Finally some progress!

It is nice to write that in the subject line!

We have decided to switch regions, within our agency, to one where there is currently movement in adoption processes. (You can call me/talk to me if you want to hear the long version of why we didn't have this opportunity earlier.) So what's the scoop on the new plan?

1) While summer vacations occur in Russia, we'll be putting together new paperwork for this region. It's similar to the other one, but there are still some new/different pieces. We'll also be re-applying for our permission to adopt, from USCIS (formerly the INS, i.e. U.S. immigration). Our old permission was good for 18 months, but its associated fingerprints were only good for 15 months (brilliant, I know!) so we are redoing all of it at once. Looks like it will be free to get the update, which is a plus :)

2) In about 6 weeks, we'll send our new paperwork to Russia. There are others also waiting to adopt from this region (sorry, can't name the place for confidentiality reasons) so at that point we'll see how quickly things move. The earliest we could be asked to travel would probably be September. In the grand scheme of things, this is just around the corner, though it is still a bit of a wait. If we did get to travel in September or October, there's a good chance we'd be able to go back for trip # 2 to complete the adoption before Christmas. I am trying my best not to anticipate that, though....what can I say, I am a Christmas addict, so I always build my mental schedule around Christmas! I tend to build up anything and everything surrounding "the most wonderful time of the year."

3) My impression from others who've worked in this region is that there is generally a "waiting period" during the second trip, after you've been to court to get the adoption approved. It looks like most people are not given custody yet during that time (about 2-3 weeks) so sometimes, instead of waiting in Russia, it makes sense for people to return home and then go back to Russia once again for "trip # 3" to take custody and come home. We don't know yet how this will work itself out for us, but just thought we'd let you know what the process is looking like.

ALL THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Boy, is it ever! Please pray with us that this avenue remains open to us. My optimism has gotten very cautious these days, but things are looking up.