Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Three Months
Great news! It's been three months since we submitted all of our documentation and we have just been awarded a $3,000 grant from Show Hope towards our adoption expenses!! Show Hope is Steven Curtis Chapman's foundation supporting international adoption. We got the letter in the mail this afternoon and we are so excited! This comes on the heels of the Emergency Nurses Association (www.ENA.org) national conference in Baltimore this past weekend where Abby's story was shared with thousands of emergency nurses from across the country who made the trip to attend the annual conference. We received an email yesterday from the nurse who coordinated with us last spring to get photos and information in preparation for her presentation on unexpected infant/child death. She said that the nurses were very moved by our story and that she will be mailing some responses to us about how it will change the practices of ER's around the country. Praise God!! Two great ways that God has used what we have been through to make a difference. And it always blesses us whenever Abby is remembered in a thoughtful way. Needless to say, we are feeling very thankful today and just wanted to share this great news!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Two Months
Well, we have been waiting for almost two months now. According to the timeline given to us by our agency, that means we have anywhere from 10-16 months to go! When we started this process, the wait time was approximately 9-12 months from submission to referral. Now that has increased slightly to 12-18 months. It's the first shift they've had in awhile, thankfully. We have been told that most families typically get their referral in 12 months on average.
There are many factors that go into the waiting period. Other agencies from all over the world have submitted their clients' dossiers and are being assigned to the same regions as our agency, so there is much more activity than we sometimes realize. Families that are ahead of us on the waiting list can accept or decline their referral, which can cause the wait to be longer for those further down the list. Red tape issues can create a backlog in the waiting process. In fact, in January of this year, the Russian Ministry of Education decided to take measures against agencies who were behind on their post-placement reports. A list was created of agencies not only in the United States, but around the world who were out of compliance and regions across Russia were told not to work with these agencies until they updated their status. Our agency ended up on that list in August, but fortunately, they have quickly remedied the situation and it did not cause much interruption to the process.
Ultimately, referrals from international adoptions are most often "sure things." Most are children who have been legally abandoned in their countries of origin: either their birthparents are unknown or, if they are known, their parental rights have long been terminated. Things can go wrong, of course, but most of the time once a referral has been accepted, the next part of the waiting period is filled with the happy anticipation of getting house and home and heart ready for parenting ... not to mention preparing to travel!
Meanwhile, until that exciting day comes for us, we will wait with HOPE ...
There are many factors that go into the waiting period. Other agencies from all over the world have submitted their clients' dossiers and are being assigned to the same regions as our agency, so there is much more activity than we sometimes realize. Families that are ahead of us on the waiting list can accept or decline their referral, which can cause the wait to be longer for those further down the list. Red tape issues can create a backlog in the waiting process. In fact, in January of this year, the Russian Ministry of Education decided to take measures against agencies who were behind on their post-placement reports. A list was created of agencies not only in the United States, but around the world who were out of compliance and regions across Russia were told not to work with these agencies until they updated their status. Our agency ended up on that list in August, but fortunately, they have quickly remedied the situation and it did not cause much interruption to the process.
Ultimately, referrals from international adoptions are most often "sure things." Most are children who have been legally abandoned in their countries of origin: either their birthparents are unknown or, if they are known, their parental rights have long been terminated. Things can go wrong, of course, but most of the time once a referral has been accepted, the next part of the waiting period is filled with the happy anticipation of getting house and home and heart ready for parenting ... not to mention preparing to travel!
Meanwhile, until that exciting day comes for us, we will wait with HOPE ...
Thursday, July 23, 2009
FTIA Annual Reunion Picnic
We went to the annual Families Thru International Adoption reunion picnic on Saturday. Over 1200 people attended ... families that have adopted or are currently in the process of adopting from Russia, Azerbaijan, China, Guatamala, Vietnam, India, Brazil, Ethiopia and Panama. We got to meet our Russia Coordinator in person (pictured below) and she gave us some good news ...
She said that when our dossier arrived at her office, she already had several on her desk she was working on. However, ours was so well organized and accurate that she was able to bypass the ones on her desk and mail it to Russia immediately! So all that hard work paid off! It is currently being translated by FTIA affiliates in Russia and will be prepared to be sent to Russian officials soon. Let's hope that the Ministry of Education has the same impression of our dossier and expedites the process, too!
