Two days ago I completed another step in the adoption process. As my friends and family, and now strangers who happen to come across this blog, know, I am in the military, and one of the things that military forces do is deploy to places we don't want to go so you don't have to. In the next couple of months the unit I am in is set to deploy, and as far as they knew, I was planning on going right along with them.
As soon as I'd found out about the impending deployment, I made sure to let my chain of command know about my situation. I was instructed to write a memorandum (a letter, for civilians) to my battalion commander informing him of the situation I am in. The adoption process had begun before Lindsey and I found out about the adoption, so I wanted to make sure they knew everything.
Well, as a result — and I don't know this for sure — I will probably be moving to the other battalion in the brigade that just recently returned from a deployment. This has its pluses and minuses, but the important thing is that they are willing to work with me when they could have told me that I would just have to wait until we got back, which would make us lose Banana.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Dossier Kit
Hello everyone!
A little update today. We finally received our dossier kit, an email with 26 attachments of forms that need filled out. Some of these forms even need filled out in duplicate and triplicate. Yikes! Not to mention that there are expiration dates on some of these forms, so the timing has to be right for everything.
However, all this overwhelming paperwork is nothing compared to how great it feels to be one step closer to Anna! Please pray that we fill out the paperwork correctly (that might sound odd, but the wording needs to be exact or it can be sent back from Russia for reworking) and that the timing is just right with everything!
Thank you for all your support!
A little update today. We finally received our dossier kit, an email with 26 attachments of forms that need filled out. Some of these forms even need filled out in duplicate and triplicate. Yikes! Not to mention that there are expiration dates on some of these forms, so the timing has to be right for everything.
However, all this overwhelming paperwork is nothing compared to how great it feels to be one step closer to Anna! Please pray that we fill out the paperwork correctly (that might sound odd, but the wording needs to be exact or it can be sent back from Russia for reworking) and that the timing is just right with everything!
Thank you for all your support!
Monday, March 16, 2009
It's Been A Long While
Well, Lindsey and I have had quite the busy few weeks, both in and out of our adoption process. We've had a few blessings and a few setbacks in the process, but everything looks like it's going to be on track.
First off, Russia released a blacklist, so to speak, of home study agencies which they are no longer accepting applications from. Naturally, due to our luck, the one we were going to go with was of course on this list. We prayed about it some more, thanked God that we hadn't actually made any financial commitments to the agency, made some more calls, and found another agency that Russia will accept. Their fees are about $300 more than the agency we originally were going with, but they are able to get the entire home study completed in 2-4 weeks after receiving our initial payment and application.
Another setback is that I am not receiving the student loan refund check I was originally expecting after all. With everything that was going on in this semester, I had to drop one of my courses, taking me out of eligibility for aid by going below a half-time status. Right now, we're not sure what to do to make up for that money we were expecting, but we're confident God will come through for us. We still have grants we can apply for, and have also had donations sent to us, including some from a most unexpected source.
So, where are we now? We're waiting on a couple of things. The home study packet and the dossier. The requirements for that were recently changed as well, so we've been waiting on our adoption agency to get the required documents to us. I also still have to go get my passport.
Keep praying for us, it's a long road that seems like it will never end.
First off, Russia released a blacklist, so to speak, of home study agencies which they are no longer accepting applications from. Naturally, due to our luck, the one we were going to go with was of course on this list. We prayed about it some more, thanked God that we hadn't actually made any financial commitments to the agency, made some more calls, and found another agency that Russia will accept. Their fees are about $300 more than the agency we originally were going with, but they are able to get the entire home study completed in 2-4 weeks after receiving our initial payment and application.
Another setback is that I am not receiving the student loan refund check I was originally expecting after all. With everything that was going on in this semester, I had to drop one of my courses, taking me out of eligibility for aid by going below a half-time status. Right now, we're not sure what to do to make up for that money we were expecting, but we're confident God will come through for us. We still have grants we can apply for, and have also had donations sent to us, including some from a most unexpected source.
So, where are we now? We're waiting on a couple of things. The home study packet and the dossier. The requirements for that were recently changed as well, so we've been waiting on our adoption agency to get the required documents to us. I also still have to go get my passport.
Keep praying for us, it's a long road that seems like it will never end.
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