How's it Going?

People ask me all the time how the adoption is going. It's going well! Pretty much according to schedule (I think) and we are getting closer to a referral (a picture and info about a little girl waiting for a family).

I thought it would be a good time to start a timeline up to this point. Partially so I don't forget (just incase we ever decide to do this again...ahem), and partially becauseI wish I could have read someone else's when we were at the beginning to have some kind of roadmap.

So without further adieu..

January 8: Submitted a FREE online application to adopt through All God's Children International (AGCI)

January 9: - 26: researched possible adoption agencies like crazy.

January 29: - Submitted formal (not free) application with AGCI to adopt

February 1: - Received a ton of paperwork and worked on it day and night :)

February 3: - Mailed in a bunch of paperwork including an application to Catholic Charities of LaCrosse who would become our Social Work office. Also, got fingerprinted for the first time at the NBPD. Also tracked down all of the addresses Robert and I have lived at since we turned 18. I could count on one hand. Robert needed both hands...and feet...

February 8:   Received more paperwork including official contract with AGCI

February 10: Got completed documents notarized and mailed them off.

February 16: Official Contract Date with AGCI (this is important - 6 months to get dossier done). Received very large binder including 176pg "Eyes Wide Open" Workbook for required pre-adoption education.

February 18-19: Clean like no body's business because it's only a week before our home visit. Including, installing smoke detectors in every room, on every floor, and a carbon monoxide detector on every floor.

February 20: Sign up with "Adoption Learning Partners" for 9 online courses as part of required pre-adoption education.

February 21: First meeting with Andrea, our social worker in Wausau. Received yet another very large binder. Approximately 4 hours of one on one interviews and joint interviews with Andrea.

February 27: Home visit. Andrea came to our house to inspect our home, meet and interview our children, and interview us some more. Post emergency exit plans on each floor of the house.

February 28: Ordered Robert's certified copy of his birth certificate (the first one).

February 29: Went downtown to the Milwaukee County Courthouse for certified copies of Amy's birth certificate, our marriage license, and birth certificates for both kids (current dated copies are required for the dossier - no less than 6 months old, and certified copies of birth certificates are required for passport application.

(during the month of February we gathered documents like: Proof of employment from each of us - both which had to be on company letterhead and notarized, scheduled physical exams for all of us (also required), worked on our online education and our workbook, wrote to doctors to write and notarize letters indicating that any health issues we currently have would not impair out ability to be good parents, etc.)

March 7: Physical exams for Robert and Amy

March 9: Physical exams for Maddie and Jake

March 23: finished "Eyes Wide Open" workbook

April 7: Finished all online courses

April 20: Fingerprinting #2 - this time with to send to FBI headquarters (at the NBPD)

April 23: Visit Andrea at the Wausau office more joint interview, submitted paperwork and follow up (last visit) Got free passport pictures at the AAA office on the way home

April 24: Passport application attempt #1 = FAIL. Robert's birth certificate has an error. Call to have them fix and send another. Also realize one of our passport picture was taken incorrectly: It does not meet size requirements = double FAIL.

April 30: Pre-referral call: Phone call with AGCI detailing what to expect while we're expecting a referral and the process we must follow once we get one that we would like to pursue.

May 3: Receive Robert's correct birth certificate.

May 7: Passport photo and application attempt #2 - WIN

May 8: First required psychologist appointment for Robert and Amy.

May 9: Receive FBI results back - no record found (that's good.)

May 15: Receive home study draft competed. Make corrections on details - and return for corrections.

May 16: Corrected Home Study is sent to AGCI for proofreading.

May 24:  Robert takes all notarized, Wisconsin originating documents to Secretary of State office in Madison to leave there to be state certified (which they say on their website NEVER is a one day service. He works in the Madison office that day. They call him and he picks up the completed, authenticated documents on his way home (yay!)

May 25:  Amy mails all state certified documents to AGCI. Sends Robert's birth certificate to the Secretary of State office in IL (because he was born there), an employment verification form to MN Secretary of State dept. (because company I officially work for has their headquarters there), and a case management agreement between AGCI and Andrea to OR Secretary of State dept. (because AGCI is there): for state certification. ALSO - WE RECEIVE OUR PASSPORTS IN THE MAIL (first passports for both - pretty cool)!!

And here we are...just over 4 months later.

I was rather detailed because: A: It's in my DNA to give lots of details. and B: I would have liked to know these things in January. It might look overwhelming, but we are busy peeps without adoption paperwork to push and we did it. And we'd do it again. It helped to have AGCI be ever so attentive and quick to respond with a phone call or an email the second I had a question, and Andrea was no different. We have worked with wonderful people at both agencies. I'd highly recommend them both.

What's next?

We still need some documents to be returned to us so that they can be sent to the Secretary of State office in Madison (or walked in if we are in the area) to be state certified. We sent my only certified copy of my birth certificate with my passport application and was told it would be returned to us...so hopefully it will. If not, it'll be another trip to the courthouse to get a new certified copy. No big deal. One document we had notarized needs to be re-done because that notary's seal expires next month. China doesn't like that. It has to be 2014 or later. Our home study needs to be notarized and state certified as well (3 copies of it to be precise).

Once we have our Home Study finalized and certified we send it along with our I-800 application which is a 10-14 page document to the Department of Homeland Security. They review it and within 60-90 days we should get it back (we are praying for closer to 60). During that time that it is being reviewed we will receive a date to appear before someone important in the Milwaukee Dept. of Homeland Security for FBI fingerprinting (that'll be 3 times). The USA doesn't mess around.

That, my friends, should be the last piece of business. We send everything (some of it's already on its way) to AGCI and they ship it to Washington DC to get authenticated by the US Secretary of State. Then it gets shipped back to AGCI. THEN AGCI checks over everything again and sends the entire dossier to China. Once it's there it will get a "log in date" (LID). It will get translated and authenticated by the Chinese government.

Don't you think "School House Rock" could make a video about how a family adopts a child...I can totally picture it. I think that would have been really good preparation for us :)

And now playing in my head is "I'm just a bill..." Where is that "School House Rock" DVD....?