so there were a couple pieces that had to be redone and a completely new piece we had never heard of before that needed to be in our dossier. *sigh*
so it still has not left yet - it hasn't even gone to the state to be apostilled yet. *sigh*
*taps foot impatiently*
ACTUALLY I really can't complain - had we sent our dossier already this new paper we got only a few days ago as we were waiting approval for the last (last, last) change on a couple others) we would have to resend this as well - sending it all together is MUCH better.
We are praying we get the 'all clear' to send our packet to Sacramento for apostille tonight - so hopefully we will be sending tomorrow.....
Hang on Claire - we are coming!!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Sending dossier for apostille tomorrow!!
Today (our daughter's bday) we got our I717 clearance - woot! We got this in the mail less than two weeks after getting them done! We were told 2 weeks - 3 months! Now if that isn't an answer to pray, I really don't know what is. For whatever the reason, we are VERY happy it happened so fast!
We have already had our coordinator over in Claire's country go through EVERY document with a fine toothed comb and she has assured us that everything is ready for apostille (basically - notary of the notary - done at the state level).
We will send everything for apostille tomorrow! We have been told it takes up to 10 days for our apostilled paperwork to come back. (but we seem to have been kissed by the 'paperwork gets done faster' fairy - so that is what we are hoping for here). We then send the whole precious paperwork packet - our 'Dossier' to her country - basically everything her country has asked to see - proving we are fit to parent her and specifically requesting to adopt her.
Up until the paperwork gets to her we still have no legal ties to her. On the very slight chance she is adopted by someone else we would then go to her country as a 'blind referral' - meaning we would essentially pick a child there. Our prayer is that this is our little girl - but we firmly believe God does not make mistakes!
We should have travel dates VERY soon at this point! Please keep all this precious paperwork in your prayers and also 'our' Claire - we are SO close!!
Kate
We have already had our coordinator over in Claire's country go through EVERY document with a fine toothed comb and she has assured us that everything is ready for apostille (basically - notary of the notary - done at the state level).
We will send everything for apostille tomorrow! We have been told it takes up to 10 days for our apostilled paperwork to come back. (but we seem to have been kissed by the 'paperwork gets done faster' fairy - so that is what we are hoping for here). We then send the whole precious paperwork packet - our 'Dossier' to her country - basically everything her country has asked to see - proving we are fit to parent her and specifically requesting to adopt her.
Up until the paperwork gets to her we still have no legal ties to her. On the very slight chance she is adopted by someone else we would then go to her country as a 'blind referral' - meaning we would essentially pick a child there. Our prayer is that this is our little girl - but we firmly believe God does not make mistakes!
We should have travel dates VERY soon at this point! Please keep all this precious paperwork in your prayers and also 'our' Claire - we are SO close!!
Kate
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Check out these sweet businesses!!
All the following businesses donated to our fundraiser - we also had several private donations as well. We were so thankful for these businesses - it would not have been as successful without them.
I hope you will check out the list & keep these businesses in mind if you are ever in need of any of their services!
Famulare Jewelers by the Sea
Linda's Yogurt
Carlsbad Inn
Grand Pacific Palisades
Daily News Cafe
Legoland CA
Coyote Bar & Grill
Kidsville Playtown
Thank you so much for helping us bring our little girl home without the financial worry!
I hope you will check out the list & keep these businesses in mind if you are ever in need of any of their services!
Famulare Jewelers by the Sea
Linda's Yogurt
Carlsbad Inn
Grand Pacific Palisades
Daily News Cafe
Legoland CA
Coyote Bar & Grill
Kidsville Playtown
Party Lite
Stampin' It Up
My most sincere apology if I missed a business! I think I got them all but there were so many!
Thank you so much for helping us bring our little girl home without the financial worry!
We are so blessed!
Kate
Friday, April 1, 2011
Sorry for the lack of posts! Things are super good!
Ok - so I know I haven't checked in yet - don't worry - things are AWESOME!
We had a GREAT fundraiser (that I promise to write more about later) - we seem to be FULLY FUNDED - YAY!!!
Our friends (and even strangers) were so generous to come out and support us - I will post a list shortly with all the cool businesses around town (and on the web) who donated to help make it a HUGE success!
They raised $6000 exactly! Now we are just crossing our fingers that plane tickets stay where they are and don't jump any before we travel. Travel is really the only expense that could change, so we just pray it doesn't go up much, even if it does we are SO CLOSE!
If you were looking to donate to a worth cause I hope you will check out 'Matthew' - we have friends who are SERIOUSLY considering him! They have already committed to another child and have been told they can legally adopt both - the cost to adopt both is significantly less than adopting them seperately (mainly b/c of travel) - but it is still the only barrier for this family - I hope you will consider donating to his fund - even just a few dollars collectively can make an awesome impact in this little guy's chances of a family who already loves him!
Also - we got word that our fingerprint approval is done and we should have it to send to apostille early next week! It will take about a week to get ALL our paperwork back from appostille - once we have this it is ready to FedEx half way around the world to ask legally to adopt 'our' Claire!!!
