Dossier Submitted

We heard this morning that our dossier was submitted yesterday (10/27).  By "normal" times that puts our appointment around Dec 8th.  We are praying that we can get earlier so we have the possibility of completing the adoption this year and getting the kids home before the new year.

Photos from Richmond Trip

Well ... Brian pretty much summed up our trip to Richmond. I don't have really anything to add, but I wanted to post a few photos for those who aren't following us on Facebook. If you want to see more photos, the entire album is here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=92687&id=1276629484

Brian on the steps to the capitol building

The famous Washington statue on the grounds of the capitol building.
This is seen in many photographs of tourist places to visit.

Me inside the capitol building visitor's center while
we wait for our documents.

Me by the Virginia State Seal just before we left the Patric Henry Building
after getting our documents apostilled! As you can see by the big grin,
we are very happy to be done!

Brian next to some strange artwork near the Fed Ex building!
All done and ready to go home!
Other than the 3+ hour drive each way,
we were only in Richmond for about an hour!

Call to Snezhana!

I called yesterday (Thursday) but was told she was not at school. Today I talked to her and she said she was sick yesterday, but is feeling ok today. We had a really good call for about 15 minutes (longest call we've had).


She was in good spirits and asked me to send her boots. I also asked if she needed socks or sweaters and she said she needed both. I guess we'll be sending a much larger package next week as I'm guessing that Denis needs boots, socks, and sweaters, too! :)

I asked about one of her friends whose host family I communicate with and
she said she was good. She inquired about her friend's host family and I said
they were good as well.

She didn't have any more info about Denis, just that he was good and was
playing.

I asked what nicknames her friends call her, but I had to explain
nicknames ... like Oleksander's nickname is Sasha. She still said
Snezhana! I told her that Papa thinks we should call her Snickers -
she laughed and said YES! I asked if I should send
Snickers bars in her boots ... she laughed again and said YES!
I asked if she likes "Sneza" - that's what I call her in our letters -
and she also said YES! So, Snickers or Sneza it is! :)

I told her I have a friend who speaks Russian who is going to give me
Russian lessons starting Saturday! She seemed pleased.

She asked to say HI to everyone here, but the kids were
at school with Donuts with Dad. So, she told me to just tell
everyone HI for her!

I think I'll be calling weekly from here on out!

Dossier sent to Ukraine

It really started with our trip to Richmond yesterday.  We left at 5:30a, submitted the documents at 9:15a, and were told they would be ready in 30minutes.  I had just semi-joked with Melissa about what we were going to do if it only took 30minutes.  We had expected to be there all day so that was nice.  We grew up in California so we spent some time wandering around the Virginia Capital.  By 11am we were headed home after mailing the dossier from FedEx to our agent in Georgia (USA).

The dossier is a large set of documents that are hard to get, must be signed by someone in authority, notarized, and then apostiled.  When the FedEx person asked how much they were worth I had to think for a second on how to respond.  That was the culmination of all the work we and others have been doing for the last several months.  So now we will hear when the translated version gets submitted to the SDA (early next week?), when the SDA approves, and then for our SDA appointment.

We spent the rest of the day yesterday resting and going out to Bonefish... probably our first formal date in 7 months.  It was nice.

Tonight it was sent out from Georgia to Ukraine to be translated.

So current "best" case scenario... we get an appointment around December 6th.  Considering how God has moved this stuff along at such an accelerated pace, blowing open doors, I'm going to expect a miracle for the 24th of November.

Major Scare Today!

So, our I71H letter arrived today at 3:30pm - YIPPIE! Oh, wait! OH NOOOOO! Mary M Macy??? Who is that - certainly not me! GRRR how did they get my name wrong, of all things???!!!

So ... call the agent because it's only 2:30pm her time ... leave a message ... have hubby email her ... no response ... wait 30 minutes and then call again and give my sob story to the person who answers the phone ... get transfered to a supervisor ... very nice man to whom I also gave my sob story. He said he would get an agent on it right away and FAX us the corrected approval letter and then Fed Ex it to us!

