more for several weeks either way. We would appreciate your prayers for a registration in December. What a great Christmas present that would be!
Last Thursday, we received a phone call from our family coordinator at America World. We small-talked a little, and she asked how we were doing with waiting patiently. I told her we've really been working on it, but of course it's never easy to wait. The next word out of her mouth was, "Well..." Oh, the power of that little word! She said it in a way that made it clear she had some news. (You can imagine the inflection.)
She told me that one of the regions in which our agency works in Russia has a number of infant boys in their orphanage right now. Our contact in Russia said he thinks he might be able to register one or two dossiers for families by mid-December. Because we are requesting an infant boy, and all of our paperwork is in order, our dossier might be registered in just a few weeks! So, she was calling to let me know we have one additional document we need to fill out in order to be registered. She emailed it to us, and we got it notarized and in the mail to be apostilled that same day. As soon as we get it back, we'll send it to our agency, who will then mail it on to Russia.
As a reminder of our process, we can't be matched with a specific child until our dossier gets registered in a specific region. Our paperwork has been done since May, but with so many other families waiting, we haven't been registered anywhere yet. Recently, once families have been registered in this region, they have been receiving referrals of children anywhere from two weeks to two months later. This means we could easily be traveling on the first trip to meet our son in the next several months!
Even if we aren't registered in December, it looks like we should be registered in January. We won't know more for several weeks either way. We would appreciate your prayers for a registration in December. What a great Christmas present that would be!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Choosing to trust in the wait
Wow, it's crazy to look at the ticker at the top of our blog and realize it's been almost seven months since we mailed our dossier to our agency. How quickly that time has gone. It's a good reminder that while our wait seems long some days, when we look back at the process, we'll be surprised by how quickly it passed. (At least, that's what I'm believing in faith!)
Many of you have told us recently that you check our blog for updates, so I wanted to give you something new to read. Here is the update: there is no update. :-) Our agency is receiving several referrals each month for Russian children, but the process is quite slow. Since reaccreditation happened this summer, the system is still quite full of waiting families, and it's taking awhile for everything to catch up. With the holidays approaching, we don't anticipate things speeding up any time soon.
Based on the number of waiting families with our agency, and the speed at which things are happening in Russia, it's doubtful that our dossier will be registered with a specific region before spring. Of course, God could move mountains for us (and we'd rejoice if He chose to do that!), but based on what is currently happening, that is what looks probable. Once our dossier gets registered, it's unclear how long it would take to get a referral for a specific child. So, it looks like we won't be traveling before next summer or fall.
When we began looking into adoption (almost exactly a year ago!), we knew there would be lots of waiting and many unknowns. It's all a part of the journey God has us on to meet our son. But we wouldn't be honest if we didn't admit that it's not always easy or fun. We are ready to bring our son home, but apparently the son God has for our family isn't ready yet! So, we continue to wait and trust Him to get us through each day. I choose to believe, as David did in Psalm 16, that "the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places." God has a good and perfect plan for our lives and to grow our family, and we look forward to experiencing it in His timing!
Many of you have told us recently that you check our blog for updates, so I wanted to give you something new to read. Here is the update: there is no update. :-) Our agency is receiving several referrals each month for Russian children, but the process is quite slow. Since reaccreditation happened this summer, the system is still quite full of waiting families, and it's taking awhile for everything to catch up. With the holidays approaching, we don't anticipate things speeding up any time soon.
Based on the number of waiting families with our agency, and the speed at which things are happening in Russia, it's doubtful that our dossier will be registered with a specific region before spring. Of course, God could move mountains for us (and we'd rejoice if He chose to do that!), but based on what is currently happening, that is what looks probable. Once our dossier gets registered, it's unclear how long it would take to get a referral for a specific child. So, it looks like we won't be traveling before next summer or fall.
When we began looking into adoption (almost exactly a year ago!), we knew there would be lots of waiting and many unknowns. It's all a part of the journey God has us on to meet our son. But we wouldn't be honest if we didn't admit that it's not always easy or fun. We are ready to bring our son home, but apparently the son God has for our family isn't ready yet! So, we continue to wait and trust Him to get us through each day. I choose to believe, as David did in Psalm 16, that "the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places." God has a good and perfect plan for our lives and to grow our family, and we look forward to experiencing it in His timing!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Back to waiting on Russia
So sorry to those of you who have been anxiously awaiting news of the local adoption opportunity we told you about. It is with total peace that we tell you God clearly closed that door and led us back to waiting on our referral from Russia.
