We're private.

A few weeks ago I posted that we'd be taking this blog private for awhile. To me, the blog is a place for me to keep track of what's going on with the adoption. It keeps me organized, it keeps family and friends abreast of our progress, it allows me to vent and whine and cry when something goes wrong. It's also a place where I can share information about fundraising, philanthropic organizations, charities, etc. A journal and a newspaper combined, where others can catch a glimpse of what's happening in our world.

That said, the restrictions on this blog have become more and more numerous over the past few months and I feel as if I can't really share anything that I want to.

There are things that are very understandable - like not posting pictures or names of your child before you pass court. No problem!

Then there are things that I can kinda sorta understand, but don't agree with - like the "no fundraising" rule. The powers that be in Ethiopia believe that families should have the money for adoption up front. They don't want people fundraising to afford the adoption. I can understand their point. They want to know that the family has the means to support the child they're adopting. But really, who has THAT much money just sitting around? Rumor (semi-confirmed by various sources) has it there are people in Ethiopia (the ET embassy maybe?) that look online for people who are fundraising and that one person even lost a referral because of it.

Then there are things that I just plain disagree with. For example, our agency shared this CNN article with us about famine in Ethiopia, but told us not to post things like this on our blogs because of the image that it would give people about the country. First of all, if someone did NOT know about famine in Ethiopia before visiting my blog, they've been living under a rock. Secondly, many of us use our blogs to incite action in our friends and family. We want them to feel like they should make a donation or do something....or at least understand why we're doing this. We will forever be tied to Ethiopia through our children and we have a responsibility to help.

Several people have asked if we were going private because there was a problem. No, no problem - don't worry. I just don't want my big ol' anarchist (haha) blabber mouth to get me in trouble, so I thought I'd lock this diary for awhile and just give a few people a copy of the key.

Clerical error

My SW got a call back from USCIS. They made a clerical error on the I-171h. The 3rd box should have been checked instead of the 1st. They'll be getting a new one out to us ASAP.

I received my 4th (and hopefully final) doctor's letter yesterday. They had a new notary sign it this time. I noticed that she printed her name instead of signing it though. This is the reason that the Sec'y of State could not seal Marc's letter. I tracked down the notary and asked her to sign it. She, very coldly, told me "That IS my signature." I'm guessing the Sec'y of State has signatures on file, so hopefully they will know that is really hers.

Marc is going to pick up his final letter today.

Once we get the new I-171 we'll get them all sealed and off they'll go.

Two words: Roller Coaster

From my SW:

I am a little concerned about why they did not mark the third selection that it has been forwarded to the National Visa Center. They entered Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but they did not make that selection. I have emailed the USCIS officer and the Ethiopia team. The dossier packet says that the I 171H has to be cabled to Ethiopia, not retained in the local office. I hope to hear something soon. You may want to hold off on getting it state sealed until we hear something.

I believe THIS is what we've been waiting for!!

Or is it? LMBO! Is this what it's supposed to say? "Your advanced processing application is being retained at this office. You must notify this office IN WRITING when and where to forward this..." That's right, right? Because they don't know where or when to send it until we know where and when we're getting our kids. Right? RIGHT?


Marc was on a ladder painting the laundry room here. Hee hee...


So.................... these doctor's letters are the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE! I picked up all of our documents at the Secretary of State's office and everything was sealed except for our doctor's letters. The notary for Marc's letter evidently forgot to actually sign it. DUH! And the notary for mine had her commission expire over a year ago (according to the state records). So we need to get those fixed / redone this week and get them sealed along with the I-171h. Then it all goes to the Bethany office in Michigan for review then eventually, sometime in this lifetime, it gets sent to Ethiopia.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh...one step closer!

A little glimmer of hope today

A few weeks ago I got a generic/mass email from our agency (Bethany) saying they were wrapping up negotiations to work with two additional orphanages in Ethiopia. Being in the business I am, there are always sales talks and negotiations going on and I have learned not to ever EVER get excited about ANYthing until the papers are signed....and even then something could still go wrong. Call me cynical. I call it realistic. So I sort of thought "huh, good" to myself and moved on.

Today I read the blogs of two other Bethany families (not in Colorado) who recently got their referrals. One after 6 months of waiting and one after 4 months. HOLY COW! We've been pretty discouraged depressed over the fact that we're going to be waiting 18+ months for a referral and now we see 2 families get referrals in so much less time. Cue the hallelujah chorus!

Going private

For a host of reasons...which may or may not be explained at a later date....I'm planning to take this blog private for awhile.

I would love to invite you all along for the ride, so just post a comment with your email address (or send me an email) and I'll send you an invitation. It's as easy as that! I love talking to strangers - or anyone who will listen really. :-)

I'll leave this message up (and leave the blog open) for awhile, and probably won't post much 'till then. Unless I have news that I need to shout from the blogtop, natch.

(Edited to say: I can't send out invitations until I actually do make this private, so, I'll just keep a list of everyone, then send you an invite in a few weeks when I make the switch. thanks :)

Still waiting for our I-171h

Waiting
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This is starting to remind me of trying to have a baby. We tried and tried and tried. And waited and waited and waited. And hit some road blocks. And had some misfortunes. And it seemed like everyone else around us was having an easy time of it. Not that the adoption process is "easy" for ANYone. But some people's process is a helluva lot quicker than ours. Like when we were trying to get pregnant. And you're happy for other people who are bringing home babies. Of course you are. But still a little sad for yourself. It's a weird feeling to be happy and sad at the same time.