Dossier State Certified!

Woo hoo! My dossier is state certified. Thanks Mom for taking to the state department for me and getting it done so quickly. So now we make some copies (4) and send those precious documents to the dossier company. I got an email from J today with new requirements and now we make 4 copies instead of 3 and the couriers are limited to 15 docs. So they will have to make two trips. I'm a little scared. Those pieces of paper are so important to bringing my son home. Fedx better not lose them, grrrr. Shots are next.. We are going on Friday for all the vaccinations. They are good for up to 2 years according to the Travel clinic and we will get the antibiotics there as well. So that will be done too. Tetanus, Malaria, and Typhoid oh my.
http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destinations/asia/kyrgyz_Republic.php Check out this link for travel info on what vaccinations to get (4-8weeks before you travel). They do recommend bringing an antibiotic and antidiarrheal with you, just in case.

Where's Beth?

Jeez, you would think that I would keep this thing updated. Its been a WEEK since my last post. I guess when I have no news I tend not to post. I love reading the posts from other blogs about their lives outside of this crazy journey we all have in common but I havent really done that with mine. I suppose I will start today. If youve read my 'profile' or any of my early posts I have mentioned that I am from Phoenix Az by way of Methuen, MA, Fayetteville, AR, Hills, MN and Sioux Falls, SD. This girl has been around. Although I have liked living in all those places I feel 'Home' is Sioux Falls. My oldest and closest friends live there and I try to visit as often as I can. The pace is soooo different in Sioux Falls. Its slower and not as crazy. You leave your door unlocked and there is SPACE. Phoenix is so big and full of people there is no room to grow. Maybe I am thinking more about this since I am going to be a mom. Bottom line.. i want my son to be safe. The other night Mom and I were sitting on the patio, watching a helicopter circle near our neighborhood. We guessed that it was only about a quarter mile away circling. We watched it a while until we heard 'You are surrounded' and it circled some more and left. OMG I guess the 'perp' gave up and they didnt need the helicopter anymore. Its things like that, and sad news every night that make me want to 'slow down' . More later :)

So now I wait, patiently.....

Saturday, I went to the ICF Agency picnic and it was really fun meeting a few families. Turns out Grandma B makes a quilt for the families, that is such a sweet gesture, and I was fortunate to see some of her work. Its beautiful and I am thrilled that Bennett will be getting one, oh by the way my son's name will be Bennett. I got a chance to talk to J and since Bennett is not able to be adopted until he is 3 months old I will have to wait until the first week in October for my meetcha and hope for the first part of November for gotcha. So far he is still in Tokmok at the hospital and we are going to try to keep him there for a couple months. There is a better ratio of caregiver to baby there than at the orphanage. I am happy that he can get the extra attention. I dont know how or if anyone can visit him at the hospital but appreciate the offers from the other families on the yahoo groups to get pics. I wil definitely let everyone know when he gets to the orphange and they can check in on him.

OMG

Referral .. i got my referral... its a boy.. he's beautiful and I am in love. Now I have to wait. Again. I will be attending the picnic this weekend and hope to talk to some other families that have gone through this. I also want to talk to J a bit to get more info on what to do next. When can i go visit, when can I get him home all that good stuff.

Russian for today MAT" which of course means Mother!

I almost forgot..

Did you know that there are a female and male forms of some of the words in Russian? So, when a word has an option I will use the female since thats what I am !! :)
I have been slacking on my Russian lately.. so my word for today is something I think I will be saying alot if I dont get back to learning:

YA NYE paniMAyu which means 'I dont understand'

Just when you think....

Just when you think you have everything ready.. nope.. there's something else. I thought I had everything ready..but.. I need another one fixed. Oh well, as everyone has said 'Just keep focusing on the end result.' I will get it done and get the docs sent to the State department. One good thing to look forward to this week is the ICF picnic on Saturday. It should be great to meet some of the families and staff of the agency. It should be HOT but fun.

I 171H.. check

Can I get a Woo Hoo!! I got my I 171H in the mail today. Well, Mom got it since I am in California this week for work. So exciting.. things are moving along.. that was the last one I was waiting for. I am getting everything else I had to redo ready to go so I should be able to get the Dossier state certified next week. Yeah for me and my baby to be!

Documents.. documents.. documents

I have redone so many docs I dont know what I have completed. Thank goodness that my agency works with a dossier preparing company to help with the specific requirements and check them. When we start this process we dont know what a Letter of Intent is and probably dont have a notary in our circle of friends but, I do now..... And I know now that I need to take the entire dossier to the State department in Phoenix and get it all certified. That scares me! Not because I think there will be problems but because those are precious pieces of paper, painstakingly gathered over months and perfectly prepared. So what do I have to redo you ask?I need to get my Employment letter notarized so need a new one. I am going to take my notary friend to the office and get it done. Maybe I'll take him to lunch after to celebrate!! Check, one more down. Guardianship letter. Check. I got that back from L & L Monday. I needed to get an adjusted homestudy, since I am open to either a boy or a girl. Kyrgyz likes to have a positive male influence when single women adopt boys(thats my brother and possibly a future husband). Check, thats in the mail to me too. Pictures of an empty baby's room. Check, the list is getting smaller.....Thats the last of them except for the I171H.

Russian word for today: YA uSTAla which means 'I'm Tired'(female)
YA uSTAL is the male form.

Adoption groups

I have joined 2 Yahoo groups and am hoping to meet some new friends, share journeys and information and experiences. Its easy to sign up and everyone has been so friendly. I'll put the link on the list. Its comforting to know there are others experiencing the same challenges and same excitement that I am. There are some further on in the process and some just starting.
I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. Kyrgyzstan celebrates its independence August 31.!

Russian for today: na zdaROv'ye which means 'Cheers!'

USCIS... check

Mom and I were able to get our USCIS fingerprints today. Woo hoo! They have some pretty slick fingerprint scanning machines. I asked the technician why the police stations dont have them. We had to use "Goop" to get the black ink off our fingers when we got the FBI fingerprints done. She said they were pretty expensive machines... she wasnt too talkative. Oh well I was in a GREAT mood and still am. Now I wait again... BTW Learning a new language is hard. I have gotten a few books on the Russian language and think that my best bet is the 'Russian at a Glance' that I am referencing. I think its definitely helpful to have a CD or something so you can hear the pronounciation.

Russian for today = SKOL'ka STOit which means 'How much does it cost?'

1 more down

FBI fingerprints are back.. it all looks good so now I just have to get the cover sheets done. Turns out the FBI fingerprints and the USCIS appointment are completely different. I also got an email today from the USCIS with Mom's appointment and document she needs to bring with her. My Agency sent an email to them so I could reschedule and it just so happens that they have Saturday appointments. I responded to the email from USCIS asking if we could come in tomorrow (1 week before the scheduled appt), so i guess we'll see how flexible they are. I can check 1 more doc off the list (the FBI prints).

Russian for today = KAK kraSIva which means 'How Beautiful'