Things have been sent off to Poland

So, our dossier has been sent to Poland.  Now the major wait commences......

:)

DOSSIER DONE!

Ok, so we got our dossier documents together and sent them to our agency this week on Tuesday.  They got the documents, looked over everything and gave us an A+ on the paperwork. wootwoot!
We just need a few pictures of my husband and I in and around the house to send it as well and its going to POLAND!!!!

9 months of crazy paperwork and now its like, what, I'm done with the paperwork for now? We really did it?? It is really done and about to be sent off to be match with our child?????      well, what do I do now???? LOL          I have been go go go for so long. I get a break I guess. I can dig it.



                                     Me with all the paperwork for dossier-->

FINALLY Preparing to send our DOSSIER!

Finally, we have all our documents, apostiled and ready to go to the agency and then POLAND! Have to put it all together and then send it off.

For those who might not have read from the beginning of my blogging here the timeline....

End of 2012 --started heavily researching and looking at agencies and adoption
January 2013- Turned in Application and Agreements
February 2013- Started Homestudy and gathering the plentiful paperwork needed for the adoption process
May 2013- Homestudy Complete, continuing to gather documents and paperwork needed
August 2013- Received government approval (via I797)
September 2013-ALL paperwork completed--ALL filled out, notarized, apostiled, and whatever else you can possibly think of that comes with the process of gathering all documents for dossier.
NEXT- Will be the dossier submitting.

Soooo, so far, it has been 8-9 months since we really started the process.

You know what one of the main costs of adoption is that they don't really calculate into adoption??.... paying for gathering your documents and then mailing documents.  
Especially when you have to redo documents and resend them, because you are always mailing the paperwork and a prepaid envelope to send back to you.  Hundreds of dollars easily spent on mailing including getting all documents and paying for those, rough guess, Id say $1,000 in ordering documents and mailing. 

Frustrated.

Sent off everything to get apostiled,and 5 documents came back because they did not have a notary statement along with the stamp/seal. Turned those back in after adding a statement to notaries and some still came back for still not being right!! getting frustrated!

Trying to look/think positive still as we are almost done with all paperwork until sending our dossier.  But it does go up and down and get frustrating and crazy a lot during this process.  Can't wait to be done with paperwork for at least a few months.  :)

I-797 finally came Monday!

So, if you have read my other blog entries, you know we have been waiting what seems like an eternity for the I-800A approval, which is where the USCIS sends you an approval form called the I-797.  Well, it has been about 4 1/2 weeks since our appointment. (An eternity when your waiting and hearing others got it in 3 weeks.)  Anywho.....
We got that and got everything for NC together to send to get apostilled.  So, whats next......
MORE WAITING!  woowoo.  LOL

We are only 1 step away though from turning it all in and sending it off, so I am happy and hopeful. 

So, another 4 weeks or so I am thinking for NC to apostile everything and return it to us.... THEN.....

"put it all together and turn yourself around and that's what it's all about."  (hokey pokey tune)

It will be turned in to go to Poland and then we wait.......... again......... :-)

waiting and waiting

well, we got our apptfor the I800A at the beginning of july and are waiting and waiting for the approval saying we can proceed to get everything apostiled by NC. so we can send our dossier off... but every week seems like further n further away....

Homestudy Finalized. Now to step 2....

Our homestudy was finalized end of May/beginning of June.  WOOWOO! let me first acknowledge that task....... It took just over 4 months -which during the time you are going through it seems like an eternity- but even if you think, oh, I got this, it won't take us that long, oh yes sir, it will, because we were on top of it all, they needed something, BAM, we were on it, but no matter what you do I tell you you will wait on other places and papers and theres no going around the wait and the months it takes.  But we are Done. Done. Done, Yeah Buddy!
OK, now that I have taken a second to give the finalization its 'props' on to step 2.....

We sent our information and I-800A form to the government.  For those who know what this is just skip ahead, for those who don't-- the I 800A form basically is something you fill out and send to the US for them to see who you are and your info etc and say okay, you are good to go forward to adopt internationally, which is what we are doing.  Once they say ok and we do a few things for them to verify who we are and that we are good peoples :) then we will get a form back from them saying we are able to pursue adopting.

Then when we get that form back, we will send it with our homestudy and other documents to NC (the state of residence for those that live elsewhere).   They will apostile everything and send it back.

BAM POW BAM

Then, guess what????......

It will shortly after that be going to POLAND.  Woohooooooo!!  OMG, the light, the light at the end of the tunnel, I finally seeeeeeeee it!!! There it is, I think.... I see.... the light.......maybe??...... I hope...... I know its there.......
:-D   oh yea, getting closer, baby steps, baby steps, but definitely OVER the HUMP of questions and paperwork and I feel and our adoption is getting closer and closer. 


If this post seems a bit 'off' or loopy its because I am. -- off and loopy--  :)  I am tired but kept wanting to write about our steps to adoption.  AND, I am almost done with my work for the summer, then summer vacation for teachers.  So, that has me tired and loopy as well.  So, I am doing so under tired loopyness- which isn't even a word, oh well.  Off to do a few minutes of Yoga before I go get into bed.