Certification and Milk Shakes

What a day.

The short version: we have certified documents!

The long version: After a beautiful morning of home schooling my cherubs, we hit the road to our state capital. I had promised the gang lunch at McDonald's on the way there AND milkshakes on the way home after we did what we needed to do. This is NOT bribery, this is *goal incentive*.

We arrived around 2pm, and were informed that the lady who does certifications would not be back until 2:30pm. The guy at the front desk kindly suggested that we come back at that time. What this young man didn't know, was that there was simply no chance that I was leaving that room.

What he didn't know was that my oldest daughter was wearing her brand new shoes that were rubbing her feet, and making her bleed. I had struggled to find parking, parallel parking at that, 103 miles away. Precious Kate had been skipping along and fell on the sidewalk, skinning her knee and producing real blood that dripped down her little leg. I did not have any band aids or tissues or anything. Documents I had, but band aids? No. As we approached the building we needed to be in, there were absolutely no ramps for Desperate Moms with Strollers anywhere in sight. Hauling this stroller up SEVERAL stairs with 31 pound Ezra had left me, umm, tired.

So, leaving and coming back in just 30 minutes when this lady returned?

Not a chance.

In fact, sitting down in a waiting room for 30 minutes sounded great to me.

Besides, I thought, the kids could just play quietly with the small toys they brought while I read the magazines that were on the table, right?

Not exactly. Twenty month old Ezra decided that he was DONE with sitting, and proceeded to really just scream. The waiting room was not full, but there were enough people around to really start looking at me like, "Aren't you going to do something?"

Of course, what they didn't realize is that if I DO something, like get him out of the stroller and give him the FREEDOM he so desperately wants, the trouble will really begin. Believe me, I wanted to say to those around me, listening to him screaming is just the easiest choice of the unpleasant choices I have at the moment.

But, no. I gave in to mounting pressure and let the boy out.

Big mistake. Huge.

While still not recovered fully enough to go down that road and explain it all to you, suffice it to say that the lady did come back at 2:30, she did certify my 19 documents, and I left that office with my documents in tow and lots of threats to the kids to not go near Mommy's special bag.

Then, we made the long trek back to the car with 8 minutes to spare on the meter, we drove a really long way out of the way to get the kids their promised milkshakes, and then two of the four crashed hard into nap land on the very rainy drive home.

The End

One Down

We received Joel's birth certificate today, certified and all, in an unbelievable four days! Wahoo! One certified document down, three to go.

One side note: we knew the marriage certificate thing would take some time since we need TWO things done to it rather than just one, so we did not overnight our birth certificates. Our reasoning was that the birth certificates would not be what we would be waiting for, it would be the marriage certificate holding us up, so why rush the birth certificates. In fact, not only did we not overnight them, we just used the post office. We did, however, buy "delivery confirmation" so we knew that the offices in our birth states at the very least received our request (something I wish I had for my still-not-sent-to-us birth certificate request that I sent to DC in MAY).

Well, I have confessed before my love affair with all things tracking. It is really just a beautiful thing. Of course, what we bought was not really tracking, just delivery confirmation. But in buying that, I was given a real live number and a web address, so I was happy and free to check as many times a day as I wanted until I saw what I wanted: the magic word, DELIVERED. The post office told us that it would take 2-3 days to get it there. Well, DAYS passed and NOTHING on the delivery confirmation. I started to panic that BOTH requests were lost in the mail. Then, lo and behold, I check the mail today, and there is the birth certificate! But, according to our delivery confirmation number, the request form hadn't even been delivered!

Not only had it been delivered, but also processed, printed out, and sent back to us!

My advice: don't buy delivery confirmation. Just don't use the post office for this kind of thing.

FedEx, I am now committed.

Documents and Details

So, as I explained in my last post, even though we received the I171-h in record time, we have four documents that need to be completed before the dossier is complete. Hang with me as I explain.

