Ready... Set.... WAIT!!!!!!

Sorry it's been so long, again! We haven't had really anything to write about since August. Here's a stab at an update, though.

First of all, after waiting and waiting to hear from Dan-the-social-worker and never getting return emails or calls from him about the status of our home study and whether he'd gotten our references back yet, I got a hold of some other guy at his agency (STAN-the-social-worker). He let me know that Dan is no longer there. Nice of someone to call us, huh? So here it is two months after the home study should have been done, and here's the best part: he says "Well I have your folder here"... after spelling Jason's last name about 200 times, give or take... "but it's empty. So we might have to start over." My response was, "Okay... No... What?" So after my verbally apparent shock, he transferred me to Dan's old secretary, who promptly interrupted my distraught speech to tell me she had our file and she'd help me get everything finished. They had not received any reference letters back, which I'd suspected because no one said they got anything. So I sent her the references addresses again, and she sent the forms out that day. So far everyone has had them since Thursday so hopefully they will be quick at sending them back (this means YOU Stacey, Val, Josh, Rachel and SuSu!).

THEN apparently Dan never did send in this application for the letter we never received from the gov't (child abuse clearance - the reason we needed addresses we've lived in since 1975). So we have to resend that form and wait again for that letter.

So things are getting back on track, slowly.

We have an appointment on the 24th at our new family doctor (which we've not needed for years and years and years till now, and still don't need other than the fact that we have to get a form signed saying we're healthy) to get our medical exam certificate for our adoption dossier.

(FYI "Dossier"= the packet of stuff that goes to Ukraine. Sounds like how it's spelled, if you're French.)

Getting the appointment with the doctor was tough. Most doctor offices don't have new patient appointments available until December! This particular office had a nice receptionist who I think squeezed us in soon because I told her why we needed it. Plus that particular office seems to be familiar with the "adoption certificate" thing that doctors occasionally get asked to fill out.

Other than that, we did our fingerprints for our original application to the USCIS (US Citizen's and Immigration Service) the other day in Philly, with a 3 hour drive home in rush hour from there! :)

(I don't mean to only be complaining... let's see if I can get more positive...)

So good news is things are finally getting done!

Oh wait... More bad news...
As most of you know, August wiped out all of our adoption savings because we had the first ever deficit financially in probably over a year. And it was a big one! So even if there had been no delays, we would have been delayed on the next step because of that anyway. We'd be sitting here with a complete dossier, ready for it to go to Ukraine, but no money for the translator anyway. After we finish getting together the documents and finishing the home study, we will need about $5k for that. Then we wait, and save, for the actual trip.

At this point, with the number of documents and things that are going to take at least a month or two to arrive still, and also saving, I estimate we probably won't be traveling until spring. :( Probably March, if I had to guess. If we had the full $12-14k now, it'd be quicker, but who does?!

OK back to good news... October is going pretty well with $. We are still trying to see if we'll have time at the end of the month to go to SC for a fishing/visiting trip. Trying to pack as many people into the next couple weeks for programs so we can get out of town at the end of the month if possible.

Still an adventure! Fortunately there is a huge resource of people online that have been through this whole process who are always happy to immediately answer questions. The hardest part for me, I think, is that it's hard to stay focused on it when there are so many times that I have to start and stop and wait, and start again. When I have my mind on something that I want to do, I like to work on it until it's done (only things I WANT to do, though. Everything else I procrastinate.). But with this I can work all day on it and feel like I accomplished a lot, and tomorrow sit here and want to work on it and have nothing that can be done that day!

So you're all updated for now. Hopefully things will go at an even pace now without such a big stall. I've missed the demands for posts from you guys when there are actually things happening!

Love,
Molly