Much ado about fingerprinting

Hey friends!

At the end of the day, we had our fingerprints taken, but that's just the end of the story. Y'all wouldn't believe what took place at the beginning. I'm going to tell you, just for the shear sake of documentation.

(I feel like I need to say, "once upon a time" or something, but I won't....this is no fairy tale, but it does have a happy ending)

It was Friday night, and Brad & I were just getting in to bed, talking about our upcoming day. We had to be in Atlanta at 8:00 AM, but the kids were with my sister, so we had the rest of the day in the ATL to do whatever we wanted. We had thought about staying overnight somewhere nice. But, instead, decided to spend the money on some home improvement projects; so we were mapping out (in our mind, not literally on paper) all the shops and stores and restaurant possibilities. We were really looking forward to the time to spend together, and were excited about the prospect of having all day and evening to do whatever our hearts desired. What luxury!! I was beginning to think that our earlier snafu had been a blessing in disguise.

But then the phone rings. Don't you hate a late night call.....ugh!! It was Brad's work, and someone had made some programming changes that had literally shut down 20 manufacturing plants. Needless to say, it was a huge deal. Poor Brad had to work very literally ALL NIGHT long. Somewhere in the middle of the night he had dealt the blow that it was not going to be possible for him to leave work at 6:00 in the morning. He told me to go on ahead and take his forms with me to reschedule him. There is not much you can say or do when your employer is having a major manufacturing outage and you can fix it. Obviously, I was disappointed.

I left the house around 5:30 (they are doing construction around Kennesaw and I wasn't sure if it would cause a delay) and on the way down I was telling God how disappointed I was. Some might call it whining, I prefer to think of it as......um.......being honest with my disappointment- there, doesn't that sound better? In all honesty, I really don't think I was whining. I wasn't mad. I was just bummed. Yet again, something was preventing us from accomplishing this seemingly easy task and it was taking a much needed 'date time' with my husband down with it. In my mind I was also wondering how difficult it was going to be to reschedule, and if it would get lost in the shuffle. I was also afraid that it would create problems if Brad and I had different expiration dates.

Anyway, Brad called while I was still driving down and he said that I should ask them if he could still be fingerprinted as long as he made it down there some time that day. He seemed to think that he could leave (for an hour or so) later on that morning. I felt it was a long shot, but when I got there, I asked, and much to my surprise the answer was yes (as long as he got there before 3 PM.)

Luckily, Brad was able to leave around 8:30 or so and he met me in Kennesaw (remember, I had his forms) then went on down to the processing office, and then went straight back to work. And, since I was already down there (and without kids) I decided to hang around and go to all my favorite shops.

In the end, all that suffered was our time alone.....Oh, and maybe my sanity for a few hours. But, it's all good. The kids won't be back until Thursday, and Brad will definitely be taking some comp time, so our 'day' is coming.

Don't you just love a happy ending? Lord knows I do. - Thank you Jesus!

Fairly soon, I should be posting about our new approval!

Happy to Announce......some good news!

Hey friends!

I just wanted to pass along some good news. I went out to the mailbox today and lo and behold, we received our new fingerprint appointments in the mail. Yahoo. Our new appointment is this Saturday, 6/7 at 8:00 AM!! Wow, that is 6 days notice. We're going to have to juggle some things and cancel some others; not to mention, get up way early. But, we'll gladly make it happen. It will be nice to have this part of the process over with. After this, we should get our new approval which will be good for 18 months, I think.

That's all, just happy to pass on some good news for a change. Oh, and keep praying!

Yep, too good to be true.

