We are on our way to Minnesota and, because of an aircard (Thanks, Kim!), I was able to check our email and find that our homestudy was approved by the State of Illinois!
Next steps: send our homestudy copies to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and our adoption agency.
Our adoption agency told me that we are probably looking at a 12 month wait...after our dossier gets submitted to Poland.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
No criminals here!
I've lost track of how long we've been waiting on our background clearances. Who am I kidding? I've been counting the days: 14 weeks.
At first, it was supposed to take 4-6 weeks. At the 6 week mark, I contacted our social worker. She explained that the wait was now 2-3 months. At the 3 month mark, she contacted someone somewhere (I lose track of the acronyms) who said, "No, they aren't done. And, no, I have no idea when they will be done."
I "patiently" waited until this week before contacting our social worker again. "Is there someone I can call? We can wait, but it would be nice to know how long to expect."
She gave me a phone number.
I called Monday.
The DCFS Advocate called me back on Tuesday.
She was very nice, but our conversation went something like this: "I have no idea how long to tell you to expect to wait. I don't know what the holdup is. I don't know where the holdup is. It could be the FBI part, the state police part, etc. No, you can't call anyone else, because no one knows. And the State Police won't talk to you."
"There's nothing I can do?" I said. I tried to be assertive, yet unaggressive.
"Tell you what," she said. "When you get to the point that this is the only thing you're waiting on, give me a call back and I will see if I can make some phone calls."
Me: "Actually, that is the only thing we're waiting on." And that has been the only thing we've been waiting on for 3 months.
There were more "she said/i said" things, but the most important thing is the result which was...
A PHONE CALL TODAY FROM HER THAT SAID OUR CLEARANCES HAVE BEEN ENTERED INTO THE SYSTEM (today) and that our agency would get it sometime soon. She did not, however, tell me exactly what "soon" meant.
So I emailed our social worker and she said she will be looking for the clearances. Incidentally, our clearance were, well, clear :).
We're new at all this stuff, but I think that our homestudy (along with precious clearances) goes to the State of Illinois for approval. Then it goes to our adoption agency for approval (although that shouldn't take long as they've already seen it once). Sometime in there, we submit our I-800A form. Fortunately, it's mostly completed and documentation for that was gathered months ago.
We like progress, and this is a big step.
At first, it was supposed to take 4-6 weeks. At the 6 week mark, I contacted our social worker. She explained that the wait was now 2-3 months. At the 3 month mark, she contacted someone somewhere (I lose track of the acronyms) who said, "No, they aren't done. And, no, I have no idea when they will be done."
I "patiently" waited until this week before contacting our social worker again. "Is there someone I can call? We can wait, but it would be nice to know how long to expect."
She gave me a phone number.
I called Monday.
The DCFS Advocate called me back on Tuesday.
She was very nice, but our conversation went something like this: "I have no idea how long to tell you to expect to wait. I don't know what the holdup is. I don't know where the holdup is. It could be the FBI part, the state police part, etc. No, you can't call anyone else, because no one knows. And the State Police won't talk to you."
"There's nothing I can do?" I said. I tried to be assertive, yet unaggressive.
"Tell you what," she said. "When you get to the point that this is the only thing you're waiting on, give me a call back and I will see if I can make some phone calls."
Me: "Actually, that is the only thing we're waiting on." And that has been the only thing we've been waiting on for 3 months.
There were more "she said/i said" things, but the most important thing is the result which was...
A PHONE CALL TODAY FROM HER THAT SAID OUR CLEARANCES HAVE BEEN ENTERED INTO THE SYSTEM (today) and that our agency would get it sometime soon. She did not, however, tell me exactly what "soon" meant.
So I emailed our social worker and she said she will be looking for the clearances. Incidentally, our clearance were, well, clear :).
We're new at all this stuff, but I think that our homestudy (along with precious clearances) goes to the State of Illinois for approval. Then it goes to our adoption agency for approval (although that shouldn't take long as they've already seen it once). Sometime in there, we submit our I-800A form. Fortunately, it's mostly completed and documentation for that was gathered months ago.
We like progress, and this is a big step.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Dzien dobry
Bryan and I are trying to learn a few words of Polish...and let me tell you, it's hard.
I wish you could listen to us stumbling over the Polish words.
Egg. Jajko. Sandwich. Kanapka. The odd-lettered words that I can't type.
"Dzie" sounds like "J".
