I was visiting with a friend during the Superbowl and she was telling me about someone she knew who it seemed everything worked out perfect for. She needed a car, and Poof! someone gave her car, she needed a job, Poof! she had a job, she wanted a baby, Poof! she was pregnant. After this story, I said, God must think she cannot handle very much. I think he thinks I can handle a lot because my story goes like this: My car broke down and Whammy! I was without a car for six weeks, I have my house sold, and Whammy! the buyer backs out, I long for a child, and triple Whammy! I have to wait longer. We laughed because we all know life is hard, but God is good. :)
Rick and I received our monthly adoption update today. We are in the last step of the process and getting very close to receiving a picture of our precious daughter(s).
The Bad News: The time frame has increased once again. At this point, our agency informs us we should receive our baby's (ies) picture in May and leave for China in June.
Common Questions:
Why is there another delay? There are many orphanages in China but they are not all approved for adoption. The Center for China's Adoption Affairs is working diligently to get more orphanages approved.
More wealthy families in China are adopting now. These families are priority over American families.
Are you and Rick angry? Angry- No. Sad - yes. Rick and I did not start this process on a whim. We prayed, researched, prayed, studied, prayed and sat down with six agencies before deciding which country and which agency to go with. God made it very clear to us , to adopt from China. We were both extremely comfortable and happy with the Great Wall of China agency. Our social workers are awesome. They are extremely understanding and they are there anytime for us. I mean literally anytime. I have had break downs at midnight and e-mailed one of my social workers. She responds back within 15 minutes and always has the right words to make me feel better! God is in control. We trust Him.
The Good News: It looks like I won't have to miss any work. We have more time to paint the nursery.
Thanks for your prayers. They are very much appreciated.
-Vicki
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
Good Friends, Good Times
I had today off from work in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. I watched a special on Martin and then the phone rang. It was my best friend, Tanya from Indiana. She said, Your home! I was hoping you would be.
Tanya's husband gave her a neat Christmas gift. She could go wherever she wanted for a weekend away from her three children. She chose to come see me! Out of all the places she could have gone, I am very honored she wants to spend time with me in cold Michigan. We are going to have so much fun. We are going to get facials and Tanya is going to make dinner for us at my home. Isn't that cool? It will be like having Rachel Ray at my house. I think maybe I'm the one on a vacation. (Tanya does know that I do not cook and she probably doesn't want some processed food I would heat up. :))
This afternoon, I was able to hang out at the mall with my sister and this evening, I will have quality time with my husband.
I'm so excited. This has been a splendid day! The real world will be back tomorrow.
-Vicki
Tanya's husband gave her a neat Christmas gift. She could go wherever she wanted for a weekend away from her three children. She chose to come see me! Out of all the places she could have gone, I am very honored she wants to spend time with me in cold Michigan. We are going to have so much fun. We are going to get facials and Tanya is going to make dinner for us at my home. Isn't that cool? It will be like having Rachel Ray at my house. I think maybe I'm the one on a vacation. (Tanya does know that I do not cook and she probably doesn't want some processed food I would heat up. :))
This afternoon, I was able to hang out at the mall with my sister and this evening, I will have quality time with my husband.
I'm so excited. This has been a splendid day! The real world will be back tomorrow.
-Vicki
Sunday, January 14, 2007
I Have So Much
I put away more Christmas stuff today. I am now finally done. As I was cleaning, I thought to myself, why do I have so much Christmas stuff?
Rick and I went to Calvin College this week and watched a film about Poverty. On Saturday, we went to a convention in Grandville which also focused on Poverty. Ok, so I don't feel so good when I think about all the things I have. I have a lot. I have a lot I do not need. There are people in this world who have nothing - literally nothing. I saw people in the film, digging in a garbage dump for things! No human being should have to dig in the garbage to live. It made me feel so sad and so guilty at the same time.
I do nothing to help those in need except give them money. Giving money is nice but I think God is calling me to do more than that. I need to start giving my time. I need to come along side those in need and develop relationships with them.
Rick and I are listening to see where God would lead us in this endeavor.
-Vicki
Rick and I went to Calvin College this week and watched a film about Poverty. On Saturday, we went to a convention in Grandville which also focused on Poverty. Ok, so I don't feel so good when I think about all the things I have. I have a lot. I have a lot I do not need. There are people in this world who have nothing - literally nothing. I saw people in the film, digging in a garbage dump for things! No human being should have to dig in the garbage to live. It made me feel so sad and so guilty at the same time.