Things should move pretty quickly once paperwork is in her country. We know that she has been released for International adoption, so it is just a matter of time at this point.
Please keep her in your prayers and also our family as we are just feeling very antsy at this point. We look forward to sharing travel info soon!!
Kate
We had a GREAT fundraiser (that I promise to write more about later) - we seem to be FULLY FUNDED - YAY!!!
Our friends (and even strangers) were so generous to come out and support us - I will post a list shortly with all the cool businesses around town (and on the web) who donated to help make it a HUGE success!
They raised $6000 exactly! Now we are just crossing our fingers that plane tickets stay where they are and don't jump any before we travel. Travel is really the only expense that could change, so we just pray it doesn't go up much, even if it does we are SO CLOSE!
If you were looking to donate to a worth cause I hope you will check out 'Matthew' - we have friends who are SERIOUSLY considering him! They have already committed to another child and have been told they can legally adopt both - the cost to adopt both is significantly less than adopting them seperately (mainly b/c of travel) - but it is still the only barrier for this family - I hope you will consider donating to his fund - even just a few dollars collectively can make an awesome impact in this little guy's chances of a family who already loves him!
Also - we got word that our fingerprint approval is done and we should have it to send to apostille early next week! It will take about a week to get ALL our paperwork back from appostille - once we have this it is ready to FedEx half way around the world to ask legally to adopt 'our' Claire!!!
Things should move pretty quickly once paperwork is in her country. We know that she has been released for International adoption, so it is just a matter of time at this point.
Please keep her in your prayers and also our family as we are just feeling very antsy at this point. We look forward to sharing travel info soon!!
Kate
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Hiccups
So we got some paperwork sent back to do over before we can send it *sigh*
A couple typos in our homestudy that you would think are not a big deal apparently are.
The doctor on Harry's medical info accidentally wrote a '2' when it was the 3rd - she corrected it (you know how you write a 2 & you think 'oops it is supposed to be a 3 and you just add the extra to make it a 3? that is what she did...apparently that is not acceptable.) So Harry gets to make ANOTHER appointment with the doctor that is not in any way covered by our health insurance and he has to pay for another mobile notary....all in all probably a $300 mistake = awesome (sarcasm). Not to mention the time it will take and he will maybe even have to miss work just to get the appointment ASAP!
*sigh*
Also - we had been told we'd have a week or two from when our fingerprints are done to have our very important papers we'll need to send over our dossier.
Appparently we were wrong. It could be as early as a few weeks...........it could be as long as THREE MONTHS! WHAT?! (I think other RR families are shaking their heads at us because they probably knew that already & for some reason we missed it)
We've contacted everyone we can think of including our Congressman about possibly expediting this paperwork. We've got calls out and from what we have heard - many families have had great success with this.
Our prayer is the same - that this happens as quickly as possible - we hate for her to be in an orphanage any longer than she needs to be when she has a loving family waiting for her here.
Please pray that we have all our paperwork deemed acceptable from here on out and that our immigration papers come here QUICKLY!
Thanks for reading!
Kate
A couple typos in our homestudy that you would think are not a big deal apparently are.
The doctor on Harry's medical info accidentally wrote a '2' when it was the 3rd - she corrected it (you know how you write a 2 & you think 'oops it is supposed to be a 3 and you just add the extra to make it a 3? that is what she did...apparently that is not acceptable.) So Harry gets to make ANOTHER appointment with the doctor that is not in any way covered by our health insurance and he has to pay for another mobile notary....all in all probably a $300 mistake = awesome (sarcasm). Not to mention the time it will take and he will maybe even have to miss work just to get the appointment ASAP!
*sigh*
Also - we had been told we'd have a week or two from when our fingerprints are done to have our very important papers we'll need to send over our dossier.
Appparently we were wrong. It could be as early as a few weeks...........it could be as long as THREE MONTHS! WHAT?! (I think other RR families are shaking their heads at us because they probably knew that already & for some reason we missed it)
We've contacted everyone we can think of including our Congressman about possibly expediting this paperwork. We've got calls out and from what we have heard - many families have had great success with this.
Our prayer is the same - that this happens as quickly as possible - we hate for her to be in an orphanage any longer than she needs to be when she has a loving family waiting for her here.
Please pray that we have all our paperwork deemed acceptable from here on out and that our immigration papers come here QUICKLY!
Thanks for reading!
Kate
Monday, March 7, 2011
Hallelujah! Fingerprint appointments TWO WEEKS EARLY!!!
So I know I have two groups of peeps reading this
1) other RR families & adoptive families that totally know what I am talking about.
2) friends that don't quite get the process, but want to stay updated.
I'll try to keep it short & sweet - we have been waiting on appointments for fingerprints for immigration - just one of the hoops we jump through. This is the LAST piece of paperwork we need before we can send our dossier!!
We were told it would take 'about 6 weeks' - although we know it OFTEN takes more than 6 weeks. Because Claire is already available for blind referral every day counts.
We had asked for others to pray that we would not only get it in 6 weeks, but also (even though it felt a bit greedy) to pray that we might be lucky enough to get it in sooner....
