Merry Christmas to ALL!
Today is a good day. We can finally announce that we have a referral. We have known for 2 weeks but could not share the good news until after Christmas. We shared the good news with our families today, including the girls.
Outline of our entire process:
January 2010: This was the first officially step towards adoption.
July 2010: Completed homestudy
October 2010: Received our USCIS approval
December 2010: Mailed dossier to BG
April 2011: Registered with country of BG
Spring 2012: Homestudy update
Spring 2013: Homestudy update
Dec 2013: Official referral
February 2014: 1st Trip
May 2014: Started on 3rd home study update
May 27, 2014: Court Date
June 23, 2014: Official word he is ours!
Total time from start to referral: 4 years give or take a few days
Total time from registration to referral: 32 months
Total time from 1st Visit to Court date: 3 months
Now, for the juicy stuff!
Our son is 18 months old. He is healthy both physically and mentally. He has tons of dark brown hair and dark eyes. His skin is clear and fair and I have to say that he is well-fed ;) The photo we have is from his registration when he was 12 months old. He and I share a birthday month :)
For those who aren't aware we cannot post any photos until after he is ours (second trip)
We can't express the extent of our excitement but at the same time we feel numb. We know holding him for the first time will fix that problem. Also for those who are not aware, we will visit him for a week end of January or early February. Then we have to do the most painful thing I've ever imagined. We have to leave him there while we come back to the US and petition to adopt him. This process usually takes 3-4 months.
3-4 months of being away from him. I know I've getting ahead of myself but only to say this: Pray for us. Not knowing him was hard, leaving him for 3-4 months, seemingly impossible.
The hard part has just begun…We are willing but need prayer to get us through to the other side.
There and Back Again: The Rhoden's Bulgarian Adoption
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Fall
Fall is here.
The girls have started school and are still getting adjusted, Mia in particular. Lily is enjoying her class and is adjusting to the more rigorous expectations. Mia is having a bit of a time adjusting to the rigorous expectations. They basically have a 1st grade curriculum in Kindergarten. We are having a difficult time determining what to do. Should we send her back to Jr. K where she will actually get a Kindergarten education but accepting she might be screwed up her whole life because we essentially held her back? Should we leave her "as is" in her class, knowing she will struggle all year? Or should we move her (or them both) to another school?
Knowing what to do in this situation is impossible. The hours we've spent wondering what to do. We might just jump and hope something catches on the way down.
We lost our sweet labrador, Patton, in September. He had been sick for a while with cushings and just getting older in general (11.5) so it was a blessing when he finally told us he was ready. He was my husband's baby though so he has taken it particularly hard. He was my "step-child" and a rascal of a dog. He jumped up on people, stole food, ate bags of frozen raw chicken, pans of brownies, chewed everything, would groan when we wanted people to be quiet, and would make sure he got in bed first to steal my spot. He was the best "big brother" though. From the moment the girls were born he was protective and totally docile towards them. He will be missed. Molly was very sad for a few weeks but has now seemed to grow accustomed to being the only family pet. She seems quite content in fact.
We have had several visitors so far. My dad visited and we went to Mount Vernon, as well as several of the Smithsonian museums. Garry's mom also visited. My brother and sis-in-law will be visiting the Annapolis area next weekend so we plan to spend the day there with them. My dad will be back at the end of the month and Garry's mom in November.
I'm almost done with my first of two classes this semester. I will graduate in December after 10 years of grad school.
Garry is in the middle of mid-terms this week and next. His plate is very full.
We've made good friends and love the area. We hope to make this our permanent home eventually. Some good friends of ours have asked us to their family Thanksgiving. We've very excited to spend the holiday with new friends :)
Adoption update: We have been registered for 30 months with BG as of the 15th of this month. We are praying something comes before Christmas but won't be holding our breathe. Our HS expires in June so we will have to make some hard decisions if we have nothing by Christmas, as we will not be renewing our home study.
We pray that is not the case but have accepted that sometimes what we think is God's will is just our desires disguised in religious ornament. It is hard to know the difference.
The girls have started school and are still getting adjusted, Mia in particular. Lily is enjoying her class and is adjusting to the more rigorous expectations. Mia is having a bit of a time adjusting to the rigorous expectations. They basically have a 1st grade curriculum in Kindergarten. We are having a difficult time determining what to do. Should we send her back to Jr. K where she will actually get a Kindergarten education but accepting she might be screwed up her whole life because we essentially held her back? Should we leave her "as is" in her class, knowing she will struggle all year? Or should we move her (or them both) to another school?
