Paperwork, Nausea & Notaries...Oh My

A plethora of paperwork was waiting for me when I opened my inbox after lunch yesterday. (The bazillion times of checking and rechecking my Blackberry, Gmail & GoDaddy accounts while sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation of its arrival didn't do any good earlier in the day.) It was sometime between reheating my lasagna and reading my daily dose of the Huffington Post that this paperwork unceremoniously landed in my inbox. Just quietly sitting there in bold type, waiting to be torn into.

I pressed PRINT immediately, while trying to catch glimpses of our massive to-do list as the pages continued to pour out of the printer. Suddenly, there was nothing but nausea. I was so incredibly nauseous. I'm still not sure why, but I thought I was about to lose it all over my desk. I took a few deep breaths (which I learned in acupuncture - amazing!) and focused.

All was fine. I've heard this happens. Little waves of (fill in the blank with the uncomfortable thing your body does when stressed) will occur throughout the process. Obviously, the little waves of excitement are the ones I prefer.

Now, on to the notary...my physical was today. I learned yesterday that a notary is required to be present when my doctor signs off on our medical forms, following the physical & bloodwork. What??? Am I understanding this correctly?

This means I either have to:

1) take my doctor to the bank (where the notary is)

or

2) bring the notary to my doctor appointment

So back I went, to the forums & blogs to find out what others have done. It's a requirement by the Ethiopian government so I'm well aware we're not the first to encounter this.

A traveling notary, of course!

For a fee, this person will come with me and then again with Kai, when he goes next week. We've been quoted between $75 - $200 a pop (plus the fee to notarize each page). In all seriousness, this service is needed and these people can charge whatever they like because we need their service.

However, I'm still inquiring about my doctor coming to the bank with me in two weeks when my bloodwork is back and papers are ready for signing.

Whoooooo aaare you? ooh ooh. ooh ooh.

I took this pix from my camel. It shows our 15 yr old Berber guide leading Kai on the first camel, followed by my camel with me & all our supplies for our evening in the Sahara.

We are best friends and we laugh a lot.
He’s a Mac. I’m a PC. We are right-brained. We love travel, music, food, trying new things and are big big football (soccer) fanatics. He’s Chelsea. I’m Barcelona. (It’s okay.)

After nine years of dating, we decided we were ready to settle down. And where else but in Vegas with our friends & family dressed in full costume? That was six years ago this May. 15 years into it and we’re still having fun!

So, I’m sure it’s clear to everyone by now that after years of traipsing around NYC, living in shoebox-sized apartments at ridiculous prices and traveling on a whim - we kind of missed the boat on buying a home & starting a family in our 20s. But haven’t you heard, 40 is the new 20? (and we don’t regret a moment of it)

I am so proud to say this man is my president!

Okay, yes. I'm three days late, but please keep in mind the blog only went live this morning.

I started a blog that will document the most monumental event of our lives three days AFTER history was made in the United States and recognized by the world.

Portions of this blog may end up contributing to our child's baby book, so I must state now that my timing is sometimes off, but always with the best of intentions. (I was always on time while campaigning for President Obama.)

Orientation Last Night

Our orientation went well. I love our rep!

We're officially in the race to begin gathering our paperwork, which is estimated to take 4-5 months. I know!!!

And because I am so anal, my three-ring binder has been ready to go for over a week now. The colored tabs I've organized, labeled & sorted are sure to assist in speeding up the process, no? In any event, from the outside we appear to know exactly what we are doing.

A gaggle of gathering & notarizing lies in our future...

• multiple copies of birth certificates from PA & DC


• multiple copies of marriage certificates (I've already been passed around the Vegas courthouse and still have no records)


• citizen & immigration I600a form completion


• FBI fingerprint check


• physicals


• Hague Training (followed by an exam)


• required reading


• criminal records check


• reference letters


• proof of financial stability


• letters from employers


• home visit(s) from our social worker to ensure it is suitable for a child

Once collected, all of the above (and more that I didn't list) will be sent off to the various authorities to be authenticated...the County Clerk, Secretary of State and both the U.S. & Ethiopian embassies.

That will hopefully lead to a big fat stamp of approval and our packet will then begin its journey to Ethiopia for all to be translated, reviewed again and submitted to the Ethiopian courts for approval.

Stay tuned...

Intro...

This blog is for you.
It's for family & friends who are interested in popping in at their leisure to read about updates, waits, ranting, raving and everything in between that happens along the way.
It's also for anyone contemplating adoption. I was able to arm myself with so much information from reading blogs written by others going through the process. I'm finding that their personal experience is an invaluable tool, followed by patience and positivity.
Hopefully our blurbs will be of interest and assistance to someone else.