Once the little boy here in Gainesville was put into the foster care system, we knew it would be a long shot. And the more we found out about the situation, the more uncomfortable we became. It would have a been a long wait to finalize the adoption and there were many unknowns about some important details. After another week of hearing nothing, we both felt a confirmation from the Lord that even if we did hear something, we were supposed to say no. This decision was met with complete peace in both of our hearts.
And so, we are back to waiting for a referral from Russia. Our adoption agency continues to see movement within several regions of Russia, but our dossier has yet to be registered in a specific region. This is the next step that will need to happen. Because we have been waiting so long, some of our paperwork will begin expiring in the next few months. It will actually be nice to have some "hands on" work we can do related to the adoption again while we wait to hear more.
Once the little boy here in Gainesville was put into the foster care system, we knew it would be a long shot. And the more we found out about the situation, the more uncomfortable we became. It would have a been a long wait to finalize the adoption and there were many unknowns about some important details. After another week of hearing nothing, we both felt a confirmation from the Lord that even if we did hear something, we were supposed to say no. This decision was met with complete peace in both of our hearts.
And so, we are back to waiting for a referral from Russia. Our adoption agency continues to see movement within several regions of Russia, but our dossier has yet to be registered in a specific region. This is the next step that will need to happen. Because we have been waiting so long, some of our paperwork will begin expiring in the next few months. It will actually be nice to have some "hands on" work we can do related to the adoption again while we wait to hear more.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Riding an actual roller coaster would be much easier!
God continues to amaze and surprise us during this journey of adoption. I have never been more reminded of His overarching sovereignty, and my own inability to make things happen in my own strength. What precious lessons to be learning and growing in, though the process has been so difficult at times.
About two weeks ago, we were contacted by a lawyer in town who knew of a baby born locally needing to be placed for adoption. While we had not been considering domestic adoption, after praying about it, we felt that God had opened this door and wanted us to proceed and see what would happen. We hesitantly moved forward, and waited to hear more. It was quite an emotional roller coaster! We would get our hopes up, wait nervously for the phone to ring, and then see our hopes dashed when we heard nothing.
By Monday of this week, we hadn't heard anything in almost a week, and it seemed to all involved that God was closing the door on this opportunity. Then, we got a phone call last night letting us know that it was still possible, and might happen very quickly.
Today, we found out that this baby has been released from the hospital and is now under the authority of DCFS. The birthmom is living on the streets, and her friend has been unable to find her (partly due to bad weather) in order to get her to sign papers terminating her rights. We were hoping to be appointed guardians, but now it's unclear if that's even a possibility with DCFS in the picture.
Would you join us in praying that this birthmom could be found, that she would make the best decision for her son, that we would be patient in waiting to see what God has planned, and that He would move mountains to make this possible for us, if this is the child He has chosen for our family? Would you also pray that our hearts would have the right mixture of hopeful expectation and preparation to receive sad news?
If we do move in this direction, we will need to pull out of the Russian adoption program, which brings with it another flood of mixed emotions. We have no idea what the future holds, but we rest secure, knowing that God's purposes will prevail, and that none of this is surprising or overwhelming for Him. In His perfect timing, He will bring us the child He has chosen to join our family. Oh, how we long for that day!
About two weeks ago, we were contacted by a lawyer in town who knew of a baby born locally needing to be placed for adoption. While we had not been considering domestic adoption, after praying about it, we felt that God had opened this door and wanted us to proceed and see what would happen. We hesitantly moved forward, and waited to hear more. It was quite an emotional roller coaster! We would get our hopes up, wait nervously for the phone to ring, and then see our hopes dashed when we heard nothing.
By Monday of this week, we hadn't heard anything in almost a week, and it seemed to all involved that God was closing the door on this opportunity. Then, we got a phone call last night letting us know that it was still possible, and might happen very quickly.