Well guys, it didn't happen. Brad took a day off of work and we drove down to Atlanta, and still did not get our fingerprints done. We got to the U*SC*IS application office around 11:00 this morning. We were encouraged because the parking lot appeared empty, and we didn't see many people outside. However, once inside my gut feelings were confirmed. We went to the desk and explained our situation and that we had called the 1-800 number ON THE FORM THEY SENT and that we were instructed to come on a Wednesday. This was our reply (and, I'm not joking, pretty much verbatim,) "yeah, they don't give the right information out. Walk-ins can come any day, not just Wednesday; but they can only come at 2:30 (remember it was 11:00) and there is no guarantee you will get in, but if you don't you can reschedule."

So, what choice did we have? We were already there. So, we went to get something to eat and shopped for a while, and then went back to the office in hopes of being seen. We got back at 2:30 and by this time, a line had formed outside. The man we spoke to earlier came out after a while and pretty much told us (and the others) that we would not be seen, so we opted to reschedule. In order to do so, we had to make a copy of the invitation that we had received in the mail and brought with us. Apparently, there are no copiers in the office, so we had to leave and drive down the street to a Publix to make the copies, and then go back to the office.(Am I the only one that thinks that is insane?) I assumed (crazy me) that we would get an actual date and time when we went back, but instead, he just took our forms and said that a new invitation would come in the mail. I (very politely) asked him why, if they know the 800 number gives incorrect information, do they include it; and I went on to explain that we live an hour and a half away. He apologized and said that the 800 number is not for that particular processing office, and they are given generic responses to give out; which may be true for some offices, just not all (NICE). He then goes on to say that if we do not get anything in the mail (I changed our address on the form) within one month to come back, and show them the copy. I said, "So if we don't hear anything and we come back next month, will they do our fingerprints?" Are ya'll ready for this.......His reply (and I quote) "Definitely maybe." Are you kidding me? I laughed at this point, because there was nothing else to do. I mean, is this the best that a g*vernm*ent agency can offer us?....definitely maybe.

So, after all this, we did not get our fingerprints, and we do not have an appointment for them to be done in the future. Not only that, I can't even call or inquire further until it has been a month; and then, even then, it will require another trip to Atlanta with no guarantees. And, I just feel it necessary to say again that we've already been approved and done this whole fingerprinting process once. It still amazes me that our fingerprints "expire". I even took our original approval form with me.....it meant nothing.

Obviously, there is much to pray about. Obviously, my attitude is anything but positive. Obviously, it looks like there is no end in sight, and doubt and fear consume. God, may I ask, "Are you telling us something or is this Satan's handywork or is this just 'part of it'?" Lord, would you instruct us and teach us in the way we should go; will you counsel us and watch over us. (Psalm 32:8)

Unbelievable!!

As you know from previous posts, we have submitted an application for an extension of our Immigration Approval for little Malley. We did this on Monday, April 14th. We were right behind our close friends, the McGhee's, in this process. I had been checking with Angie to see if she had gotten a response. Sure enough, she got her appointment for fingerprints, and they only gave her an 8 day notice. Based on the timing, I knew ours should be just about a week or so behind theirs. This made me panic a bit, since we were about to leave for Disney, and I didn't want to be out of town during our fingerprint appointment time. So, I had our neighbor and friend, Meleia, religiously check our mailbox while we were gone.....but nothing came. Finally, today, we received our forms in the mail. Unfortunately, attached to the original document was an envelope. Apparently, they had sent the original document to our previous address.....even though, if you remember, I had asked in an email if there was anything specific that should be done to reflect our new address. Even though the response was a month late in getting to me, she assured me that nothing else should be done because the address change was reflected in our home study. But, they STILL sent the fingerprint appointment to our old address. UUUGGGHHH! So, guess when our appointment WAS? 5/10/2008 Hello, that was 9 days ago.

I find all of this so unbelievable!! How is it that absolutely every single step of the way is riddled and laced with error and mistake after error and mistake.

I called the immigration office and told them what had happened, and the representative told me that all we had to do was show up at the fingerprint office on a Wednesday and give them the original form and explain the error. That almost sounds too good to be true, and I asked her two different times to be sure of what she is saying. I even went on to say, "so, even though this form says that if we fail to appear as scheduled, our application will be considered abandoned?" She assured me again, that it will be fine. But, I don't know. I'm scared to death, and quite frankly, mad as hell.

