Well, lots of random things have happened since I posted last. One of which was I wrote a blog that I thought posted, but apparently didn't. Don't know what happened there.
I don't always blog as I find everything out, because some of the things are just sad and no one really wants to hear about them (not even me). But here's a recap of our week:
Weekend/Monday: We found out the the fingerprints from the Indiana State Police, although they are run on the national database, might not be accepted in court. They might have to be on FBI letterhead. We also found out that the reason we haven't been given a court date was because the "regular judge" was on a business trip. So, we did what only we would do...we called our friend Mike (a police officer in town), and asked if he'd be willing to fingerprint us. I knew calling Mike was the best idea...I wanted to make sure the prints were done right the first time. He was fabulous. He did them electronically and even sometimes redid them because he didn't like the print even when the computer did. I have NO doubt that the FBI will accept the ones we sent. Thanks to Mike for taking so much time and caring so much about the details with us!! I also called a man that goes to our church thinking he might have pull with getting the FBI print clearances back sooner. He didn't...but I was ready to pull any string I could to get them done faster than the 6-12 weeks their website states they will take. Late Monday afternoon I spoke with our placing agency who said the ISP prints should be ok, and we might be able to make them work.
Tuesday: FBI received our prints via FedEx (thank you for taking lots of my money and getting my papers across the country by the next day). Got an email at 6:01am that our in country personnel had been contacted about the FBI prints, but that she was in a government building in Vladimir and couldn't talk. She was asked to check her email and get back to us as soon as she could.
Wednesday: At 4:20pm I couldn't take it anymore. I emailed asking if we'd heard back from our personnel in Vladimir. (My prayer had been that she was in the court and we were going to get a date). I got an email back that evening stating that no, she hadn't heard but would call early in the morning.
Thursday: Received an email around 5:30am stating that V (our in country lady) couldn't open the attachment while in Vladimir about the FBI prints, and would open it now that she was at home. She also informed us that V and the judge spoke while V was in Vladimir and that they were working on which documents would be acceptable and a court date. Later in the evening we received word that V was faxing the FBI options to the court and would let us know if the judge decides to accept them.
Friday: It's currently 5:30pm in Russia, so says the clock that hangs in our home. Things are closed for the day. The judge has gone home to be with his family/friends.
Saturday: Wait.
Sunday: Wait.
Pray with us that we see what God is doing soon. I still believe we could hear about a date today...because maybe V hasn't gotten to hear computer yet. Or maybe J (our state side lady) hasn't been able to forward the message on yet. If we can go to court on Friday, December 2nd...our Gotcha Day would be the day that we decided to adopt one year ago. We still might be able to be home by Christmas at this point, but it's getting REALLY close. Please be praying that our little girl can spend American Christmas with her Mama and Papa. And that we can celebrate Russian Christmas (1/7) together as a family in our home.
Thanks for praying. God is big, and we need Him to be big. We can't do this on our own. Only HE can make this happen.
Jessi
I don't always blog as I find everything out, because some of the things are just sad and no one really wants to hear about them (not even me). But here's a recap of our week:
Weekend/Monday: We found out the the fingerprints from the Indiana State Police, although they are run on the national database, might not be accepted in court. They might have to be on FBI letterhead. We also found out that the reason we haven't been given a court date was because the "regular judge" was on a business trip. So, we did what only we would do...we called our friend Mike (a police officer in town), and asked if he'd be willing to fingerprint us. I knew calling Mike was the best idea...I wanted to make sure the prints were done right the first time. He was fabulous. He did them electronically and even sometimes redid them because he didn't like the print even when the computer did. I have NO doubt that the FBI will accept the ones we sent. Thanks to Mike for taking so much time and caring so much about the details with us!! I also called a man that goes to our church thinking he might have pull with getting the FBI print clearances back sooner. He didn't...but I was ready to pull any string I could to get them done faster than the 6-12 weeks their website states they will take. Late Monday afternoon I spoke with our placing agency who said the ISP prints should be ok, and we might be able to make them work.
Tuesday: FBI received our prints via FedEx (thank you for taking lots of my money and getting my papers across the country by the next day). Got an email at 6:01am that our in country personnel had been contacted about the FBI prints, but that she was in a government building in Vladimir and couldn't talk. She was asked to check her email and get back to us as soon as she could.
Wednesday: At 4:20pm I couldn't take it anymore. I emailed asking if we'd heard back from our personnel in Vladimir. (My prayer had been that she was in the court and we were going to get a date). I got an email back that evening stating that no, she hadn't heard but would call early in the morning.
Thursday: Received an email around 5:30am stating that V (our in country lady) couldn't open the attachment while in Vladimir about the FBI prints, and would open it now that she was at home. She also informed us that V and the judge spoke while V was in Vladimir and that they were working on which documents would be acceptable and a court date. Later in the evening we received word that V was faxing the FBI options to the court and would let us know if the judge decides to accept them.
Friday: It's currently 5:30pm in Russia, so says the clock that hangs in our home. Things are closed for the day. The judge has gone home to be with his family/friends.
Saturday: Wait.
Sunday: Wait.
Pray with us that we see what God is doing soon. I still believe we could hear about a date today...because maybe V hasn't gotten to hear computer yet. Or maybe J (our state side lady) hasn't been able to forward the message on yet. If we can go to court on Friday, December 2nd...our Gotcha Day would be the day that we decided to adopt one year ago. We still might be able to be home by Christmas at this point, but it's getting REALLY close. Please be praying that our little girl can spend American Christmas with her Mama and Papa. And that we can celebrate Russian Christmas (1/7) together as a family in our home.
Thanks for praying. God is big, and we need Him to be big. We can't do this on our own. Only HE can make this happen.
Jessi
This is excruciating. I can't imagine what you two must be going through. We are praying continually. God certainly is big and He will do amazing things. We love you!
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