Some exciting news!!!!!

Just received this email from CAS!

July 28, 2011

Dear Moldova Families,


We realize that the last several months have been difficult ones for families as they anxiously await news from Moldova regarding the accreditation process and when the program will once again begin processing adoptions. We wanted to take this opportunity to share some positive news with you.

We have been informed that the regulations for agency accreditation have been approved in Moldova. The next step is that these regulations will be published in the official monitor, which is the government paper. Agencies can then submit applications for reaccreditation. This is a major step in the process and CAS looks forward to submitting an application to the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and the Family as soon as possible.

We thank you for your patience and understanding and will continue to keep you posted regarding the status of the program.

Sincerely,
CAS Moldova Program Team

I have to admit, I have been pretty down about how long it may take to get everything moving again... So, I guess that's why I was shocked to get this email so soon!  I wasn't trusting God very much at all... I guess seeing some of what Romania was like, I didn't have much faith that it would open again... I'm SOOOOO excited!!!!  :)

Third Time's a Charm!

Well, we hadn't heard anything about the 1-800A for a long time... Which was secretly relieving because then I don't have to worry about figuring out the next part...lol!  Plus, I wasn't in too big a hurry because I had talked with Tania at CAS, and she had told us that we wouldn't be able to hand in our dossier until at least the end of summer due to the delays caused by law changes in Moldova.... Here are some updates from the CAS website over the last couple months:

MAY 2011

CAS continues to process adoption cases which were presented at the beginning of the year. Adoption cases are becoming a bit more complicated as the officials incorporate new law changes into the older cases. Families are experiencing delays between first and second trips as it is taking longer for the child’s passport to be issued.

The government has not released the requirements for agency accreditation; however, we anticipate receiving the requirements any day. New dossiers may only be submitted after the agency is approved. Also, the new law has been circulating on the internet. Families should be aware that Moldova officials continue to review the law to ensure it is in the best interest of the children. We do not know exactly what pieces of the law will be implementing or revised. At this point, the law stipulates a longer in country stay (up to 30 days) for families which may or may not be mandatory. Families should be flexible and prepared for subtle changes in this program. Please monitor our website for updated information.

JUNE 2011

Agency accreditation for agencies licensed in Moldova has been delayed. Initially the anticipated timeframe was for June, it now appears that is will be in latter part of the summer. Adoption agencies are not able to submit new dossier until the re-accreditation process has been completed. Wait times for this program are unknown and movement is dependent on Moldova providing timeframes and specific parameters for implementation of the new adoption laws. CAS will not be accepting new applications for this program until re-accreditation is completed and changes in the new adoption process clarified.

JULY 2011

National Accreditation of agencies in Moldova has not moved forward as anticipated. CAS continues to wait for official information on accreditation requirements and future adoption procedures. Often, officials go on summer breaks to enjoy the beautiful Moldova countryside.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

It appears that accreditation has been delayed for adoption agencies licensed in Moldova. The anticipated time frame was June. It now appears that it will be later this summer. At this time, adoption agencies cannot submit new dossiers. Wait times for this program are unknown and movement is dependent on officials in Moldova providing time frames and parameters for the new adoption law process. The program is considered full at this time so CAS will not be accepting new applications until re-accreditation and the adoption process has been clarified. Continue to check the CAS website for updates.

I got a call from CAS recently to let me know that Immigration had been trying to email us to change Jason's Remorse Paper  [lol!  This paper has become quite a joke around here!  His accidental squirrel poaching has caused A LOT of extra work!  And, it was from 1997!!!  I like to remind Jonathan (the guy who jas was hunting with and who said it was ok to hunt there) how I'm going to make him pay for all this!!  lol!!].  Anyway, my inbox was totally full so they couldn't reach me... FAIL AGAIN!!!  lol!  So, I had Marie send the info to Jason't email.  It was really no big deal to change it other than I couldn't find the file so I had to re-type his letter from a scan...  And, here's what we had to add (along with a new signature and date).... drumroll please......

“I hereby attest that the above statement is true and complete, under penalty of perjury, under United States law.”

Sometimes, this process is just funny when you sit back and look at it... Just so many silly things that have to be perfect... We don't have a clue why things are needed or whatever... We just try to muddle through it and have to laugh at it all... I had Jas sign and date again... then scanned and emailed it to Immigration, CAS, and Cherub the other day...  I also sent a hardcopy in the mail.  

After emptying my inbox (email works so much better when it's not clogged with almost 2000 unread emails- sad, huh?!), I got this email from Immigration:

Hello:  I hope this email finds you all well. I am delighted to inform you that your I-800A application has been approved. The Notice of Approval will be sent to you tomorrow and a copy to your accredited agency via US mail. I look forward to assisting you further throughout this process.

So, now we are approved and will just need to get all the dossier papers in a folder ready to get notarized and apostilled * when CAS gives us the go-ahead! 

