I can't believe I've forgotten to update our blog in almost a month! BEWARE - this is a long post.
Let's see... since the last time I've written we've had some more changes.
On Feb. 1, we received word from WPA that some more documents and requirements have changed and we needed to update a few things. Now, mind you, our dossier (big bunch of paperwork) has already been send off to have all the official work done on it so all the new stuff will have to be handcarried with us when we travel to Kazakhstan. We had to get a copy of our INS (immigration) approval form notarized, country authenticated and apostilled.
We had to write a letter inviting our child to come live in the US with us and we also had to get that notarized, county authenticated and apostilled.
And, lastly, we had to write a power of attorney letter for our agency's lawyer to move our dossier from the MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs?) to the local region we will be traveling to. And, you guessed it! That also had to be notarized, county authenticated and apostilled.
In case you aren't sure what all that means (and I don't remember if I've explained this on here yet or not) here's what happens to a document that has to go into our dossier (huge stack of official adoption paperwork). First, as an adoptive parent, there is a ton of paperwork to complete and the bulk of it is very personal stuff that your mom and dad probably told you not to share with strangers... social security numbers, bank balances, annual salary, balance on car and house loans and credit cards, etc., etc. We have collected and filled out all sorts of paperwork and just when we thought we were done, we were asked to do some more!
In most cases, once you have completed your paperwork, you have to get it notarized. In other words, you have to sign the paper in front of a notary, they sign and date it, stamp it with their official notary stamp and write on the paper what county and state they represent. The notary is basically there to verify that you are who you say you are. If they don't know you, they will ask to see your license or other ID. Then, the document has to be taken to the County Clerk of Courts for county authentication who verifies that the notary is official and their license is still good. The County Clerk of Courts will add a sheet of paper to verify that they looked up the information, they sign their form and attach it to the notarized document. THEN, as if that wasn't enough verification, the document has to be apostilled (ap-post-teeled) and goes to the Secretary of State who has to look up the County Clerk of Courts information to verify that they are who they say they are! Phew! That wore me out just thinking about it. And, of course, there is a charge for everything. We've been fortunate that we haven't had to pay for any of our notaries. But, we had to pay $1 for each document to be county authenticated and $5 for each document to be apostilled by the Secretary of State.
I met Tom at the bank on Feb. 10 after work to get stuff notarized at the bank. Then, I drove across town to the county courthouse to get everything country authenticated. I carried everything with me to Columbus on Feb. 14 and after attending a state technology conference for work, I zipped over to the Secretary of State's office to get everything apostilled. If I were to do any of this stuff again, I'd definitely hand carry things to the destinations to have all this approval stuff taken care of. If you mail them to the proper places to be authenticated it usually takes several weeks.
Aside from paperwork, we've also been busy registering at Babies 'R Us (that's how we spent our Valentine's Day!) and we've been working on getting the nursery ready for Emily. The walls have been painted and the floors have been sanded. I'm getting ready to do some hand sanding tonight and then we'll be ready to stain the floors and seal them. The floors haven't been sealed in who knows how long and they weren't waterproof. Not exactly a good thing for a baby that is likely to spill and spew things! ;-)
Well, as far as I know, that about sums up what we've been up to. Now for things to come...
We are planning a "Pancakes for Emily" day for Saturday, March 25. It's going to be held at All Occasions in Waldo from 8am-around 3pm. (Details are still being worked out!) We're trying to raise money for our traveling expenses - airline tickets alone are about $1,800 each! We will also have adoption fees and lodging to cover while we're in Kazakhstan. The money we make on fundraisers will be used solely for adoption-related expenses, NOT for our food, souvenirs, etc.
Our "Pancakes for Emily" day will obviously involve pancakes as well as other food items such as sausage, coffee, juice, and milk. We will have community groups provide music and entertainment throughout the day and there will also be a silent auction running throughout the day. If we can get a large item donated, we will also be doing a drawing for that item.
If you have any suggestions or want to volunteer to help us with this event, please email me at: tjhypes@yahoo.com Thanks and be blessed!
-jenni