Today, we found out that this baby has been released from the hospital and is now under the authority of DCFS. The birthmom is living on the streets, and her friend has been unable to find her (partly due to bad weather) in order to get her to sign papers terminating her rights. We were hoping to be appointed guardians, but now it's unclear if that's even a possibility with DCFS in the picture.
Would you join us in praying that this birthmom could be found, that she would make the best decision for her son, that we would be patient in waiting to see what God has planned, and that He would move mountains to make this possible for us, if this is the child He has chosen for our family? Would you also pray that our hearts would have the right mixture of hopeful expectation and preparation to receive sad news?
If we do move in this direction, we will need to pull out of the Russian adoption program, which brings with it another flood of mixed emotions. We have no idea what the future holds, but we rest secure, knowing that God's purposes will prevail, and that none of this is surprising or overwhelming for Him. In His perfect timing, He will bring us the child He has chosen to join our family. Oh, how we long for that day!
Monday, September 17, 2007
A few minor updates
Not much is really moving on our adoption front, but I know there are friends that check our blog often, so I thought I'd at least give a little update (it's been almost a month since my last post!).
Last week, you may have seen news headlines regarding Russia's president dissolving their government. In reality, Vladimir Putin simply dismissed his cabinet and nominated a new prime minister, in preparation for the upcoming elections. So far, it doesn't look like this should have any effect on international adoptions, but it was a startling headline for us to read all the same.
It is exciting to report that several America World families have accepted referrals and some are even beginning to travel to Russia for their first trip! It sounds like several of the regions we mentioned in our last post have started to give out referrals, which is so wonderful. There is no official "waiting list" that will tell us where we are "in line," as the referrals are given out based on a number of different factors. We are just thrilled to know that referrals are happening, and that families are accepting them and starting to travel. Please pray that we will hear news soon too!
Last week, you may have seen news headlines regarding Russia's president dissolving their government. In reality, Vladimir Putin simply dismissed his cabinet and nominated a new prime minister, in preparation for the upcoming elections. So far, it doesn't look like this should have any effect on international adoptions, but it was a startling headline for us to read all the same.
It is exciting to report that several America World families have accepted referrals and some are even beginning to travel to Russia for their first trip! It sounds like several of the regions we mentioned in our last post have started to give out referrals, which is so wonderful. There is no official "waiting list" that will tell us where we are "in line," as the referrals are given out based on a number of different factors. We are just thrilled to know that referrals are happening, and that families are accepting them and starting to travel. Please pray that we will hear news soon too!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Where does Vlad live?
In a recent email from our adoption agency family coordinator, we received more information about the different regions in Russia with which our agency works. It sounds like there are three main possibilities for the region where our son might be living! I though this map would be helpful to give you a sense of where we might be traveling.Russia is divided up into seven large administrative districts, called okrugs. This map is of the Central Okrug. (OK, it's a strange map because it shows nuclear power information, but it was hard to find a regional map to put on this blog!)
The possible regions (within the okrug) to which we may be traveling are: Tula (located directly below Moscow), Voronezh (southeast on this map), or Nizhniy Novgorod (actually in the next okrug, located directly east of Vladimir and Ivanovo in this map).
We are excited at the proximity to Moscow that all of these regions have, as this should cut down on our travel costs once we're actually in Russia.
We still don't have word on how long it might be until we receive a referral, and so we continue to pray for our son, wherever he is. We will receive word from our coordinator once our dossier is given to one of these specific regions, and we'll let you know when that happens. It does help us to look at this map and know that he is very likely living in one of these regions!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Reaccreditation!
Praise God! Reaccreditation is finally here! We received the following email on Wednesday:
"It is with great joy that I share with you that America World's partner agency in Russia has received reaccreditation! They will be issued the official license tommorrow. We are praising God for this news after such a long and difficult wait. We expect that it may take a couple weeks before all the official documentation is completed in order for all processes to be fullly functioning such as dossier submission, referrals, and receipt of court dates. We will keep you updated as we have news. Thank you for your patience over the past 14 months as we have awaited reaccreditation."
