We were cleared by Immigration and Naturalization Services in December to bring our little one into the USA. We will most likely have to update this application and several other pieces of paperwork by the time we travel.
Our entire package was submitted to Colombia in the first part of January. It takes about 2 weeks for someone to translate it, then it is sent to the ICBF (Colombia’s equivalent of our DFS program in the US). The ICBF is the one who actually approves applications to adopt a Colombian child. We can expect to hear back as to whether or not we have been approved in April or May. Then we are assigned to a region in Colombia from which we will be adopting. It is our understanding that we will not be assigned to a region until 3 months or so before traveling. The assignment is a sign that we will be parents within a few months.
Judging from the last email we received from our social worker it will still be about 18-22 months before we travel. It is a very long wait and there are several of us waiting. However, since we began the process in June we have seen 4 families come home with children. One family got 1 child, one family got 2, one got 3 and one got FOUR CHILDREN! Those adopting from Colombia typically get a sibling group, not just one child. Not to worry, we are signed up for one, unless there are twins, or possibly some other extenuating circumstance. We are cleared to bring 2 home, but we only intend to get one… unless it is twins. Chris really wants twins.
We are very relieved to have our paperwork turned in to the country. Now we just have to wait until the time gets a little closer and we can start updating our paperwork. What are we doing in the mean time? Well, the adoption agency has provided us with a travel guide that we are reading. It touches on everything from the way our child might handle the adoption to what to take to the country. We will be in Colombia for 3-4 weeks and they will try to let us know where our hotel reservation is 1 or 2 days before we travel. We are going to read, read, read.
What can you do to help the time go more quickly? First of all pray. We would like prayers for a speedy approval from Colombia. Other things to pray about are for our baby, of course, and for its birth family, that baby Sinclair will come from an already loving home and be used to a family environment. Pray for a healthy mother who loves and nurtures her baby while it is in her womb and while she cares for it before it goes into the hands of the ICBF. Please pray that we will be good parents worthy of such a blessing and that the time will seem to go by quickly for us.
Other things you can do are to just ask questions if you have them. We are always open to talking about our adoption and the plans we have. Feel free to refer people to us if they are considering adoption and have some questions about the process. You can send pictures of your children to us and let us know what they are doing at that age. Our child is going to be between 9 and 14 months when we come home. We would love to know what your child did at that age and some of the tools you used to teach them and bond with them.
We are excited beyond what words can say and we are so thankful to have you, our family and friends, to share our joy. Thank you for the prayers you have already offered and for your warm regards. We will keep you posted as things progress.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Friday, January 20, 2006
Adoption Update Part 1
We thought we better update everyone on the adoption of baby Sinclair.
First of all, we want to say thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. Your prayers have been a source of reassurance and they have helped us tremendously. We know that we cannot make it through this process without the Lord’s hand being involved. Thank you to all of you who have let us talk your ear off about our adoption. And thank you to everyone who has donated money to our adoption fund. We are so encouraged by your support and cannot thank you enough for investing part of your time, emotions and money into the adoption.
One of the major blessings we have received so far is that we have not had to take out a loan. Donations and the fundraiser have met most of the adoption costs thus far.
We submitted our application to the adoption agency and they approved us in June. We were then given a list of items to obtain for our application to the country, Colombia. Some of the things we did not expect to encounter were an FBI clearance, multiple finger printings and a psychological evaluation. We honestly thought the paperwork would never slow down – document our birth, health, income, life insurance, marriage, intentions of parenting, our motives for adoption and why Colombia.
We were very blessed in our psych. evaluation, although we had some trouble with the first psychologist. When the first “psycho” (no exaggeration) had us come in we knew we were going to have to take a test, but we were told we would have to take it in an additional session because it had to be completed in his office due to copyright laws and they were getting ready to close for the day. He also said that we would need another 1 or 2 sessions to discuss his findings. How he determined we would need another 1or 2 sessions is beyond me as we were only in there about 30 minutes. He also said some very discouraging things and was not very sensitive to our situation. I don’t know if he was looking for a reaction to what he was saying or if he just wasn’t thinking. Needless to say, we cancelled all future appointments with him and found a new doctor who was able to meet us after work, let us take the test home and the test the second doctor gave us was only about 175 questions (the other guy was going to give us about 500 questions). Everything was completed in one session, which saved hundreds of dollars.
Upon obtaining all of the information we needed, we had to make sure it was all notarized, then we had to send each piece of paperwork back to the state from which it originated to be Apostilled (verification that the notary really is licensed).
We also applied for our passports (yes, we think our pictures are the worst of anybody’s). Paul applied in Kansas and got his in about 2 weeks. Chris applied in Missouri and about four weeks later got a notice saying it had been sent to the processing office in New Orleans and due to Hurricane Katrina would likely be delayed. We called the number on the card and they said that it was sent to us the day before. What a blessing!!! We are just going to count our blessings as we go here.
See Part 2 for update continuation......
First of all, we want to say thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. Your prayers have been a source of reassurance and they have helped us tremendously. We know that we cannot make it through this process without the Lord’s hand being involved. Thank you to all of you who have let us talk your ear off about our adoption. And thank you to everyone who has donated money to our adoption fund. We are so encouraged by your support and cannot thank you enough for investing part of your time, emotions and money into the adoption.
One of the major blessings we have received so far is that we have not had to take out a loan. Donations and the fundraiser have met most of the adoption costs thus far.
We submitted our application to the adoption agency and they approved us in June. We were then given a list of items to obtain for our application to the country, Colombia. Some of the things we did not expect to encounter were an FBI clearance, multiple finger printings and a psychological evaluation. We honestly thought the paperwork would never slow down – document our birth, health, income, life insurance, marriage, intentions of parenting, our motives for adoption and why Colombia.
We were very blessed in our psych. evaluation, although we had some trouble with the first psychologist. When the first “psycho” (no exaggeration) had us come in we knew we were going to have to take a test, but we were told we would have to take it in an additional session because it had to be completed in his office due to copyright laws and they were getting ready to close for the day. He also said that we would need another 1 or 2 sessions to discuss his findings. How he determined we would need another 1or 2 sessions is beyond me as we were only in there about 30 minutes. He also said some very discouraging things and was not very sensitive to our situation. I don’t know if he was looking for a reaction to what he was saying or if he just wasn’t thinking. Needless to say, we cancelled all future appointments with him and found a new doctor who was able to meet us after work, let us take the test home and the test the second doctor gave us was only about 175 questions (the other guy was going to give us about 500 questions). Everything was completed in one session, which saved hundreds of dollars.
Upon obtaining all of the information we needed, we had to make sure it was all notarized, then we had to send each piece of paperwork back to the state from which it originated to be Apostilled (verification that the notary really is licensed).
We also applied for our passports (yes, we think our pictures are the worst of anybody’s). Paul applied in Kansas and got his in about 2 weeks. Chris applied in Missouri and about four weeks later got a notice saying it had been sent to the processing office in New Orleans and due to Hurricane Katrina would likely be delayed. We called the number on the card and they said that it was sent to us the day before. What a blessing!!! We are just going to count our blessings as we go here.
See Part 2 for update continuation......
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