Famous last words...

How funny is that my last post was about being committed to posting ...and then I didn't post for 3 weeks! Hilarious!!!! It was my full intention to update our blog at least weekly. Ahh..the best laid plans.

So, you should be asking what I have been doing with all of my free time. So much! Since we last posted we have...completed our life album, completed the Hague International Adoption Education requirement, and RECEIVED OUR HOME STUDY! Wahoo!!!!!

Our Life Album
Our social worker asked that in order to prepare for our adoption we create a scrapbook of our lives, including our home, our families, and our "puppos"! We spent an alarming amount of money creating one, but it is done! We collected pictures from our families and friends and organized them to tell our story. And, then I "bedazzled" the pages with stickers and three dimensional objects and glitter. I am not sure what I need to do with it next, but it's done!

Hague Internation Adoption Education requirement
While I don't know the evolution of the Hague requirements, I do know that the Hague Conventions are established guidelines to ensure children who need homes are placed in loving families with the highest ethics possible. For those of you not actively involved in the adoption community, it would probably shock you to know that there have been some pretty strong allegations of "baby-knapping" - that is, that some infants have been taken from mothers who did not want them to be adopted and placed within the adoption system. In the most general terms, the Hague Conventions are a set of guidelines to prevent this kind of exploitation. Part of the conventions require an educational component for prospective adoption parents. It is a ten hour course about issues related to culture, attachment, bonding, medical issues, and various other topics relevant to adopting. We completed this course! WAHOO! We even got a certificate!

Home Study
And, ta da(!), our home study is complete! Complete! COMPLETE! This is a huge step!!! A home study is a study of house (the physical components of it), ourselves as individuals, and ourselves as a couple. It also includes an examination of our finances and how we anticipate having a child will change our lives. We met with our social worker as a couple and individually multiple times. There were many, many forms to complete with lots of questions. It feels so good to be able to "check that off our to do list"!!

So, what is our next step?
Well, we have to submit our documents to the US Immigration and Customs Service for pre-approval to continue the adoption. Once we get these documents off (hopefully, by Friday), we will need to travel to Jacksonville for finger printing (this would be the third time). Of course, there are fees associated with this paperwork. Once these documents are processed, the ticker starts as they are only good for one year. Our home study is only good for a year as well, but that's an 'easy' fix- we just meet with our social worker again for an update meeting. If these documents expire we have to either complete an extension before they expire or re-do them (and pay again). In a few weeks, we will begin compiling our dossier. A dossier is the file of documents that the Russian government requires. Each document has to be original and apostilled (stamped by the Secretary of State for Florida)- good news, since we live in Tallahassee this should be "easy."

The dossier will be submitted to our agency who will present it to the Ministry of Education in Russia in a particular region. The agency who is assisting us in the international component of our adoption works in nine regions, like Moscow, Siberia, and Vladivostok. We will be matched with a region based on what is a good fit for our family based on the documents we have submitted. So...our next BIG news will be when we find out which region in Russia our little one(s) are coming home from. We can't wait to post that blog!