I do nothing to help those in need except give them money. Giving money is nice but I think God is calling me to do more than that. I need to start giving my time. I need to come along side those in need and develop relationships with them.
Rick and I are listening to see where God would lead us in this endeavor.
-Vicki
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Rick and Vic's 2006 in Review
My brother in law, Jerome, teased me that I was a typical blogger - two to three posts and then nothing! Then, my friend, Charity gave me a hard time too. Well, I don't want to be typical blogger, so one of my New Year's resolutions is to be faithful at blogging! Here's for you, Jerome and Charity! (Ok, so I still have not mastered how to easily put pictures from my camera onto my blog, so I'll add some later)
I decided to start off 2007 by giving a quick review of 2006. I like to talk, but I will try to be brief in listing our ups and downs of 2006 on our Pulaski Life Adventure.
January-February 2006 - Rick and I spent the time recovering emotionally and financially. Emotionally, we found out our adoption was going to be delayed. We want to hold our baby girl in our arms so bad. Financially, we had to make a big payment for the adoption and then my Audi A6 decided to break down on us. Not a normal break down, the engine took a poop on us! Many dollars later, a new engine was put in, the car ran like new, and we traded it in!
March-April 2006 - We received an awesome deal on a condo on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina. The condo had 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, a full kitchen, living room and huge balcony. We were able to stay in it for a week for $300.00! We brought our super good friends, John and Carole with us, so really it only costs us $150.00. It was a terrific vacation. There is nothing like waking up to the sound of the ocean and looking at it while sitting on a balcony eating peanut butter toast and drinking diet coke. That's the life!!
Rick and I bought two newer cars! First of all, Rick bought me a Toyota Prius, a hybrid car, to save on gas. He liked my car so much, that one night he surprised me and came home with a Prius for himself too! When he drove in with his new car I said, you need to take me out for dinner so we can discuss how we can afford two newer cars and so I can't get upset since we will be in public! Rick had a good explanation on how we were good financially and how we would even save more money by not buying as much gas. We enjoyed our dinner and we both were happy.
May-June 2006 - Rick and I celebrated 10 wonderful years of marriage. I am so blessed to have such a great husband. He loves and spoils me so much. He has been telling me lately, you won't be jealous when I spend time with our daughter and you don't get as much attention anymore will you? :) Of course I say, No!
We celebrated our anniversary by staying in our time share in Tennesee. The weather was beautiful and we got to do one of our favorite things - white water rafting! Well, for the first time ever in 7 years of rafting ( we consider ourselves to be experts - no guide. Guides are for babies) we took a drink! It was bad! I thought it was all over! Once I was in the balmy 42 degree water, I immediately knew what it felt like to be in a washing machine! After being spun around and then shot out to swim a half mile down river in an eight mile a hour current, bumping rocks like crazy along the way, I had a respect for the river like never before! When I washed up on a huge boulder, I looked for Rick who was shot out of the rapid in the opposite direction of me. He was swimming towards me. I noticed the force of the water had taken his sunglasses, his paddle and his pants!! After noticing Rick would be alright, our raft came floating by me. It's pretty scary to think how my human body went down river faster than my raft! To make a long story, short - I have now retired from rafting. I will teach our daughter how to paddle, and she can go on these adventures with her dad.
Another highlight in June, was I was able to visit my best friend, Tanya, in Indiana. We always have so much fun together. She has a wonderful husband and three beautiful children. We were roommates in college and I am so glad we have stayed so close.
June also meant it was time to go garage saling with my sister every Friday! We love it! It was the highlight of our week. I am blessed to have a sister who is also my best friend.
July-August 2006 - Our good friends, James and Charity had a baby girl. Her name is Adeline and she is gorgeous. We are so happy for them.
Rick and I had another exchange student spend the summer with us. Her name was Christina. She was from Spain. Christina loved to laugh and tease. She would always hide things from me or lock me out of the house. She was like a daughter to me. She went to a summer school where she would practice English. Everyday, when I picked her up she would talk to me for about a hour telling me about her day. It was neat. Students we have had in the past usually just said , fine, when I asked them how school was. Not Christina! She told me about what she learned and all the social problems or good things that were happening with her friends. I think she was a mini Vicki!
A not so fun part of August was I had three wisdom teeth pulled and braces put on. The only good part about all of this is I should have straight teeth in 12 months. :)
September-October 2006 - School started for me. Pretty much we just worked and spent time with friends and family on the weekends.
