Well, we're waiting.....

It's been 3 weeks since US CIS received our application to adopt a child, and still we have heard nothing. We should have received a receipt of some type, which would tell us that they received it, that our case is pending, and what the actual case number is.

We have called the 800 customer service number and they can only help you if you have a receipt. I am not sure if you remember this or not, but just a moment ago I mentioned that THEY HAVEN'T SENT US ONE! We sent an e-mail to their customer service address and haven't heard anything yet. I think they have e-mailed us back 3 of the 4 times we have sent e-mail to this address, but it typically takes a few days.

Unfortunately, this process would try the patience of a saint. For those of you who know me, you know that my father was a minister, but I am not a saint. Very far from it, actually. So you know the top of my head is about 3 milliseconds from completely blowing off.

All we can do at this point is continue to work on our paperwork for the adoption agency. We also have to begin putting together our documents for our dossier to be sent to the Russian government. So at least we can keep our end of the process moving, even if the wheels in the rest of the process have ground to a complete hault.

I guess I should explain all the in's and out's of the application process in one of my posts. It might give you some idea of all the hoops you have to jump through when adopting a child. I'll try to get to that in the next few days.

It's Official

Today it hit us that we are really starting on an adventure to get our child. We turned in the first set of documents required for our application and paid for our initial deposit and home study. We also attended a meet & greet session at Gladney in Forth Worth. We got to meet some of the staff that will be helping us over the next few months/years, as well as hear from a panel of 6 families that have recently adopted.

It was absolutely incredible to see these families and the love they have for their children. There was at least one child from several of the countries Gladney works with: Russia, China, Ethiopia, and Guatemala. We also got to meet other couples that are ready to embark on the process like we are.

After the larger group meeting, we broke out into smaller groups based on the areas of the world we were adopting from. In this smaller group, we met a couple that is going through the process of getting their 3rd child from Russia. They were so incredibly helpful, and had plenty of stories to tell us. We exchanged information and I am sure we will be contacting them on numerous occasions to get more inside info on this whole experience.

Next up for us, we still have quite a few documents to put together to send to Gladney over the next 2 weeks. We also will probably have our home study schedule over the next month or so. Essentially, our home study consists of a social worker coming out to our house, checking out where we live, and asking us a ton of questions about ourselves and why we are adopting.

How much paperwork is involved?

Late last week, we received a couple of e-mails from the folks at Gladney (our adoption agency). Both of the e-mails had paperwork that we had to fill out as well as information like travel tips, specifics about their Russia program, etc. In total, there were 8 attachments and nearly 200 pages of stuff to look through. A little overwhelming to say the least.

The good news is that they provided us with a "roadmap" so to speak. They told us what forms they need now and which ones they will need in the near future. Our application is up first, which is about 8 pages plus supporting documents. It's a lot like a loan application, because we had to provide information about how long we have lived at our current house, our employment history, our financial picture, and whether or not we had been arrested or convicted of a crime. I knew I was okay on that last one, but you never know about that Brandon!

Other items that they need from us include:
- a letter from my employer (confirming how long I have worked there and what my salary is)
- a letter from our CPA (stating how much Brandon makes since she is self-employed)
- a letter from our doctor (showing our physical and mental health, and what prescriptions we are currently taking)
- a letter from my insurance carrier (confirming that our child will be covered from the day they get placed with us, which is the day we accept the child, not the day they arrive back at home with us)
- pictures of our house and directions to it (info needed prior to the home inspection that the agency will be conducting)
- medical records of our pets (showing that they are up on all their vaccinations - I know, kind of interesting, eh?)
- names & addresses of our referrals and our parents

This isn't a complete list, but it gives you an idea of what kind of information we have to pull together. Too bad that people who have children on their own don't go through this kind of review before they are able to have kids. Maybe then we wouldn't see sad news stories about parents leaving their kids in a car when it's 110 degrees outside, or that they had their 5-year-old smoke marijuana. I know, I'm preaching to the choir here.

So while this seems like a lot of work, we are keeping our eye on the end goal. And when you think of it in that way, this is really nothing. We also are encouraged every day by friends and family, which is incredibly helpful.