Adoption news!

So I got up and took a shower and was curled up on the sofa with my laptop in a robe with my hair in a towel and I got a call from our Russia adoption agency. It was the director and my heart sank a little because my first thought was "What's wrong now?"

It probably says something about this whole experience that my first reaction is that something MUST be wrong.

The gist of the conversation was that they need our dossier ASAP because a "good region" (I forgot to ask what the region was, I was so surprised) is expected to release referrals for little boys just as they come off the registry two months from now (which means they may be less than a year old...kids in Russia have to be on a domestic registry for 9 months before they can be released for international adoption). Our agency needs our dossier ASAP in order to get us registered in that region in time to be considered for the referrals.

They don't need ALL of our dossier...the psych statement isn't, apparently, part of the "core dossier". So we can still wait for that. Our dossier consultant is supposed to send me a list of core documents today. In the meantime, I leapt off the sofa, threw on some clothes and a little make-up, and drove downtown to get the extra marriage licenses I realized I needed the other night. And I have all the apostille paperwork filled out. I was going to Fed Ex it today. In the past, we have gotten apostilles back in as little as 3 days.

But then I was looking at the address and noticed the walk-in option. And I called to ask about it. Mom had put it into my head earlier to drive down to Austin. So that is what I am doing Tuesday. I called the apostille dept and she said that even with 80 docs to be apostilled, once I got through the line to the counter, it could be done in minutes. So I am going to drive down, get the apostilles, and drive back Tuesday. It's about 3-4 hours to Austin depending on traffic. I may find a Kinko's in the area to Fed Ex from down there so I can get the papers on their way faster. I should be back here, though, in time to send them from here if I want. I'm bummed that Monday is a federal holiday, but there isn't anything I can do about that. I'm also bummed I will miss watching the inauguration live, but there isn't anything I can do about that, either.

I am not sure yet if the photos will be required for the core dossier. I'm so glad I took photos of the exterior of the house in August, as it is looking rather dreary and brown and dead right now. I just need to take photos of the interior rooms and we MUST get the nursery ready now.