November 2006 - Vicki turned 35. This was hard for me. I was encouraged by the amount of cards, phone calls and gifts I received from family and friends wishing me a Happy Birthday. As one friend said, be glad you are alive! After that, I decided to get over it and enjoy life. A number doesn't mean anything (except on the scale!).
Rick's parents bought a home in North Carolina and moved there this month. We are happy for them and greatly miss them at the same time. We look forward to visiting them in person next June. In the meantime, we are thankful for phones and e-mail.
December 2006 - We met with some good friends of ours who are excited to start a home church with us. Yeah! We are praying that all goes well. We had a beautiful Christmas with both sides of our families.
We are looking forward to picking up our baby girl in 2007. Everything looks good for April.
-Vicki
I decided to start off 2007 by giving a quick review of 2006. I like to talk, but I will try to be brief in listing our ups and downs of 2006 on our Pulaski Life Adventure.
January-February 2006 - Rick and I spent the time recovering emotionally and financially. Emotionally, we found out our adoption was going to be delayed. We want to hold our baby girl in our arms so bad. Financially, we had to make a big payment for the adoption and then my Audi A6 decided to break down on us. Not a normal break down, the engine took a poop on us! Many dollars later, a new engine was put in, the car ran like new, and we traded it in!
March-April 2006 - We received an awesome deal on a condo on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina. The condo had 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, a full kitchen, living room and huge balcony. We were able to stay in it for a week for $300.00! We brought our super good friends, John and Carole with us, so really it only costs us $150.00. It was a terrific vacation. There is nothing like waking up to the sound of the ocean and looking at it while sitting on a balcony eating peanut butter toast and drinking diet coke. That's the life!!
Rick and I bought two newer cars! First of all, Rick bought me a Toyota Prius, a hybrid car, to save on gas. He liked my car so much, that one night he surprised me and came home with a Prius for himself too! When he drove in with his new car I said, you need to take me out for dinner so we can discuss how we can afford two newer cars and so I can't get upset since we will be in public! Rick had a good explanation on how we were good financially and how we would even save more money by not buying as much gas. We enjoyed our dinner and we both were happy.
May-June 2006 - Rick and I celebrated 10 wonderful years of marriage. I am so blessed to have such a great husband. He loves and spoils me so much. He has been telling me lately, you won't be jealous when I spend time with our daughter and you don't get as much attention anymore will you? :) Of course I say, No!
We celebrated our anniversary by staying in our time share in Tennesee. The weather was beautiful and we got to do one of our favorite things - white water rafting! Well, for the first time ever in 7 years of rafting ( we consider ourselves to be experts - no guide. Guides are for babies) we took a drink! It was bad! I thought it was all over! Once I was in the balmy 42 degree water, I immediately knew what it felt like to be in a washing machine! After being spun around and then shot out to swim a half mile down river in an eight mile a hour current, bumping rocks like crazy along the way, I had a respect for the river like never before! When I washed up on a huge boulder, I looked for Rick who was shot out of the rapid in the opposite direction of me. He was swimming towards me. I noticed the force of the water had taken his sunglasses, his paddle and his pants!! After noticing Rick would be alright, our raft came floating by me. It's pretty scary to think how my human body went down river faster than my raft! To make a long story, short - I have now retired from rafting. I will teach our daughter how to paddle, and she can go on these adventures with her dad.
Another highlight in June, was I was able to visit my best friend, Tanya, in Indiana. We always have so much fun together. She has a wonderful husband and three beautiful children. We were roommates in college and I am so glad we have stayed so close.
June also meant it was time to go garage saling with my sister every Friday! We love it! It was the highlight of our week. I am blessed to have a sister who is also my best friend.
July-August 2006 - Our good friends, James and Charity had a baby girl. Her name is Adeline and she is gorgeous. We are so happy for them.
Rick and I had another exchange student spend the summer with us. Her name was Christina. She was from Spain. Christina loved to laugh and tease. She would always hide things from me or lock me out of the house. She was like a daughter to me. She went to a summer school where she would practice English. Everyday, when I picked her up she would talk to me for about a hour telling me about her day. It was neat. Students we have had in the past usually just said , fine, when I asked them how school was. Not Christina! She told me about what she learned and all the social problems or good things that were happening with her friends. I think she was a mini Vicki!
