A Doozy of a Dossier

What is a dossier (pronounced "dos-ee-ey"), you may be wondering?  Dossier is the fancy word used to describe the big mound of paperwork put together when you are adopting.  Here is what our dossier included:

1)  Application for Adoption

2)  Certification of True Photocopy of Passport (George)

3) Certification of True Photocopy of Passport (Danielle)

4)  Employment verification (George)

5)  Proof of residence

6)  Medical form (George)

7)  Medical form (Danielle)

8)  Homeland Security (approval letter from US Immigration)...the final puzzle piece in dossier!!

9)  Affidavit

10)  Statement of Biographical Data (George)

11)  Statement of Biographical Data (Danielle)

12)  Power of attorney for Ileana (Moldova)

13) Power of attorney Lilana (TX)

14)  Social worker Statement of Compliance

15)  Family Photos

16)  Certified Birth Certificate (George)

17) Certified Birth Certificate (Danielle)

18) Certified Marriage License

19)  License of home study agency

20)  Home study

For each of the above, we signed for the notary public (a big shout out to Luis at Wells Fargo who watched us sign a lot of stuff yesterday...coincidentally he and his wife have a heart for adoption and are Show Hope sponsors).  We got all this done just as the bank closed at 4:30.  Then, G drove in one direction toward the airport for an evening flight to San Diego, and the boys and I drove toward CVS to celebrate their good behavior at the bank with the candy of choice (it was supposed to be with a frosty from Wendy's, but I couldn't find an easy way to get there in the craze of 5 o'clock traffic on Thompson Lane...)

Today Gavin and I ventured to the downtown library for story time.  Upon completion of the final story, I handed him off to my friend Danielle (woohoo!) to free me of extra weight during my next, potentially time-consuming adoption adventure.  I went to have all twenty documents certified at the Davidson County Clerk's office (Jennifer was my new friend there).  I was grateful that Becky clued me in that I could call ahead with the names of the notary publics that would need to be certified (there were three different notary publics in all...the doctor's office and home study agency have their own).  

Next, I ventured to the Tennessee Tower in downtown Nashville where the Secretary of State's office would provide the Apostille (pronounced "uh-pos-til") needed for all twenty documents (Apostilles is the fancy word used to describe the certification process for an international document).  If there was ever a question as to whether God is holding my hand through all this, know that I pulled over to reassess my location since my Mapquest had sent me astray only to have a kind park ranger pull up next to me to help me.  Yes, a park ranger...why is there a park ranger in the middle of downtown?  He gave me a map, and sent me on my way and warned me about the difficulty of parking.  I had a parking spot directly in front of the entrance of the building's front door waiting for me.  Yes, might as well have had a sign with "Reserved for Giddy Adoptive Mom" marking it out.  The only people with a better parking spot were the group of police officers with reserved (reserved for real) spots in front.  My new friend Jamie had me in and out within about a half an hour with a lot of official-looking documents in hand.

A quick trip to FedEx to get all kinds of copies made--not fun when you can't unstaple--and I headed for home to organize prior to the big send-off...

It was only appropriate that I have the big brothers along as we handed our big packet to Nick for delivery to our adoption agency in Texas.  Before making fun of me for these kinds of pictures, remember that instead of having pictures of a pregnant belly, I will have pics like these to share with our little Moldova babe.  I can hear it now, "This is Nick, the man who delivered the big packet to the delivery man who gave it to the pilot who took it to Texas to our agency, so they could tell Moldova we wanted to come pick you up!"  This is essentially a "pregnant belly" picture...still unclear as to what trimester we are in since there is no definite end to this "pregnancy."

Now, our dossier will be shipped by our agency to Moldova this week. From there they will take approximately two weeks for translation (Romanian is the language of Moldova) and certification.  Then it will be submitted to the Moldovan Committee for Adoption. They may give us a referral within six weeks or six months. My agency's coordinator in Moldova will check in with the committee at the two-month mark to learn of the status. All that to say, that we are still waiting, but what we are waiting for is different! Yahoo!

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."  

Psalm 27:14

WooHoo US Immigration!!!!

It is so fun to check the mailbox and unexpectedly find a letter from US Immigration!  They were super efficient in approving our petition for adoption!!  Woohoo!  Now the "hot potato" is in our hands, and George and I will get a bunch of documents signed in front of a notary public, get them certified by the county clerk, and granted apostilles from the Tennessee Secretary of State.  We will send the bundle of paperwork to our agency, and they will send all to Moldova.  Then we wait to be matched with our little person!!  We are one day closer to hugging a babe in Moldova!  Yahoo!

