Our Girl in Motion and The Next Steps.

Here is the video of our sweet baby girl.

We have accomplished ALOT this past week. We were able to complete our dossier. I gathered all our documents together on Monday (We had a snow day here and could not venture out). We had all our documents signed, notarized (Tuesday), certified by the Secretary of State (Wednesday) and authenticated by TECO(Thursday). The entire dossier was then photocopied(2 copies for agency, 2 copies for us) and express mailed to our agency on Friday. Hopefully everything will check out and will be sent off to Taiwan on Monday. We are awaiting translated state adoption laws that will be submitted to the Taiwan Courts along with our Dossier.

I have to say that this past week was exhausting. Just signing the documents was a bit scary. Not the responsibility of signing them but the fear that I would sign in the wrong spot, not remember to sign my full official name( I typically do not sign with my middle name) or not sign legibly enough. I know it sounds like a silly thing to worry about but the 3 original adoption agreements originated in Taiwan and the fingerprint that was placed on each may be that of the birth mother. We were told to take extra care when completing these documents because if we were to make a mistake we would have to have new ones generated in Taiwan and that would cost us precious time. Also having the documents certified was stressful. Our state requires a few extra lines by the notary that tells who signed and by what means the identity was confirmed. This was not on the sample that we were given so it was not put on our originals. The Secretary of State rejected 8 of my 10 documents. Luckily the lines could be hand written on the document and I had my trusty Notary accompanying me into the big city. I was able to leave, have the statements written on each document and then re-submit. The woman who certified my documents was really nice and did certify all 10 for me immediately. They are only allowed to do 4 for less at the counter and any more than 5 has to wait another business day.

Everyone asks when our girl will be home. The court process in Taiwan can take a considerable amount of time. They are very protective of the children's rights and have a specific process that our family/documents must complete. Here is a breakdown of what will be happening over the next months:

Once we are entered into courts, we wait for a hearing date.

Step 1: Hearing (typically 1-3 months after paperwork is filed in Taiwan)

Step 2: First Ruling (typically 1-3 months after hearing)

Step 3: Final Ruling (typically 2-6 weeks after first ruling) After the final ruling, our girl will be legally ours

Step 4: Paperwork Processing and Travel Notice (typically 4-6 weeks after final ruling)

This process can take anywhere from 3 months to 7 months. We have been hearing that the court process has been on the longer side lately and to plan on 6 months before our baby is in our arms. I am preparing myself for travel in August or September. I would be thrilled to travel earlier, but we will have to wait and see.

Well that was alot of info. I hope everyone feels caught up on the process.

Robin