One More Thing

Go Baylor Bears!

Relaxing Day

I am off this week and I had a great Monday.  I had 1 1/2 hour massage followed by my first facial ever.  I am so relaxed.  I spent part of the evening painting on my 3" X 5" canvas.  It really is a work in progress.  I sure hope the end result is worth the efforts.  It looks like a mess right now, but I have a long way to go.  If it turns out good, I will post a picture of it.  Don't hold your breath.

So I don't have anything new on the adoption front.  It seems like nothing is happening.  I am trying not to think about it.  Maybe the new year will bring some good news.  Happy New Year everyone.

Happy Holidays!

I am not feeling the Holiday Spirit this year.  Usually I have tons of cute snowmen hanging around the house making it look really cute, but I have not felt the urge to remove them from the deep crevices of the closet.  I don't know what the deal is, I am just not into it.  I think that our brains get so overloaded with Holiday festivities starting in October, that the fun is gone by December.  Well, maybe I am just a Scrooge.  I am not anti-holiday, I just don't feel it this year.  Well anyway it is really cold in Houston tonight.  It is suppose to freeze so I had to get all of the plants in.  The day was beautiful and believe it or not I mowed the back yard.  I know it sounds weird in December, but I have to keep the grass (or should I say weeds) under control for the dogs.  I also had to rake up the leaves from all of my neighbors house.  It really stinks that I have to rake since I don't have any trees in my yard.  Oh well it is done.

I hope you are all staying warm and enjoying the Holidays.  Chow!

Progress Continues

I have successfully completed all of my Dossier and Waitlist documents including signed and notarized.  I am now just waiting on the approval to change countries then everything goes to the Secretary of the State of Texas for Apostille.

So my dog Dakota got into a fight with an unknown animal the other night.  I think Dakota got the best of the other animal, but the animal did get away from Dakota's fierce jaws by scratching her on the ear.

It all started when Dakota tried to get out of the house by clawing at the door and crying.  I ran down the stairs and let her out so she wouldn't destroy anything and she took off down the outside stairs and ran across the yard.  I then saw her leap up to the top of my 8' fence and grab something off of it.  She appeared to have something in her mouth.  I realized that it was some type of animal, but I couldn't tell what it was because it was dark.  Dakota was shaking the creature extremely hard while holding it in her mouth when she yelped twice and dropped the animal.  I saw the unknown animal scurry off as Dakota seemed disoriented for a moment.  When I was finally able to get her back into the house I didn't notice any injuries; however, a few days later I found a scratch on the outside of her ear.  I just couldn't believe how fierce Dakota could be. She is not welcoming of other animals in her territory.  However, it is comforting that she is so protective.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Good Weekend

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed your family and friends.  I went up to Huntsville to spend the day with my parents.  My mother had several guests from her work.  It was a very pleasant day and the food was good.  I am always amazed at how hard my mother works to feed everyone else.  She is 74 and moves around the kitchen like a 35 year old.  She is really amazing.

So after the Thanksgiving haze passed I spent all day Friday working on my dossier and waitlist documents.  I think I got everything done.  Today I scanned everything to the adoption agency for them to review.  I am hopeful that they will give me the thumbs up and I can send everything to be apostilled by the end of the week.

So I have been working very hard.  I hope you all had a productive weekend as well.

Take care!

Fixed it!

Now I am in the correct time zone.

Just noticed the time the posting is showing

I just noticed that my posts are showing that I am posting them 2 hours earlier than I am.  So for all of you who might think I have published postings during work hours, that isn't the case.  I only post from my home computer.  I guess the blog site is set on Pacific time instead of Central time.  I will see if I can change it.

R

Things are moving along

Hi All - It was great to hear from those of you who have successfully completed the long journey.  The good news is I may be sending my dossier for apostille by the end of next week.  I have been working hard to get everything together in lightening speed.  I am hoping to finish over the long weekend.  Today I was able to complete the package for immigration so I can change my approval of the country I can adopt from Nepal to Russia.  They should receive the package by Monday.

So things are moving along.  I am feeling more optimistic.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

3 Strikes, you're out

Hi All - I played a lot of softball in my life, and I can probably count on one hand how many times I have struck out.  I was always determined to get a hit.  So I am looking at the adoption process like I am at bat and currently have 2 strikes against me.  Strike 1 was Kazakhstan and strike 2 was Nepal.  I am going to do everything I can to not strike out.  So here's the pitch!

I took about a month and a half off of thinking about adopting.  I have been very quiet about it because I just needed a break.  I was tired of the disappointment and emotional roller coaster.  However, about 2 weeks ago I jumped right back into the adoption world.  I had a decision to make which was either stop the journey all together or change countries once again.  I decided that I would give it one more good Girl Scout try and I decided to try to adopt from Russia.  My approval from immigration expires in May and getting that approval is a huge process, so I don't really want to go through it again.