We need:

--Joel's birth certificate, certified from his state, plain and simple (for all of you gathering documents, when you order the certificate, have them send the certificate to the place in that state that does the certifying/authenticating (each state uses different terminology...very confusing)...this will save you a step and a teeny bit of postage and the angst I am currently feeling as I try to do this ALL RIGHT NOW)
--my birth certificate, certified from Washington, DC, which is scary, because the birth certificate request that I mailed on May 6th still hasn't been fulfilled, which is why I eventually used VitalChek in desperation, which I recommend for all dealings with any public office in Washington, DC, except they don't CERTIFY documents, which is the next level up from notarizing, so I have to send it to the Office of the Secretary of the District. No one else does this certifying/authenticating except this office. So, back to the government office I go. Yikes!
--our marriage certificate. This is complicated. We have a notarized copy of our marriage license, which we got in the first few weeks of starting this whole adoption paper chasing process. Ya know, before I realized that I needed to do MORE with this document than just receive it and put it in a folder! But I digress. I ordered this marriage certificate from the county in which I got married, simply because it was $2.50, instead of the $12.00 that our state capital was charging. Now, I know that during this process, we are going to spend lots of money. But if I can get the same sheet of paper for $2.50 that I can get for $12, wouldn't you get it for $2.50? Me too.

The problem with the $2.50 version, which I obviously didn't know would be a problem until this past Tuesday when the good, the bad, and the ugly all came into plain view, is that it is only notarized by someone on the county level, not the state level (state registrar is the magic person apparently, the magic person who DID NOT notarize my copy of my marriage license!) I either need to send the $2.50 version back to the county from which I received it, and have them attach ANOTHER sheet of paper to it entitled the "Triple Seal", in order to make it ready to be certified/authenticated!

OR

just start over, pay the $12.00 I should have paid back in May, order another copy of the marriage license from the Vital Records office of the state, this time signed by the magic State Registrar.

Then, once I get THIS special marriage license, I can send it to the Secretary of the State for certification/authentication.

Does this make sense?

You should see my desk. It completely reflects the state of my mind.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good: I think that the USCIS tells you that the approval of your I600-a application can take anywhere from 6-12 weeks after fingerprinting. So, let's say we were fingerprinted on August 19th at 10:00am, that would mean we would receive approval somewhere between September 30-November 11. The USCIS website even says that the field office in my area is waaay behind this "target time frame" for approval of this document, and I should expect more like a 4-6 month wait. (when I found this out in May, it was not a happy day. sheer panic, I emailed everyone I knew and so wanted them to tell me it wasn't so. but there it was on the official website, so I had to believe it, right?)

But we received our approval *today*, just six days after our fingerprinting!

Contrary to my firm belief when I left the office last week, my fingerprints were not rejected and I do not have to redo them! Unbelievable, and so good!

The Bad: The whole reason I got our approval today is because we were able to pick it up in person. How did we know it was ready, you ask? Well, because our precious USCIS District Officer (and yes, I did say precious, she was so sweet and helpful and went out of her way to make things right...bet you won't hear THAT very often about people who work at USCIS) called us that morning. My beloved caller id said Deparment of Homeland Security in abbreviated form, with enough letters that I got the hint not to ignore this call, but to hurry up and drop everything I was doing and answer it this minute. Our precious field officer gently informed me that my husband and I didn’t sign the application (DUH!). She said she would mail it to me, and then we could sign it, and mail it back to her, and then she would mail us the approval. As I sat there digesting this simple hold up that would now add ANOTHER week to this process, I realized that she was calling on a day that my husband had off from work, and this USCIS office is ridiculously close to our house. With boldness or in desperation or maybe both, I asked her if we could just come by that VERY MOMENT and sign it. She said “Sure, come on by, and I’ll just hand you your approval!”

