Paperwork

Even if there is no news on travel, there is ALWAYS more paperwork to redo in this process. I just started my home study renewal process since it will be a year old on May 1st and they are only good for a year. So I get to spend $400 for a piece of paper that says nothing has changed in my life. Some of the paperwork expires every 6 months so towards the end of March, I get to go have my fingerprints taken yet again-twice. You would think they would store them on a computer somewhere, but they don't so every 6 months I get to go to the local police station and get printed for the FBI. Then I get to go to St Louis to get my fingerprints taken again for the USCIS because the agencies don't share the fingerprints and each need their own set(this is every 15 months). My favorite paperwork redo is getting a new birth certificate every year because my birthdate is going to change?? I've never figured that one out yet. So by June 1st I have to redo everything I did a year ago. The good thing is that it gets easier every time.

Update

I should have not complained about not having any news, because I got a call today to update me and tell me I will not be traveling in March either! Arggghhhh! SO I guess I am hoping for April although that seems very far away.

Boring Blog

This blog is starting to get repetitive since yet again I have no updates and no news and no idea when I will travel. It does not appear that I will be traveling in February. So now I am hoping for March travel. I tried to think of something interesting to post, but I really haven't done anything adoptionwise lately. At least the weather is getting nicer! So now I am hoping for an early spring this year and finally getting that phone call to travel!

54 vs 18

Everyone says how horrible the winters are in Kazakhstan, but Shymkent is in the very southern part of Kaz. It was 54 degrees there yesterday. It was 18 degrees here in central Illinois! Yet another reason, I'd rather be in Shymkent than here. The main reason, of course, is the adoption, but I am getting really tired of below freezing temperatures.

2009

My first post of 2009! I wish I had a bunch of news and updates, but all I know is at this point there will not be any children coming off the registry in January. So let's all hope that February is THE month. They have no idea if there will be a girl available in February or not, but I am going to think positive.
I had 3 weeks of vacation in December so I am in a much better mood than I was. I spent a week in Florida and a week in Arizona and a week just doing stuff around the house. I haven't had 3 continuous weeks off work in a long time. It was really nice. I did find out that my wait is now one of the longest for my agency! I'm not real thrilled to have that record, but hopefully my region will start moving soon.

One Year Anniversary

One year ago, I submitted my dossier. At the time, the estimated wait was 6-9 months. In some regions, it is not much longer still. In Shymkent, no one from my agency has traveled for a girl since they have been back in the region so I have no time frame to estimate off of. There is another family assigned to Shymkent who has waited about the same amount of time so I am not alone in my wait. My coordinator keeps telling me any day now. Of course, she has been saying that since September! Hopefully, I will be traveling in early 2009. I'd rather not have any more wait anniversays to note.

I think my neighbors are related to the Griswolds!

I was walking Frosty last night. It was about 36 degrees and windy and drizzling rain and dark already, but my neighbors were up on the roof of their 2 story house putting up their Christmas lights on the edge of their roof. They had no flashlights or other lights up there so I couldn't actually see them, but you could see the Christmas lights moving and hear them talking. The whole time we were walking, I kept thinking of Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation and I was waiting for one of them to slide off the roof. No one did while I was watching, but I think they are a little nuts. My neighborhood always has a bunch of people who try to be the first one to turn their Christmas lights on Thanksgiving night, but we still have almost 2 weeks to go!

Lots of families are traveling in other regions, but my region is still going slow. So chances are I will not be traveling until next year. I am at the 5 months since region assignment point so it is starting to get old. Originally, I was told 3-4 months from region, now they are saying more like 6-8. We'll see what they say when I get to 6-8 months wait!

Just a rather sad note on the families in Esik. If you remember, I was briefly assigned there, but moved to Shymkent. I never went into details, because some families were still fighting to bring their children home, but it has finally ended for those families and not in a good way. Last December, a judge in Esik decided that he did not like International Adoption and refused to schedule court dates. This was not told to families traveling last December and they met and bonded with children for 2 or more weeks, but were unable to get a court date to finalize the adoption. At least one family has been fighting since then to get a court date. After involving the embassy and anyone else they thought could help, they finally got a court date a few weeks ago, but the judge refused to grant the adoption and it seems like their options are at an end. They may come up with another plan, but it does not look good at all. So even though I hate waiting, I would much rather wait to travel to a region where I know the court is favorable to adoption, than to travel quickly to a region where it is not. The Kaz judge's rulings are within the laws of Kaz for adoption, but you just have to feel sad for the families who met a child and fought for a year to bring the child home, only to fail in the end.