To Become a Family

I hope for this blog to be a true account of our experience in the adoption process. Also, I hope that this will be a great tool for our friends and family to stay updated throughout this exciting time!

Ken and I first went to our adoption agency on September 11th for an introduction meeting. Since then, just about 5 months later, we have been very busy! The initial rounds of paperwork are done, and currently, our dossier sits in Russia's hands. Our information has been sent to the Bryansk region of Russia, and we have been endlessly researching!

We are currently waiting a referral for a young (0-4 years old) sibling group! Some call us crazy for wanting more than one at once, but thats why we have family (right mom?!) We are truly happy and excited to take this leap of faith into the adoption world, and have been so overwhelmed with the support of our family and friends.

We expect to travel within 5 months for our first trip to Russia. Our first trip will be about a week in length, and we will be able to meet our children, visit their orphanages, review their medical records, and if all goes well,complete paperwork to make our adoption official. After this, we will come home and wait for a court date, which can be anywhere from 2-6 months later. Once we get the court date, we return to Russia to attend court, complete paperwork, and bring our children home! This second trip can be as long as 3 and a half weeks! We have been practicing our Russian with the Rosetta Stone, Ken is progressing much faster than I am!

Below is a map of Russia, Bryansk is located in the red part, close to Moscow.

Our adoption agency has truly been wonderful and knowledgeable. This link will bring you to their website. They have a ton of Russian adoption info! www.whfc.org

If you have the time (about 12 minutes) this video was made by our adoption agency. It gives good information on the Russian adoption process, the children, and the culture. http://www.whfc.org/resources/media.htm