The Ugly: I quickly called Terra, my family coordinator at AWAA, told her the good news about our I171-h being in our hands within the hour (which is typically the very last piece of paper that anyone needs to complete their dossier, simply because it takes so long to get the approval) and said that I was just double checking that I had everything in before I mailed the whole she-bang to her THAT VERY AFTERNOON. She was reviewing some things with me, specifically about certification of documents, when I realized what I had done. Or HADN’T done. My birth certificate, my husband’s birth certificate, and our marriage license are all from other states. In my mind, I was just thinking I would certify them all at the same time at my state capital. Not so! They have to be certified from the state from which they came! (and yes, this is CLEARLY stated in our dossier guidelines, I guess I just didn’t think it applied to me!)

I haven’t touched paper work for the dossier since July 7, the day I mailed my I-600a application. All this time I’m just sitting here doing nothing, when I could have been getting these things certified!

So, in sum, I now have the 171H, (thank you Jesus!) but I don’t have certified certificates. Instead of heading to our state capital before heading to a copy store before overnighting it all to AWAA, I am back to checking the mail each day for birth certificates and marriage certificates! There was a serious panic (how could I be so dumb?) and then there was a serious flurry of activity, getting things in envelopes, writing checks and cover letters, and getting them out the door. We are now at least a week out from receiving all of these documents back, which as my precious friend Heidi who is also adopting from Rwanda and my sister who has already adopted internationally reminded me, isn’t the end of the world. Thankfully, I find my hope and joy in God’s sovereignty, and in who I am in Jesus, and not in my being perfect.

But even though I am tempted to pretend it didn't really happen, I had to share it, the whole thing, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Fingerprints...Check!!!

They are done! Our appointment at USCIS was at 10:00am this morning. They were punctual, and the whole appointment went quickly. My husband was fingerprinted by one man, and I was fingerprinted by another. Joel went back before me, and yet I finished first. Hmmm. Either the man who did my fingerprints is just seriously experienced and didn't need any "do-overs", or I am going to get a big REJECT on my fingerprints being able to be read. The man who did Joel's fingerprints was very cautious, had him rub his fingers with this spray stuff several times, deleted several prints due to poor quality. Not my guy. He just did the fingerprint, ignored the flashing red light that said, "Match warning!", and went on his merry way. Each print had a score of some sort, and mine were all between 58-64. Joel's were in the 70s and 80s. What does that mean?! Has anybody out there had their fingerprints rejected? Have you had to go back? Does anybody know what the scores mean?

As we were leaving, I asked about how long it would take to get our 171-H. The man said if I had questions, to go around the corner and talk to this other lady. Hmmm. Does anybody out there know about how long one waits for a 171H? I'm sure I could look it up on the internet, but you all are much more resourceful.

Now what is on the to-do list:
--finish up photo pages for our dossier
--obsess over the mail like a mad woman from tomorrow on until I receive that 171-H
--go to our state capital and "certify" everything
--go to a copy store and make 3 copies of everything
--send to AWAA!

Does that sound right? You all may know better than me if I am missing something.

In transit

In transit. Aren't they such beautiful words?

After checking for the 487th time, the ups tracking info had good news for me. My state DSS person has FINALLY approved our home study (one day shy of 5 weeks) and it is somewhere on a UPS truck RIGHT THIS MINUTE, just waiting to be delivered to CIS! WooHoo! Can somebody say, it's about time!!! I mean, just how many international home studies can there be at one time in our state? I kinda want to say, just what in the world do you DO all day, lady? But that would sound kinda impatient, wouldn't it? That would sound kinda ungrateful, wouldn't it? That would sound like I think getting my home study approved is the most important thing in the world, wouldn't it?

And just so others of you don't have a cow when you don't even need to about your own home study (how about we save our cows for when they are truly necessary), not every state requires their Department of Social Services to approve home studies. Just certain ones. Like mine.

But, in all honesty, if I have to add 5 weeks to this process, I have to admit, I absolutely love this whole tracking thing. I love the precision of it all, knowing that at 4:14 this morning, some guy in brown picked up an envelope with my home study in it, and is now driving all over the place, and at any moment, he will stop at CIS and drop it off. While that means the beginning of yet another stage of waiting (come on, 171H!), it also means one stage of waiting has been COMPLETED!