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."  Proverbs 19:21

The Big Brothers

Ready, Set, Wait!

Every day we are one day closer to the babe God made to be part of our family!

Immigration sent us an appointment for fingerprints at our local US Immigration office, which we have already completed. Now we wait with anticipation of an approval letter from Immigration.  With this in hand, we will be able to take a lot of requested paperwork for our Moldova Dossier (official term in adoption world for "lots of paper") to the notary public.  George and I will visit the notary public to sign fourteen documents.  We will then report to the County Clerk of Davidson County for the "verification of notarization" (another layer of making stuff official).  Finally, we will take the documents to the Secretary of State's office for apostilles (official stamp for paperwork to be accepted by a country other than the US).  The whole packet will be sent FedEx to International Family Services for final review before sending to Moldova.

Immigration Approval and Dossier Submission...

Once in the hands of Moldova, we will wait to be matched with the little person God made to be part of our family.  They tell us this could be in as little as a month, in that Moldova only recently reopened to international adoption.  They had closed in order to get in alignment with the governing rules of the Hague Convention, which established guidelines for international adoption.  That said, we could still be waiting for little Hampton at this time next year.  God has perfect timing, and we will put our trust in Him...just hoping He doesn't make us wait too long!

The Referral...

When we do receive a referral, we will have time to prayerfully consider if we believe this match is in God's will.  We checked the "boy" box for a little guy between two to three years old.  We also said we are open to a sibling group of up to three children (so substitute "them" in place of "him" if you feel so led...).  Elliot and Gavin like to talk about their "brotherS in Moldova." Moldova does not make children eligible for international adoption until they have been on the adoption list within the country's borders for the first two years (hence the reason he will be at least nearing his second birthday).  It was also important to us that we keep our current birth order, so we are seeking to adopt a child younger than Gavin (3 years old).  Once accepted, we will have about three weeks to plan our travel to Moldova for the first of two trips for both George and Danielle.  

Travel to Moldova...

On the first trip, George and Danielle will meet the little one, spend time with him and file petition to adopt.  This will be between 10 to 14 days.  We will return to the United States without our little Moldova babe to wait approximately one month.  When we return to Moldova, we will go to court, apply for a Visa for our babe, and bring him home in approximately 10 days.  Upon reaching American soil, the first stamp from an Immigration officer makes our Moldovan babe an official American babe.  And the next chapter begins.

For now, we are just waiting...

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry."
Psalm 40:1

The Paperwork Pregnancy

Yes, sign me up! Now, what do you need from me?

What our Home Study Agency needed from us...

Background Checks for each state where you have resided since the age of 18 years...Ohio (both of us), Mississippi (Danielle), Alabama (Danielle), Illinois (both of us), Tennessee (both of us), California (both of us), Iowa (George), Minnesota (George), Florida (George), Pennsylvania (George). If only all states would agree about one form and process!

Medical Exams...George--scheduled, Danielle--scheduled, Elliot--had it done in past twelve months, Gavin--had it done in past twelve months.

Birth and marriage proof...Certified birth certificates--Danielle and George, certified marriage certificate, Copies of birth certificates--Elliot and Gavin

Questionnaires...Adoption questionnaires, Marriage questionnaires, Autobiographies for George and Danielle

Finances...Tax returns, Personal Financial Review, W-2 statements, Employment letter/verification/income

Insurance...Life insurance policies for George and Danielle, Medical insurance proof

Passports...Copies of passports for George and Danielle

Driver's Licenses...Copies of driver's licenses for George and Danielle

Family photograph--Easy one!!!

Classes scheduled--May 7, May 14, May 21

Interviews with social worker--George, Danielle, as a couple, as a family in our home, home safety review

"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." Proverbs 14:23

To Catch You Up On How This Began

Before I give you the update from the past year, let me say that George and I believe that God has known about all this since the very beginning of time.  He has just waited patiently for us to figure out we need to go pick up the other child He made to be part of our crazy, happy, chaotic family.  Next, the more recent "beginning"...

