Just when we thought everything was going the way it should be - we get another jolt back to the reality that this is not our plan!
The SDA has closed down for 2 weeks. They are scheduled to reopen on July 8 and our dossier is now to be submitted on July 11. Of course, that has been the rumored date of the official shut down of the SDA to transfer the authority to another agency. We were told today that this is still just a rumored date and our facilitator was assured that the office would be open on the 11th for him to submit for us.
However, we are still very unsure of a travel date since the transfer of offices has to occur at some point and could very well happen before we are invited to travel. The frustration of all of this news came together today. We are sad that our thoughts of being reunited with Ana soon seem to be so far out of reach again. We are angry at a system that makes no sense to us and seems to run by the seat of its pants. We are frustrated that OUR PLAN of bringing Ana home during the summer when at least I am off and she can have some time to adjust to family life, learn more English and just enjoy each other, rather than in the midst of a crazy, school is starting again, activities are in full swing Raabe house seems to not be HIS PLAN.
Please pray that we can feel some peace in this process. I have decided this afternoon that I need to use the time that has been given to me to do more to prepare for Ana. We have not done much with the room or other items that need to be taken care of when she becomes part of our family. It, also, wouldn't hurt any of us to have more time to learn some Russian phrases that would be helpful in country and at home with Ana. I have used this day to feel sorry for us and even cry with heartbreak at the amount of time we still have to wait but, as I have learned, through this process since last September, no matter how much I think I have figured out how this is supposed to happen, there is only one plan that matters. I just have trouble realizing it sometimes!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
On Its Way!
The past three days have been somewhat of a whirlwind. Our "Golden Ticket" came in the mail on Wednesday. Jim spent Thursday preparing the rest of the paperwork and MB, her friend, Gina and I went to Harrisburg yesterday. It took an hour and a half to have it all apostiled but it felt so good to have all that paperwork in my hands with those shiny gold seals!
Jim is at the post office right now putting it all in the mail to Fla. Our agency director is leaving for Ukraine this week and will be hand delivering our dossier. We are hoping to hear about a date the week of the 20th. There a couple of ways this could happen.
The best possible: because we sent in those initial papers in April asking to adopt Ana and a waiver of the submission date, Ukraine could approve us the same day and say we could come whenever we want. She said she has seen this happen in similar situations. Especially with kids Ana's age.
The most probable way it will happen is that we will wait to get a date from SDA which will, most likely, be in July.
The event we don't want: There are many rumors about the SDA closing to reorganize. However, there has been no official announcement of this yet. This is why we wanted to be in by mid June - that was the rumored closing time. We are hoping that we are ahead of the date (whatever it is!)
Some more good news - a phone call to Ukraine! We did not get to talk to Ana because the camp they were supposed to leave for on Friday started early. All the kids in the orphanage go to this 3 week camp in June. We did get to talk to the director and she was very excited that we were coming. She said , through our friend Liliya, that Ana (Nastia as they call her there) talks about us often and is waiting impatiently for us to get there. She also assured us that she would get word to Ana that her family called. This was a huge relief for us. With the issues we have been having we were afraid of outside interference but it seems like everything is good with the director and she is happy for Ana.
As stressful as the past couple months have been, I am starting to think that the just waiting might be the hardest part!
Jim is at the post office right now putting it all in the mail to Fla. Our agency director is leaving for Ukraine this week and will be hand delivering our dossier. We are hoping to hear about a date the week of the 20th. There a couple of ways this could happen.
The best possible: because we sent in those initial papers in April asking to adopt Ana and a waiver of the submission date, Ukraine could approve us the same day and say we could come whenever we want. She said she has seen this happen in similar situations. Especially with kids Ana's age.
The most probable way it will happen is that we will wait to get a date from SDA which will, most likely, be in July.
The event we don't want: There are many rumors about the SDA closing to reorganize. However, there has been no official announcement of this yet. This is why we wanted to be in by mid June - that was the rumored closing time. We are hoping that we are ahead of the date (whatever it is!)
Some more good news - a phone call to Ukraine! We did not get to talk to Ana because the camp they were supposed to leave for on Friday started early. All the kids in the orphanage go to this 3 week camp in June. We did get to talk to the director and she was very excited that we were coming. She said , through our friend Liliya, that Ana (Nastia as they call her there) talks about us often and is waiting impatiently for us to get there. She also assured us that she would get word to Ana that her family called. This was a huge relief for us. With the issues we have been having we were afraid of outside interference but it seems like everything is good with the director and she is happy for Ana.
As stressful as the past couple months have been, I am starting to think that the just waiting might be the hardest part!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Better Week
So, this week seems like it will be better than the way the past couple of weeks have gone. Our "Golden Ticket" is in the mail! I was hoping to see it when I got home today but maybe tomorrow. The paperwork fiasco seems to be winding down and we can see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel again. Thank goodness. We were starting to feel extremely discouraged that we could not get the forms done as fast as we would have liked.
Also, I heard from a friend today that the mid June deadline, before Ukraine switches the agency it uses for adoption, will be pushed back. This is wonderful news for us since it gives us a little more time to get everything there before they close to reorganize. With our INS form on the way, we should be in good shape! Of course, we now need to get everything to Dept of State in Harrisburg before it is sent to Ukraine. However, most of our docs have already been sent to our facilitator who is translating them as he gets them. This way, when the official paperwork gets there, it is ready to be submitted!
Also, on the Kyle front - he went to school today! It has been a fine line on how much we push him to get back into the swing of things - as much as he can get back with the thoughts of another surgery looming after this recovery. But, going back to school was the best thing for him. He was in a much better mood the rest of the day, although exhausted from using the crutches all day. Much better than sitting on the couch!
We met with the ESL teacher that will work with Ana. I feel better about what Ana will be doing in school after talking with her. She gave us lots of stuff to work on over the summer and they seem to be well prepared for ESL for next year. I think Ana will really like her. Plus, we made sure that she would be able to get chorus in her schedule since she loves to sing. It will be good for her to have something that she feels confident about during the day when everything else, I am sure, will seem so overwhelming. Ana will have ESL for 3 periods of her day and attend a regular Science and Math class. We are excited for her to start on this new venture and can't wait to find out what kinds of subjects and activities she will be most interested in.
Also, I heard from a friend today that the mid June deadline, before Ukraine switches the agency it uses for adoption, will be pushed back. This is wonderful news for us since it gives us a little more time to get everything there before they close to reorganize. With our INS form on the way, we should be in good shape! Of course, we now need to get everything to Dept of State in Harrisburg before it is sent to Ukraine. However, most of our docs have already been sent to our facilitator who is translating them as he gets them. This way, when the official paperwork gets there, it is ready to be submitted!
Also, on the Kyle front - he went to school today! It has been a fine line on how much we push him to get back into the swing of things - as much as he can get back with the thoughts of another surgery looming after this recovery. But, going back to school was the best thing for him. He was in a much better mood the rest of the day, although exhausted from using the crutches all day. Much better than sitting on the couch!
We met with the ESL teacher that will work with Ana. I feel better about what Ana will be doing in school after talking with her. She gave us lots of stuff to work on over the summer and they seem to be well prepared for ESL for next year. I think Ana will really like her. Plus, we made sure that she would be able to get chorus in her schedule since she loves to sing. It will be good for her to have something that she feels confident about during the day when everything else, I am sure, will seem so overwhelming. Ana will have ESL for 3 periods of her day and attend a regular Science and Math class. We are excited for her to start on this new venture and can't wait to find out what kinds of subjects and activities she will be most interested in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)