June????

That's right- no travel in April or May. So hopefully June?!?! Since today is April, I guess I can make it to June-like I have any choice.

And no, this is not an April fool's day joke.

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.