I was born to an amazing, loving set of parents, Bob (AKA Papa Bob) and Marie (AKA GrandMimi).  I have always known what it is to be part of a family, where there is an endless supply of hugs and acceptance no matter the circumstance.  They encouraged, guided, and served as my greatest fans.  George could say the same for himself of George (AKA BooBoo) and Helen (AKA Grammy).  This blessing we took for granted.  Because of my extended family, I later learned  that some children take a different route to find the family meant for them.  When I was ten, my Aunt Jean and Uncle Gene welcomed a new daughter into their family, my cousin Jenny. My cousins Scot, Kim and Chip all became part of my family through domestic adoption.  Weeks prior to my wedding, my cousin Theresa and her family made a journey to China to pick up the daughter born to be a La Du, my cousin Tori. A few years later, Theresa's sister Susan and her family traveled to Guatemala before the country was closed to adoption and met Micah, the boy born to be their son. None of these necessarily made me think about adoption for my own family, but all made adoption a natural part of my extended family. I often joked that I would love to one day have the family God designed as depicted in the song, "Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world."

Then came Emily. I was leading Bible study for women with "Babes-in-Arms" when Emily was introduced with her infant son.  I was thinking she looked way too good to have just had a baby when she shared that her son was adopted.  God knew all along that her son, whose middle name was "Matthew" meaning "Gift from God," would be delivered to sweet Emily and her hubby through another young woman's womb.  He was born to be their son.

I learned from my friend Mary that all three of her wonderful grown children had been adopted. She shared a specific story about her son's birth mother coming to visit and the sense that God's hand was in it all.  Another friend, Joan, from my Mom's group at church shared with me that they were in the process of domestic adoption.  As I pondered the idea of adoption aloud, I was encouraged by my friend Aimie to read Forever Lily, a story in which a woman traveled to China as an observer of the adoption process only to become an adoptive parent herself...twice.

Still, I simply remained intrigued by the beauty of adoption.  George and I were blessed to have been given two beautiful, rambunctious sons. Perhaps we would have more. Perhaps not. Why would adoption be a consideration for a family like ours?  Pregnancy, after all, had been fun for me.  I love how strangers give you that big smile when they determine your big belly is actually a tiny human growing on the inside.

Fast forward to my quaint neighborhood in Nashville, Tennessee.  One of the first neighbors to greet me was Becky, who was hosting a garage sale to raise money, so she and her husband could adopt a little cutie from China within the next year.  Like my cousin Theresa had years before, Becky spoke of her "pull" toward China to pick up the baby girl waiting for her. I quickly became friends with Kristen at the neighborhood pool, who had adopted a beautiful little baby girl within the past couple years.  Watching the family interact, I just couldn't imagine their baby Grace not being part of it.  I met Jake, a cheerful, athletic young man across the street, whose dad Kyle shared the story of Jake's adoption experience.  Then there was Virginia, whose family had welcomed a precious little dude from Russia recently. When August rolled around, I was assigned to be in Tracy's group at Bible study. Tracy and her husband had adopted five children from Ethiopia. After fielding a lot of my questions, she shared the book Adopted for Life with me. I couldn't help but fly through it. Russell Moore (fellow Mississippian, I might add) painted an amazing picture of adoption as he discussed our adoption into the family of Jesus Christ. He and his wife had adopted two little guys from Russia as well as having three biological sons. Although now may not be the right time for us, I asked Tracy to pray about our openness to adoption, whether it be domestic or international.

When September threw us into soccer season, we were reunited with our old friends Brad and Penny on the sidelines.  Penny shared that they had completed the process to become foster parents.  I was again reminded that there are little people out there who were longing for family to love on them.  Then I started to notice the ache in my own heart more intensely for the little person who was made to be part of our own family.

Then there was Sue Talia, the woman who sat next to me on an airplane and shared her family's story of being a foster family. She spoke of the joy and the torment, but I knew that God had placed her there to continue to grow the whisper I was hearing about what He was calling our family to do.

I was still driving others crazy talking about Adopted for Life when another friend, Belle, shared not only that she and her family were in the process of adopting from Uganda but that I had to read Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis, a girl from Nashville who had moved to Uganda to care for orphans. I was humbled by her willingness to submit to such a level of servanthood because of the call of Christ. She was called, and she said, "Here I am, Lord." Reading her book gave me a new perspective on my ability to give more of myself. Was I holding back simply because of my fear of not being able to juggle it all in the perfect manner I preferred to do it?  It wasn't about "saving a child," but rather about answering God's call to simply go pick up the little one He knew from the beginning of time was supposed to be part of and help to shape the Hampton family from here forward.

Then while passing the "Orphans and Widows" table at Covenant Presbyterian Church, I decided to check out The Strength of Mercy by Jan Beazley. The book continued the tug on my heart to seek out an opportunity to love on another little person who may otherwise grow up in an orphanage, never having known the love of a family, the hugs of a mom and dad and two big brothers. I also grabbed a three-page summary of adoption agencies and their contact information...and I prayed for God's discernment.