We get the fax about 30 minutes later and head off to the bank (which we thought closed in 15 minutes) to get it notarized. Well, we forgot to include the signature information for the notary, so she just signed it, dated it and wrote something about the state and county. Not sure if that's going to work and we know how picky our agent is about forms ... so we run home and re-do the form to include the right signature information ... call the bank ... oh good, open until 6:00pm! :) Run back over to the bank and get the notary signature again! Apparently as bank members there is no charge!

WHEPH! Glad to have that all over with.

So, now we have everything we need to head off to Richmond on Monday (4 hours each way on a good day) to get the apostilling done. We will Fed Ex it to our agent in GA the same day for early am delivery on Tuesday ... with the hopes that she will get it out to UKR on Tuesday afternoon for Friday delivery! If this all goes "as planned" we hope to have dossier submitted to SDA early the next week!

USCIS case worker confirmed approval

We got email and phone confirmation today that our USCIS approval was "in the mail".  We sent a FedEx reply label so I'll be refreshing that tracking information every 30seconds :)  Depending on whether or not it made the truck today, it will be here tomorrow or the next.  God is good!

I must admit I got a bit choked up in the car when Melissa told me... according to the USCIS the national average for an I-600A is 3.3mo (target of 2.5mo) and this was done in less than 1.

So we'll be traveling down to Richmond to get it apostiled on Friday (overnighting the dossier to our agent for Saturday) or traveling on Monday for Tuesday.  4day FedEx delivery is $250 to Ukraine so it'll then be that or sending it with someone else traveling.... not sure which happens first.

More New Photos!

These photos were taken during the recent missions trip that New Horizons for Children did this past summer. This first one is of Minnie Mouse that she drew! Apparently children in this region are often very good artists. We have seen many photos of very elegant and intricate drawings and paintings and other works of art by children living in orphanages in this area.

Notice the big grin! :) She's trying so hard to contain it, but clearly could not! Smiles are rare in these children, especially the older ones. She had to be coaxed into smiling in her photos we took during the summer.

This is a shot of some of the kids the interview team got to deliver gifts and letters to from their host families back in the U.S. Many hope to be adopted in the near future or re-hosted for this coming Christmas. Snezhana is the one on this end of the photo. Two kids down is her friend, Olga, who is being re-hosted by my

friends the Pirkey family.

Here's some cute ones of our guy, Denis. He's wearing a shirt we sent him with him - could he look more like an American tourist!??! :)

Fundraising

Our Christmas Tree Fundraiser is now underway!

What better way to help orphans get home for Christmas than purchasing a Christmas tree or wreath and having the proceeds benefit a hosting or adopting family? The proceeds go to New Horizons for Children, a non-profit international orphan hosting program. (Visit them on the web at www.newhorizonsforchildren.org).

Many people purchase a new Christmas tree, tree seedlings, or fruit plants each year, so why not raise some money along the way? Order today and help support your local organization!

Families that are hosting for Christmas 2010 or are currently in the adoption process from the summer hosting program can benefit from your purchase.

6' - 7' fresh cuts trees in the variety of your choice will be delivered to your door and shipping is FREE! If you prefer a live tree, those come in several varieties as well and are perfect table top accessories for your Christmas festivities! Not interested in trees? They also have beautiful wreaths and fruit bushes as well. There's something for everyone!

Here's the link http://www.dutchmantreefarms.com/organization/NHFCVA and you should see New Horizons for Children listed as the organization. Find your friend's name on the drop down list and click next. You will be taken to the products page where you can view the trees available for sale.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me melissa@macykids.net

If you don't wish to purchase a tree, but would like to donate to help us meet our pledge of $2,500, please visit our online donation page at http://www.active.com/donate/ 2010summer/SnezanaDenis. You can read more about our summer adventures at this site and see how far we've come in donations. If you wish to donate offline, please send a check with a note to apply the funds to the Macy Family to:
NHFC

3950 Cobb Pkwy NW # 708
Acworth, GA 30101-9531

Have you ever seen a more precious face?

