Starting the Journey

It is now official we have chosen an agency and put in the adoption application. For everyone who may not be familiar with International adoptions this is a very long process. An adoption could take as long as 24 months or more. During the next 24 months there are many different forms and interviews that need to be completed before Russia will allow me to adopt a child. From what I can tell there is 3 different parts of the adoption: Home Study, Dossier and Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS).

Picking an agency was very difficult. There are so many agencies that do International adoptions. The first step was to decide what country we were going to adopt from then we needed to pick an agency that could help us in our journey. The country that we decided to adopt from is Russia. The funny thing is that we have started to learn how to speak Russian. Learning to speak Russian is not as hard as it sounds. I have been listening to Russian CDs in the car on my way to work. I am hoping to find a class that will help me learn more of what I need to know. But have no fear I know how to ask Where is Red Square?

The excitement that I am feeling now is unexplainable. The stress of how I will manage all the details leading up to Gotcha Day is overwhelming. My hope is to use this journal to put my thoughts and feelings into words. As I start each portion of the adoption process I will post what the steps are for that portion of the adoption. At the end of the blog I hope to be able to list the things that I have completed so far.