With that news and a seriously cold Vanilla Coke Zero, I am ready to start my day!

Prayer of Resurrection

With absolutely no adoption news of my own to report, I just had to share with you the great, great news of families in our same program (which is AWAA Rwanda, don'tchaknow) I know that those of you interested in this blog are interested in other families adopting from Rwanda, and therefore you probably already know this news, but I'm going to share it anyway!

Remember when I told you about the family adopting a little boy named Moses? How their daughter has been calling their new baby brother Moses from the beginning of the adoption process and then they get their referral and he REALLY IS Moses? Well, he is officially Moses Limmer as of yesterday! (still working on the insert link thing...HERE would be nice..www.limmerfamilyadventure.blogspot.com I just can't get it to work. Sigh.)

I just get chills! AND, another family in our group, the Higgins, also passed court and now are the proud parents of two precious boys! Their blog is www.higginsadoption.blogspot.com It is so good to get good news!

As far as non-adoption related news goes, last week my family went away for "staff training". The ministry we work with reaches out to students, and once a year, those of us on staff go away for training. We all bring our kids (there are zillions of them) and we have fun, and plan what God wants us to be doing in the upcoming year, and we discuss.

The topic this year was the Power of the Resurrection. It was so good to be reminded about something so central to my faith. Do I believe in the power of the resurrection? Do I believe God can make something dead, alive again? I think I believe it, but I was challenged with whether my belief impacts my life.

God can take dead marriages and make them alive again.
God can take dead relationships and make them alive again.
God can take dead habits and make them alive again.
God can take dead homeschools and make them alive again.
God can take dead dreams and make them alive again.

What do you need God to make alive? Changes you would love for him to make? I was reading a part of the book "Prayer" by Richard Foster yesterday and I read this: "learn the prayer of resurrection. 'Lord,' you may pray, 'bring back to life what will please you and advance your kingdom. Let it come in whatever form you desire. Let it be in your time and your way. Thank you, Lord, for resurrection.' Some things will remain dead--it is better for you that they do. (unless, of course, it is your marriage you are praying about!) Others will burst forth into new life in such a way that you will hardly recognize them. In either case, rest in the confidence that God is better than you are at resurrection."

Like sands through the hourglass...

I know you know how to complete that sentence! I'm not the only one who wasted hours and hours in high school watching that show!

I have spent most of the day getting ready for our brand new school year, set to begin this Monday, August 3! While this probably does not sound very exciting to you, it is very exciting to me. Why is this so exciting, you may ask?

Because being prepared brings peace to my soul.

This is the start of our 3rd year of homeschooling. It has been such a joy, such a learning experience! I have learned so much about myself and about my weaknesses. One of my biggest weaknesses is planning. I didn't realize how much I love to fly by the seat of my pants.

Also, I have an intense dislike of spending money.

So, when you combine those two things, you get a mom who is generally not prepared for lessons on a daily basis. Yet, I was responsible for their learning, and wanted to do it with excellence. But how?

This year I am trying lesson plans from easyclassical.com. Her lesson plans are affordable, based on the book The Well Trained Mind, AND from a Christian perspective! What a winning combination!

But even after purchasing the lesson plans, I had to actually buy the books she recommends to teach! Ouch. That came today. Did I tell you I hate to spend money? I was on every conceivable website that sells such books, comparing prices and shipping rates. Can you relate at all?

But, that painful part is over, and now I just wait to receive all the goodies! Thank you, UPS.

What is next on the adoption front? I have seen other blogs with a "to do" list side bar, and I think that is an excellent idea! I may just have to copy it. What is next for us is:
---having our state DSS approve our home study (I continue to check the tracking number like a mad woman)
---having DSS send the newly approved home study to CIS
---our fingerprint appointment on August 19
---waiting for 171 H approval!
---certifying everything at our state capital
---sending dossier to AWAA
---waiting!