Our family coordinator called yesterday to make sure we had received this incredible news. She said they still don't really know how long it's going to take to get dossiers from families turned in, and to start receiving referrals. But she was hopeful that it could start moving more quickly.
Thank you for praying with us during this long reaccreditation wait. We covet your prayers as we continue to wait for news about the child God has for us!
"It is with great joy that I share with you that America World's partner agency in Russia has received reaccreditation! They will be issued the official license tommorrow. We are praising God for this news after such a long and difficult wait. We expect that it may take a couple weeks before all the official documentation is completed in order for all processes to be fullly functioning such as dossier submission, referrals, and receipt of court dates. We will keep you updated as we have news. Thank you for your patience over the past 14 months as we have awaited reaccreditation."
Our family coordinator called yesterday to make sure we had received this incredible news. She said they still don't really know how long it's going to take to get dossiers from families turned in, and to start receiving referrals. But she was hopeful that it could start moving more quickly.
Thank you for praying with us during this long reaccreditation wait. We covet your prayers as we continue to wait for news about the child God has for us!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
More (potential) great news
I figured it would be awhile before I had any new reaccreditation news to report after my last post. But we got another great e-mail from our agency today!
America World got news today that our partner agency (through whom we will complete our adoption on Russia's end) has received approval from all of the various ministries in Russia, and the approvals are currently at the Ministry of Education. This is the final step on the road to reaccreditation! The exact time frame is unknown, though they are suggesting it might be as quickly as just a few weeks. However, we are not getting our hopes up, as timing often changes there.
Once the reaccreditation is granted, it might still be a few more weeks for all of the paperwork to be official. This is happening so much faster than we had dared to dream, and I'm sure it's due in no small part to the prayers of waiting adoptive parents (and our families and friends!) around the country.
Please continue to pray, and we'll update you as we hear more.
America World got news today that our partner agency (through whom we will complete our adoption on Russia's end) has received approval from all of the various ministries in Russia, and the approvals are currently at the Ministry of Education. This is the final step on the road to reaccreditation! The exact time frame is unknown, though they are suggesting it might be as quickly as just a few weeks. However, we are not getting our hopes up, as timing often changes there.
Once the reaccreditation is granted, it might still be a few more weeks for all of the paperwork to be official. This is happening so much faster than we had dared to dream, and I'm sure it's due in no small part to the prayers of waiting adoptive parents (and our families and friends!) around the country.
Please continue to pray, and we'll update you as we hear more.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Movement on the reaccreditation front!
We have finally heard some good news regarding reaccreditation--praise the Lord! Our agency e-mailed us earlier this week with the news that five American adoption agencies have completed their review by the various ministries in Russia, and their documents are currently with the Ministry of Education awaiting reaccreditation. It is expected to be granted very shortly!
Our agency is not one of these five, and we don't know how long the next group of paperwork will take to reach the Ministry of Education. We are estimated to be #15-20 in line, but that's unclear. But we are encouraged to know that things are moving and happening on this front! It has been at a standstill for such a long time, and this is such great news.
Please continue to pray with us for fast document review and paperwork approval. When we get more news about America World, we'll let you know!
Our agency is not one of these five, and we don't know how long the next group of paperwork will take to reach the Ministry of Education. We are estimated to be #15-20 in line, but that's unclear. But we are encouraged to know that things are moving and happening on this front! It has been at a standstill for such a long time, and this is such great news.
Please continue to pray with us for fast document review and paperwork approval. When we get more news about America World, we'll let you know!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
No news isn't always good news
It's hard to believe I haven't posted here in almost a month! We've been traveling for the last four weeks, and it's just hard to find the time. Also, there really isn't much new news to report.
Our adoption agency is doing a great job of keeping us in the loop regarding reaccreditation, but there isn't much happening. It's not always a good thing when you don't hear updates, though it's still not a bad thing yet either. Just stalled.
