And Now We Wait

We received official word yesterday that our dossier was submitted as it was supposed to be. So what happens now? Well, we wait. Here is what we know:

- Today is Day 3 of what typically takes about 30 days (sometimes more). Sometime in the next month the SDA will look over our paperwork to verify that we are who we say that we are and that we are able to adopt the children that we are requesting. That is my take on it anyway.

- If all goes well with the paperwork then we will get an appointment date! In the past (for other families who have adopted) this date has been about 3 and a half to four months from when they turned their dossier in. However as far as I can tell we are one of the first families to have their dossier submitted since the SDA reopened for submission this year so I am not sure if their is a big backlog of families waiting to travel or something else that would make our appointment date pushed out a little further.

- Once we get a travel date we will start planning and preparing for our trip. There are all kinds of things we will need to take care of in order to be out of the country for at least a month, often times longer.

- The week of our appointment date we will probably plan to arrive in Kiev a couple days before our appointment just in case we have any travel delays.

- At our appointment we will likely be shown a few referrals that meet the criteria that we are requesting. (2 children, either sex, ages 6 and under, with minor correctable health problems. This is the typical language used to describe children who have minor health issues and delays that are typical of children who have been living in an orphanage.) We are actually approved for up to three children, so you never know. ;)

- After we accept a referral we will travel to wherever those children live in Ukraine to meet them and to hopefully pursue the adoption of the children.

- From there we would do all the legal paperwork and process to adopt the children. It usually takes a week or two for this and then there is almost always a ten day waiting period. Sometimes people come home during this ten day wait and sometimes they stay. It will depend on the situation, how long we have been there, etc. I may stay and Kevin may come home for the wait and then fly back. This will be something we won't decide on until we are there.

Feel free to ask any questions you have about the process. I will answer them as best I can. There is so much more to it than what I wrote, but I am trying to keep from boring you or confusing you. So that is it in a nutshell.