The picnic was a great opportunity for us to meet other families who have adopted or are adopting from Russia. We met a wonderful family who lives in greater Cincinnati who just brought two adorable little girls (sisters) home from Russia in March. They had nothing but wonderful things to say about our agency and their role in the process. FTIA was right by their side every step of the way! Needless to say, it was so encouraging to hear success stories and to see these families who have waited so long enjoying their new families!
That said, we have a few prayer requests: (1) That our applications for grants and loans from various organizations would be looked upon with favor, (2) that we would be assigned to a region that would expedite the adoption process (preferrably Kaliningrad, which currently takes 3-6 months for a referral!) and, (3) that we would be able to find other creative ways to raise money for our adoption (we are planning another garage sale fundraiser this fall).
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. They mean so much to us!!
She said that when our dossier arrived at her office, she already had several on her desk she was working on. However, ours was so well organized and accurate that she was able to bypass the ones on her desk and mail it to Russia immediately! So all that hard work paid off! It is currently being translated by FTIA affiliates in Russia and will be prepared to be sent to Russian officials soon. Let's hope that the Ministry of Education has the same impression of our dossier and expedites the process, too!
The picnic was a great opportunity for us to meet other families who have adopted or are adopting from Russia. We met a wonderful family who lives in greater Cincinnati who just brought two adorable little girls (sisters) home from Russia in March. They had nothing but wonderful things to say about our agency and their role in the process. FTIA was right by their side every step of the way! Needless to say, it was so encouraging to hear success stories and to see these families who have waited so long enjoying their new families!
That said, we have a few prayer requests: (1) That our applications for grants and loans from various organizations would be looked upon with favor, (2) that we would be assigned to a region that would expedite the adoption process (preferrably Kaliningrad, which currently takes 3-6 months for a referral!) and, (3) that we would be able to find other creative ways to raise money for our adoption (we are planning another garage sale fundraiser this fall).
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. They mean so much to us!!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Dossier Sent to Russia!!
We received an email today saying that our dossier has been accepted and mailed to Russia ... everything rides on HOPE now ...
"We waited for you against all hope. We came for you with the greatest of hopes!" ~ Parents of an adopted child
"We waited for you against all hope. We came for you with the greatest of hopes!" ~ Parents of an adopted child
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Dossier Complete
Sorry it has been so long since our last entry. We have been busy collecting everything that is needed to complete our dossier. With that said, Benjamin and I went to the Secretary of State's office in Columbus to have our documents apostilled this week and our dossier is now complete! I have two tasks to complete this weekend: prepare our dossier for submission to our agency on Monday and finish another adoption grant application.
It's been a tearful morning as I sit in the kitchen trying to find the words to express our journey on one single page for our latest grant application. I have told the story so many times, written it so many different ways, that I find myself at a loss for words and praying for God's ... and Abby's ... help. I have been thinking about her all morning. For some reason, the reality that we are at the threshold of submitting our dossier has brought bittersweet tears to the surface. One little girl is gone ... another has HOPE ... brings Hope ... is HOPE!! And soon will be ours!
Needless to say, we are at the place we have hurried to get. We have hurried up and now we wait! Our paper chase is complete and we are ready to submit our dossier (all the required paperwork we have spent the last three months collecting with notarizations, certifications and apostilles) to our agency to be forwarded to Russia so they can match us with a little girl. The process can take as little as 3 months and up to 14 months, depending on what region we are assigned to and how the process goes for other waiting families. But at last, we have our place in line! The wait is already killing me and it's only just begun. There is still so much to do ... more grant applications, finding additional ways to raise money, meeting with the experts at Children's Hospital's International Adoption Center, updating and executing our will, planning for our travel including immunizations, preparing her room, etc., so I know I will be busy and my time will be filled. I'm just a little tired right now from the race to get to this poinnt and can't wait until the day when we finally have that precious little one in our arms for good!!
Many of you have been asking, "what's next?" So, I thought I'd take a moment to let you know what is going to happen from this point ...
* We will send our completed dossier to our agency with our first installment of agency fees ($2,800) and payment for translation and processing in Russia ($1,540) on Monday
* Our agency will review our dossier to make sure everything is in order and send the originals to their staff in Russia
* Our agency's staff coordinator in Russia will have our dossier translated and certified in Russia
* Our translated, certified dossier will be delivered to the Ministry of Education in Russia in the region where our agency anticipates we will receive the most expedient referral according to our preferences as stated in our documents
* We will wait to receive word from the Ministry of Eduction in that region for a referral (photographs and available background/medical information on a child)
* Travel arrangements will be made and we will apply for entry visas for our first trip to Russia to meet our referred child!!
