This evening I created an Excel Spreadsheet to help me stay organized. The spreadsheet has 3 worksheets:
Step By Step - a high level to-do list.
Activity Log- I use this to note when we complete things or request items. And when we request items I note the date we requested it, the expected time it should take, and when we actually receive it.
Expenses- a list of expenses with a running total.
We're still reviewing different organizations who provide home studies. If anyone in NC has any recommendations, please let me know.
I just went to the post office and had our application overnighted. I can't believe it took a week for us to fill out the application and get the required attachments, etc...
I know six months from now I'll be able to look back on this post and smile. But for now it feels like we just took the first step in a thousand mile journey.
I want to say thank you to the China Adoption News site for mentioning the Adoption Blog. I appreciate it. I'll be sure to drop by often.
I'm about to send an email out to all of our family and friends to let them know about this site. Most of our family and friends know about our decision to adopt but I haven't told them about this site yet. I'll also post a message on the cabana and I'll probably let the awesome group of people over at APC (Yahoo! Group - Adoptive Parents China) know as well. The folks over at APC have really been helpful during the early stages of this journey.
Anyway, that's all. I just wanted to say welcome to anyone who takes the time to visit my blog and I hope you enjoy it.
And so it begins. Today at lunch I went to the courthouse to get a criminal background check/police clearance report for Naomi and I. Naomi's came back clean. But mine, well let's just say I almost fell over when I read it. There were two charges listed. One for assault on a government official and another one for intoxicated and disruptive behavior. I quickly realized that they gave me the wrong report. It turns out it was someone else that had two names, and one of them matched mine.
I informed the gentleman at the counter that there was a mistake and asked him to please retrieve my record. He said he already did so I pointed out the mistake and he said, "all we do is pull records by name and not by any other identifying characteristics." So when they put a name in the computer they just take the first name that comes up. We went round and round over this. I said surely you can scroll through the list of matching names until you find mine. He looked right at me and said "we don't have a scroll feature." Huh? Hello... This isn't rocket science.
The guy tried to convince me that the adoption agency would accept this as clearance. He said that they would see that the birth date didn't match mine and they would know that the person on the report wasn't me. And so I said great, we're making progress here. We both agree that this report is not mine. So now I just need to know how to get my report. He said.... this is your report. Doh! Unbelievable! I actually started looking around for cameras because I thought that maybe this was some kind of sick candid camera joke.
Well, I kept my cool and walked away. When I got out of the office I called CCAI and explained the situation. CCAI was very helpful. They said I shouldn't have gone to the courthouse and told me to go to the Sheriff's Department instead. Fortunately the Sheriff's Department was right around the corner. I walked in, told them what I needed, and they pulled the correct records. Piece of cake. The records were both accurate and clean.
So this is the beginning of the red tape huh? Bureaucracy at it's worst. I just wonder how many other processes are broken over at the courthouse.
After researching and reviewing several different adoption agencies, we've decided to go with Chinese Children Adoption International (CCAI).
CCAI is the most reputable and experienced agency we could find. Since 1994 they have placed over 4,000 children with families. They are a non-profit, charitable adoption agency. And they specialize and focus on China adoptions only.
During the review process we contacted dozens of people who had used CCAI. Every one of them gave them an outstanding recommendation. The only negative thing that we heard was that they aren't a small agency so if you need someone calling you every other day to check in, you won't get that. But that comment only came from a couple of people. And the majority of the people seemed to agree that even though they are a large agency, you get extremely personalized care and attention.
Their reputation is outstanding. The referrals were great. And my first impression of them from a phone call that I made on Friday was fantastic!
So, today we are filling out our application. This feels like the first real step in the process. From what I understand, we've got a long, long way to go...
Well, this is the first post for the Adoption Blog. I'm still working on the site a little, but at least I can begin to document our progress as we move forward in our quest to adopt a baby girl from China.
I will use this site to keep our family and friends updated on our progress. And to perhaps even assist those that might be thinking about adopting or those that are going through the journey themselves.
For us the journey has just begun...