Fingerprints Complete!

July 19, 2007. Our fingerprints went off without a hitch. I was expecting a huge crowd and a long wait, I had Chris all prepared. Doesn't he look aggravated putting the money in the parking meter? LOL I think we were there a total of 10 minutes. They said we were the 3rd couple that was adopting from Guatemala today. They have seen a recent rush. She also said they are averaging 3 weeks or less for the 171H, YEAH! Hopefully it shouldn't be long now. We sent our final agency fee in yesterday hoping for a speedy referral.

Thank you for your Blogs

July 17, 2007. I have had the greatest time reading every one's blogs today. Thank you so much to everyone who responded to my request to post yours. It really helps to read every one's experience. I feel like the clock is just ticking away as we get closer & closer. Tomorrow we will be fingerprinted at INS. I can hardly wait, I hope this process goes quickly for us, we have heard good things. Please pray for a speedy 171H!

I Hate Fedex!

July 10, 2007. Well I came home tonight to my wet documents on my front porch! Fedex left my envelope on the part of the porch that rain hits. Ruined everything inside. Well, guess everything happens for a reason. I was lucky I had additional copies I could send back tomorrow to get Authenticated again. I bought a case now to leave on the porch, hope they will use it. I went out to Hillsboro again today for yet another police clearance. Could somebody please get this right?! It has been 4 trips to get the correct notary. Don't you just love a small town? They really are just so nice out there though. We are getting closer. Next Wednesday are prints will be complete and our Dossier will go to Embassy. Shouldn't be long..I hope:)

It's Here!!

July 5, 2007 Well it's finally here! We received our fingerprint appointment today exactly 3 days after submitting the homestudy, yeah USCIS!! Bad news is, it's next week and Chris will be out of town. We will have to do walk in and I am sure it will be an all day affair. We are so close to completing things on this end. Should be by the end of the month. Now, on to other things. Tony is really upset that no one has voted for the name at all! Is anyone reading this??? He has checked the posts everyday, so please, if you stop by post your comment. Thanks:)

Name Poll!

July 2, 2007. So Tony has not been happy about the middle name. He liked our original selection of Medellin' (Kelly's mom's Spanish maiden name). If you watch HBO's Entourage, pronounced Med-a-een. Chris & I really like Cristiano, it means Christ like, and it is of Spanish & Italian origin. Perfect combination of us both and part of Christopher's name. So I am humoring Tony by taking a poll. Let us know which you like better...

It's Here!!

July 2, 2007. Finally, the completed home study has arrived! I was a nervous wreck. Today I will send by fedex the completed version to the local USCIS office for our big approval. I heard on one of the yahoo Guatemala boards that a few couples got their appointment letters within 4 days and final 171 form in 4 weeks! We are sooo close!
Tony is back for summer vacation and is so exciting to see Nic! He says he thinks we will get the cutest baby in the world. I am sure we will think so!

Time drags on..

June 29, 2007 . We are getting so close to receiving our referral I can hardly stand it! Today we sent some more documents off to get their final seal of approval. We are still waiting for the finished homestudy to arrive in the mail. I am so paranoid it will get lost! Once we can get that to the local INS and get our prints we will be on our way to get the big I171H our final document needed to complete our Dossier. Every month seems to be dragging on. I cannot imagine what this will be like once we have seen Nicky! Will we make it?

To Our Dear Friends & Family

June 8, 2007. We have begun to get our reference letters back from our friends for the homestudy. We really want to say Thankyou to all our friends and family who have taken the time to write such wonderful letters. We are very greatful to be blessed with all of you in our lives.

Paperwork!

June 1, 2007. I was smart enough to take the advice of our friend Jim Morton and hire the dossier service. Money well spent if I do say so. You would not believe the paperwork and the pickiness in how it is completed! We have begun ordering the neccessary documents and chasing the paper. We feel really overwhelmed at this point, it is alot to complete!

Agency Final

May 24, 2007. We have finally decided on an agency. That was a rough process. I think I investigated 50 agencies, everytime finding something negative somewhere. What I found most interesting was the amount of agencies that didn't even answer my emails. Some treated me like they were doing me a favor. After a long drawn out ordeal, I feel confident I made the right choice.

Let the paper chase begin!

May 21, 2007. Well, here we go! Let the paperchase begin. Today we will start our home study. I am really nervous. I guess we just don't know what to expect. I have went over the house with a magnifying glass making sure it is somewhat "baby safe". It has been awhile for us (can you believe, 8 years?) and they have so many neat gadgets for kids these days! Everyone keep your fingers crossed this goes well.