Here is the latest we've heard from America World, in reference to a statement from the National Council for Adoption (NCFA):
"Ms. Levitskaya (Director of the Department of Youth Policy, Upbringing, and Social Protection of Children of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science) offered explanation of reasons why the Russian government’s efforts to initiate adoption reform measures have taken much longer than anticipated. The NGO registration requirement and the Russian Ministry of Education and Science’s requirement to involve other Russian ministries in clarifying adoption procedures have presented huge challenges that, in Ms. Levitskaya’s opinion, appear to be near resolution. She confirmed receipt of the U.S. Department of State’s recent statement regarding the rights granted to Russian children adopted by American families – and thanked NCFA for acting as a liaison with the U.S. Department of State on this issue.
Ms. Levitskaya expects several agencies to receive renewal of their accreditation in the imminent future, as well as a steady processing of applications from other countries. Further, Ms. Levitskaya informed NCFA that, after clearing the backlog of pending accreditations, the Ministry of Education and Science will then explore the notion of accepting applications for accreditation by additional agencies."
This statement was made at the end of April, and there is still no word. It's hard to know what "imminent future" means, but it looks like it's still slower than we had hoped. Thank you all for your continued prayers for our agency's reaccreditation. We are trusting that it will happen in God's perfect timing. We'll keep you posted!
Our adoption agency is doing a great job of keeping us in the loop regarding reaccreditation, but there isn't much happening. It's not always a good thing when you don't hear updates, though it's still not a bad thing yet either. Just stalled.
Here is the latest we've heard from America World, in reference to a statement from the National Council for Adoption (NCFA):
"Ms. Levitskaya (Director of the Department of Youth Policy, Upbringing, and Social Protection of Children of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science) offered explanation of reasons why the Russian government’s efforts to initiate adoption reform measures have taken much longer than anticipated. The NGO registration requirement and the Russian Ministry of Education and Science’s requirement to involve other Russian ministries in clarifying adoption procedures have presented huge challenges that, in Ms. Levitskaya’s opinion, appear to be near resolution. She confirmed receipt of the U.S. Department of State’s recent statement regarding the rights granted to Russian children adopted by American families – and thanked NCFA for acting as a liaison with the U.S. Department of State on this issue.
Ms. Levitskaya expects several agencies to receive renewal of their accreditation in the imminent future, as well as a steady processing of applications from other countries. Further, Ms. Levitskaya informed NCFA that, after clearing the backlog of pending accreditations, the Ministry of Education and Science will then explore the notion of accepting applications for accreditation by additional agencies."
This statement was made at the end of April, and there is still no word. It's hard to know what "imminent future" means, but it looks like it's still slower than we had hoped. Thank you all for your continued prayers for our agency's reaccreditation. We are trusting that it will happen in God's perfect timing. We'll keep you posted!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
No inky fingers!
On Thursday, we took a quick trip to Jacksonville with our friends Derick and Shannon. They made the decision to adopt a child from Kazakhstan at almost the same time we made our decision, and its been an amazing blessing to walk through this process with them.
An important part of the international adoption process involves working with USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Services). We had to fill out Form I-600A, which is the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. Basically, this is our request in advance to be allowed to bring home an orphan and adopt him into our family. We had to send in our home study report, and birth and marriage certificates along with the application.
Once they received our request, they sent us a notice with our fingerprint appointment. Derick and Shannon got their notices just days before we did...perfect timing!) We needed to go into the nearest USCIS regional office (in Jacksonville) and be fingerprinted. These will be procesesd to make sure we are cleared to adopt an orphan. They took our fingerprints using a scanner and a computer--no black ink required. It was a fairly quick process, and it was nice to leave not looking like a criminal with black fingers. :-)
Once our I-600A is processed, we will receive our I-171H, which is the Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. (Yikes--that's a mouthful!). This is one of the forms we will need to present to the judge when we're in Russian court.
We won't need the I-171H until our second trip to Russia, so waiting on this form will not hold up our process at all. We're still waiting for word on our agency reaccreditation, and will post more as soon as we hear something!
An important part of the international adoption process involves working with USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Services). We had to fill out Form I-600A, which is the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. Basically, this is our request in advance to be allowed to bring home an orphan and adopt him into our family. We had to send in our home study report, and birth and marriage certificates along with the application.
