We really enjoyed the second trip to visit Jason Alexei's. Simone had moved to Vidnoye, so we got to car pool with Lori and Antoine. Lori takes great pictures so we have a lot of good family photos from that trip. We had three days to visit with Jason and each day we had nice long visits. There were some funny moments such as being the first to experience the 8 Doctor Medical in Moscow and also getting Jason to keep his eyes open for his passport photo.
It was all punctuated by our court hearing, which is the primary purpose of trip #2. It will be our court hearing in Russia that declares us the parents of Grace. There is a 10 day waiting period after the hearing for things to go into effect, so we will be unable to bring her home until after that 10 day waiting period.
Our paperwork was registered in court today, so I guess we are now on the clock to going back. Hopefully it is in four weeks. We would really like to get this done before Christmas, but if things push back beyond four weeks I doubt it will happen.
A lot of paperwork has to happen on trip three to process Grace's passports, immigrant visa, and other documents. Bumping into the holidays and office closures could push that trip back into January.
This morning marked the fifth time this year I have been fingerprinted for a background check. Two times have been for work. Three for the adoption. Today's prints were to clear us for our court hearing. Russia wants the FBI to have a fresh background check done in time for court. Great. This year alone I will be investigated by four different government agencies. For those keeping score they are:
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation
- The Alabama Bureau of Investigation
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Defense Investigative Agency
You would think that in this post-September 11 age there could be more cooperation between these agencies. You would think. Your tax dollars at work folks!!!!
2 comments:
I remember the second trip like it was yesterday! You forgot to mention our dawn raids on Red Square. I count those early hours (practically) alone with the walls of the Kremlin and the spires of St. Basils rising along with the sun around us as one of my most enchanted memories. I will tell Jason A. and Simone about it over and over until they make me stop! I'm so excited that we are now building our stories for Grace and Little Sister. Lori
I think that early morning trip to Red Square with such awesome sunshine could be one of those one in a lifetime events. That morning and the glory of the square was what motivated me to get an apartment within walking distance.
Unfortunately, it did not work out for us to make any of those early morning or late evening treks. Those plans were overcome by events. The long drive to Orekhovo-Zuyevo and the intensity of the week pretty much wiped us out.
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