I immediately started working on the paperwork and the transfer of countries.  I have done everything I can at this point, but I am waiting on others to get me necessary paperwork to send in to immigration so I can change to Russia.  Once I get the approval from immigration I will send in all of my paperwork for approval from the agency and then to Texas for apostille.

So I am working very hard.  Wish me luck!  This is my last at bat, there are 2 outs, and I have 2 strikes.

The Universe is playing Yo Yo with my Emotions

My agency called me after posting the previous blog and clarified something.  The adoptions that are on hold are for abandoned children and not children who are given up.  Parents who give up their children will have to go through a DNA test to prove they are the biological parents.  So the agency said they are pressing on, but it will take a little longer.

Time for Another Decision

August 6, 2010 - Effective immediately, the U.S. government is suspending new adoption petitions and related visa issuances for children from Nepal who allegedly were abandoned by their parents. After investigation, the State Department has determined that documents presented to prove the abandonment of children in Nepal are unreliable.

Ready for the next 10 years

I don't have much to report.  I did apply for my new passport and it only took 8 days to get it.  I couldn't believe that I got it so quick.  I am not use to government agencies working so efficiently.  So I am good to travel overseas for the next 10 years.  Now I am itching to go on a trip.  I really need a beach get away.  Nepal does not have any beaches so I will have to get in a trip before then.  Anyone up for Mexico?

Adios!

Nepal

I met a man from Nepal this week.  Well I should say that I have known a man from Nepal, but I didn't know he was from Nepal.  His name is Mohan and he lives in Atlanta.  Mohan works at the Hilton where I stay when I am in Atlanta.  He supervises the waitstaff at the hotel's restaurant.  I have known Mohan (obviously not well) for about a year and a half now, but I see him at breakfast and I am very sleepy and not in a mood to converse.  I happened to catch a glimpse at Mohan's name tag this week and I saw that he was from Nepal.  I struck up a conversation with him and he was very excited to find out that I am adopting from Nepal.  Over the 3 mornings that I was in Atlanta Mohan and I got to know each other.  He is a very nice man and he has lived in the US for 22 years. He said that there were 18 Nepalese in Atlanta when he came to the US and there are now 2000.  He still has family in Nepal and said he will help me with anything he can.  Mohan is my new best friend.  He even gave me advice on which hotels to stay in when we go to Nepal.  Unfortunately there is not a Hilton there so I can't use my Hilton points.  The Karma continues to improve!

Update

After all of the negative news that has been in the press and put out by the State Department about Nepalese adoptions, I received some good news this week.  This week my advisor at the agency participated in a conference call that included representatives from the State Department and other government agencies.  The U.S. Government is not planning on suspending adoptions from Nepal and they are sending a group to Nepal to make sure everything is running appropriately.  I was told that the conference call was very positive.

I was also told that my application for adoption has been approved and I should expect a referral in 3 to 6 months.  That was exciting news.

How long now?

I was recently asked how long it will take now that my dossier is in Nepal.  The truth is I have no idea.  They have a year to find a child for me, but no one thinks it will take that long.  I am just in waiting now.  The only thing I have to work on now is renewing my passport.  It expires in January so I need to get it renewed now.

Thanks again to all of the well wishers and for all of the advice.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.

R

Ministry of Women and Children

I did not get a chance to talk with my advisor at the agency this week, but she did email me to say that the Embassy has sent my application for adoption to the Ministry of Women and Children in Nepal.  Now I just am in the wait and see mode.

Everest

Filling out all of the adoption paperwork and getting it right makes me feel like I have been climbing Everest.  At least at the end of all of this I will get to see the actual mountain.  I sent in what I thought to be all of my paperwork a week ago.  Then I got a call from the agency on Wednesday telling me that I messed up one form, forgot to send another. and totally whiffed on sending the photo collage.  That doesn't seem so bad except I was in Vegas and had no way of getting the information to the agency and they had to send it all off Thursday.  I got home at midnight Wednesday and got up early and spent the rest of a vacation day working on the missing photo collage.  It should be easy to send photos over the internet, but apparently I am unable to manage such a simple task.

The reason for the rush is if I could get the dossier in by July 15th then I have a chance of actually adopting a child this year. Otherwise, I it will not happen until next year.  So I guess it is up in the air right now since I seemed to mess these simple tasks up.

Keep your fingers crossed!

One More Thing

The child's gender is back up in the air.  So it could be a little Tennyson or a little Harper that I bring home.   Whatever will be will be.