Once they received our request, they sent us a notice with our fingerprint appointment. Derick and Shannon got their notices just days before we did...perfect timing!) We needed to go into the nearest USCIS regional office (in Jacksonville) and be fingerprinted. These will be procesesd to make sure we are cleared to adopt an orphan. They took our fingerprints using a scanner and a computer--no black ink required. It was a fairly quick process, and it was nice to leave not looking like a criminal with black fingers. :-)
Once our I-600A is processed, we will receive our I-171H, which is the Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. (Yikes--that's a mouthful!). This is one of the forms we will need to present to the judge when we're in Russian court.
We won't need the I-171H until our second trip to Russia, so waiting on this form will not hold up our process at all. We're still waiting for word on our agency reaccreditation, and will post more as soon as we hear something!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
A great article about adoption...in time for Mother's Day
Just wanted to pass along this link to a recent article about adoption. It's encouraging to know that the celebrities who are adopting internationally are making it seem even more "normal" to the rest of us! Happy Mother's Day to all present and future moms out there!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
More reaccreditation waiting...
Today we received an update from our adoption agency. It sounds like reaccreditation is going to take a little longer than we had hoped or expected. We had been hoping it might happen this month. Here is what they told us:
"America World continues to await reaccreditation to occur in Russia. The process of review of reaccreditation documents by the various ministries in the Russian government appears to be moving at a slower pace than previously expected. This has the potential to lengthen the time until reaccreditation occurs. Within Russia very little is being said regarding reaccreditation. There have been articles regarding adoption in the Russian media that have focused on the importance of ensuring the adoption process is completed correctly."
Thankfully, it's not completely negative news. No one thinks or expects that reaccreditation will not occur. It's just the time line that's in question. Please pray with us that God will move the accreditation process along, and that we will continue to be patient and trust His timing.
"America World continues to await reaccreditation to occur in Russia. The process of review of reaccreditation documents by the various ministries in the Russian government appears to be moving at a slower pace than previously expected. This has the potential to lengthen the time until reaccreditation occurs. Within Russia very little is being said regarding reaccreditation. There have been articles regarding adoption in the Russian media that have focused on the importance of ensuring the adoption process is completed correctly."
Thankfully, it's not completely negative news. No one thinks or expects that reaccreditation will not occur. It's just the time line that's in question. Please pray with us that God will move the accreditation process along, and that we will continue to be patient and trust His timing.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
It's in the mail!
We both breathed a huge sigh of relief as we pulled out of the Office Depot parking lot this afternoon. Our paperwork is finally complete and on its way to Russia, via our agency!
Yesterday, we made the 2 1/2 hour trip to Tallahassee to get the rest of our documents apostilled (certified by the Secretary of State). On our way, we prayed that we would find favor with the person working. She looked through our documents, and told us there was something missing on most of our notarizations: they were supposed to say "ID provided for verification." But she said she was willing to apostille them anyway. What a quick and clear answer to prayer! We were so grateful. She told us she often has people crying in her office after finding out they need to re-do their documents. Thankfully, we didn't become one of those tearful couples!
Today we went to Office Depot to make 4 sets of copies of our 25 documents (each document is at least two pages long). As you can imagine, we were standing there for quite awhile! We sent the originals and 3 sets of copies to our agency, and kept one set for ourselves. We dropped them in a UPS box, and they are now in the mail. Please join us in praying that we would continue to find favor with each person who handles our documents, and that the process would move relatively quickly.
Yesterday, we made the 2 1/2 hour trip to Tallahassee to get the rest of our documents apostilled (certified by the Secretary of State). On our way, we prayed that we would find favor with the person working. She looked through our documents, and told us there was something missing on most of our notarizations: they were supposed to say "ID provided for verification." But she said she was willing to apostille them anyway. What a quick and clear answer to prayer! We were so grateful. She told us she often has people crying in her office after finding out they need to re-do their documents. Thankfully, we didn't become one of those tearful couples!
Today we went to Office Depot to make 4 sets of copies of our 25 documents (each document is at least two pages long). As you can imagine, we were standing there for quite awhile! We sent the originals and 3 sets of copies to our agency, and kept one set for ourselves. We dropped them in a UPS box, and they are now in the mail. Please join us in praying that we would continue to find favor with each person who handles our documents, and that the process would move relatively quickly.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Please pray for our agency reaccreditation
Some of you may have seen an article in the USA Today yesterday about Russian adoption. If you missed it, you can read it here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-10-russia-adoptions_N.htm?csp=34
Essentially, the article makes it sound like Russia is no longer allowing Americans to adopt. But that's not quite the whole story.