*[Definition:  Additional authentication required for international acceptance of notarized documents including (but not limited to) adoption papers, affidavits, birth certificates, contracts, death certificates, deeds, diplomas and degrees, divorce decrees, incorporation papers, marriage certificates, patent applications, powers of attorney, and school transcripts. Instituted by 'The Hague Convention Abolishing The Requirements Of Legalization For Foreign Public Documents' of 1961, its objective is obviate "the requirements of diplomatic or consular legalization" and thus replace the cumbersome 'chain authentication method' that called for verification by multiple authorities. As prescribed by the convention, an apostille (French for, notation) is a preprinted small (minimum 9 x 9 centimeters) form having ten numbered items of information with blank spaces to be filled in by the designated authority in the issuing country. It is obligatory upon every signatory country to accept apostilles of the other signatory countries.]

Biometrics! 6/3/2011

Here we are pre-fingerprinting!  Jas took the whole day off 'cause our appointment was at 11:00 in Columbus... We found the place pretty easily, filled out some papers, and were taken back for fingerprints on all of our fingers...  Jas has done this for work, but it doesn't count towards our adoption because "that would be too easy to have the computers connected" the guy said!  :)  The lady wasn't too happy with how I pressed on the scanner thingy... (I think she wasn't too happy... period...lol) I kept pressing down instead of relaxing... FAIL!  lol!  Anyway, that was super easy, and we got to have lunch out together after!!! 

We're moving along again!

Written 5/16/2011:

Right now, I'm a nervous wreck.  We just got our passports and birth certificates (back) in the mail today!  That, and our I800A have kinda been my excuse for not looking at the dossier checklist (because we were waiting for that stuff).  Well, I decided to read down through it some after being all excited with the girls that we got the passports... Bad idea... I think it's not too bad really because it looks like we have, or are waiting for, most of the documents that we need... (other than an employment and medical ones).  The part that freaks me out is the Notarized and State Apostille parts... We have to do the notarizing part (which is easy except for the medical and employment one) ... How do I find someone to tag along with me to the dr. and Jason's work... (He's the boss; so, how do we get his boss to sign all that in front of a notary if he's in FL???)  And, do I need to take the papers to Columbus (I'm assuming that's where the Apostille part comes in.) or just send them... And, it's $10 per document + I need to remember to tell them that it's for an adoption in the Republic of Moldova + I need to remember to ask if they are certified or something for another year... And, the worst thing is that the I800A and these notary/ apostilled things can all expire if I don't pay attention to when I need to renue them... I'm sure I'm going to do something stupid and mess the whole thing up....

Alright, it sorta helped to rant about all of that... I'm always terrified when I start a new part of this... I have NO CLUE what I'm doing and wish that I had a friend that was doing, or had already done all this to hold my hand through it all!  (And warn me when I'm about to screw it all up!)  But, I didn't have anyone when I was pregnant to talk to, and I guess I will be the first of our friends/ family to do this too... It turns out ok in the end, but is totally terrifying while we're doing it...

I am going to put some pictures of things we've gotten in the mail in this post... It's funny how when you're pregnant, you take pictures each month of your belly to document the progress... It's exciting but kinda boring to take pictures of mail each time it rolls in...lol!!! I can't wait until we have an actual picture of our little girl in one of those packages!! Now that will be an awesome picture!!!! :)  

We got our Revised Homestudy -

not sure of the date received...

(Which now includes Jason's court papers

 and remorse letter for squirrel hunting on

private land on accident back in 1997... lol!)  

then..

  after some procrastinating (because I'm a big chicken)...

First Attempt at sending the 1-800A after getting

our revised homestudy back - 4/25/2011- notice the cost?

I miscalculated... lol!  we will be seeing this again!!

This isn't the exact picture, but I wrote another check and re-sent it all again... lol!

5/5/2011 They got our papers and will send an appointment soon...

5/12/2011 We have a biometrics appointment in Columbus!!

My pretty girls!

5/16/2011- Our passports came in the mail!!!!

FREEEE!!!!!

Look what another Moldova mom found for free this month!!  http://christianaudio.com/adopted-for-life-russell-moore

Busy again! :)

1/27/11  Filled out our first paper for the dossier (Application to Adopt) in a hurry one night.  CAS called and said that we needed to get it and a copy of our homestudy in before Feb. when the new changes would take effect for Moldova.  So, I filled it out one night and took it the next day to a Beavercreek bank (and a nice lady named Lydia) so that Jas could meet me during work to get it notarized.  She was really kind and just did it for us even if we weren't a part of that bank.  It wasn't a good day as I was starting a week long horrible reaction to an antibiotic.  I was really grumpy that I couldn't reach Jas at work to tell him when to meet me... Thankfully, it was all done, scanned, and sent off so that I could pretty much spend the next several days in bed and on the couch. 

1/4/11  We had a big ice storm this week, and the girls were home all but Monday and Friday.  Jas also had 2 snow days at the base!  :)  One morning, our electricity was off for a couple hours; so, I figured it was a good time to work on the I800A while the girls were playing board games.  It wasn't nearly the scary thing that all those pages of directions had me thinking it was! 