From the time we accept a referral to our first trip is approximately 4-12 weeks. A representative from our agency will be with us during our entire trip upon arrival in Russia. While we are there, we will meet with the orphanage director/doctor and visit with our referred child. The trip will last 6-7 days and we will send all additional information we receive on the child to Children's Hospital from Russia for review while we are there. If we accept this child, we will file a petition to adopt to the court clerk and give her a new legal name. Then we will go home and wait to be assigned a court hearing date for our adoption. During this time, we will collect the required forms, etc., to compile our second dossier before we travel to Russia to bring her home. The wait between trips is approximately 4 months and we should expect to stay in Russia for 3-4 weeks.
Of course, there are a lot more details ... some big ... some little. I will post more as we enter each new phase of the process. Since I'm a detail person, it's an easy job to make sure none of the details get overlooked, but I do get tired, so please pray that God gives me the strength and energy to continue to do everything that is needed to climb this mountain. And that He continues to provide for us financially. Our biggest expenses are yet to come, but we have faith that He will provide everything we need. Thank you for following along with us on this journey, and for your friendship, patience, support, understanding and prayers as we go through this process. We love and appreciate each of you and all you have done to help us get to this point.
And now, we wait ...
It's been a tearful morning as I sit in the kitchen trying to find the words to express our journey on one single page for our latest grant application. I have told the story so many times, written it so many different ways, that I find myself at a loss for words and praying for God's ... and Abby's ... help. I have been thinking about her all morning. For some reason, the reality that we are at the threshold of submitting our dossier has brought bittersweet tears to the surface. One little girl is gone ... another has HOPE ... brings Hope ... is HOPE!! And soon will be ours!
Needless to say, we are at the place we have hurried to get. We have hurried up and now we wait! Our paper chase is complete and we are ready to submit our dossier (all the required paperwork we have spent the last three months collecting with notarizations, certifications and apostilles) to our agency to be forwarded to Russia so they can match us with a little girl. The process can take as little as 3 months and up to 14 months, depending on what region we are assigned to and how the process goes for other waiting families. But at last, we have our place in line! The wait is already killing me and it's only just begun. There is still so much to do ... more grant applications, finding additional ways to raise money, meeting with the experts at Children's Hospital's International Adoption Center, updating and executing our will, planning for our travel including immunizations, preparing her room, etc., so I know I will be busy and my time will be filled. I'm just a little tired right now from the race to get to this poinnt and can't wait until the day when we finally have that precious little one in our arms for good!!
Many of you have been asking, "what's next?" So, I thought I'd take a moment to let you know what is going to happen from this point ...
* We will send our completed dossier to our agency with our first installment of agency fees ($2,800) and payment for translation and processing in Russia ($1,540) on Monday
* Our agency will review our dossier to make sure everything is in order and send the originals to their staff in Russia
* Our agency's staff coordinator in Russia will have our dossier translated and certified in Russia
* Our translated, certified dossier will be delivered to the Ministry of Education in Russia in the region where our agency anticipates we will receive the most expedient referral according to our preferences as stated in our documents
* We will wait to receive word from the Ministry of Eduction in that region for a referral (photographs and available background/medical information on a child)
* Travel arrangements will be made and we will apply for entry visas for our first trip to Russia to meet our referred child!!
From the time we accept a referral to our first trip is approximately 4-12 weeks. A representative from our agency will be with us during our entire trip upon arrival in Russia. While we are there, we will meet with the orphanage director/doctor and visit with our referred child. The trip will last 6-7 days and we will send all additional information we receive on the child to Children's Hospital from Russia for review while we are there. If we accept this child, we will file a petition to adopt to the court clerk and give her a new legal name. Then we will go home and wait to be assigned a court hearing date for our adoption. During this time, we will collect the required forms, etc., to compile our second dossier before we travel to Russia to bring her home. The wait between trips is approximately 4 months and we should expect to stay in Russia for 3-4 weeks.
Of course, there are a lot more details ... some big ... some little. I will post more as we enter each new phase of the process. Since I'm a detail person, it's an easy job to make sure none of the details get overlooked, but I do get tired, so please pray that God gives me the strength and energy to continue to do everything that is needed to climb this mountain. And that He continues to provide for us financially. Our biggest expenses are yet to come, but we have faith that He will provide everything we need. Thank you for following along with us on this journey, and for your friendship, patience, support, understanding and prayers as we go through this process. We love and appreciate each of you and all you have done to help us get to this point.
