Transit Strike strikes Us!

While we are comfortable and warm here in Florida, Craig's birth certificate had to fight the cold during the NYC transit strike today. I was looking at these pictures on CNN and I saw this poor man riding his bike and I thought how awful that would be. Then, I talked to Patti Urban with Legal-Eaze who has been helping the document through authentication and consulate review. She told me that Chris in their NY office rode HIS bike from the Bronx into Midtown to get our paperwork to us tomorrow. So, I had to wonder...is this Chris??
(Photo Credits to CNN & AP)

Authentication Continues

I spoke to our SW Jennifer today. She sent our paperwork directly from the Sec. of State's office to the Chinese Consulate in Texas. She forgot about my birth certificate, which was already authenticated by the Sec. of State in Texas. So, I had to quickly send out my birth certificate to Texas today. I hope it gets on track with the other paperwork that got there last Thursday. Its been almost a week since I sent Craig's birth certificate along. I was hoping to hear today about its status. But, I realize that as hard as waiting on paperwork is - it won't compare to waiting for our daughter. We started this process in July and really we aren't even half way there. This first part at least had activities to keep us busy. The rest of the time will be waiting and praying.

DHL, UPS and Fed Ex - Oh My

Last week we sent several checks and a few money orders to our agency in Sarasota for next day deliver through DHL. I tracked it and noticed it listed the envolope as 2-day, which is not what I checked. I called to correct the mistake and went on about my day. I checked again the following morning to learn that it had been delivered! Great, right? Yeah, not so fast. They delivered it to N. Euclid Ave instead of S. Euclid Ave. So, they left my very important envelope containing all the funds needed to obtain Florida Sec. of State authenication at someone's doorstep. Well, after countless calls, a drive by from SW Jennifer and the DHL manager we ended up with nothing. Allegedly the driver was fired and the police were called...

So, we put the whole package back together again and used Fed Ex. I considered UPS, but a client mentioned that her nephew works for them and she wouldn't "send a useless piece of paper" through UPS.

We also sent Craig's BC to Patti Urban with Legal-Eaze in Connecticut. She's a courier who will take the BC to the NY Sec. of State (because NJ can't do there own - big surprise) and then to the Chinese Consulate.

Currently, our lives hang in the balance of Fed Ex. Can they get the checks to Jennifer?? Will the package they left on Pattie Urban's doorstep be there when she gets home?? Will everything make it back to us in time for us to send our dossier to China before 2006?? Too many question marks for a planner like me.

Polo Party

This weekend we had a family first. We attended a polo party in Vero Beach, which also featured an orchestra and drescher show. Hunter dressed in daper style. The young girls were quite smitten with him including one named Emma (which is HAWK's choice for his sister's name).

Guess What Corinne!

Tonight I told my cousin Corinne about our plan to adopt from China. Telling someone makes it feel so much more real. I remember being pregnant with Hunter and waiting to tell people until I finished my first trimester. Somehow, I view receiving the I-171H as completing the first trimester. I realize we still have many, many months to go, but at least we are going!

Corinne was most excited about the prospect of purchasing girl clothes! I shared with her about my wandering episodes through the little girl department. Dresses, barrettes and frilly socks - here I come.

(This is a picture of Corinne and I last year at New Year's Eve for the big bash at the Yacht Club. We looked celebratory in this photo and that seems appropriate for the occasion.)

Not so fast New Jersey

As Craig might say, "States that are easy to work with, please step forward....Not so fast New Jersey!"After praising the great state of Texas, I must chide NJ. We applied for Craig's birth certificate on the same day we applied for mine. However, today we received notice that they couldn't find Craig's birth certificate. A very official letter arrived which said in short, "no dice." So, I contacted our SW Jennifer who in turn told me we needed to get a courier to go there and get it for us because we are losing valuable time. Nicole from our office offered up her mother who lives in NJ. But, I didn't want to send her to look for it when we knew there was a problem. I attempt for about three hours to call the NJ Dept. of Health and Senior Services Vital Statistics Office - busy signal the whole time. When I finally got through, I punched in the correct extension and waited, and waited, and waited on hold for one hour and fifty-five minutes. I am not exaggerating. After that time, a lovely and bubbly woman answered the phone. In three minutes she had Craig's birth certificate located and in the mail. The bottomline...we're still waiting for it to arrive!

I-171H

Today, we finally received the ever important I-171H. Its the form you receive after you fill out the I-600A Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition and submit fingerprints to the FBI. This document is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office of the Department of Homeland Security. I have to admit it is the less glamourous piece of paper, even the I-171H is tiny in the corner. But, this means that we are onto the next step for the Florida documents. All of the documents which have been notarized will be sent to the Secretary of State for "authentication". After authentication, which is required by the Chinese government as a way of guaranteeing international documents, the paperwork goes to the Chinese Consulate in Texas. We are getting close to having our dossier ready!