The Journey Continues

I am going to meet with my Home Study Social Worker next Tuesday.  Since I have decided to change countries then she needs to see me.  There are many positive things about switching to Nepal. First of all I will not have to stay in country near as long.  This is very good for my job. It would be a major burden on me financially and hard for those with whom I work if I have to be out of the country for over a month.  Also the dossier is much less detailed for Nepal compared to Kazakhstan.  Right now EAC would like me to have my completed dossier to them by July 15th.  So I am on a timeline.  I will be sending the updated home study to immigration as soon as I get it.

I have started to wrap my head around the concept of going to Nepal.  I think it will be a fascinating place to visit and it will be amazing to see Mount Everest with my own eyes.  And NO I will not attempt to climb it.  I am a little concerned about this girl from Texas going to a country with such a high elevation.  I better find some winter clothes.

I hope to have another update soon.

Cheers!

Watch out DETOUR AHEAD

THE ROAD ENDS HERE YOU MUST TAKE A DETOUR!


I received some big news today.  Get ready for it.  You won't believe it.  Are you sitting down?




Kazakhstan has put adoptions on hold.  Isn't that just fantastic?  Yep it is the truth.  I almost screamed when I found out, but I was at work and it wouldn't have been appropriate.  So what's next?  I need to change the name of the blog to...


Finding a Park in Nepal


I am going to Everest!  Who wants to join me?

The Journey Continues!

Hi all - I heard back from the Social Worker today and she will be doing another home visit this coming Friday.  At least I can say that she is quick.  No one else is.  I am learning to take things in stride, and it has been great to hear from so many people who have been going through the same things I have.  At least I know what is happening now and I am not waiting for the FBI.  I think that was the worst part.

It was great to hear from  Beth who has used the same adoption agency that I am using when she adopted a beautiful son from China.  Beth I may need some advice in the future on what to expect.


I am in Atlanta for a few days and I have a long week ahead of me.  I hope you all have a great week!

Rachelle

Starting All Over!

It feels like I have been spinning my wheels the last 7 months.  With the latest revelation that my mother's prints may never be readable I must either give up or press on.  So I press on.  I heard back from my Social Worker and it sounds like I will have to redo a lot of the Home Study.  This will cost more money and take more time.  I even have to meet with her again since I am removing my mother from the picture.  Oh yes, I even get to get fingerprinted again.  The one thing I won't have to do is apply to Immigration, but I do have to send an updated Home Study and a letter explaining the change.

So that is the latest.  I am going to quit thinking about a Fall trip to Kazakhstan and hope I won't be traveling in the winter.  This Texas girl could not take a month or more in such a cold climate.  Of course I will do whatever it takes and suffer through the cold.

I hope you all have a nice Sunday.  I am heading out to mow the yard.

Just When You Think It Can't Get More Complicated!

I first want to say that I appreciate all of the encouragement I have been receiving.

Ok, so today I called the FBI and the nice agent that I had talked to referred me to the FBI Customer Service to find out what my options are at this point.  The perfectly rude Customer Service Representative said that I do not have any options.  They must be able to get readable prints for my mother.  I did find out that she can go to a fingerprint specialist who will scan her prints electronically and then print them on the fingerprint card.

So I do a lot of research on the internet, called the TX Dept. of Transportation and finally find a company that have the scanning capabilities.  I scheduled an appt. for my mother to go and get her prints scanned.

Then my Adoption Agency contact, Sara, calls me and we discuss the options.  We fretted about the fact that her prints still may not be readable.  Sara said she would discuss my issue with the agency and call me back.

Sara called me right back and said that the best thing I can do at this point is just take my mother off of the Home Study and change the status with Immigration.  She said that I would need to send a letter to Immigration to have my I 600 A form changed.  This does seem like the best option at this point.  But guess what else????  My fingerprints are getting too old to be accepted by legal review.  So I probably will have to be fingerprinted again!

I sent an email to the Social Worker who did the Home Study so that she can make the adjustments necessary.  Then when I got home I looked at my Immigration approval and it said I can get a revised form, but I have to send in a revised Home Study along with the original form.

So I am in waiting mode again hoping to hear from the Social Worker very soon.

I hope you are all having a better week than I am!

Cheers!

ARGH!

I received a package today from the FBI.  Guess what?  My mother still does not have readable prints.  I am so frustrated that I could spit.  I don't even know what to say at this point.  I am going to call them tomorrow and beg my case.  The form that was sent back does indicate that my mother should be able to get electronic scanning of her fingerprints.  We know the scanning works because her prints were approved by immigration through electronic scanning.  So I am hoping that worst case scenario is she can go back to immigration and get the electronic scanning done.  I will send an update as soon as I know the next step.

Please send positive thoughts my way.

