We have been evaluated.
We met with a certified psychologist today because Honduras requires evaluations for prospective adoptive parents. Dr. Naiper talked to us both. Then he handed Jonathan two little booklets of questions and sent him to another room to circle his answers while he asked me some questions one on one. Then we switched. I got to filled out the questionnaire while Jonathan talked to him. Just for the record: 1). I finished the questionnaire quicker. And 2). It didn't take Jonathan as long to answer the doc's questions face to face. So basically...I'm fast. He's not. :) But that wasn't why I married him to begin with.
Anyway, he said he will have the rough draft by next week, which is great. Thanks to our super special friend who entertained the kids so we could do this!
Now, we get to sit back this weekend and enjoy the Empowered to Connect Conference that we are signed up for this weekend. My sweet in-laws are watching the kids Friday and Saturday. My mother in law took tomorrow off and is going to bake yummy treats and make super fun crafts with the kids. Emma brought her own recipe book and Grandma promised a grocery shopping trip with her to get the appropriate supplies. Fun times.
We should learn a lot this weekend. I'm looking forward to being stuck in adoption mode for a couple of days and getting to discuss it all with Jonathan.
I don't really feel closer to getting this done but I know baby steps will get us there. I like big steps. Giant steps, really. But, we keep putting one foot in front of the other and I know we will get there. Sooner, I hope, rather than later.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
P, P, and F
I have to say that when I started this blog, I was a little judgmental of other women with adoption blogs because I wanted them to post more often. It's not that hard, right? Just tell us what's going on! Come on.
Well, now I am one of those women. I think of posting often, probably at least once a day. But, then I have to come up with something worthy of your time to write about.
We are just in a small holding pattern right now. I've gotten most of the ground work done for our Dossier and we are waiting for a few things to happen. Our psychological evaluations are being done on Thursday...which, by the way, someone asked me recently if I was nervous about this evaluation. Should I be? I don't feel nervous. Should I feel nervous? I love my life. Past, present, and future. And I love talking, so what is there to be nervous about?
After we get our evaluation, we will need to send off our TX documents off to the Secretary of State (I feel like I've posted about this before). The kid's and Jonathan's birth certificates, our marriage license, and the evaluation have to be apostilled in Texas. That shouldn't take too long.
We are waiting on one more reference letter to come in and then we can take all of our documents to the New Mexico Secretary of State and have them apostilled. They recommend that we do this before our Immigration approval comes in so that we can just have everything ready and go back in for that one document.
I've been reading mixed information about Honduras lately. Things are moving there. A member of Congress introduced a bill to help speed up the process of orphans finding a home. And a new director was appointed to the Instituto Hondureño del Niño y la Familia, also known as "IHNFA", which is a social welfare agency charged by the Honduran government with overseeing local and international adoptions. The last one was fired January 2011. So, hopefully this will get the process moving too. I don't know if the bill in Congress was passed or if it was passed, how long it will take to implement quicker adoptions but it feels like movement in the right direction.
But some people are always the Debbie Downers. (Some people might call them realists.) I am a part of a Honduran Adoption Yahoo Group and there is someone who posts that doesn't see the Honduran world through rose colored glasses. Which really is good. But, I want to believe the best. The best, not necessarily for me, but for all of those kids. The kids sitting in orphanages for up to SIX YEARS waiting to be adopted out. Gosh, there are families that want them. I hope and pray that someone will be put in charge that can work for them.
Anyway, just because I'm not posting a lot doesn't mean we don't need your prayers. Keep 'em coming.
Well, now I am one of those women. I think of posting often, probably at least once a day. But, then I have to come up with something worthy of your time to write about.
We are just in a small holding pattern right now. I've gotten most of the ground work done for our Dossier and we are waiting for a few things to happen. Our psychological evaluations are being done on Thursday...which, by the way, someone asked me recently if I was nervous about this evaluation. Should I be? I don't feel nervous. Should I feel nervous? I love my life. Past, present, and future. And I love talking, so what is there to be nervous about?
After we get our evaluation, we will need to send off our TX documents off to the Secretary of State (I feel like I've posted about this before). The kid's and Jonathan's birth certificates, our marriage license, and the evaluation have to be apostilled in Texas. That shouldn't take too long.
We are waiting on one more reference letter to come in and then we can take all of our documents to the New Mexico Secretary of State and have them apostilled. They recommend that we do this before our Immigration approval comes in so that we can just have everything ready and go back in for that one document.
I've been reading mixed information about Honduras lately. Things are moving there. A member of Congress introduced a bill to help speed up the process of orphans finding a home. And a new director was appointed to the Instituto Hondureño del Niño y la Familia, also known as "IHNFA", which is a social welfare agency charged by the Honduran government with overseeing local and international adoptions. The last one was fired January 2011. So, hopefully this will get the process moving too. I don't know if the bill in Congress was passed or if it was passed, how long it will take to implement quicker adoptions but it feels like movement in the right direction.
But some people are always the Debbie Downers. (Some people might call them realists.) I am a part of a Honduran Adoption Yahoo Group and there is someone who posts that doesn't see the Honduran world through rose colored glasses. Which really is good. But, I want to believe the best. The best, not necessarily for me, but for all of those kids. The kids sitting in orphanages for up to SIX YEARS waiting to be adopted out. Gosh, there are families that want them. I hope and pray that someone will be put in charge that can work for them.