While I prayed that our hearts would be open to whatever God's will was for us, God was at work. I was in Nashville feeling as though God was shouting about adoption to me. I would take the kids to gymnastics, and I would see a banner for "Show Hope," the foundation started by the Chapman family to help orphans and aid in adoption expenses. I would turn on the radio and hear an advertisement for Compassion International. I would have a conversation, and it would always seem to turn to the topic of adoption. I would walk past the front desk at the YMCA, and an ad for "Both Hands," a group that helps widows and orphans, would pop up.

Meanwhile, George was sitting in California sharing a beer with our friend Jake. Jake and George had become friends through church, where Jake was a pastor. I had gotten to know his wife Joan through our Moms' group. Jake shared with George that they were waiting on a match for a domestic adoption that would come any day. George knew he was feeling the tug himself.

When he came home to Nashville, we committed to being prayerful and exploring the idea of adoption for our own family. Every night after putting Elliot and Gavin to bed, we found ourselves reading everything we could on the internet, requesting information from various agencies, looking at pictures and video of orphanages, and envisioning aloud how a new little person would become part of our crazy family.

We began to ask a few others to pray for us, no longer feeling as though we needed to be completely quiet about the heavy burden on our hearts. It wasn't long before we knew international adoption was the plan for growing our family. During an informational session with an agency, we learned of Moldova for the first time. Although it was closed, the agency said it would open sometime within the next year.  While I chose to focus on Bulgaria (it was already open), George was convinced that "God will open Moldova for us!"  He had read a lot Moldova and was being pulled like a magnet.  I was not so eager to sign on for a country still closed.  When I called the agency and explained that we would put Bulgaria as our first choice and Moldova as our second in case it opened, she said, "If you know you want Moldova, put it first because it opened this week!"  I was in tears as I told George.  He simply responded, "Told ya God would open it!"

"Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight."
Proverbs 3:5

Where in the World is Moldova?

The Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. A country of less that 3.5 million, Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe. In its history, Moldova has been part of Romania as well as the Soviet Union, and has been an independent nation since 1991. Since it gained its independence the Republic of Moldova continues to strive toward economic stability.  Chisinau is the capitol of the Republic. The official language is Moldovan, which is very similar to Romanian.

The Ongoing Timeline (March 2012 to Present)

From the beginning (of the world that is...)--God decided the Hampton family should pursue international adoption (I do so love what a planner God is!)

March 2012--Signed contract with International Family Services, based in Texas, to pursue international adoption (not to be confused with foreign adoption, which I recently learned is not politically correct)

April 2012--Began our home study with Caring Choices of Catholic Charities, based in Nashville

May 2012--Completed home study classes here in Nashville over a period of three weeks

June 2012--Completed home study process to receive approval of social worker

July 2012--Submitted I-800A to US Immigration for approval to adopt an international orphan, fingerprinted at US Immigration office in Nashville

August 11, 2012--Received approval letter from the US Immigration office, granting permission to adopt a child (or sibling group) from Moldova

August 14, 2012--Sent our dossier to our agency in Texas, who in turn will send to Moldova to await a referral!

August 20, 2012--Our agency sent the dossier to Moldova to be translated into Moldovan (form of Romanian language), certified by the Moldovan government as international documents, and await a referral.  The wait for the referral could be two months.  It could be a year.  God's timing is perfect!

August 23, 2012--Our agency provided confirmation that our dossier was received by Moldova, so the translation begins.

September 6, 2012--Translation process completed and the wait for a referral officially begins.

October 2, 2012--Sent the second dossier to our agency in Texas upon the request from Moldova for a second set of original documents.

November 19, 2012--Sent additional paperwork requested by Moldova to agency, who sent it to Moldova the same day they received it.

November 26, 2012--Confirmation from FedEx that our packet had been received by Moldova.

December 10, 2012--Confirmation from our agency that our new documents have been translated and certified in Moldova.  Now we are waiting for a committee to meet to match us with a child, but we do not know any specifics about the committee or the frequency of their meetings.  We do know that everything is on God's perfect schedule!

June 2013--Officially withdrew from the Moldova line. Accepted a referral from our agency and began the process to adopt from India.

July 2013--Submitted dossier to India

August 2013--Submitted "change of country" request and extension request to USCIS

September 2013--Received I800A approval

October 2013--Received I800 approval for our little one

November 14, 2013--Received both our ARC recommendation and our "No Objection Certificate"

"For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans  to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11