What's New?

Everyone keeps asking me when will I update the blog.  Well unfortunately I have not had anything new to report.  I am still waiting on my mother's clearance from the FBI.  I appreciate the feedback and encouragement from other adopting parents from around the country.  It takes everything I have to not scream with frustration.  I am not use to not being in total control of everything.  The adoption process is teaching me to let go a little.

I will let you all know once things get rolling again.  Thanks again for reading the blog and for the support.  Hopefully someday in the not too far future I will be flying off to Kazakhstan to meet little Tennyson.

Rachelle

Boy Oh Boy!

I had a long conversation with my adoption agency advisor today.  There seems to be a lot of concern about this fingerprint delay so I was advised to contact my local congress person to help speed it up.  So I emailed my congress woman today asking for help.  

My advisor, Sara, also dropped a bombshell today.  For a few minutes I thought I would be shucking the idea of adopting from Kazakhstan.  Yes I am serious!  She asked me what I felt about a 5 year old.  I first thought, "UGH."  She further explained that they just aren't getting children under four years.  I said that I did not want an older child.   So she looked at her notes and they still said that I wanted a girl between 18 months and 2 1/2 years.  I told her that everyone had explained that I couldn't designate and needed to say I would take up to 4.  So she said, "You are willing to take a boy."  I said, "Whatever is meant to be will happen, so yes I will take a one year old boy over a 5 year old girl."  She said, "Then you will get a boy."  

So there you go, it looks like I will be getting a boy.  That is if I can ever get this thing done.  

The other thing that we discussed is that I will not be traveling until the fall.  I thought it would happen before that, but what do I know.

Thanks for the Comments

Thank you Lou Ann for your advice.  I looked at your blog and your daughter is beautiful.  I will definitely be reading more of it over the next several days.  It is exciting to hear from someone else who has gone through this long process.


So the funny thing about my mother's fingerprints are that she did not have a problem with INS.  I guess the computer that they used can read her fingerprints, but when the ink is used then it doesn't work.  It is very frustrating.  She was also told that only 1% of people do not have readable prints.  I think she may be in the wrong line of work!


Cheers!

Not Everyone Has Fingerprints!

So who do you know that doesn't have readable fingerprints?  The answer for me is my mother.  I guess years of working in a laboratory, arthritis, and poor circulation make for little or no fingerprints.  My mother went to the Houston Police Department to get her prints today and they said that some people just do not have readable prints.  They even printed her on an additional card so hopefully the FBI won't make her go back yet again.  Everyone keep their fingers crossed.  (Pun intended.)

Bad Car Day!

Well Thursday was a terrible day.  Everything was fine until around 6 PM when my car and another car collided.  Neither car was drivable after the wreck.  So what does this have to do with the adoption?  Well my mother had to take me to get a rental Friday morning so she was not able to go and get her fingerprints redone.  So here was another unexpected delay.  Fortunately, my car was not totaled so I don't have to worry about looking for a new car or having a car payment.  Unfortunately, my car is obviously going to lose a lot of its value.

The main thing is that I am not hurt.  I am having pain in my neck but I expect that is normal.

I hope everyone out there is doing well.

Good News and Bad News

I received my fingerprint clearance from the FBI today, but my mother's prints were not readable so she has to do them all over again.  I was excited for a brief moment and then let back down to earth.   She will go Friday to try and get a better reading.  Hopefully, they will expedite the reading once they get the new set of prints.  Everyone please keep their fingers crossed.  Thanks!

Fingerprint Update

I spoke with Chad, of the FBI, on Friday.  He said that my fingerprints will be processed in another week or two.  I said (with a little stress in my voice), "I heard it was taking about 3 months for processing!"  Chad said, "Yes, we are very backlogged and are still working on some from early November, but yours will be done in about a week or two."

So things seem to be moving right along.  I guess they hadn't figured out that I am a lunatic yet.

Lions and Tigers and FBI Oh My

Well, it never seems like a good end to your day when you get home and you have a message that starts, "This message is for Rachelle Park.  Ms. Park, this is Chad with the FBI."  That was enough to make my heart stop for a half a second.  So why did the FBI call me.  The bottom line is that sometimes I am as much as a ditz as anyone else.  I failed to put my birthdate on my fingerprint card and I sent in the wrong amount on the money order paying to get the fingerprints processed.  So the FBI is like everyone else.  They want their money.

I really take this as a good sign, because I was told that the FBI processing could take 3 months.  I sent the fingerprints on December 29th and they are already starting to process them.  I will be calling "Chad" (I don't think it was his real name and no last name was given) tomorrow to take care of my mistakes and to find out how long the fingerprint processing might take.

That's all I know for now.

Out!