So, you guessed it. We'll be making a trip to Atlanta on Wednesday. Please pray that the lady is right, and that they will go ahead and do our fingerprints and honor our request. If you don't mind, I think I'll pray right now.....care to join me?

Father God,

You know my emotions right now. You know how frustrated I am. Thankfully, you know me and you know my feelings. Jesus, would you please show us favor when we go to be fingerprinted on Wednesday. Lord, just as you gave your favor to Joseph, would you grant us your favor with the immigration office. Would you allow the fingerprints to be taken, and the process with our application to proceed. We ask that the road ahead be paved with your grace, and that ultimately, that road would lead to our sweet little girl. God, we are waiting on you and with you; please give us strength. Until the time when she is in our arms, Lord, please comfort her in yours. Give her peace and protection. Jesus, I also ask for the ability to receive our Malley in the soonest possible time. Would you protect her, and the other children from having to wait unnecessarily due to red tape or bureaucracy. God, we acknowledge that your ways are not our ways, and that your timing, although rarely ours, is perfect. Your way is perfect God, and we trust you. Your timing is perfect God, and we hope in you.
-Amen

Citizenship & Immigration Papers Resent Today

Hey Folks!

Our homestudy update was finally received......after a nice, long talk with the executive director of our home study agency. After we got that, I added the other necessary documents (that we had ready) and sent the whole kit and kaboodle to the Atlanta office of the CIS. We should be fine on the deadline, our document doesn't expire until May 16. So, hopefully, they will get it a good month before the deadline.

There is one small matter of concern that you could feel free to pray about. It is nothing major, but could just cause more hassles....um work for us. Since our original homestudy was completed, we have moved; that is part of the reason we did the update in the first place. But, I'm not sure if I needed to do anything special with our paperwork that we sent off today to reflect that (it is reflected in the update). I asked our adoption coordinator with our placement agency, and she wasn't sure, and apparently didn't feel the need to check on it and get back with me. Her advice to me was to email the Atlanta office (and then let her know). I did that last week. I got a generic automated response, but I still have not received any other email. From what I gathered on the CIS website, you only need to fill out extra paperwork if your status is pending, and our status is approved, it's just about to expire. I couldn't find any information that matched our scenario. So, my decision was to go ahead and send our documentation, and if there is something else needed, hopefully they will let me know and I can still get it to them by our deadline next month. I sincerely hope that doesn't come back to bite me, but I felt better about everything being there, than waiting on an answer that I may never receive.

If all goes as planned we should get the "one time free extension" and another appointment to do our fingerprints, as they have expired. Then, we should be able to sit back and wait again.

You may have noticed that I've added a song to Malagan's blog. In fact, it should be playing for your listening enjoyment even now, as you read. (I suppose it's only fitting since the name of the blog is Malagan's Song.) This song was playing on a friend of mine's blog during a time when she was waiting. One day, the words just popped out at me. I had heard it a thousand times, but finally, really caught the first few lines of the lyric. It says, "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord." So, now that has become our adoption waiting theme song. Not only because we are waiting on the Lord, but because it goes on to say that the Lord himself is the defender of the weak, and the comforter to those in need. I ask you, who is more weak and needy than my little Malley, and all those like her. I will trust Him to hold her and the others in his arms until I can hold her in mine. He does not faint and he does not grow weary, even when I do.

EVERLASTING GOD:
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Our God You reign forever
Our Hope our strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
The everlasting God
The everlasting God.

Update Woes

Well, at least we're consistent. Yep, you guess it, we have had and are having issues with our home study update. You know, again, this is something that should be so routine for everyone involved and yet, it just isn't.

