Been awhile

I haven't posted in awhile. We signed a contract with our adoption agency on 5/7. Our last home study visit was last week and it went well. I spoke with our social worker today and she received the last of the needed documents and hopes to be able to type up a rough draft of the home study this weekend. One of big approvals we need is from the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services). That is basically the approval to bring an orphan into the US to reside. One of the things we have to do for it is be fingerprinted by the INS. We received an appointment of 7/17 (that was the earliest appointment available in Tampa). I contacted the Tampa USCIS office and they were able to get us an appointment in Davie on 6/1, so we will be traveling over there next week. We received our dossier package last week. A dossier is a package of documents that are required by Russia. Once we have gathered them all, had them notarized and appostilled, we will send them back to our adoption agency and they will have them sent over to Russia to be translated. For this, we had to get local police checks done and medical exams done (again). We still have to see a psychiatrist or psychologist and I have to find a CPA (any know one) to meet with and go over our assets. I spoke with the director of our adoption agency and we are officially on the waiting list. We are number 9 (although there are many different factors involved). I told him we would take either sex and he said he would definitely be a boy. So I guess we can start planning for that. I have always wanted a girl, but I will take whichever they send my way. I'm actually starting to get used the idea of having a boy. He said it is possible we could have a referral in July, but it will more likely be the end of September. Russia closes for vacation from August-Mid September. I asked him if he believes we could be home with the child by Christmas and he said that is VERY possible, so I will cross my fingers and toes. Russia is a very unpredictable country to say the least, so you never know.

For anyone that might be interested, this Sunday night (5/27) Dateline will be running a segment called "From Russia with Love" at 7pm. It's about a family that adopted twins from Russia.