Update
I havent given an update lately. Some of you are probably thinking that we have been at a bit of a standstill. However, it has been quite the opposite. We have been so busy getting things together for the adoption that I have not had the chance to write.
The first of our home study visits is this Wednesday. During this visit, we will have a social worker come to our home to talk and ask questions concerning our thoughts on adoption as well as who we are as individuals and as a couple. The completed home study involves a profile of us that gets sent to Guatemala, basically to convince them that we will be good parents. After reading on numerous websites, it seems that people get pretty anxious about the home study. I can see that it could be nerve racking to have someone come into your home and you have to prove that you are worthy of parenting a child. Greg and I know that we will be good parents so this whole process isnt that unsettling.
All the paperwork is rather unsettling. I could go on and on about all the stipulations. I have read several other adoption blogs where people have talked about all the paperwork that is necessary. You will never really believe it until you are doing it. There are endless forms, letters from employers and doctors, newly issued birth certificates and marriage certificates, fingerprints (2 different sets!), police clearances, child abuse clearances, power of attorney, guardianship, financial profiles, and even pictures. Yes, we have to give them pictures of us. Included in the pictures has to be two "lifestyle" pictures. (Greg suggested submitting pictures of us sitting at our computers ignoring each other.) We also need to have two formal pictures, one of which needs to be full length. Apparently if our legs are too fat or our feet are out of proportion with the rest of our body, then that is confirmation that we would be bad parents.
The stipulations that are involved with filling all these things out is crazy too. I imagine it is just the Guatemala government trying to prove that they wont just give the children away to anyone, and that they really do look through the paperwork. All the records that we have notarized, must be notarized by someone whose notary does not expire in the next year. When the notary signs, they have to make sure that the seal is pressed all the way through the paper and that each letter of their signature is legible. On top of that, all the notarized forms must then be sent to the Secretary of State and have a certification attached, certifying that the person who notarized the record is indeed a valid notary. Once all our paperwork gets submitted to Guatemala, it will inevitably be kicked out of the courts there and sent back for revision, at least once but probably multiple times. Reasons for it to get kicked out include handwriting that looks different from one line to the next, different colored ink, removed staples, and smudged ink.
I think our favorite document that must be included at this time is the name affidavit. We have to write up a list of all the names that we are known by. Apparently whoever reads these forms in Guatemala is not able to figure out that Ann Kline and Mrs. Ann Kline are the same people.
That is what we have been up to. We still have some paperwork to finish before the home study visit this week. We both had to write an autobiography. We havent had the chance to read each others but it should be interesting to see if we have the same ideas on what kind of activites we like to do together and our ideas on adoption. I find some of the questions very difficult, if not impossible, to answer. We have to talk about why we want children. It is like asking someone why they want to have chocolate cake for dessert. You dont know. You just know that you would like it very much.
I would like to take a second to thank a couple of people.
First of all, Val. Thanks so much! Val is going to do a lot of notarizing for us. She has donated her services and her time and I just cant thank her enough. It just puts me at ease to know if something isnt notarized correctly, that I wont have to look crazy running after some notary I dont know to tell him/her that I have a hard time differentiating between the i and the e in their signature. Val will understand my insanity. Really Val, I dont know how we would do this without you.
Also, I want to thank a coworker of mine who I dont want to mention by name at this time. He offered to take a letter to be notarized during his lunch hour for me, asking for nothing in return. Actually, he did ask for something. Turns out that his wife and him are also thinking of adopting internationally and he wants to know how it goes. He may not understand why I am acting so crazy right now but some day he may. Thank you for your help!
On a bit of a side note, I had a couple of interesting dreams over the weekend. Some dreams I have are so vivid that I know there must be some sort of symbolic meaning behind them. By investigating one of my dreams a few years ago, I knew that I was going to marry Greg. I had a dream over the weekend that Greg and I were looking at a new house that was still in the process of being built. A new house in a dream is symbolic of entering a new phase of your life. It would only make sense that the house was still under construction.
In the other dream I had, I was trying to cross a river. The river was in flood stage and the center of the river was raging and flowing with impressive speed. I was nervous about crossing but my brother-in-law told me to just go for it. He knew that he could cross the river and he claimed he wasnt even a good swimmer. I made it across the river and on the other side I found some areas where the water was very calm and clear. Greg joined me and so did several other family members where we all splashed and played in the calm water, in celebration of the raging river that we just crossed. A raging river signifies being out of control. With a little encouragement, we were able to get through that out of control area and celebrate in the joy of the calm serenity on the other side. Through this whole crazy process, I am certain that we will make it through and be able to enjoy the rewards for a lifetime.
