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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Ready to Submit!

Finally got all the documents and letters signed and notarized for the Jamaican adoption. I need to make copies of a few items then the assemblies will be complete and ready to mail to Jamaica. Two identical packets will go to Montego Bay and to Kingston. The third packet smaller packet will be sent to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). I am making sure I have copies or additional originals of everything we are mailing this week. One hurdle nearly completed after 11 months. We began the paperwork in November 2009. Once submitted to Jamaica, we pray for a child referral within 12 months. Once we approve of a referral, it could be 2 to 3 years before we bring the child home.

In the mean time, we begin our Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) parenting classes to become eligible for domestic adoption from the foster care system. in two weeks. Four days of classes mostly applicable to foster parenting. We will have our DSHS homestudy done in November then wait for a referral or look online through the foster kids from various states.

We have no idea from where our child(ren) will come nor the gender nor what they will look like or their temperaments nor do we know if the adoption will be domestic or international or possibly both with the two happening a year or two apart. There are a lot of unknowns for us. We only know: at least one child between the ages of 2 and 8.

Our counselor asks us how the "long pregnancy" is going - as she calls our long time of being expectant parents without a due date. Sometimes it gets to me; other times I am so busy with life I nearly forget we are working through the adoption process.