Project Manager Mode

Yes, that's right I'm in PMM...that's "project manager mode." I love planning. I love the details. The first thing I did when we got the news (about our appointment date) was start a list. And I absolutely love crossing things off the list.

At the top of the list right now is buying airplane tickets. I spoke with a Ukraine adoption travel specialist, and after the third degree from me, we decided one way tickets to Ukraine are our best option right now. It allows us a lot of flexibility in flying home...and you need a lot of flexibility when adopting from Ukraine. There are a lot of well-priced one-way tickets right now. I just need to sit Felix down to get his input (he knows a lot about airlines and geography) and get 'er done.

The past week has been full of blessings...I think He is crossing tasks off the list for us!! We needed a house sitter, and one of my best friends (Aimee) moved back home and is available to housesit! Also, many adoptive families recommend packing a CD case with DVD's to watch during your down time. Aimee and her brother have the most incredible DVD collection - and now that she's back we can borrow more DVD's than we'll ever need in Ukraine!

Meanwhile I have been stockpiling supplies for the trip: adult meds, childrens' meds, toiletries, toothbrushes for our kids, gifts to give along the way, and a few things for Zina and Rimma.

Five and one half weeks and counting!!!

Pardon me while I Happy Dance!!

WE HAVE RECEIVED OUR APPOINTMENT DATE!!

Today we received the following e-mail from Valentina...

Hi, Heidi!

I’ve got your invitation letter – your
appointment date is November 10.
We’re ready to answer all your
questions about your upcoming trip.

Best regards,
Valentina

Whoo-hoo, it's official! We are going! Time to start making plans for real. Thank you to all of our friends and readers who have given us much needed encouragement and support these past few weeks. All of our prayers have been answered. Now the great adventure begins!

Happy Birthday, Rimma!

Today is our little sweetheart's birthday. She turned 12! Last night at 11 pm (8 am her time), I sent her a text message telling her Happy Birthday and that we would be calling her at 8 pm. We called her at the appointed time and she talked more than I have heard her talk in a long time. It was pleasant just to her her Russian language as she spoke to our translator, Lydia. She had lots to say. We sent a box of presents and goodies to the girls a couple of weeks back, but they haven't received it yet. Rimma tried to get us to tell her what was inside. It was quite cute of her.

I used to have a few doubts still about her wanting to be adopted, but that was all for naught as she asked questions about her registration and eventual adoption and life in America. Her only concern was not remembering how to speak Russian once she learns English. We assured her that she should continue to speak her native language and that we have lots of Russian speaking friends that she could converse with to remember her language. Besides, mom and dad have been trying to learn with the Rosetta Stone we have. R & Z would be great teachers!

We talked with Zina, too, of course. She is fine and concerned about her registration as well. People there keep telling her that it is impossible for her to be adopted. She told us that she just ignores them and keeps praying for us. I pray that God allows this miracle to happen, not for Heidi and I, but for these children who so longingly pray to him for our home.

I jokingly told Zina that next time we call, she should find a louder place to talk. It seems that every time we talk to her, there are a million sounds and crashes going on. She laughed at my request, getting the humor that was intended. I told her that it sounded like we were in the middle of a soccer game. She said, "Dad, that is exactly what is going on, Rimma and the boys are playing football in the hallway!" I wonder who was winning!

No word on the SDA appointment for our first adoption trip. Today is the 20th working day. Supposedly, the SDA gets back to you by this deadline, but it is not set in stone. We pray that we hear something this week. I can't wait to do my "Happy Dance"!

~Felix~

OPAH!!!!

Yesterday was Lilya and Todd's big wedding day! Lilya was absolutely stunning and Todd was beaming all night long. The wedding was beautiful and a lot of fun. During the reception, Lilya and her brother treated us to authentic Crimean Tatar dancing...and even some Ukrainian hip-hop music. Todd and Lilya make a wonderful couple!!

