Still no news...

We haven't heard anything from our social worker in awhile. I emailed her last month about our homestudy paperwork, which we began last September. (It amazes me that we have already been in this process for a whole year!) She said that the paperwork officially expires in December, when the homestudy was approved. We are going to see what October brings before begining the updates. I have been following several blogs of families adopting from Russia, China, and Ethiopia. Many have recently received referrals and/or brought their children home. Mark laughs at me because I don't even know these people, but I read their posts and cry! There are so many children leaving orphanages and finally becoming a part of a family. And, there are so many parents that are looking at their children, thanking God for bringing them together. That will be us soon, and I can only imagine how amazing it will be.

We don't have anything new to report, but wanted to wish everyone a safe and fun July 4th weekend. We hope all of you are able to spend time with family and friends!

We went to our adoption seminar on Saturday. It was a long day, but really informative. The pediatrician that specializes in internationally adopted children came to speak. She started a clinic at Glennon 10+ years ago, after adopting three kids from China and one from Nepal. We were so grateful for her advice! When we get our referral she will review it with us and let us know if anything looks questionable. Also, when we bring him or her home, she will do an exam and then coordinate any therapies, immunizations, or medication treatments that are needed. Our agency holds three or four seminars a year, and most of the international families went to the one in February. There were about twenty families at this seminar, but only three couples adopting from other countries (including us!). One couple is adopting from China, and one from Haiti. We were really hoping to meet a family adopting from Russia as well, but it was fun to hear about the other programs. We wish both families well on their adoption journeys!

Mark and I have been researching Krasnoyarsk on Wikpedia and other websites. We just thought we would share some info we found. Here is a good summary from the blogsite of a family who recently adopted from Kras:

“Krasnoyarsk occupies 1/7 of the territory of Russia. It is three times bigger than the entire State of Texas. The region stretches for 1800miles (3000 km) from north to south. Kras is located in Siberia where winters are very cold and snowy and last about 5 months. The average temperature is around -15F, but occasionally can go below -40F. Springs are short but nice, summers are hot 68-75F, and falls have rapidly changing weather.
In 1628, the city Krasnoyarsk was founded as a fortress to guard south-eastern borders of the expanding Russian Empire. The city stands on the banks of the most beautiful and the most abounding water river in Russia called Yenisei. It is surrounded by mountains, resulting in amazing views. The population of Krasnoyarsk significantly increased after building the Trans-Siberian railway. During the Stalin era, political prisoners were held in newly formed Krasnoyarsk prisons. Kras is now a well known cultural, educational and industrial center. It’s population is close to one million inhabitants, there are 12 Universities, 5 theaters, and many museums and picture galleries. Krasnoyarsk is the site of the Siberian Federal University, one of the four largest educational institutions of Russia.”

If you want to learn more, go to Wikpedia.org and search Krasnoyarsk. :)

We have a region!!!

We just received an email from our social worker. She said that our dossier is being sent to Krasnoyarsk! It should be registered there by the end of the month. :) Mark and I are really excited to learn more about Kras. So far we only know that it is in SIBERIA, and that it's super cold! We will definately be shopping for long undies. She said that our referral could come by the end of this year, but to be patient as we probably won't hear anything between now and then. Patience is such a huge part of this whole process!

Our online banking shows that the check we sent for translation fees cleared on the 25th! Hopefully that means the translation is finished. :)

Just a quick update! We received our immigration approval and it has been sent to the American Embassy in Russia. Although this won't speed up the process, it is needed before we can receive a referral. Sometimes it takes forever to get approval, so we are relieved that ours came back already. :) Our check for translation hasn't been cashed yet, so we are assuming that our dossier is still in Moscow. We are hoping that it will be sent to a region soon!