1/7/11  We encounted a little bump in the I800A... Just one litttle question for Jas slowed us down... We have to report any fines outside of traffic violations.  Well, just so happens that my husband was fined for poaching back in 1997!  It was a total accident, but after checking with our homestudy agency, CAS, and USCIS, we determined that we would have to have a certified copy of court papers (which took 2 trips to city hall today to get, but they didn't charge because i had to make 2 trips!  :)  and a letter of remorse signed and dated by Jas!  lol!  I can laugh now, but I kinda wanted to strangle the guy that told Jas it was ok to hunt on that land 14 years ago!  lol!  Anyway, I got those papers scanned and emailed to our homestudy agency so they can change the homestudy and send us the new papers to add to our copies.  I also need to add them to the I800A.  Once we get the homestudy revised (thankfully, no extra charge on this either!), we can send it all off to USCIS! 

1/7/11  Also dropped off the money we had to borrow from Mom and Dad to pay for our passports and the I800A at the bank... We have officially run out of money; but, thankfully, we won't have to pay any intrest this way!  We hope to pay them back once we get our tax return!  :)  Thanks, Mom and Dad!!!  :)

Another small problem... I can't find the girls' birth certificates!  Please pray that I can figure out where I put them!  We need to have them to do passports (Which I've been putting off because I didn't want to get everyone ready to go get pictures and then go to the Beavercreek Post Office to get them sent...Yep!  I'm a photographer who doesn't like to go get pictures!  lol! I also have to go get my driver's license done... I just don't like when you get stuck with a weird picture for 4 or 10 years!)

Now, for the fun stuff...

I think I want to make one of these for our little girl for a present for the plane ride...  Quiet Book LINK  (finished book link)  I remember having one of these as a kid in church, and it was so cool!  I think I might take ideas from this website and from my brother and I's book... I love educational things, and this would be fun for all the girls to play with together!  :)





Finally Approved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, the last month has been so busy with taking pictures, working on a website for someone, and Christmas/ New Years that I haven't had time to do much else.  So, I was actually relieved that things had slowed to a complete stop for a bit... But, after a phone call yesterday, we got this email today!

Dear Angela and Jason – We have received your finalized homestudy from Cherub international. A Homestudy Approval letter has been prepared and has been mailed to you. You will need to submit the approval letter to Immigration with your I800A materials and homestudy. Attached is a scanned copy; in the past, Immigration has been willing to accept this version.

So, as soon as we get everyone healthy (everyone has taken their turn being sick this week) and back to school and work, I am excited to start working through the next steps... the I800A and our dossier!!!  (and a little scared)  In my next post, I'll write about what is included in the dossier... I think I will get very familiar with Fed Ex... lol.  I had to sign up for a FedEx account. 

And, I had meant to write a little about how blessed we've been this last month (actually we always are, but it's been so obvious during these last couple months), but never got around to actually writing it down... lazy me...  Anyway, January 6th was just an amazing day... I was paying bills for the month, and again things were SO weird!  Over the last couple months, I have been taking care of paying the bills, and I know that I have been doing them very carefully... So, almost everytime I have to pay a set of bills, there has been at least one that has a credit on it... It's like someone's been paying them, but I know that no one is (because they can't access our bank account), and I'm fairly certain that I couldn't be over-paying... Also, Jas and I hadn't been very careful over Christmas with presents and all; so, we both had huge credit card bills... At the end of this month, we will still have saved almost $1000 for the baby!  What the heck?!  Before the adoption started, we weren't tithing and were still going in the hole!  Now, we are tithing and still save that much after a terrible month?!?  Only explanation:  God is providing. After my giddy text to Jas about this, I get an email from my friend Ann in Canada... (Short explanation:  We met and became friends through digital scrapbooking and IMing each other over the last couple years... I've never met her in real life, but we follow each other's families through pictures and emails, etc... Anyway, she's been reading this blog and asked (no, TOLD) me that her family wanted to be a part of bringing our little girl home!  What an awesome day!!!!!!  My friend Cyndi, at the very beginning of the adoption, also approached me about contributing to our adoption fund... We were able to be there with them through their time at the NICU with their tiny micropreemie until they finally got to bring her home; and now, they are with us through our adotion journey until we bring our little girl home (who will probably be the same age as their youngest)!  I remember her texting me to tell me about how her other little girl Solana prayed for our baby before their supper one night... So many people are praying us through this, and we can feel it!  Our neighbors, Jake and Jamie have celebrated the milestones with us... like passing the fire inspection, home inspection, and finishing the homestudy... I remember running over there and excitedly knocking on the door to let them know it was DONE!!!  That was followed by jumping, screaming, and hugging!!  It's just beyond amazing to feel how God is providing and helping us deal with the fears and confusion so far... I am overwhelmed with how good He is to us and how each of our family and friends (and their friends) continually support us!!!  Thank you!!!!!  :)