And on to adoption news...there is no news!!! Friday was business day #19 since our dossier was submitted to the SDA in Ukraine. The SDA is supposed to respond (by either rejecting our application or accepting it and providing us an appointment date) within 20 business days. But as we all know, most rules are just guidelines. Not hard and fast rules. The waiting is driving us crazy. I can't stop singing Tom Petty's song in my head, "the waiting is the hardest part." Really I think the hardest part will be bringing two or three Russian speaking children home on an overseas flight. But so far, this round of waiting has been the hardest part!

Aren't My Fingerprints Forever?

Today we endured more adoption bureaucracy!! Recently an adoptive family suffered the misfortune to be stuck in Kiev with their new children because their "fingerprints expired" and US immigration would not let then bring their kids home until they were fingerprinted and background checked again. Learning from their dilemna, I checked my I-171H file and found that our fingerprints expire in November. So, I made an appointment with the USCIS for this morning. After racing through rush hour traffic for over an hour, we arrived at the appointment and asked for "permission" to go to another USCIS office to be fingerprinted again. They gave us the letters we needed, and we proceeded to the other office in Aurora, waited in 3 more lines, filled out more forms, and were fingerprinted again.

I asked the fingerprint technician, "How do my fingerprints expire? Aren't fingerprints forever?" She explained that the USCIS discards peoples' files after 15 months if there hasn't been any criminal activity in the file. Hmmmmm. Don't most international adoptions take more than 15 months? Throughout this complicated adoption process I've wondered how it could be streamlined. It's not like solving global warming, but fixing this would be a good start!

Tick Tock Tick Tock

Yes, we're still waiting. The SDA has had our dossier for 14 business days, but who's counting? They have 20 business days to either accept or reject it. But sometimes they only take 5 days, and sometimes they take 40 days, so there really isn't anything special about the 20 day marker. But we're hoping to hear something soon.



The dossier of a new friend, Aimee, was submitted to the SDA on August 21st, 5 days before our dossier was submitted. On Tuesday they received notice that their SDA appointment date is September 24th. Yes, that is two weeks notice. Yikes!! It sure would be nice to travel before the weather gets too cold.



Tanya and Luba's new parents are in Kiev now, and tomorrow they have their SDA appointment to request permission to adopt the girls. Please pray for Joy and Ken to have a successful, uneventful appointment. You can track their adoption progress via their blog - see the link in the right margin of our blog. It's titled "Rae Family Adoption."

Life in the slow lane

Things have slowed down for Heidi and me here at Internat Longmont. It's a bit surreal! Gone are the sounds of kids running through the house and the sounds of doors slamming. We are enjoying the respite and change of pace as we await word on whether or not our dossier will be accepted by the SDA. For those of you not "in the know" about the process, the SDA has 20 days to accept or reject the dossier. We hired a very smart lady who knows what the SDA likes, so chances are, we will be accepted. Of course, waiting for word from the SDA can be agonizing.

We have talked with Zina twice this month. She is back from summer camp and in school at the internat. She is fine and missed us tremendously. She told us that Rimma is back from the sanatorium. She is doing well and will not have to return. Both girls are reunited and curious about their "documents", which means, their registration. Karen Springs did a good job this summer explaining to Zina that we have no control over her documents, that it is all up to her director now. Please pray for R & Z's hurried registration. Once registered, they still have to wait for a year for international adoption by us.

Our UOO camp was featured in our local paper, The Longmont Times Call, this Sunday. Check out the story at http://www.timescall.com/communityTC/news-story.asp?ID=11138
Make sure you check out their slide show, too: http://www.timescall.com/multimedia/20080907_UKRAINE/ The photos will melt your heart!

Meanwhile, Heidi and I went on a mini-vacation to Ouray, Silverton, and Telluride Colorado this weekend. We left Thursday after work and stayed until Sunday at a little Bed & Breakfast in Ouray, Colorado. The highlight of the trip for me was renting a Jeep and 4-wheeling over Imogene Pass. We took this picture at the summit, just a tad over 13,000 feet.