Well - guess what - almost TWO weeks early!! Amazing! Our appointment is in just two weeks!!
Stay tuned! It looks like we will be sending our dossier THIS MONTH!
please keep the process in your prayers & please continue to pray for 'our' Claire!! We cannot wait to see how it all plays out!
Thanks for reading! Thanks for praying!
Kate
1) other RR families & adoptive families that totally know what I am talking about.
2) friends that don't quite get the process, but want to stay updated.
I'll try to keep it short & sweet - we have been waiting on appointments for fingerprints for immigration - just one of the hoops we jump through. This is the LAST piece of paperwork we need before we can send our dossier!!
We were told it would take 'about 6 weeks' - although we know it OFTEN takes more than 6 weeks. Because Claire is already available for blind referral every day counts.
We had asked for others to pray that we would not only get it in 6 weeks, but also (even though it felt a bit greedy) to pray that we might be lucky enough to get it in sooner....
Well - guess what - almost TWO weeks early!! Amazing! Our appointment is in just two weeks!!
Stay tuned! It looks like we will be sending our dossier THIS MONTH!
please keep the process in your prayers & please continue to pray for 'our' Claire!! We cannot wait to see how it all plays out!
Thanks for reading! Thanks for praying!
Kate
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Anybody want to WIN a BOB Stroller or Diamond earrings for a sweet cause??
Please check out this amazing fundraiser our very good friends put together!! I have known these sweet ladies from our church growth group and our own bunco group for years. I have always been thankful for their friendship, but they have really out done themselves with this event!
CLICK HERE to see the invite on pingg.com - it is going to be AWESOME!
Our friends put together a 'girls only' brunch/bunco game/silent auction/raffle event for MARCH 19th at 10:30am - in just two weeks!!
It has potential to raise ALL the rest of the $$ we estimate we need and we have already told them if there is (God Willing!) any overage that we want them to pick out a child on Reece's Rainbow to donate to! (they've already picked a child out they are praying for!)
I've got to share some of the amazing auction items they had donated from really cool companies & cool people around town!
BOB Stroller (YES! a brand new BOB stroller - worth over $600!)
Diamond earrings - valued at $1100
Two nights stay at a beautiful Carlsbad CA hotel!
One night stay at the equally beautiful Carlsbad Inn
$50 gift certificates to several restaurants
Gift Certificates to several HIGH END hair salons
One month of dance lessons for a little girl!
Mary Kay gift basket
Partylite gift basket
Beautiful original art & photography
Stampin' Up basket
Kid's Tricycle
TONS of other great prizes!!!
It is $20 to come for brunch & also to play 'bunco' - the winner of bunco gets the diamond earrings!!!!
It is going to be SO much fun! They put this amazing event together and they have room for 100 ladies to come!
Problem!! We've only had 31 people RSVP 'yes' so far! Ahhhhh! Whoever can come is going to get a STEAL on some amazing things! Even if we packed the house the amount of prizes that were donated are all pretty much gonna go for a GREAT deal!! I really hope you can make it!
I really hope you will RSVP YES! I also hope you will spread the word and bring a friend! If you live far away but know someone in SD who has a heart for adoption - would you be so kind and invite them? (tell them to bring a friend too!)
Thanks so much for reading & helping us spread the word!
Kate
CLICK HERE to see the invite on pingg.com - it is going to be AWESOME!
Our friends put together a 'girls only' brunch/bunco game/silent auction/raffle event for MARCH 19th at 10:30am - in just two weeks!!
It has potential to raise ALL the rest of the $$ we estimate we need and we have already told them if there is (God Willing!) any overage that we want them to pick out a child on Reece's Rainbow to donate to! (they've already picked a child out they are praying for!)
I've got to share some of the amazing auction items they had donated from really cool companies & cool people around town!
BOB Stroller (YES! a brand new BOB stroller - worth over $600!)
Diamond earrings - valued at $1100
Two nights stay at a beautiful Carlsbad CA hotel!
One night stay at the equally beautiful Carlsbad Inn
$50 gift certificates to several restaurants
Gift Certificates to several HIGH END hair salons
One month of dance lessons for a little girl!
Mary Kay gift basket
Partylite gift basket
Beautiful original art & photography
Stampin' Up basket
Kid's Tricycle
TONS of other great prizes!!!
It is $20 to come for brunch & also to play 'bunco' - the winner of bunco gets the diamond earrings!!!!
It is going to be SO much fun! They put this amazing event together and they have room for 100 ladies to come!
Problem!! We've only had 31 people RSVP 'yes' so far! Ahhhhh! Whoever can come is going to get a STEAL on some amazing things! Even if we packed the house the amount of prizes that were donated are all pretty much gonna go for a GREAT deal!! I really hope you can make it!
I really hope you will RSVP YES! I also hope you will spread the word and bring a friend! If you live far away but know someone in SD who has a heart for adoption - would you be so kind and invite them? (tell them to bring a friend too!)
Thanks so much for reading & helping us spread the word!
Kate
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