Knowing what to do in this situation is impossible. The hours we've spent wondering what to do. We might just jump and hope something catches on the way down.
We lost our sweet labrador, Patton, in September. He had been sick for a while with cushings and just getting older in general (11.5) so it was a blessing when he finally told us he was ready. He was my husband's baby though so he has taken it particularly hard. He was my "step-child" and a rascal of a dog. He jumped up on people, stole food, ate bags of frozen raw chicken, pans of brownies, chewed everything, would groan when we wanted people to be quiet, and would make sure he got in bed first to steal my spot. He was the best "big brother" though. From the moment the girls were born he was protective and totally docile towards them. He will be missed. Molly was very sad for a few weeks but has now seemed to grow accustomed to being the only family pet. She seems quite content in fact.
We have had several visitors so far. My dad visited and we went to Mount Vernon, as well as several of the Smithsonian museums. Garry's mom also visited. My brother and sis-in-law will be visiting the Annapolis area next weekend so we plan to spend the day there with them. My dad will be back at the end of the month and Garry's mom in November.
I'm almost done with my first of two classes this semester. I will graduate in December after 10 years of grad school.
Garry is in the middle of mid-terms this week and next. His plate is very full.
We've made good friends and love the area. We hope to make this our permanent home eventually. Some good friends of ours have asked us to their family Thanksgiving. We've very excited to spend the holiday with new friends :)
Adoption update: We have been registered for 30 months with BG as of the 15th of this month. We are praying something comes before Christmas but won't be holding our breathe. Our HS expires in June so we will have to make some hard decisions if we have nothing by Christmas, as we will not be renewing our home study.
We pray that is not the case but have accepted that sometimes what we think is God's will is just our desires disguised in religious ornament. It is hard to know the difference.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Loving the new home...
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| At the M of Natural History with Gabriel Loh. |
No update for awhile. Sorry about that.
So far we've had a great experience in the NOVA area. We have gotten used to 1,000 sq.ft. ( It only takes a half hour to clean:) The girls have enjoyed the pool this summer. Though the temperatures have been milder for this time of year, we've been told countless time, "Don't get used to it" by friends and strangers alike. We love our village. It's so nice to have everything within convenient walking distance. Need milk, just walk downstairs. Book? The library next door has plenty. It's particularly pretty at night when all the lights in the trees are lit and the people are all out on the streets.
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| Lily holding a grasshopper at the M of Natural History |
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| At our yogurt place |
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| Mia and Aunt Jessica |
We've visited 5 or 6 different churches as well, but most of the Senior Pastors were out for the summer sabbatical so we will revisit them this fall, as well as try out several others.
No news on the adoption. We've been told "fall" by the people at "V". Hopefully this will turn out to be true. Here's hoping and praying.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
A Must Read for all those Waiting...
http://wondermentetc.com/2013/08/02/dear-friends-of-waiting-adoptive-moms-some-things-to-know-also-were-sorry/
Friday, May 10, 2013
Almost there...
So less than a month before the big move and I am soooooooooo excited. Did I say "So excited"?
We've gotten the house down to the bare bones and are selling a few pieces of furniture to friends for use in their apt-home transition while we home-apt transition.
I'm afraid we will have way too much to fit in our 1,000 sf.
I've just finished 2 of my 4 classes to graduate in December.
Hopefully it will work out that we will have a referral by then. Good timing I would say.
The girls are going to be busy this summer as well. We've found several church camps as well as gymnastics to keep them busy when they're not swimming or at the library next door.
We're 25 months-in on the 15th of the month. We've been told referrals have been coming for our same age/sex/health features at around 26-28 months. Let's hope so.
We've gotten the house down to the bare bones and are selling a few pieces of furniture to friends for use in their apt-home transition while we home-apt transition.
I'm afraid we will have way too much to fit in our 1,000 sf.
I've just finished 2 of my 4 classes to graduate in December.
Hopefully it will work out that we will have a referral by then. Good timing I would say.
The girls are going to be busy this summer as well. We've found several church camps as well as gymnastics to keep them busy when they're not swimming or at the library next door.
We're 25 months-in on the 15th of the month. We've been told referrals have been coming for our same age/sex/health features at around 26-28 months. Let's hope so.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Approval letter received!!!
