I600A - Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition

So my I600A application should be delivered to the USCIS on Friday 4/1/11.  It seems funny that I never gave the United States Immigration office a second thought before this...now I'm wondering how many people must work there!  Once our home study is complete, I will send that in and they will send me the coveted I171-H.  :)

Pitures of the house.

We have to take 12 pictures of us in our home.  I need to get 2 more.  Do you think this one would work?  Jaxon playing Super Hero!

The Russian Blacklist

So we started working with our home study agency in January.  We paid our application fee, met with social worker to get the instructions for collecting the paperwork, took 2 online courses and an all day adoption seminar (which was great by the way).  We are about 4 days away from turning everything in and our agency says BTW we are on the Russian blacklist.  Now don't get me wrong I checked the list before I chose them but apparently the list was updated in January and they are on the newest list.  So they referred us to a new agency which has been VERY cooperative but we have to completely redo our autobiographies.  Would it really be a true Russian adoption without a few set backs??? NO!  So here are the new questions.

Description of Childhood

Where were you born?

Where did you grow up?

Where have you lived?

What were some pleasant and unpleasant experiences?

What were significant events?

What was your relationship to family members (parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.)?

Talk about your school adjustment and behavior.

What was your involvement in church?

DESCRIPTION OF ADOLESCENT YEARS

Describe places where you lived.

Recount pleasant and unpleasant experiences.

Describe school adjustment and experiences.

What were your interests and activities?

Describe your relationship with peers.

Describe your relationship to family members.

What were your dating experiences?

Describe your attitude toward Christianity.

Did you rebel during adolescence? Blossom? Etc.?

How old were you when you left home?  Where did you go?  What did you do?

DESCRIPTION OF PARENTS

Describe their personalities.

Describe their marital relationship.

Describe their methods of child rearing/discipline.

Describe how they showed affection and approval.

What were/are their interests?

What were/are their religious views?

What job(s) did they have while you were growing up?

DESCRIPTION OF SELF

What are the significant events which had a great impact on your life?

Who are the people who had/have the most influence on you?

How would you describe your personality?

What are you interests?

How do you handle emotions in your life (anger, anxiety, depression, excitement)

What does your Christian faith mean to you?

Describe the role friends play in your life.

What personal goals have you set for yourself?

What are your goals for your family?

MARITAL RELATIONSHIP

How did you meet your spouse?

What was the nature of your relationship prior to marriage?

How do yo define your role as husband/wife?

What are your common interests?

How do you handle disagreements/problems?

How are decisions made?

What are the areas of most conflict and disagreement?

How do you express appreciation to one another?

If you were previously married, describe that relationship.  Why did you marry?  What contributed to the termination of the marriage?  What did you learn from this experience?

PARENTING

How would you define your expected role as a parent?

Describe your view on child rearing.

Describe your views on discipline.

What experiences have you had with children?

Kelly's Kids

 Seriously I can not wait to have a little girl.  This store makes me want to have a couple of more!  Check it out...http://www.kellyskids.com/

Mobile fingerprinting - Who knew???

So I started calling around to figure out where to go to get our fingerprints done.  When I called the police station they said their machine was broken so they referred me to the Mobile Fingerprinting service.  I called them and the lady was at my house within the hour and the cost was only $15 per print.  Talk about easy!!

Mo-Kan Mobile Fingerprinting LLC
913-660-6974
http://www.mokanfingerprint.com/

We have officially started this process.

On Monday I mailed in our signed contracts.  Our Agency said that they complete between 70 and 100 adoptions per year in Russia.  There are approximately 15 people waiting for little girls in front of us.  Hopefully I can get rolling on this paper work and get our "wait" officially started.  They have indicated that the number of adoptions have decreased due to more Russians adopting the children themselves.  So with the hopes that things go well, we should be getting a referral sometime between Christmas and St Patricks day next year!  Wow...seems right around the corner doesn't it.

It's little pictures like this one that get me excited.