Wouldn't Ya Know It

Well, the consulate did not fix my police report, and apparently messed it up even more, so I had to redo it. I found out June 6 and the document was set to expire on June 9 anyway. However, our dossier still hadn't been submitted to the IAD, so I worried that John's police report, our marriage certificate, and medical reports (and possibly other stuff) was expiring also and may not be accepted. Rachel said not to worry about it -- they are going to try to convince the IAD to extend the 6 month deadline for the dossiers that were in Vietnam before June 1 (the date that the IAD said they would no longer be able to hold dossiers in their offices). It sounds very iffy though -- like they have to catch the right person in the right kind of mood or something.

So, I got pretty down about it all for awhile. I try to keep a positive attitude, but come on! Couldn't something just go right for us??? Just redoing this one document cost us over $150 in fees and postage -- when I think of how many times we've redone stuff, it really adds up fast. Being the thrifty (ok, cheap) person that I am it just makes me sick to know that money was spent for naught. But, such is the nature of the international adoption process.

Rachel asked that I try to get the document through the process and to her by July 25 so she could hand carry it to Vietnam with her on her trip there next week. It took a week to get a new document from the Brighton Police Department (though Brenda there has been SO helpful and kind!), and it took another week to get it back from the MI Secretary of State. I just got it today and loaded up the kids and went to the post office to send it on to the consulate. Odds are it won't make it to Rachel in time, since the consulate will get it Monday and would have to immediately process it and send it back out (like THAT'S gonna happen!). If it doesn't get to her in time, our new coordinator Melissa and the senior coordinator for China will review it and then Fed Ex it to Rachel. I'm having the consulate send it directly to FTIA, so it's out of my hands again.

The good news -- our dossier was submitted to the IAD on July 17! They won't review it until we are set to be matched with a child, so we won't know if they want anything redone until then. Which is fine with me! As long as the police report is correct this time, we shouldn't have to worry about any more dossier paperwork for at least a year. Man, would that be nice! I've been working on this stuff for over 7 months now! (How naive I was when I started -- I thought we'd knock it out in about two months, three at the very most -- ha ha ha.)

So, I'm not quite all the way back to my optomistic self yet (and probably won't be until I know the police report is ok and has been turned in to the IAD), but I'm at least out of the self-pity stage. :)

Tomorrow (actually, later today) we are going into Chicago to Chinatown to see the Dragon Boat Races. The Chicago chapter of Families with Children from Vietnam is having their summer picnic there, so we are going to meet everyone. Kathryn and her husband will be there -- we've emailed a few times. They live a couple towns over from us and were put on their agency's waiting list the same day we were! I'm really looking forward to meeting her in person and having a nice picnic with everyone.

So, of course I'll keep you updated on the document drama, and hopefully soon I'll be able to switch the focus of this to more positive and educational topics. :)