For several months, Russia has been in the process of reaccrediting the American agencies that work with them to facilitate adoptions. There are a number of agencies that have worked there in the past, and Russia started requiring new paperwork from each agency to allow them to continue. Yesterday, when the article was published, the last 3 agencies with current accreditation had them expire.
America World works with a partner agency to facilitate adoptions in Russia. The partner agency has been in the process of reaccreditation for several months now, and has been told it should be completed sometime in May. Basically, Russia continues to request new documentation, and so the process has become a bit drawn out.
America is World is confident that reaccreditation will happen sometime in the near future. But it's never possible to predict the actions of the government in another country! Would you join us in praying that our agency will be reaccredited quickly, so that our adoption process will not be hindered in any way? So far, it hasn't affected our timing at all, but it will start to in the next month or two.
Oh, and our home study report is on the way to us in the mail right now! I'll type another update when all of our paperwork is officially complete and on the way to America World. That should happen in the next 10 days or so!
Essentially, the article makes it sound like Russia is no longer allowing Americans to adopt. But that's not quite the whole story.
For several months, Russia has been in the process of reaccrediting the American agencies that work with them to facilitate adoptions. There are a number of agencies that have worked there in the past, and Russia started requiring new paperwork from each agency to allow them to continue. Yesterday, when the article was published, the last 3 agencies with current accreditation had them expire.
America World works with a partner agency to facilitate adoptions in Russia. The partner agency has been in the process of reaccreditation for several months now, and has been told it should be completed sometime in May. Basically, Russia continues to request new documentation, and so the process has become a bit drawn out.
America is World is confident that reaccreditation will happen sometime in the near future. But it's never possible to predict the actions of the government in another country! Would you join us in praying that our agency will be reaccredited quickly, so that our adoption process will not be hindered in any way? So far, it hasn't affected our timing at all, but it will start to in the next month or two.
Oh, and our home study report is on the way to us in the mail right now! I'll type another update when all of our paperwork is officially complete and on the way to America World. That should happen in the next 10 days or so!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Our home has been officially studied
We're done with our home study! Amy, our social worker, just left our home a few minutes ago. We were surprised to find that the experience was actually pretty enjoyable.
Several weeks ago, we had our first meeting in Orlando. It was a group orientation meeting with several other couples adopting through America World. Amy used this time to get to know us, and also introduced us to topics we'll continue to study such as attachment, and what it will be like to bring our child home.
Last Wednesday was our second visit. For this one, Amy came to our home. She took a brief look around (all that cleaning for a brief glance in each room!), and then the three of us talked in the living room. She asked us questions like: how we had decided to adopt from Russia, how our families felt about it, how we planned to discipline, etc. We had already discussed all of these things, so it was easy to tell her about it. It only lasted about an hour.
Today was her last visit. This time, she talked to Ben and me separately (it counts as visits 3 and 4). She asked us questions about our families, how we grew up, our personalities, what we liked about each other, and how we thought life would change after we have a child. Again, not too hard. (But don't you always hate the question: "Tell me about yourself. What do you like? What are your strengths?" Arrgh! So hard!) Again, she was only here a little over an hour.
So now, she will type up a 12-page home study report summarizing her visits. She said she should have it done in about two weeks. There are a few other documents she will need to sign for us as well. Once that's all done, we'll be ready to send everything to Russia!
Several weeks ago, we had our first meeting in Orlando. It was a group orientation meeting with several other couples adopting through America World. Amy used this time to get to know us, and also introduced us to topics we'll continue to study such as attachment, and what it will be like to bring our child home.
Last Wednesday was our second visit. For this one, Amy came to our home. She took a brief look around (all that cleaning for a brief glance in each room!), and then the three of us talked in the living room. She asked us questions like: how we had decided to adopt from Russia, how our families felt about it, how we planned to discipline, etc. We had already discussed all of these things, so it was easy to tell her about it. It only lasted about an hour.
