When do we go back?

The most popular question we get at this point is when do we get to go back and bring Alina home. Well, the short answer is that the average time between the 1st and 2nd trip is 2-3 months. We are in the process of putting together the paperwork required by the court in Chuvashia. For those interested, here is a rundown of all that we need:

3 Copies of a letter of intent from us (a letter that states that we want to adopt this specific child)
2 Medical questionnaires from our doctor for each of us (saying that we are physically and mentally fit to adopt a child)
2 Copies of our doctor's license (we did this before, but his license was renewed back in February, so we had to do it again)
2 Letters from my company stating my current income and how long I have worked there
2 Letters from our CPA stating Brandon's income for 2007, since she is self-employed
2 Background Check Letters from the State Police
2 Letters from a licensed psychologist stating our ability to be adoptive parents
2 Copies of the psychologist's license
2 Copies of some other documents stating that we agree to post-placement supervision, that we will register our child with the appropriate Russian consulate upon returning to the US and if we move, and a couple other minor documents

All of the above (with the exception of the police letter) had to be notarized as well, so that's an extra step taken in the process. We have most of the documents done, the only items we have left are (1) we are waiting for our state police letters to be returned to us as we've already submitted our fingerprints and (2) we are currently scheduling the appointment with a psychologist.

Once those are done, the info then gets sent to the state of Texas to be apostilled (basically they certify that the notaries who signed the forms are registered with the state), and then it can be sent to Russia to be translated and sent to the court. So LOTS of stuff going on, but we are done with about 80% of what we need to do already, so we've made a lot of progress.