A not so fun part of August was I had three wisdom teeth pulled and braces put on. The only good part about all of this is I should have straight teeth in 12 months. :)
September-October 2006 - School started for me. Pretty much we just worked and spent time with friends and family on the weekends.
November 2006 - Vicki turned 35. This was hard for me. I was encouraged by the amount of cards, phone calls and gifts I received from family and friends wishing me a Happy Birthday. As one friend said, be glad you are alive! After that, I decided to get over it and enjoy life. A number doesn't mean anything (except on the scale!).
Rick's parents bought a home in North Carolina and moved there this month. We are happy for them and greatly miss them at the same time. We look forward to visiting them in person next June. In the meantime, we are thankful for phones and e-mail.
December 2006 - We met with some good friends of ours who are excited to start a home church with us. Yeah! We are praying that all goes well. We had a beautiful Christmas with both sides of our families.
We are looking forward to picking up our baby girl in 2007. Everything looks good for April.
-Vicki
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Snow is Beautiful
On Friday, I have to be honest and say that I was hoping for a snow day. I started watching the news at 6:00 am and about 300 schools were closed. I watched in anticipation to see my school's name. I always see it on the news first and my principal calls five minutes later. To my dismay, my school never showed up and I never got called. I rushed around then, like a mad woman to get ready. If the weather was that bad, I would need to leave earlier. Normally, I leave at 7:00 am, I would need to leave by 6:30 am!
Rick doesn't feel sorry for me on snow days. He says, People in the real world work regardless of the weather. This day though, he did feel bad for me. He saw me getting ready and said, You have school today?! You better drive ten the whole way, baby! Well, I arrived safely at school (it took me an hour) and all was good until I left. The school parking lot was not plowed too good, and I got stuck backing out! Our school secretary, Deb, was awesome and gave me a push. Then, when I got home, I got stuck halfway in my driveway, halfway in the road! My neighbor noticed and he came out and gave me a push. I love my Toyota Prius, but I'm not real impressed with its ability to get through deep snow. I have been driving four wheel drives the past six years. I am used to ramming through the snow, especially our driveway. Now, we'll have to shovel?! That stinks!!
The snow also can be beautiful when I'm sitting on my couch, looking at the Christmas tree in the front window, the smell of sugar cookies coming from the kitchen, and big, beautiful snowflakes are falling. Yes, snow can be beautiful.
Rick doesn't feel sorry for me on snow days. He says, People in the real world work regardless of the weather. This day though, he did feel bad for me. He saw me getting ready and said, You have school today?! You better drive ten the whole way, baby! Well, I arrived safely at school (it took me an hour) and all was good until I left. The school parking lot was not plowed too good, and I got stuck backing out! Our school secretary, Deb, was awesome and gave me a push. Then, when I got home, I got stuck halfway in my driveway, halfway in the road! My neighbor noticed and he came out and gave me a push. I love my Toyota Prius, but I'm not real impressed with its ability to get through deep snow. I have been driving four wheel drives the past six years. I am used to ramming through the snow, especially our driveway. Now, we'll have to shovel?! That stinks!!
The snow also can be beautiful when I'm sitting on my couch, looking at the Christmas tree in the front window, the smell of sugar cookies coming from the kitchen, and big, beautiful snowflakes are falling. Yes, snow can be beautiful.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Becoming Parents
Rick and I are so excited and nervous at the same time about becoming parents soon. Our adoption process has been long and there have been many ups and downs. At the present time, we are on track for April 2007 to pick up our daughter or twins. We should receive a picture in March. Yeah!!!!!
One day I was feeling down because there was a mix up on some of our paperwork and when it should have only taken two weeks for some papers to be sent to us, it took 10 weeks! I was at work and I shared with my good friend, Dawn, how I felt. Later that day, Dawn had put this beautiful poem on my desk. I cry every time I read it, and I know I'll cry as I type it. Thank you Dawn for being a kind, sincere and supportive friend.
Here it is:
Dear Mommy,
I know we haven't met yet,
I don't even know what you look like - and you don't even know what I look like,
but I've imagined you in my heart many times.
I don't know what color eyes you have,
but I know what it will feel like when your arms hold me tight.
I don't know how tall you are,
but I know what it will be like to feel your kisses on my cheeks.
I don't even know what language you speak,
but I know that I will feel so safe and warm when we snuggle together to read stories.
I don't even know your name,
but Mommy is enough.
I can't wait to meet you!
I know that waiting is hard for you too.