This is the only photo we have of their precious little sister we hope to be able to adopt as well! Her name is Violetta and she is 4 in this picture, but turned 5 in September. Isn't she just a doll??!! :) As you can see she has brown hair, unlike her siblings who have sandy blond locks!

She lives in a different location then the two we hosted, so we've never met her. It has been at least 2 years since the siblings have seen each other, so we're not sure if she will remember them or not. I really hope that big sister will be happy to see her again!

We are in a place of completely trusting God with this because we've never met this child. But, from the moment I saw her photo, I just new that she would be ours! I don't put much stock in dreams (you know, those few moments before waking up in which your subconscious plays tricks on you), but I often see her little face in those precious few moments and grasp with all my might keep them lingering when I wake up.

If God does bring her home with us, we have decided to call her the American-ized version of her name, Violet. And, since we are hoping to have her home around Christmas time, giving her the middle name of Noel (but, with the name spelling of Noelle).

If you are able to financially assist us in any way, please visit our donation page at http://www.active.com/donate/2010summer/SnezanaDenis. Any amount will help us meet our pledge of $2,500.

Thank you and God bless!

Melissa

Latest Photo

Hey everyone - so my first post! :)

Hubby has been excellent at relaying facts and a timeline! I know y'all want to see some photos and hear the mushy stuff, too! :) Here is the latest photo we have of Snezhana (who I call Sneza in our letters).

As you may or may not be able to tell, she is hiding a smile in there! :) For some reason the children don't seem to smile much in UKR. Other friends have noticed the same about their kids. When she was here we had to encourage her to smile for photos, or even tease her to get her to smile. The photos the missions team took last month (will post later) contained almost no smiles at all ... but we were told the children were happy.

We received this from friends who are currently in UKR adopting their child from the same orphanage as ours. We so appreciate them taking gifts to our kids personally. While we mail packages every week with letters, cards, photos, and small gifts, that cannot compare to the personal touch of a family from America hand delivering a package from the host or adopting family back home!

I had the privilege of speaking with Sneza on the phone the very next day and she was delighted with the gifts we sent. For only $15 at Target I was able to find a silver heart necklace, matching bracelet set with a pearl bracelet as well, and earrings to match both. For about the same price I found a sturdy boy's watch with Batman on it for our little Denis! We didn't get a photo of him and haven't had any contact with him via the phone, but I'm hoping that big sis is taking care of that for us.

A big thanks to my friend Susan for letting me write about her Olga to our Sneza ... I think it makes the girls feel more secure to know that their families are communicating back home! :)

USCIS case WOW

I had a few email exchanges with our case worker today.  Apparently nothing tells them when you get your fingerprints so they base working on the case on the fingerprint appointment date.  So I let her know we were done and were really hoping to get the adoption closed this year.  This really makes sense as to why I'm seeing many getting approvals 2 days after their scheduled fingerprint appointment.

She pulled out the case and said it looks like it is in line to be done on TUESDAY (3 business days from now).

WOW! a God thing

Call to Snezhana

We are able to call Snezhana at school and we do so every 1-2 wks.  It is really nice they let us do that.  We call and they tell us to call back in 10min.  Snezhana does well in speaking and understanding but she's obviously uncomfortable speaking english and it probably isn't helped by the fact that others are standing around mumbling in the room with her.  I said hi but Melissa is much better at chit chat and having one person to talk to is easier for Snezhana.

Snezhana said she was working on "lessons" which I assume means homework and that Denis is playing football (soccer).  She said she has been getting our packages and that the people from the US that we sent stuff with who was going to adopt did come.

We have friends communicating with kids there too so we reminded her how she can write to us and send directly or through one of her friends.  Hoping Denis might be able to draw us a picture to send too.  Next letter we should have the reply coupons.

Email from case worker

I received an email from the case worker this morning.  She'd obvious not even opened the case to even look that we had gotten our fingerprints done.  She did know our fingerprint app't was 10/20 though.  I brought her up to speed and asked about timing.

At least having a case worker is a necessary step and she's responded... so that is progress.