Yes, Polish is hard.
Reminds me of a talk I heard recently. A college president was speaking to us, and he believes that everyone under the right circumstances can learn anything. He was telling someone that. And that person said, "I don't believe you."
"I have been trying to learn German for years. I have taken classes, I have spent hours in study, I have gone to Germany. But I can't learn German!"
"Well," said the college president, "then it's a good thing you weren't born in Germany."
It's a good thing I was born in the U.S. and not Poland, eh?
I wish you could listen to us stumbling over the Polish words.
Egg. Jajko. Sandwich. Kanapka. The odd-lettered words that I can't type.
"Dzie" sounds like "J".
Yes, Polish is hard.
Reminds me of a talk I heard recently. A college president was speaking to us, and he believes that everyone under the right circumstances can learn anything. He was telling someone that. And that person said, "I don't believe you."
"I have been trying to learn German for years. I have taken classes, I have spent hours in study, I have gone to Germany. But I can't learn German!"
"Well," said the college president, "then it's a good thing you weren't born in Germany."
It's a good thing I was born in the U.S. and not Poland, eh?
Monday, June 13, 2011
Loving a Child
Last night, we went to the birthday party of my one-year-old nephew. First of all, he is the first baby in my family for 4.5 years. And we love our nephews. Several people have watched my family fight over him and said, "There isn't enough of him to go around."
Yes, we love him and his cousins.
As I read the scrapbook his mother made, read his birthday cards, and watched him being cuddled and snuggled and tossed up into the air, it made me sad for the children who don't have this.
What about the 143,000,000 million orphans in our world? Some don't have enough food, clothing, shelter, safety, and love.
What are you going to do about it?
Yes, we love him and his cousins.
As I read the scrapbook his mother made, read his birthday cards, and watched him being cuddled and snuggled and tossed up into the air, it made me sad for the children who don't have this.
What about the 143,000,000 million orphans in our world? Some don't have enough food, clothing, shelter, safety, and love.
What are you going to do about it?
Adoption Contemplation
Before I (Lisa) got married, I thought that adoption might be part of my life. Sometime. Then, we were married, and through some challenging things, conception of biological children looked unlikely. Yet, both of us were happy and content.
I strongly felt that I should not concentrate on what we didn't have, but what we did have. Instead, I wanted to trust God to refine us in whatever way He wanted to. Then, I heard something that gave me such courage. A woman who struggled with infertility for eleven years said this: "If there had been any other way for God to make me who He wanted me to be, He would have done it. For some reason, infertility was necessary in my life. And God knew how painful and how hard it was, but I trust Him with my life."
Through the years, we talked about adoption periodically, but we weren't ready to start. Someday, I will explain what made me pick up the phone and call.
In March, 2011, I called The Baby Fold and found they do adoptive parent training every 2-3 months. Due to an upcoming surgery, we declined that spot, but called in April to get into the May 23rd training. Our social worker, Lara, came out to our house on May 2 with a mountain of paperwork. On May 23rd, we were sufficiently overwhelmed with more paperwork.
I am convinced that adoption is necessary when I hear stories of abandonment, poverty and abuse. I understand that true religion is visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction. I know that institutionalization, children growing up without parents, and living in an environment without love or nurturing is not the best way to grow servants for the King.
But this adoption decision has not been an easy one.
I strongly felt that I should not concentrate on what we didn't have, but what we did have. Instead, I wanted to trust God to refine us in whatever way He wanted to. Then, I heard something that gave me such courage. A woman who struggled with infertility for eleven years said this: "If there had been any other way for God to make me who He wanted me to be, He would have done it. For some reason, infertility was necessary in my life. And God knew how painful and how hard it was, but I trust Him with my life."
Through the years, we talked about adoption periodically, but we weren't ready to start. Someday, I will explain what made me pick up the phone and call.
In March, 2011, I called The Baby Fold and found they do adoptive parent training every 2-3 months. Due to an upcoming surgery, we declined that spot, but called in April to get into the May 23rd training. Our social worker, Lara, came out to our house on May 2 with a mountain of paperwork. On May 23rd, we were sufficiently overwhelmed with more paperwork.
I am convinced that adoption is necessary when I hear stories of abandonment, poverty and abuse. I understand that true religion is visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction. I know that institutionalization, children growing up without parents, and living in an environment without love or nurturing is not the best way to grow servants for the King.
But this adoption decision has not been an easy one.
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