Anyway, just because I'm not posting a lot doesn't mean we don't need your prayers. Keep 'em coming.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Home Study...Check
We received our home study in them mail today. February 4. It's been kind of miraculous to work with our social worker, Heather. She has been a gift from God wrapped up in a social worker package.
Now on to USCIS or the The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (under the Department of Homeland Security). As soon as we got our home study in the mail, I wanted to drop everything and drive to town and fedex our application to the USCIS. But, after checking on it, there are no FedEx pick ups today so it wouldn't get there any faster. Tomorrow when we are in town for church, we will stop by the FedEx store and ship this baby.
The application we are turning in is called the I-600a, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. When approved, it will give our future children permission to be brought into the US. The form is one of the most important documents that adoption families receive. The document of approval is called the I-171H. That is the ultimate goal of the application we are sending on tomorrow. The first thing will receive, though, is notification that they received it. Then we will be mailed an appointment time and location for our fingerprinting. (We were fingerprinted last month for our home study, but we have to do it again.) Then, we should see the I-171H in our mailbox. All of this should take between 1.5 to 3 months. You all might assume that I am hoping we get this sooner rather than later. And that assumption would be correct.
My goal initially was to have our dossier ready at the beginning of May. We will hopefully have everything else ready when we receive this, but we have to take the original I-171H with us to Honduras so we will have to get a "notarized copy of original." Then we have to get that apostilled with the SOS in NM. I've been told that since we live hear the capital, we might be able to make an appointment with the Secretary of State and they will apostille it while we wait. Wow, that would be great.
I'm reading a lot on adoption lately and I am really looking forward to an adoption conference Jonathan and I are going to mid-February. So, we continue on.
Now on to USCIS or the The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (under the Department of Homeland Security). As soon as we got our home study in the mail, I wanted to drop everything and drive to town and fedex our application to the USCIS. But, after checking on it, there are no FedEx pick ups today so it wouldn't get there any faster. Tomorrow when we are in town for church, we will stop by the FedEx store and ship this baby.
The application we are turning in is called the I-600a, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. When approved, it will give our future children permission to be brought into the US. The form is one of the most important documents that adoption families receive. The document of approval is called the I-171H. That is the ultimate goal of the application we are sending on tomorrow. The first thing will receive, though, is notification that they received it. Then we will be mailed an appointment time and location for our fingerprinting. (We were fingerprinted last month for our home study, but we have to do it again.) Then, we should see the I-171H in our mailbox. All of this should take between 1.5 to 3 months. You all might assume that I am hoping we get this sooner rather than later. And that assumption would be correct.
My goal initially was to have our dossier ready at the beginning of May. We will hopefully have everything else ready when we receive this, but we have to take the original I-171H with us to Honduras so we will have to get a "notarized copy of original." Then we have to get that apostilled with the SOS in NM. I've been told that since we live hear the capital, we might be able to make an appointment with the Secretary of State and they will apostille it while we wait. Wow, that would be great.
I'm reading a lot on adoption lately and I am really looking forward to an adoption conference Jonathan and I are going to mid-February. So, we continue on.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Why Not Ask?
I've been feeling a bit emotional lately and that really isn't my norm. I was telling Jonathan that I'm kind of bummed that I am starting to really want to meet our children already. I was hoping I could hold off that feeling for as long as possible. I guess that sounds cold, but several years is a long time to know your children are, at best, not in a great situation and at worst, in a really bad situation. I guess it is part of the growth of adoption.
Jonathan and I went to an adoption training last night in Albuquerque. On the way home we were talking and he said he is trying to prepare himself for a 3 year wait. What? 2015? I'm sure that is really responsible of him but wow, that isn't where my heart it. So in the end we decided to prepare mentally for 2 years (he might still say 3) but pray for a miraculous 2013 adoption. We very well know that God has picked our children already and as we talked about last night, they might not even be born yet. And we are willing to wait, knowing that He knows best. But, we also know that we serve an amazing God who can do amazing things in amazing time. Why not ask?
I love how Jonathan and I even each other out. Playing board games and keeping a clean room are pretty much the only two things that we as a couple tip the scales on. We are both crazy competitive and sore losers and neither of us know how to just put our clothes away when we are done with them...like our mothers taught us. But, I'll take those two things if it means that we are a great team with most other things. Things that matter.
Jonathan and I went to an adoption training last night in Albuquerque. On the way home we were talking and he said he is trying to prepare himself for a 3 year wait. What? 2015? I'm sure that is really responsible of him but wow, that isn't where my heart it. So in the end we decided to prepare mentally for 2 years (he might still say 3) but pray for a miraculous 2013 adoption. We very well know that God has picked our children already and as we talked about last night, they might not even be born yet. And we are willing to wait, knowing that He knows best. But, we also know that we serve an amazing God who can do amazing things in amazing time. Why not ask?
I love how Jonathan and I even each other out. Playing board games and keeping a clean room are pretty much the only two things that we as a couple tip the scales on. We are both crazy competitive and sore losers and neither of us know how to just put our clothes away when we are done with them...like our mothers taught us. But, I'll take those two things if it means that we are a great team with most other things. Things that matter.
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