But God created me to be your daughter
And he created you to be my mommy.
Before either of us were even born,
He knew we would be a family.
We are the same, you and I.
God is leading me to you
And God is leading you to me.
Even when this journey seems long and tough
I now that in the end we will be together as God meant us to be!
Thank you for waiting for me Mommy.
Thank you for loving me even though we are apart.
Thank you for not giving up on God even when you don't understand his plan.
Thank you for being my mommy!
Ok, so the keyboard is wet now. I can hardly wait to be a mom. Rick is also excited to become a father. It will all happen in God's time.
-Vicki
One day I was feeling down because there was a mix up on some of our paperwork and when it should have only taken two weeks for some papers to be sent to us, it took 10 weeks! I was at work and I shared with my good friend, Dawn, how I felt. Later that day, Dawn had put this beautiful poem on my desk. I cry every time I read it, and I know I'll cry as I type it. Thank you Dawn for being a kind, sincere and supportive friend.
Here it is:
Dear Mommy,
I know we haven't met yet,
I don't even know what you look like - and you don't even know what I look like,
but I've imagined you in my heart many times.
I don't know what color eyes you have,
but I know what it will feel like when your arms hold me tight.
I don't know how tall you are,
but I know what it will be like to feel your kisses on my cheeks.
I don't even know what language you speak,
but I know that I will feel so safe and warm when we snuggle together to read stories.
I don't even know your name,
but Mommy is enough.
I can't wait to meet you!
I know that waiting is hard for you too.
But God created me to be your daughter
And he created you to be my mommy.
Before either of us were even born,
He knew we would be a family.
We are the same, you and I.
God is leading me to you
And God is leading you to me.
Even when this journey seems long and tough
I now that in the end we will be together as God meant us to be!
Thank you for waiting for me Mommy.
Thank you for loving me even though we are apart.
Thank you for not giving up on God even when you don't understand his plan.
Thank you for being my mommy!
Ok, so the keyboard is wet now. I can hardly wait to be a mom. Rick is also excited to become a father. It will all happen in God's time.
-Vicki
Friday, November 24, 2006
Rick Takes on the Feds (not a brilliant move)
We created this blog site to help update people on our adoption process, so you'll have to forgive our previous post about the wash-out created by our sprinkler system. It was just too exciting to ignore.
Back to the adoption process....
For those who are curious, it looks like we will be adopting a baby girl from China in early 2007.
At this point in time, we have perservered and muddled through about 90% of the China adoption process. We started this process sometime in early 2005, so if you are thinking about adopting a baby from China, you should figure that it will take a little over two years. Do not get mad or upset during this long process -- it really doesn't do any good. Just roll with it. Your little bundle of joy will arrive sooner or later.
And our "sooner" is finally starting to happen. We are at the stage that they dub "Pending Referral." In a nutshell, Pending Referral means this: "In about 5 or 6 months, we (China) will send you a picture of the baby (or babies) that has been selected for you."
Once we receive the picture, we'll make flight plans, and then we'll leave for China about six weeks later. We'll spend two weeks in China -- our baby will be given to us on the third day that we are there. She'll be given her immunizations and assorted medical check-ups; and then we'll tour the countryside and experience Chinese culture together as a family.
So that's the status of this adventure as of November 24, 2006. Other than the long process, we've had relatively few surprises or mishaps -- with one notable exception. One of the adoption requirements is to get fingerprinted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and then your fingerprints will be forwarded to the FBI to make sure that you are not a drug dealer or wanted for some other nefarious crime. USCIS gives the FBI a few days to perform this routine check, then USCIS calls the FBI to make sure that all is good. If all is good, USCIS sends the appropriate -- and very important --paperwork to you.
Unfortunately for our process, the USCIS wrote us a letter stating that they could not find evidence of my prints being cleared by the FBI. We immediately called the FBI, and they said my prints had cleared with no problems whatsoever. After hearing this from the FBI, we called USCIS, and the telephone receptionist said we could not talk to anyone at USCIS about the mistake. She told us we could only write via email or USPS.
So in a unusual moment of frustration, I wrote the following email to the Department of Homeland Security. Looking back, I definitely regret it and feel that I could have been a better person about the whole thing. The only good part is that it makes for a couple decent chuckles. Enjoy.
*************************************************
Dear Ms. or Mr. USCIS Staff Person (for some goofy reason, we're not allowed to know your name or speak to you like real people do),
It seems that we are in receipt of an erroneous letter from USCIS (CASE TYPE I-600).
