Homestudy Ready!!!!

That is right, we are home study ready. We turned in our home study packet. We also wrote a nice big check, not a big as what we are going to write, but still pretty big. We also finished our 10 hours Hague training. Today was a very long day, 7 hours in a really hard chair, is not my idea of ideal. Plus I hate sitting still for long periods of time anyway. Now all we have to do is set up our appt. for our home visit. We are getting closer to when we can submit our I-600A, which is pretty much the last thing we have to do to get our dossier ready. Plus when we get out homestudy we can start applying for our grants!

Plus I want to strongly encourage you all to contact your local Congressman. The current adoption credit is set to expire at the end of 2010. For those of you who have adopted or know of someone who know someone who has adopted, you know the huge cost. The nice thing that our government does is they give you a credit after the adoption is finalized. If it expires though, then we get nothing! This is a huge motivation for people to adopt both domestically and internationally, so please contact your Congressman and encourage them to renew or even make the adoption tax credit permanent.

I can say it, I'm Sorry!

To California that is. In an earlier post I was very negative towards a particular West Coast State about their fees and their timeliness. Not sure if that is a word, but anyway. I had stated that we were going to go ahead and send Randy's birth certificates off for Apostille since we didn't know how long it would take them, since their website stated that it would take them 4 1/2 months to print off a birth certificate and mail it to us. So we thought man, we need to get on the ball with this. I had even suggested that maybe Randy should fly to Sacramento to get the Apostille in person. He looked at me like I was a mad woman, so we sent it snail mail. Well on Saturday, we had a wonderful surprise in our mailbox. A birth certificate with a California Apostille. 1 week and 1 day after we mailed it, we got it back! YEAH!!!!!!!! So again, I say, I'm Sorry California!

Another Russian word Paka, which means bye, so

Paka,
Randy, Denise, and Camden

We are getting closer...

To getting home study ready. We are also getting closer to getting our dossier ready. We got our first Apostille back from the state of Missouri! One week turn around, pretty good! What we are still needing for our home study is, our Child Abuse check, though they cashed the check, so it should be in the mail any day, Our KBI check, we have 2 of our 6 letters of reference back, and Randy still has to type up his autobiography. Maybe since Camden and I will be gone all weekend, he will find some time to work on it. We are scheduled for our all day seminar next Saturday, so that long day will be over soon also! Again, please just pray for us!

I have also learned that Love in Russian is Lyubof, or in Cyrillic Любовь, so for now..

Lyubof
Randy, Denise, and Camden

Homestudy Ready

Ok, I stated in a previous post that I would list all the things that we had to do in order to get ready for our home study, well, here you go.

1. Three different applications, along with a face-to-face meeting.
2. Read 3 different books on adoption.
3. Autobiography, just finished mine, it was 7 pages long. Randy hasn't started yet.
4. Criminal Check with local area.
5. Child abuse check with the state of KS.
6. KBI Check, of all criminal activity.
7. Employment Verifications
8. 6 letters of Reference
9. Both of us get a basic physical with our doctors. Camden has to have a TB test.
10. Preference Questionnaire, what we want in a child.
11. Birth Certificates
12. Marriage Certificates.
13. Copy of our driver's licenses.
14. Copy of our Social Security Cards.
15. Income Tax Returns
16. W-2'S
17. Proof of Medical Insurance
18. Photo's of Family and home
19. Take 2 online classes.
20. Attend an all day seminar.

Hmmm... Only 20 things, and that is just the homestudy! Wait until we get to the dossier!

So long for now.

Love,
Randy, Denise, and Camden

A poem of an Adoptive Child

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.-John 14:18

LEGACY OF AN ADOPTED CHILD
Once there were two women who never knew each other, One you do not remember, the other you call Mother, Two different lives shaped to make you one, One became your guiding star, the other became your sun, The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it, The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it, One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name. One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim, One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears, One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried you tears, One made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do, The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you. Now, which of these two women, Are you the product of? Both, my darling, Both, Just two different types of love.---- Unknown





My Adopted Child....I did not plant you... true.But when the alternate prayers for sun and rain are counted,when the pain of weeding And the pride of watching are through,I will hold you high.A shining sheaf Above the thousand seeds grown wild, Not my planting, but, by heaven My harvest. My own child! Unknown Author

Home Study Agency Chosen!

Last night we met with Adoption and Beyond to complete our homestudy for us. The meeting was smooth and they actually have a former employee of FTIA that works there now, so we are excited about that, she knows all their policies and procedures so we feel that is the best fit. Now we are off to get police background checks, doctors visits, etc. When I have more time I will fill you in on all the stuff we have to have just to complete our homestudy!! You wouldn't believe the list of stuff. We are slowly chugging along, but every day we get closer to meeting our daughter, can't wait for the day!

With Love,
Randy, Denise, & Camden

What is in a Name?

Everything!!! At least according to the Russian Government. We have always known that Randy has always spelled his middle name Allen, even though on his birth certificate it is spelled Allan. 1 little letter, that is all. Well we have heard stories that if 1 little thing is wrong with how you write or spell your name, the Russian Government will throw it back to you for months, delaying the process. Well, everything Randy has is with his name spelled Allen, even his S.S. #. So we thought we will just change his name, that will be the easiest, WRONG!!! California is so slow, it will take a year, yes you read that right, a year to get his name changed. So off we go, change his S.S. card, his passport, his driver's license, our house deed, and the only thing we can't change is our marriage certificate. But they said that we can put an affidavit on the back explaining the wrong letter! This will be fun. But my birth certificates are in the mail, and Randy is taking care of his passport and our marriage certificate on Monday. BTW, California is so slow it would of taken then 4 1/2 months to mail us a copy of his birth certificate, so we paid an extra $15 just to get it off the Internet, but we do have to then send it to the California Secretary of State to get Apostilled, who knows how long that will take!!! That is all for now, have a great weekend.

Love,
Randy, Denise, and Camden

They Like Us!!!

Yep, that's right! The adoption agency approved us to adopt a child from Russia! Now it is time to get down to business. We have an initial consultation with a local homestudy agency, and if all goes well we should sign with them on Monday. Then it is paperwork city, you would not believe the paperwork that we have to gather to adopt a child. We have filled a 2 inch binder with information that our agency sent with instructions and information that we are going to need over the next few months. They stated that it could take anywhere from 60 days to a few months in order to get all our information together! First, the easy stuff, birth certificiates, marriage certificates, and to get enrolled in our Hague Adoption class. All adoptive parents have to take a 10 hour course on how to raise an internationally adopted child. Hopefully we learn a lot! Well that is all for now, thanks for following along with us!

Love,
Randy, Denise, and Camden