Adoption is Simple, NOT

So, I simply think I can send everything off and voila, off to China. NO. I e-mail Xiaoqing at BAAS to let her know I am ready to send my dossier to her and to find out how much the SF Chinese consulate charges for authentication. Xiaoquing sends me back a 10 item set of instructions. I should know that when I think something is going to happen soon, it turns out to take longer.

I was told at the beginning of this process that it requires patience, diligence, and money. Sure, that's easy, before really understanding the emotional toll. Especially, because John hasn't really been 100% on board until after our preapproval of Thomas. It's understandable because it's frightening to become a parent of a two year old who can't speak English and will have physical and emotional needs. At each point in the process, I gave John the opportunity to put a stop to it all. After the preapproval, in my mind, it's seeing this through until Thomas is home.

Authentication

Monday, we met with Cindy and she notarized our documents, application letter, employment verifications, medical reports, personal financial statement, police letters, homestudy and immigration approval. These plus our birth certificates and marriage certificate now have to go to the California Secretary of State. There they will make sure that the notary seals and county recorder seals are authentic. I called the California Secretary of State on Monday to make sure I understood the fees and due to budget cuts there isn't anyone available to answer the phone. I called my Dad, and asked if he would walk everything in if I mailed everything to him overnight. He said yes and agreed to pay the fees too. Off I went to Fed Ex. Hopefully, later today I will get a call from my Dad saying everything is authentic and mail it all back to me. Then, I will assemble my complete dossier and mail it to BAAS. They will take the same documents that the Secretary of State authenticated and take them to the SF Chinese consulate to be authenticated again. By next Friday, my dossier should be off to China.

Immigration Approval

So, Monday the 28th of March John and I dove to Santa Rosa and back, the same day, and got our fingerprints done for US Immigration. Luckily, our appointment was before the huge slide that blocked US 101. We got there a little early and they got us checked in and fingerprinted lickity-split and then we went to lunch at Russian River Brewery before getting back on the road.

Yesterday, we received our I-797 in the mail approving us as eligible to adopt from a Hague Country, in this case China. So, now I have to take our documents to Cindy and have her notarize everything. I'm still not clear on what needs to be sent to the California Secretary of State for Authentication and how long that will take, but once that is done we can send everything to BAAS and they will take it to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco and then mail it to China! Hopefully, I can get this done tomorrow or Friday morning as I have so many work commitments this week already. When it rains it pours.