You stated in your letter that we need to be fingerprinted by USCIS and that the FBI must process the the fingerprints.
This has been accomplished. We have already been fingerprinted by the USCIS.
The fingerprinting was completed on September 7, 2005.
I distinctly remember the experience. We arrived early for our September 7 fingerprinting appointment, not at all expecting the incredible fun we were about to have. First, Mr. Security Guard checked our names, photo IDs, and looked at our hands. Then he directed us to the Table Lady. The Table Lady looked at our hands again, reviewed our paperwork, and checked our IDs. She gave us numbers out of one of those red machines like you see at the grocery store when you're waiting at the deli counter (I was 000 and my wife was 001). She said to have a seat among the 75 available chairs in the waiting area. My wife and I sat in two of those seats (after we sat down, there were 73 chairs available). She said that someone would call our number in a few moments. Sure enough, the Number Announcer (actually it was just the Table Lady again -- she appears to be a multi-tasker) called out my number after only about 30 seconds. Excited at my good fortune of being picked first out of the crowd of two people, I sprang up out of my chair and quickly made my way back to the Table Lady.
The Table Lady introduced me to the Fingerprint Lady, who promptly inpected my hands once again. The Fingerprint Lady brought me over to the Fancy Machine and began the process of scanning my fingerprints. At times, the Fancy Machine did not scan my fingers very well, so then the Fingerprint Lady rubbed Magic Greasy Stuff on my fingers so that the Fancy Machine could read the prints better. Let me tell you something -- that Magic Greasy Stuff really works! The Fancy Machine scanned my fingerprints with ease.
Once the Fingerprint Lady completed the fingerprint scanning, she called over the QA Person (she did so by calling in a strong voice, "QA, please!"). I believe that QA means Quality Assurance, but I am really not sure. Anyway, QA Person looked at my hands, too. (At this time, I was beginning to feel a little self-conscious about my hands -- they've never been looked so many times in such a short time span.) After inspecting my hands, QA Person reviewed the fingerprints that now were inside the Fancy Machine and verified my personal information in the Fancy Machine. QA Person gave the "all clear," and I was free to go.
I headed to the men's room to wash the Magic Greasy Stuff off my fingers (plus I was afraid of germs from the Fancy Machine -- I don't think it is cleaned very often). After washing, I exited the men's room and took a seat to wait for my wife. Her fingerprinting was completed a few minutes later. After she was done, we made our way to the door -- but not before we said goodbye to QA Person, Fingerprint Lady, Table Lady (aka Number Announcer), and Mr. Security Guard. We wished them all the best, as this was the most incredible USCIS fingerprinting session we ever experienced! (Okay, it was the only USCIS fingerprinting experience we ever had.)
The FBI cleared the fingerprints the same day (or shortly thereafter).
This has been an unusual process. My wife and I are both "people persons," so dealing with the whole USCIS "do-not-talk-to-us" thing is kind of impersonal and just feels kind of weird. We're making the best of it, though. I guess everyone must go through it, but it sure stinks. Anyway, we are emailing you the above information as this appears to be the protocol.
Please correct this error (or notify us as to what needs to be accomplished) within the next three business days. We look forward to hearing (actually reading) back from you.
*********************************************************
Well, that's it for now. Feel free to chastise me for being such an idiot.
-Rick
Back to the adoption process....
For those who are curious, it looks like we will be adopting a baby girl from China in early 2007.
At this point in time, we have perservered and muddled through about 90% of the China adoption process. We started this process sometime in early 2005, so if you are thinking about adopting a baby from China, you should figure that it will take a little over two years. Do not get mad or upset during this long process -- it really doesn't do any good. Just roll with it. Your little bundle of joy will arrive sooner or later.
And our "sooner" is finally starting to happen. We are at the stage that they dub "Pending Referral." In a nutshell, Pending Referral means this: "In about 5 or 6 months, we (China) will send you a picture of the baby (or babies) that has been selected for you."
Once we receive the picture, we'll make flight plans, and then we'll leave for China about six weeks later. We'll spend two weeks in China -- our baby will be given to us on the third day that we are there. She'll be given her immunizations and assorted medical check-ups; and then we'll tour the countryside and experience Chinese culture together as a family.