So we received our approval letter in the mail today and have scanned it on to BG. Our expiration is early April, but they've told us as long as they have the scanned document they will not pass us for a referral if try haven't received the physical paperwork yet.
So you may have noticed my last entry was mid-February. That's how long the government part works. Slow, slow, slow. They have no clue what the word "expedite" means.
Tomorrow we will take the approval letter and home study to be notarized at the bank, then notarized downtown at the county clerks office, then send it via FedEx to Nashville where they will apostil the documents and send them on to our agency who will send them on to BG. Get it? Nay, me either.
Man, I pray this is the last time we have to do this!
I know there will be tons more paperwork to come but at least we will have knowledge of who he is and the hope of getting closer.
So you may have noticed my last entry was mid-February. That's how long the government part works. Slow, slow, slow. They have no clue what the word "expedite" means.
Tomorrow we will take the approval letter and home study to be notarized at the bank, then notarized downtown at the county clerks office, then send it via FedEx to Nashville where they will apostil the documents and send them on to our agency who will send them on to BG. Get it? Nay, me either.
Man, I pray this is the last time we have to do this!
I know there will be tons more paperwork to come but at least we will have knowledge of who he is and the hope of getting closer.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Update Done
So, we've completed our end of the update, just waiting for our HS agency to submit it to USCIS. Please pray that things will move quickly and that our dossier will not expire before we can get everything to BG. Our expiration is 4/4/13. Knowing the US govt and their tendency to lethargically poke along, please pray our update is seen by someone who understands what asap means. To explain to those who don't know what happens now:
1. HS agency submits forms to USCIS
2. USCIS reviews forms and gives us the ok to get fingerprinted. They send an appt notice telling you when your appt is for step 3. (usually 2-3 weeks)
3. We have to get fingerprinted at the local immigration office. You don't have to wait until your appt date, if you don't mind sitting at the immigration office for awhile (like hours) until they can fit you in.
4. Immigration submits fingerprint results to USCIS. Immediate.
5. USCIS checks fingerprint results and give approval. They send officially approval letter. (2-3 weeks)
6. Once letter is in hand you take approval letter, home study, and letters of original document to be notarized.
7. Then if you live in TN, you take them to the county clerks office to be notarized A SECOND TIME for a fee.
8. Then you FEDEX all those documents to the State Capitol to the federal clerks office to be apostilled for a fee.
9. Then they FEDEX the documents back to you or on to your placing agency (whichever you prefer) for a fee.
10. Your PA then reviews and copies all documents and FEDEXs them on to BG. (2-3 weeks)
11. BG receives the documents and then has to translate them into Bulgarian. (1-3 weeks)
12. After translation they are reviewed and the update is approved.
13. You are officially registered for another 15 months in country.
However, if all of this is not done by your expiration date and your family comes up for a referral then you could possibly lose that referral.
We're told that BG doesn't understand why it takes us so long to get our paperwork done. They apparently go to the Dr the same day they want to, whereas we have to wait 1-2 weeks for an appt.
22 months registered
1. HS agency submits forms to USCIS
2. USCIS reviews forms and gives us the ok to get fingerprinted. They send an appt notice telling you when your appt is for step 3. (usually 2-3 weeks)
3. We have to get fingerprinted at the local immigration office. You don't have to wait until your appt date, if you don't mind sitting at the immigration office for awhile (like hours) until they can fit you in.
4. Immigration submits fingerprint results to USCIS. Immediate.
5. USCIS checks fingerprint results and give approval. They send officially approval letter. (2-3 weeks)
6. Once letter is in hand you take approval letter, home study, and letters of original document to be notarized.
7. Then if you live in TN, you take them to the county clerks office to be notarized A SECOND TIME for a fee.
8. Then you FEDEX all those documents to the State Capitol to the federal clerks office to be apostilled for a fee.
9. Then they FEDEX the documents back to you or on to your placing agency (whichever you prefer) for a fee.
10. Your PA then reviews and copies all documents and FEDEXs them on to BG. (2-3 weeks)
11. BG receives the documents and then has to translate them into Bulgarian. (1-3 weeks)
12. After translation they are reviewed and the update is approved.
13. You are officially registered for another 15 months in country.
However, if all of this is not done by your expiration date and your family comes up for a referral then you could possibly lose that referral.
We're told that BG doesn't understand why it takes us so long to get our paperwork done. They apparently go to the Dr the same day they want to, whereas we have to wait 1-2 weeks for an appt.
22 months registered
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