Today was her last visit. This time, she talked to Ben and me separately (it counts as visits 3 and 4). She asked us questions about our families, how we grew up, our personalities, what we liked about each other, and how we thought life would change after we have a child. Again, not too hard. (But don't you always hate the question: "Tell me about yourself. What do you like? What are your strengths?" Arrgh! So hard!) Again, she was only here a little over an hour.
So now, she will type up a 12-page home study report summarizing her visits. She said she should have it done in about two weeks. There are a few other documents she will need to sign for us as well. Once that's all done, we'll be ready to send everything to Russia!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Our Little Man, Vlad
Thanks to our creative UF Nav students, Baby Nugent has a temporary name. It began during our Martin Luther King weekend trip to North Carolina. Everyone wanted to know what we planned to name our son, and then proceeded to start making suggestions (of course!). Eventually, "Vladimir the Impaler" was thrown into the mix. And for some reason, it stuck! Now Ben and I both refer to our son as "Vlad," as do the students. It makes me smile when we are praying with them, and a student prays for Vlad in Russia. It does make him seem much more like a real little boy, then just calling him "Baby Nugent." The problem will be when we have to pick an actual name... We'll be so used to Vlad by then!
Oh, and another process update: This Wednesday, our social worker will make her first visit to our home. This will be our second home study meeting, but the first one on our turf. She said it should last about an hour and a half. We're not exactly sure what we'll be talking about, but we're not too nervous. We met her a couple weeks ago during our first meeting in Orlando, and we really like her. She was even involved with The Navs when she was a student at Auburn: what a small world! We look forward to letting you know how it goes.
Oh, and another process update: This Wednesday, our social worker will make her first visit to our home. This will be our second home study meeting, but the first one on our turf. She said it should last about an hour and a half. We're not exactly sure what we'll be talking about, but we're not too nervous. We met her a couple weeks ago during our first meeting in Orlando, and we really like her. She was even involved with The Navs when she was a student at Auburn: what a small world! We look forward to letting you know how it goes.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
How do you chase papers?
We are now in the "paperchase" part of our adoption process. This means we have dozens of papers to collect (or, apparently, "chase") as we get ready for our home study and our dossier. The home study consists of four visits with a social worker to determine if we will make fit parents. For her, we have to have copies of our vital documents, references, background checks, police reports, and autobiographies for each of us. At the same time, we have 20 separate documents to collect that will be sent to Russia. Each document has to be notarized and apostilled (the Secretary of State verifies that the notary is actually a notary in the state...yeah, I'd never heard of it before either). As you can imagine, it's a bit time-consuming, and will require multiple trips to see the notary at our bank (who also adopted internationally!), and lots of visits to the post office. But it's all part of the very worthwhile process to bring Baby Nugent home. So we are doing our best to enjoy every moment of it!
Friday, February 2, 2007
We're accepted!
Yikes, I just started this blog, and already I'm getting behind. :-) On Monday, January 22, we found out that our agency, America World, had accepted us as clients! Woo-hoo! We were thrilled to find out about this while we were back in Colorado visiting friends. When we got back to Florida, there was a packet of info waiting for us. We had several agreements to fill out, sign, and mail back to them. We should be getting more in the mail from them in about 10 days or so. The next big step will be our home study. This involves a social worker visiting our home four different times (scheduled, not surprise visits!), and evaluating us as people, a couple, and our home. It will be a big milestone to get that finished, as we will then be able to apply for various grants, as well as complete our paperwork.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
The paper pregnancy begins!
Today was a life-changing one in the life of the Nugents. We have taken our first big step in our journey to become parents through adoption! This afternoon, we submitted our online application to America World Adoption Association. This is the first step of the many, many more to come. We should hear back from them regarding our acceptance in about 10 days. Then we'll start the process of our home study and collecting documents for our dossier to be sent to Russia. We have requested a boy under age 1. Not sure how realistic that is, but that is what we're praying for right now. It's a strange feeling to realize somewhere halfway around the world a little boy is either being knit together in his birthmother's womb, or is living in an orphanage somewhere--and he will be our son! Praise God for bringing us to this remarkable place in our lives.
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