So that's the status of this adventure as of November 24, 2006. Other than the long process, we've had relatively few surprises or mishaps -- with one notable exception. One of the adoption requirements is to get fingerprinted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and then your fingerprints will be forwarded to the FBI to make sure that you are not a drug dealer or wanted for some other nefarious crime. USCIS gives the FBI a few days to perform this routine check, then USCIS calls the FBI to make sure that all is good. If all is good, USCIS sends the appropriate -- and very important --paperwork to you.
Unfortunately for our process, the USCIS wrote us a letter stating that they could not find evidence of my prints being cleared by the FBI. We immediately called the FBI, and they said my prints had cleared with no problems whatsoever. After hearing this from the FBI, we called USCIS, and the telephone receptionist said we could not talk to anyone at USCIS about the mistake. She told us we could only write via email or USPS.
So in a unusual moment of frustration, I wrote the following email to the Department of Homeland Security. Looking back, I definitely regret it and feel that I could have been a better person about the whole thing. The only good part is that it makes for a couple decent chuckles. Enjoy.
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Dear Ms. or Mr. USCIS Staff Person (for some goofy reason, we're not allowed to know your name or speak to you like real people do),
It seems that we are in receipt of an erroneous letter from USCIS (CASE TYPE I-600).
You stated in your letter that we need to be fingerprinted by USCIS and that the FBI must process the the fingerprints.
This has been accomplished. We have already been fingerprinted by the USCIS.
The fingerprinting was completed on September 7, 2005.
I distinctly remember the experience. We arrived early for our September 7 fingerprinting appointment, not at all expecting the incredible fun we were about to have. First, Mr. Security Guard checked our names, photo IDs, and looked at our hands. Then he directed us to the Table Lady. The Table Lady looked at our hands again, reviewed our paperwork, and checked our IDs. She gave us numbers out of one of those red machines like you see at the grocery store when you're waiting at the deli counter (I was 000 and my wife was 001). She said to have a seat among the 75 available chairs in the waiting area. My wife and I sat in two of those seats (after we sat down, there were 73 chairs available). She said that someone would call our number in a few moments. Sure enough, the Number Announcer (actually it was just the Table Lady again -- she appears to be a multi-tasker) called out my number after only about 30 seconds. Excited at my good fortune of being picked first out of the crowd of two people, I sprang up out of my chair and quickly made my way back to the Table Lady.
The Table Lady introduced me to the Fingerprint Lady, who promptly inpected my hands once again. The Fingerprint Lady brought me over to the Fancy Machine and began the process of scanning my fingerprints. At times, the Fancy Machine did not scan my fingers very well, so then the Fingerprint Lady rubbed Magic Greasy Stuff on my fingers so that the Fancy Machine could read the prints better. Let me tell you something -- that Magic Greasy Stuff really works! The Fancy Machine scanned my fingerprints with ease.
Once the Fingerprint Lady completed the fingerprint scanning, she called over the QA Person (she did so by calling in a strong voice, "QA, please!"). I believe that QA means Quality Assurance, but I am really not sure. Anyway, QA Person looked at my hands, too. (At this time, I was beginning to feel a little self-conscious about my hands -- they've never been looked so many times in such a short time span.) After inspecting my hands, QA Person reviewed the fingerprints that now were inside the Fancy Machine and verified my personal information in the Fancy Machine. QA Person gave the "all clear," and I was free to go.
I headed to the men's room to wash the Magic Greasy Stuff off my fingers (plus I was afraid of germs from the Fancy Machine -- I don't think it is cleaned very often). After washing, I exited the men's room and took a seat to wait for my wife. Her fingerprinting was completed a few minutes later. After she was done, we made our way to the door -- but not before we said goodbye to QA Person, Fingerprint Lady, Table Lady (aka Number Announcer), and Mr. Security Guard. We wished them all the best, as this was the most incredible USCIS fingerprinting session we ever experienced! (Okay, it was the only USCIS fingerprinting experience we ever had.)
The FBI cleared the fingerprints the same day (or shortly thereafter).
This has been an unusual process. My wife and I are both "people persons," so dealing with the whole USCIS "do-not-talk-to-us" thing is kind of impersonal and just feels kind of weird. We're making the best of it, though. I guess everyone must go through it, but it sure stinks. Anyway, we are emailing you the above information as this appears to be the protocol.
Please correct this error (or notify us as to what needs to be accomplished) within the next three business days. We look forward to hearing (actually reading) back from you.
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Well, that's it for now. Feel free to chastise me for being such an idiot.
-Rick
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