And now, we wait ...
Friday, June 19, 2009
For Grandma (a.k.a. "G.G.")
Dear Grandma,
Since you don't have computer access, we wanted to provide you with a way to read our blog and hear all about this journey of adoption we have been on. We've printed all the pages in sequence, so it reads like a book, with the most current entey last and the oldest entry first. I hope it will help you feel more connected to this process and to your next great grandchild. We love you and are so glad you are here with us as we continue on the journey to HOPE ...
Love,
Chad, Emily & Benjamin
Since you don't have computer access, we wanted to provide you with a way to read our blog and hear all about this journey of adoption we have been on. We've printed all the pages in sequence, so it reads like a book, with the most current entey last and the oldest entry first. I hope it will help you feel more connected to this process and to your next great grandchild. We love you and are so glad you are here with us as we continue on the journey to HOPE ...
Love,
Chad, Emily & Benjamin
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Getting Closer
It's been awhile since our last update and we've been busy working on completing the requirements to finish our home study. We are excited to share that we submitted the final home study requirements last night and should receive a draft of the social worker's report this weekend! Hooray! Tomorrow morning, we are going to apply for our passports, which will take 4-6 weeks to process. Please pray this does not delay our goal to submit our dossier by the end of June!! We did not anticipate such a long wait just for passports or we would have done it sooner. With so much to do, sometimes it's hard to know what to do first!
After the home study is finalized, we will complete and notarize a few remaining forms that must be dated after the home study and the paper chase will be complete! But, we will have to wait for our passports to arrive before we will be able to submit everything. The signature page must be printed and notarized first. Once we have all required documentation in our hands, we will then need to take everything to the the county clerk to certify each notary's official capicity and then to the state to be apostilled. THEN we will finally be ready to submit our dossier for translation and submission to the Russian Federation and the wait begins! We are getting excited!! :)
The wait for Russia is approximately 9-14 months. A portion of our agency fee will be due with our dossier, but the big expenses are yet to come. While we are waiting, we will be applying for various adoption grants and loans and raising support to help offset the larger portion of our expenses. The largest amount will be due at referral, which is when we receive a photograph, medical history and background information on a child to be reviewed by us and by the international adoption experts at Children's Hospital. Upon acceptance of the referral, we will have to travel to Russia for trip #1 to meet her in person and make our acceptance official. Additional agency fees, travel expenses, international fees, in-country transportation, interpreter/representative expenses, and fees resulting from Russia accreditation requirements for FTIA (our agency) will all be due before we travel. We really need some grant money to help with these costs! Please pray for favor as we apply for grants and loans and that God will continue to provide for us, as He has already, as we continue on this journey.
We are so excited to be so close to getting on the waiting list! Thank you for all of your continued prayers, encouragement and excitement as well as those of you who have supported us financially through this process! We are so blessed to have you on this journey with us!!
After the home study is finalized, we will complete and notarize a few remaining forms that must be dated after the home study and the paper chase will be complete! But, we will have to wait for our passports to arrive before we will be able to submit everything. The signature page must be printed and notarized first. Once we have all required documentation in our hands, we will then need to take everything to the the county clerk to certify each notary's official capicity and then to the state to be apostilled. THEN we will finally be ready to submit our dossier for translation and submission to the Russian Federation and the wait begins! We are getting excited!! :)
The wait for Russia is approximately 9-14 months. A portion of our agency fee will be due with our dossier, but the big expenses are yet to come. While we are waiting, we will be applying for various adoption grants and loans and raising support to help offset the larger portion of our expenses. The largest amount will be due at referral, which is when we receive a photograph, medical history and background information on a child to be reviewed by us and by the international adoption experts at Children's Hospital. Upon acceptance of the referral, we will have to travel to Russia for trip #1 to meet her in person and make our acceptance official. Additional agency fees, travel expenses, international fees, in-country transportation, interpreter/representative expenses, and fees resulting from Russia accreditation requirements for FTIA (our agency) will all be due before we travel. We really need some grant money to help with these costs! Please pray for favor as we apply for grants and loans and that God will continue to provide for us, as He has already, as we continue on this journey.
We are so excited to be so close to getting on the waiting list! Thank you for all of your continued prayers, encouragement and excitement as well as those of you who have supported us financially through this process! We are so blessed to have you on this journey with us!!
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