Waiting and Waiting

Well, I'm not sure what I'm waiting for... But I'm sure I'll know it when I see it.
I know I'm waiting for accreditation in Russia... but how will I know when it happens?
Will I get an e-mail from my agency?
If my agency isn't one of the first accredited... then will I see it on FRUA?
Will there be posts galore in the blogger world?
Will there be a million responses on my board sharing and shouting out the good news?

Here's to dreaming through another week of wishful thinking!!!

Notice of Action

That is the title beside the I-797C... which I'm told is the old 171-H.
(At least that's what I've been told)
Bottom line, we have approval from the U.S. Gov. to bring Boris to the U.S. and he will automatically receive citizenship.!!
We don't need this approval for the first trip, but we will need it for court.
Now, if only........

What are the Chances??

I figured while I'm waiting to hear from Russia, I'll call and check up on the I600A. That's the advance application to petition citizenship for an unidentified orphan. Since we don't have his name or know who our little "Boris" is right now, we had to apply for the I600A.

My region only needs a home study to go for the first trip. They want to make sure that the home is approved for a child. The immigration forms are needed for the second trip when we bring Boris home.

This application takes several months. We submitted it in Nov., we were fingerprinted at immigration in Dec. and the home study was sent to immigration in Feb/March. I haven't heard anything, so I figured I would call.

The lady who answered the phone asked me my name. Then she started to laugh. I asked what was so funny. She said, "well actually, I have your application on my desk in front of me right now. I just got it out to review it. "
Now what are the chances? The one day I call immigration --- to talk to the international adoption clerk who processes the entire state -- is actually looking at my application as I call. So I am hoping something will be in the mail soon. Once the immigration approval arrives it will be valid for 18 months. While the immigration fingerprints are good for 12 months. Go figure. Anyway, I'm praying Boris will be home before either expire!!!

P.S. Check out the side blog.. "TO CHINA AND BACK"!!! What a cutie!! It's nice to see someone moving in the adoption world!!

I'm Still Here.. with a countdown to something??

I know I haven't posted much lately. But I'm still here. I'm just trying to get through each week. I seem to look forward to Saturdays. While most adoptive parents looked forward to Mondays... (when there were accredited agencies, that seemed to be the day info came out since Russia is a day ahead) I seem to like Saturdays. I'm not sure why, possibly because it is one more week that's gone in this waiting period. I don't know. But lately I've been a Saturday girl.
Still no "official" news on the accreditation front. Although I read in a Moscow paper (translated to English.. I don't read Russian) that the MOE officials were stating/quoted as saying-- June is when agencies can expect new accreditations. If that's true then I only have six more weeks. Now if that is true, then agencies should start finding out in about four or five weeks. I'm told by my agency director that agencies will know about two weeks before the accreditations come out. So let the countdown begin. I know it's hopeful thinking.. but at least it gets me to my Saturdays!

Nothing New

Nothing new to report. For those not in the adoption loop, (as one who works in the media) I can assure you that most of the newspaper articles that are out there are a little strong in the message and give the impression Russia is STOPPING adoptions.
The articles really don't say anything more than what you've read on this or any other adoption blog. Accreditations have expired. Yes. This we knew would happen. It's not like Russia put a sudden stop to everything, it's something that's been happening over time. Now there is a process in place to get things going again. Any agency interested in working in Russia has applied for accreditation. Now it is up to the government to decide when that paperwork will be approved. So until then we wait.

What Have You Heard?

I know it's hard to get info from the Russian Gov. But has anyone heard anything from their agency about reaccreditation? Right now I just want to hear anything.. something... I heard something about the Dept. of State getting involved and giving Russia a form stating that all states will consider the child a citizen and the child will have the same rights (minus becoming president) as natural born children. But other than that form being submitted, I think it was to happen by today, I haven't heard anything?

And since I'm bored, just waiting for this accreditation thing to happen, I've been playing around with the blog site. Please tell me what you think of my Russian additions. :) If it's too much or too hard to understand, please let me know. Thanks!!

To Keep a Name-- To Give a Name -- That is the Question

Again, I will say...... "While we WAIT for Russia to give out accreditations"--
Lets talk about a "hot" topic on many blogs.
Do you keep the child's Russian name or do you Change it?
I've heard over and over again that judges will ask this question while at court, so it's something adoptive parents should think about before heading in.

Some people feel keeping the child's Russian name is best. It permits the child to connect with his/her heritage. It says to the child, while you are an American and you are our child, we wanted to let you know it's a gift your birth parents gave you and we want you to keep that. And it's a way for adoptive parents to keep the discussion door open, to say it's okay to talk about the past and your name and where you are from.

Now on the other side of the discussion, are parents who say this is my child now and I should be able to change his/her name! For some, they don't want the child to feel "different" with a name that will stand out. Or maybe they've had a name in mind for a long time, and now they can name the child what they've always thought.

There isn't a right or wrong answer here. It's simply what's best for you and your family. Where do we stand on the issue? I digress for a moment.

My mother is a school nurse. And what you are about to hear is a true story!!! There was one time the school administration got together and asked a parent to change the name of a child who just transferred in from another country. The family was Asian. The child's name was Fook Yu. I'm not kidding this is a true story.!! I don't remember what it meant in their language, but it did have a meaning, HOWEVER, in our country the child would have had a hard time in life.

Now again, where do we stand with the name issue? Well, we don't think Boris will have a name that will cause as many problems as the one above. But we do look at the name of a child as a gift from the parents. We want Boris to have a name we chose for him-- we want him to have that gift. Now with that said, we will more than likely keep the name his birth parents gave him as a middle name. That way he can still connect with his Russian heritage, understand where he's from, but also understand he's moving forward with our family and feel apart of us.