First off, our social worker was scheduled for 3/5, but lo and behold, she had to reschedule for 3/11. She stated several times that once the in home meeting took place, she would have our update ready within a day or two. Well, the 13th came and went with no word, and yes the 14th too. Finally, on the 17th she emailed me saying that she needed more information. There is a particular form that each family has to have completed by their local Department of Family & Children Services. I had sent our form in way back in January. Apparently, our social worker hadn't received it, and we were going to have to actually go to DFACS ourselves and have them fill out a new one. But, just by chance I called the main office of our home study agency just to double check, and it turns out that they had it there. Obviously, that was a relief but also very frustrating, because we could've had our update much sooner, had the correct communication happened between main office and social worker. Anyway, I'm thinking worst case scenario, we would have it by 3/21. No such luck. FINALLY, on 3/26 she sent me an email saying that she had sent in our report to the main office. Oh, and she apologized for the delay (thank you very much). Well, I kept expecting an email or something in the mail, and I still haven't gotten it. I know, it's just the 29th, but I'm working on a deadline here and I'm anxious. So, I called the main home study agency office today.

First of all, the phone was answered with "HELLO". Obviously, I thought I had called the wrong number. But, no instead it was our agency's receptionist and she was out at a restaurant having lunch. She had forwarded the calls. I couldn't hear her for all the background noise and conversation. But, I tried to inquire about how long I should expect to wait before I receive our update. And IF I heard her correctly, she said, "Oh, you can call back A WEEK FROM TUESDAY, when s0 & so is going to be in, she's the one that does that." I'm thinking, Are you kidding me????? I was prepared to have some discussion right then and there, but I thought, "what good would it do, she is obviously doing more important things right now, and doesn't have time for me." But, you can bet, on Monday morning I will be making a call to the executive director herself.

Again, this is so frustrating because it doesn't have to be like this, it shouldn't be like this!! There are children here and all over the world that need parents. Yet, we have agency's that don't even care enough to man the phone during normal office hours. We have, over and over, in this process been met with people that are apathetic and just quite honestly don't care......and I'm not talking about caring about us or what we're trying to do as a family, I'm talking about people not caring about their own jobs. People that could care less whether they do their job properly and to the best of their ability. And, this is just not acceptable. Not when there are government imposed deadlines to meet, and if they are not met will cost us, at the very least an extra $1000. Not when, there is a little girl across the world that doesn't have a mommy to meet even the most basic of her needs.

This process is killing me. It is stretching me and doing things with my patience that I never ever thought I could. You see, in the past, I've always had some tiny morsel of control. Something that I could do that might change the outcome of the situation. But, with this adoption, there is not one single solitary shred of control. Not even the most minute amount. And, I think I would be okay with that on some days, but when the wait drags on and on, and there is nothing I can do about it, I just ache and feel the most hopeless feeling. It is the same way I felt when Sara Kate was sick, and I knew there was absolutely nothing I could do to help her. Try that feeling......on, and on, and on. It's a hard place. Please Pray

Our Fortune

We are almost finished gathering the paperwork for our homestudy update. It has been a long process. It seems every task, no matter how small and easy proved difficult. I know we are not the first adoption in our area, but with each piece of paperwork, it was less and less evident. I was beginning to think I was actually speaking my request in Chinese, because many were the misunderstandings. We are now just waiting on a three sentence letter from Brad's company stating that he actually does work there. Apparently, a three sentence letter is very time consuming, and Brad had to wait for the ladies' assistant to come back to work before it would be typed.

Enough venting.....

I thought I would share the fortune Bryce got last night after our meal on our little date at Ginga. We are counting on it to be true, even though Ginga is a Japanese Steak House and we are adopting from China. Lets not get hung up on the details. Any way, It said:

"Good news of a long-awaited event will arrive soon." -Amen

No it really didn't say Amen at the end......but if my memory serves me correctly, Amen means, 'so be it'. So, I added that.

Let's Pray it so ya'll, pray it so.