USCIS Case Tracking system

I spent a bunch of time trying to get the USCIS on-line case tracking system (https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/selectusertype.jsp) to actually work.  From the looks of it you can enter one of your receipt numbers and find out the status of you case as well as create an account and register the case for automatic updates.  It didn't work so I figured that the issue was just incorrect nomenclature (receipt, application receipt number, case number, etc) and it really needed the case number.

Turns out the problem is the system doesn't work at all right now... at least for the I-600A.  Too bad... would be a nice feature that would likely save USCIS from getting pestered quite as much.

Anyways, back to pestering...

Letters from Home

I do realize this blog has nearly no information in it about the kids.  My wonderful wife will eventually get to that once she has a chance to breath from running all around and working.

We got to spend time with 2 wonderful kids this summer; Snezhana (means snow) and Denis.  Snezhana is a sweet heart with a great sense of humor -- as well as being excellent at oragami and checkers.  Denis is all boy and likes to play outside and ride his trike.  We write them letters weekly with some trinkets from the dollar store.  It costs about $12 to send which was a lot cheaper than I expected and takes 5-10 days to arrive.  Snezhana speaks some english (WAY better than my Russian) so we call her every couple of weeks via Skype to say hi.

We recently discovered something called an International Reply Coupon from someone else we know sending letters.  Any member country's postal office will accept it for a letter to any other country.  Pretty much every country in the world is a member.  It's actually incredibly cheap at $2.10.  Next week we will include one and hope that we can have more two way communication that way.

Anyways, Snezhana and Denis have two siblings so we are hoping to adopt them all.  Of course nothing is certain but so far God has opened all the doors and navigated us through hard obstacles.  In Ukraine, you can't "pre-select" children and technically you can't even know for certain if the children are able to be adopted until you get to court.  So we'll keep praying... as are a many friends and family.

Home ownership documentation requirement

"4.   Home ownership/Rental Documents - A notarized copy of the document confirming ownership or rental rights of the adoptive parents for their house or apartment, indicating total and living area as well as number of bedrooms." -- from ukraine.usembassy.gov/adopt-documents.html


This was one of the hard things we had.  The agencies wanted a lot more information than this which required involving our mortgage company (balances, payments, etc).  Mortgage companies are in general large corporate giants with a strong process/legal focus which made them pretty inflexible.  They did what they could within policy but is was essentially useless... they wouldn't even include a description of the property they had give the mortgage on.


So we fell back to what we could get... which in Virginia leads us to the county tax assessor.  I found a person there that does these things and understands that foreign country requirements can be very specific.  She was very happy to work with us.  We drafted up a letter to attach to an official assessor report since the report needs some explaining around square footage to match what Ukraine is looking for... a little back/forth and the ok from the adoption agencies and we look like we are all set.

USCIS Fingerprinting

I see lots of discussion about USCIS fingerprinting appointments.  Ours was scheduled for 3.5wks after getting the letter and we were rather disappointed in having such a simple TODO take nearly a month to complete.

After talking with folks and searching google, it became apparent that some (most?) USCIS fingerprinting offices accept "walk ins" as long as you have the fingerprint appointment letter.  They have to scan in the code block on the letter so there is no getting around that. We got our letter 2wks after sending in our I-600A.

2 days after getting the appointment letter we decided to give a walk-in appointment a try.  The USCIS office is 1.5hrs away.  We went in around 11a and there were only 2 other people in the office.  It took us just minutes to fill out the paperwork and the USCIS staff was literally waiting next to the front desk to get it done -- can't say I've seen that kind of service at a gov't office before.  The entire thing took 10minutes.

It does take 1-2 days before the fingerprints show up in the system.  I do recommend calling the number on the form and making sure they got properly connected with your case.  In our case we still don't have a case worker assigned so that is still the long pole but we at least have our TODO done so they will be able to work the case completely as soon as they start -- no waiting on us.

Waiting for I-600A approval

I decided to start a blog on our adoption after searching google looking for information and finding others' Ukraine adoption blogs being very helpful.

Current status is that we expect to have our dossier complete this week waiting on the I-600A approval to come through.