When do the boys get here?



With our fund-raising efforts on the back-burner for now, we are focusing on completing all of the paperwork to get Max and Sergei here. We started on the paperwork Sept. 21, 2011. Gesh I know...no stretch marks but lots of papercuts! 

Here is our checklist:

1. Get BCI's done AKA: background checks (this took a while...don't worry we passed!)
2. Home-study appointment scheduled for Nov. 1^{st -} A homestudy is where an independent social workers checks us out, checks us out some more and then talks to everyone we have ever known since kindergarten to make sure we really check out. This can take weeks of interviews and investigating. Be prepared for a phone call people!
3. US approval – Once all of our paper work is good to go, it has to be approved by the US Government and then it is sent to the Ukraine.
4. Russian translation of all our paperwork must be completed in the Ukraine.
5. Ukraine Approval for an appointment- Once the Ukraine Government approves all the papers we have submitted they will call us with an “Appointment Date”. This is the day Kevin and I both must meet in a courtroom to prove to the Ukraine government we are who we say we are and to state our intentions of adopting Sergei and Max. The soonest possible date will be February 2012. I know, it seems so far away.
6. 2 ½ - 4 weeks in Ukraine from the date of our appointment – PRAY we are only there for 2 ½ weeks. 4 weeks is quite standard. We will be leaving Suzy, Pearl and Charlotte home in loving care of family but it hurts just thinking we will be away from them for so long. During this time we will be able to see Sergei and Max everyday and we will be completing more paperwork.
7. Back to USA for 10-days – We are required to leave for 10 days, they call it the “cooling off period” allowing either party to change their minds. This is a killer on the travel expense and the overall time process. The Ukraine government has this in place to protect their children. It weeds out the people who do not have good intentions for these children.
8. Back to Ukraine for 2 weeks to get the boys, do more paperwork and get back home so all SEVEN of us can begin our lives as one BIG happy family....starting with English classes!

So this post is serious but educational. Don't worry, next post will be funnier because I have to figure out a place to put all my clean laundry before the homestudy lady gets here. I know you might be saying, “just fold it” but there is just too much. Vote: Under my bed, in my mini-van or at my next-door-neighbors.