--Annie
The first of our home study visits is this Wednesday. During this visit, we will have a social worker come to our home to talk and ask questions concerning our thoughts on adoption as well as who we are as individuals and as a couple. The completed home study involves a profile of us that gets sent to Guatemala, basically to convince them that we will be good parents. After reading on numerous websites, it seems that people get pretty anxious about the home study. I can see that it could be nerve racking to have someone come into your home and you have to prove that you are worthy of parenting a child. Greg and I know that we will be good parents so this whole process isnt that unsettling.
All the paperwork is rather unsettling. I could go on and on about all the stipulations. I have read several other adoption blogs where people have talked about all the paperwork that is necessary. You will never really believe it until you are doing it. There are endless forms, letters from employers and doctors, newly issued birth certificates and marriage certificates, fingerprints (2 different sets!), police clearances, child abuse clearances, power of attorney, guardianship, financial profiles, and even pictures. Yes, we have to give them pictures of us. Included in the pictures has to be two "lifestyle" pictures. (Greg suggested submitting pictures of us sitting at our computers ignoring each other.) We also need to have two formal pictures, one of which needs to be full length. Apparently if our legs are too fat or our feet are out of proportion with the rest of our body, then that is confirmation that we would be bad parents.
The stipulations that are involved with filling all these things out is crazy too. I imagine it is just the Guatemala government trying to prove that they wont just give the children away to anyone, and that they really do look through the paperwork. All the records that we have notarized, must be notarized by someone whose notary does not expire in the next year. When the notary signs, they have to make sure that the seal is pressed all the way through the paper and that each letter of their signature is legible. On top of that, all the notarized forms must then be sent to the Secretary of State and have a certification attached, certifying that the person who notarized the record is indeed a valid notary. Once all our paperwork gets submitted to Guatemala, it will inevitably be kicked out of the courts there and sent back for revision, at least once but probably multiple times. Reasons for it to get kicked out include handwriting that looks different from one line to the next, different colored ink, removed staples, and smudged ink.
I think our favorite document that must be included at this time is the name affidavit. We have to write up a list of all the names that we are known by. Apparently whoever reads these forms in Guatemala is not able to figure out that Ann Kline and Mrs. Ann Kline are the same people.
That is what we have been up to. We still have some paperwork to finish before the home study visit this week. We both had to write an autobiography. We havent had the chance to read each others but it should be interesting to see if we have the same ideas on what kind of activites we like to do together and our ideas on adoption. I find some of the questions very difficult, if not impossible, to answer. We have to talk about why we want children. It is like asking someone why they want to have chocolate cake for dessert. You dont know. You just know that you would like it very much.
I would like to take a second to thank a couple of people.
First of all, Val. Thanks so much! Val is going to do a lot of notarizing for us. She has donated her services and her time and I just cant thank her enough. It just puts me at ease to know if something isnt notarized correctly, that I wont have to look crazy running after some notary I dont know to tell him/her that I have a hard time differentiating between the i and the e in their signature. Val will understand my insanity. Really Val, I dont know how we would do this without you.
Also, I want to thank a coworker of mine who I dont want to mention by name at this time. He offered to take a letter to be notarized during his lunch hour for me, asking for nothing in return. Actually, he did ask for something. Turns out that his wife and him are also thinking of adopting internationally and he wants to know how it goes. He may not understand why I am acting so crazy right now but some day he may. Thank you for your help!
On a bit of a side note, I had a couple of interesting dreams over the weekend. Some dreams I have are so vivid that I know there must be some sort of symbolic meaning behind them. By investigating one of my dreams a few years ago, I knew that I was going to marry Greg. I had a dream over the weekend that Greg and I were looking at a new house that was still in the process of being built. A new house in a dream is symbolic of entering a new phase of your life. It would only make sense that the house was still under construction.
In the other dream I had, I was trying to cross a river. The river was in flood stage and the center of the river was raging and flowing with impressive speed. I was nervous about crossing but my brother-in-law told me to just go for it. He knew that he could cross the river and he claimed he wasnt even a good swimmer. I made it across the river and on the other side I found some areas where the water was very calm and clear. Greg joined me and so did several other family members where we all splashed and played in the calm water, in celebration of the raging river that we just crossed. A raging river signifies being out of control. With a little encouragement, we were able to get through that out of control area and celebrate in the joy of the calm serenity on the other side. Through this whole crazy process, I am certain that we will make it through and be able to enjoy the rewards for a lifetime.
--Annie
posted by Annie and Greg @ 2:19 PM
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