We will try again

First of all our visas have arrived and are valid until September 1, 2011. That is surely going to be long enough for us to complete this adoption right?!?!?

As I mentioned, our dossier was submitted to the regional operator for approval on September 1st. And as we thought, she did not accept them. We have to have all of our papers redone on new letterhead and sent back to Russia. I was completely braced for this news. This is just how things work with this process. So we will jump through these hoops and get back on track. Now I have no doubt that this new found patience I have this week will disappear in the days to come, but for now I am ok with what is happening. So as far as I know this is what must happen:

• Our homestudy has to be reprinted on new letterhead.
• It then has to be sent to DCFS for an approval signature again
• We have to get a letter of good standing from the State for Lutheran Social Services
• A whole slew of documents that accompany the homestudy have to be done with the new name
• We will drive all of the accumulated documents and reapostille them. Thankfully in Illinois the cost is $2 per document unlike CA which is $20 I believe and $15 in PA.
• Then World Links will send everything back over to Vladivostock. Last time the FedEx bill for that was $152.
• Then we pray that the regional operator is head over heels for our newly printed documents and lets us register.

 In the meantime, on Tuesday our caseworker will come and do a quick home visit so that we can resend our new homestudy (ok new paper – no new information) to USCIS aka Immigration so that we won’t have any trouble bringing our child home.

Sounds like fun huh?!?!? I have complete confidence in our caseworker, World Links, and the gals in Russia that they will do all they can to move this right along. Our problem is going to be the folks who sit at a desk and have no personal connection to any part of the adoption process. They will be our biggest challenge. My prayer every day is that God will move in the hearts of any person that touches paperwork related to all adoptions. That he/she will have a stirring within their soul that they too are affecting the life of a child and those waiting to welcome them home.