Progress!

Last night we got an email from the Indian consulate that the visa application was approved and it is being shipped back via FedEx for delivery on Monday, June 30. We have a hold on a travel itinerary having them leave the US on July 8th and returning on the 19th. We are waiting to hear from the children's home approving it and then we'll book.

We still don't have any updates on her size BUT the director of the orphanage said that "she is very excited that her Daddy is coming to get her." I wonder if she could possibly have any idea how excited WE are to be bringing her home.

Due Date

I just received an email that our daughter will be free to travel on July 14, 2008.

We have visa applications pending people!

Timeline (moving target)

When you adopt you never REALLY have a firm date for anything until you get to that date. So while our timeframe is still within the 4-6 weeks, it is now looking more like the 6 weeks...

The Court Order should be received by the agency in India in a week and then they apply for her passport. That processing takes about 35 days. That puts us at approximately August 5th. From there we make travel arrangements and you are looking at maybe the 2nd or 3rd week of August. Of course, the processing could go quicker and travel is the last week of July or the first week of August.

I asked if we can pay an additional fee to have the passport application processing expedited. Haven't heard back yet...

Birthday Gift from God

Last night a friend asked me "any news on Mimi?" I said, "I keep praying that God have her pass court when it reopens on her birthday tomorrow but I know that kind of stuff only happens in the movies, so...." Well, God reminded me that He is the Director of our lives and so it should come as no surprise that He ordained it such that WE PASSED COURT ON HER BIRTHDAY!

We got the word at noon today. She is officially cleared and ready for take-off... they are obtaining her passport and then she comes home. We don't have a date yet but it will be within the month.

I am humbled by God's amazing love for me, to hear my prayers and to answer them SO specifically and to show Himself to me like this.

I am thankful and so SO happy!

I AM THE MOTHER OF TWO CHILDREN... TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN!!!!!!!

The Pause Button

The Court session has ended for the day in India and with that their month long summer vacation begins and our hopes for bringing our daughter home has been paused.

This last leg of the process has been difficult for me. Maybe it is because I am accustomed to being in the know about upcoming dates and deadlines and that just has not been the case with this adoption. Maybe it is because my heart breaks each time our son says "when Mimi come home?"

Maybe it's because our home suddently feels very empty without her. Even though she has not been in her actual home where we live yet she has been in our hearts and we all know that home is where the heart and so in that sense I guess she kinda is home, which makes it hurt all the more that we cannot hug her.

No news is good news?

So I just talked to my agency and was told that all they know is that our case has been before the court's scrutiny body that reviews adoption papers before it goes before a judge since January 2008, which is right about 3 1/2 months from when we received our NOC (and were initially told that we should pass court in 2-3 months (with no guarantee, of course)).

The courts close in 16 days from today for a month and that makes all the difference of our daughter coming home in the summer or the fall, or later still (GASP)!

This is a very different experience for us than our Ethiopian adoption as we were always told upcoming dates which allowed for some understanding of where we were in the process and how long before we began the run toward the next hurdle.

The caseworker tried to make me feel better by saying that pregnancies take 9 months so at 6 months waiting I'm doing okay. I responded "but at least with a pregnancy you have a due date."

Resignation...

I thought that those of you who dutifully visit this blog deserved an update... even if that update were just to share my pity-party. I am having a very difficult time waiting for a court date and I am kicking myself for my naivete in thinking that since I've done this already (adopt) I would be uber-cool and collected this go-round. I am at that point where I feel like if I hit refresh one more time I am going to break the computer, or have a breakdown, or both.

I have been buying clothes for Mimi ... well, dresses. My hubby has recently put a dress moratorium in effect as he feels that she might just want to do something other than sit around looking precious like, say, play ... in shorts and stuff. I agree but dresses for little girls are so. darn. cute! But I will now focus on shorts and t-shirts. Cute ones, though. I still reserve the right to purchase any and all must-have dresses. :)

We also (finally) decided on bedding for her room, opting to go for simplicity so there are no limits to decorating the room. We bought Hilfiger bedding in a soft pink argyle design with yellow and blue trim colors. I'll post pictures once it arrives and her bed is made.

... and then I will be found sitting on the edge of her bed, holding my breathe waiting for her to come home and lay her sweet head upon it.

Lord, please may that day come soon.

Vacation Time

The High Court that will be hearing our case (if we are ever assigned a judge) is scheduled to close for its summer holiday from May 17, 2008 through June 20, 2008.

Do you think we have a chance of having our court date before they close for the summer?

Refresh

For those who check in here regularly -- there are no updates. I hit my refresh button every minute and a half to see if I have an email from the agency but still no word on a court date or any other updates to share.

I am well-versed in the adoption process enough to respect that our agency is working VERY hard on our case (and the cases of other families who have been waiting a really long time). Because of that I have deliberately not called or emailed for an update (yet) but remain hopeful that we (and other families) hear something soon.

We were told we'd hear about a court date "sometime in February" so we have another 10 days. If we weren't in a leap year, we would only be waiting for 9. ;o(

One giant step forward...

We received word today that CARA has issued the NOC. They are waiting to assign a judge to hear our case in family court and they think this will happen sometime in February and then the court date will be calendared. Once the court date happens we will get the travel invitation to bring our daughter home! They are estimating that she will be coming home in 4-5 months from today (May-June).

An Update (kinda, sorta...)

I emailed AIAA for an update (even knowing that they are so awesome they would have told me already if there was any). Nevertheless my sleuthing got this additional information:

Our dossier was actually not received in India until Tuesday, November 20th. This means CARA likely got it the end of that week (November 23rd) or the first of the following week (November 26th).

I did additional research to determine when the government in India was closed during the months of November/December. I came upon a website that lists government holidays in India. Based on this calendar, CARA may have been closed on November 20th and then again from December 20th through the 25th.

Our agency also said that the NOC from CARA is typically received "2-3 months" after the dossier is submitted. Taking into consideration the holiday slowdown, I'm thinking maybe (just maybe) NOC approval for our sweet Mimi will be our Valentine's Day gift.

Merry Christmas from USCIS

We received our I-797 in the mail today. This means that the US Department of Homeland Security has cleared us to bring our daughter home into the US of A. Now we are just waiting (and praying) for the Indian government to do the same.

Get inked.

When adopting a child you and your family are submitted for evaluation by DFACS, a licensed social worker AND you also have to undergo background checks which are performed by local police, state and federal bureau agencies. Then there's the Mother of ALL background checks: The one that is conducted by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS"). This final step will get you the coveted Holy Grail of adoption documents: the I-171H (or I-797). You cannot leave home without it!
For our Ethiopian adoption we were fingerprinted on January 24, 2006 and did not get our I-171 until March 24, 2006. Brian and I were fingerprinted this morning at 9:00 a.m. for this current adoption. Word on the street is they are processing applications faster now. So, let the countdown begin....

It's out of Our hands (...and in His)

Finally! The documents have all been returned to us from various state officials and are ALL appropriately signed, notarized, certified, apostilled, organized and are now set for delivery via FedEx along with our acceptance papers for Subhalakshmi. Now our "work" is done and here's what will happen next:
Central Adoption Resource Authority ("CARA") will receive our dossier (after it is translated). They will review it and, if they have no objection to our family, CARA will issue a No Objection Certificate ("NOC") and then the Court is petitioned to issue an order of guardianship. After that, we get the invitation to travel and bring our sweet little girl home!
This process will take anywhere from 6-8 months. Please continue to pray for our family, most especially for patience during the waiting process and for the peace that comes when there is full acceptance that God is in control.