Just another manic monday.....

A mere week after posting last.  Our package has safely arrived in the hands of Olga in Ekat.  We envision that the quest for court will soon be on its way. Ahhhh, let us not speak to soon !

Paperwork already needs to be re-done before it even hits the judge's court room desk.  8 Doctor Medicals expire on June 18, so they have to be redone before submitting anything to court.  I think this is where I start to break down and hate the judge for her narcissistic and  petty idiosyncrasies.  Now a normal person would ask, "why can't we submit the package, while the new medicals are on the way?"  Would make sense that in the interim of the DHL Mail that one would not contract cancer or leprosy?  But alas, its not that easy children; the 8 doctor medicals are one of 6 documents that need to be changed after only one week.  All minor things really, silly things in retrospect; but enough to make you scream out loud....and I did.

My favorite of the changes is the copies of our passports now have to be certified by the adoption agency
and we cannot certify they are true and accurate copies any more.  Funny; you mean the same damn passports that we used to visit your country 4 months ago and the same damn passports that your country issued us visitor visas on?!  You mean you want to make sure those passports are real.  Really?!

It sickens me to think that my boys are sitting in a playpen with little interaction with anyone but each other and the occasional caretaker while this judge plays puppeteer with their futures.  Yes, I am angry this time and I did have a little breakdown on Monday and Tuesday.  I know this too shall pass, but sometimes it just really gets to you and you experience office rage (poor desk chair, I am sorry).

There are also times through this process that a few wonderful people stand out.  Those in the bureaucracy that somehow make the path a little smoother and easier for those of us on this journey.  With the ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties) we need to get certified copies of all 8 doctor's medical specialty certifications and these need to be notarized and apostilled in Illinois, where the ABMS is.  This sounds like it would be one of the most complicated procedures of them all, but sometimes there is a caring soul in these offices.  Katie Sroka, the marketing person that I dealt with for the first round of paperwork and just this week for the second round of medicals; was one of the most pleasant, sweet, efficient, and fast individuals I have had to deal with during this process.  In 24 hours she had my documents emailed to me and sent to the courier to apostille, and she always has kind words to say to me in her emails.  It really makes you feel like there is a human somewhere on the other end of all this paperwork, sometimes.

Some new apostilles, new medicals,  new license verifications (because NJ screwed up), new pension retirement letters....the list begins.

I know this is all worth it in the end. I know to keep my eye on the prize.  I know to just breathe and send the paperwork with a smile.  But what is really making me smile right now is a picture of our four butts with the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA scrawled on the back; via DHL to our judge.
OK, wishful thinking thinking and I'm NOT gonna do it, but a girl can dream can't she??


“Faith is not simply a patience that passively suffers until the storm is past. Rather, it is a spirit that bears things - with resignations, yes, but above all, with blazing, serene hope.”