Lovies #3, 4, & 5 - Bringing Home Our Boys!

Our second adoption journey really took off on April 1, 2013 (no foolin').  Here is the low-down for those with inquiring minds...

We are pursuing the adoption of a sibling group of 3 boys from the Ukraine! They are handsome, blonde-haired boys and we can’t wait to squeeze them! Val is 14, Vlad is 13, and Vik is 10 (these are nicknames--it's super-cute to hear Eden say their real names!). We can’t show their pictures on our public blog, but if we see you in person, we would love to show you their sweet faces!

Our story of finding them is a cool one with God’s hand all over it--click here to read it!

Some Q&A:

Do the boys know about you yet?
Yes!  Once we submitted our dossier (huge packet of paperwork), the orphanage director felt comfortable enough to tell the boys about us!  They have now seen pictures and videos of their new family and their new home.  (Apparently they squealed like little girls when they saw their new bedrooms!)

When will you get to go meet them?
We have our appointment with the SDA on February 25th and will get to meet the boys shortly after that!!

The full details of our timeline and what the process will look like once we're in Ukraine is at the bottom of this page.

Will you both travel to the Ukraine?
Yes.  We will attend our SDA appointment in Kiev to officially receive a letter of referral, allowing us to visit our boys.  Then we get to travel to their orphanage to meet them, learn more about them, and officially accept our referral.  The file for our case is then presented to a judge in the region where our boys live and we will attend the hearing where the judge hopefully approves our adoption.  This portion will take approximately 3 weeks.

After court, I (Lauren) will come home while Ben stays in country with the boys to finalize the adoption, get new birth certificates, passports, and visas.  This portion will take approximately 4-6 weeks.

Then, Ben and the boys will fly home!

The full details of our timeline and what the process will look like once we're in Ukraine is at the bottom of this page.

What is their story?
We'll give you the basics, but will protect the details of their story like a mama and daddy should.  Especially since our boys are older, we want them to decide who (if anyone) and when (if ever) they want to share their full story. 

The basics: their birthmother died (no, we're not sure how long ago--at least not yet--one of the many unknowns of international adoption); they are biological brothers; they are ages 14, 13, and 10; they are eager to be part of a family!

Do you know anything about their personalities?
Yes!  We are SO blessed to have some details about our boys from folks who have recently spent time with them.  Between the information we received from another adoptive family who spent time with them last August and a girl from Alabama who spent time with them this March (on a mission trip to their orphanage), this is what we know...

Val (14) - loves to play soccer (and is apparently really good!), absolutely handsome, sweet, hilarious, cool, has lots of friends, and might be a bit of a ladies man!  Very involved, outgoing, and very smart. 

Vlad (13) - loves to be on stage (a ham!), ridiculously cute, active, funny, sweet, and very cool!  Always smiling.

Vik (10) - a sweet little thing, very silly, polite, helpful, loves electronics, and has mad skills on the dance floor!  Still very much a baby boy who wants to be snuggled and "mommied."

Do they know Jesus?
We are SO thankful to know that the seed of Jesus has been planted in their lives (specifically, we know that a team from Alabama shared the Good News with them)!  We are humbled and excited to be able to teach them more about our amazing Savior and show them what grace, forgiveness, unconditional love, and redemption looks like.

Will you keep the boys' names as-is?
We are leaving that up to them.  It's possible that they will want new names to signify a fresh start in a new family.  However, it is also possible that they will want to cling to one of the few things that is theirs and that links them to their birth mother and birth country.  We will be respectful of our boys and allow them to make that decision.

Do they speak English?
Not much.  However, our boys are smarty-pants who are already bilingual!  They speak their native tongue, as well as Spanish!  The Spanish was picked up while they were hosted by families in Spain and Italy for an orphan hosting program.  We are confident that they will pick up English quickly, and Ben and I are doing our best to learn at least a preschool level of Ukranian before we travel.  We will need more prayer in that than our boys will!

What will you do about school for them?
We plan to homeschool for at least the first year and then play it by ear after that.  However, we will be in the "cocoon" period for a while when they get home and will only be working on getting to know each other as a family, etc. 

Our Timeline - for those who like details

Finding Our Sons (read more about that here)
March 23 – Lauren attended a Noonday fundraiser at Mindy’s house—Mindy was fundraising for 3 boys from Ukraine who she had selected to be their “FIG” (Family in the Gap)
April 1 – Ben shared with Lauren about a dream he had been having about 3 blonde-haired boys who were part of our family; this started a cool conversation that lead to us praying for God to give us clear direction about these 3 boys from Ukraine
April 2 – we got the confirmation from God that we needed—these are definitely our sons!

The Paper Chase
April 4 – we decided to use About A Child for our agency (Victoria is the director) and Olga for our in-country facilitator
May 30 – social worker visit for our home study (done by Bernadette from International Family Services)
June 27 – received finalized home study document
August 2 – USCIS fingerprinting appointments (to complete our I-600A application)
August 20 – received our I-171H, Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advanced Processing of Orphan Petition (or FDL)
September 9 – drove to Austin to get all of our documents apostilled and sent our completed dossier to Victoria
September 17 – Victoria approved our dossier and sent it to Olga
October 2 – got confirmation from Olga that she received our dossier and sent it to translation (and that she planned to submit it on the nearest date after October 14—because of the October 1-14 break)
October 9 – got a call from Victoria saying we needed an Affidavit of Identity for our dossier
October 10 – got the Affidavit apostilled and sent to the Isaak’s for them to hand-deliver to Olga
October 16 – Isaak’s hand-delivered our document to Olga

A Bump in the Road – The Paper Chase (round 2)
November 11 – got news from Olga that our dossier was never submitted and several documents had now expired (read more about that here)
November 14 – were re-fingerprinted to have new background checks run
November 15 – Lauren’s mom drove to Baton Rouge to get newly certified marriage licenses
November 22 – drove to Austin to get all of the newly dated documents apostilled and sent the updated dossier to Olga
November 27 – received delivery confirmation that the dossier got to Olga

Review and Process on the Ukrainian Side
December 4 – dossier submitted
December 20 – officially registered (Registration Notification)
January 2 – received our Registration Notification via email from Olga (it was dated December 20)
January 30 - received our SDA appointment date of February 25th!!

Next Steps
Travel!!

The Process once we’re in Ukraine
- BOTH of us attend the SDA appointment in Kiev to officially receive our boys' files and receive a letter of referral, allowing us to visit them.

[the formal referral paperwork is issued the day after the appointment at 4-5pm; we can go to Volodarka as soon as the referral is in hand]

- BOTH of us travel to Volodarka to meet our boys, learn more about them, and officially accept our referral.

NOTE: From this day on, we are allowed to visit the boys and spend time with them in the orphanage, regardless of what step of the procedure we’re in.  

[it is approximately 5-7 days for the documents to go back to Kiev for final authorization for court; delays only come if the orphanage cannot provide us with all documents required by the SDA or judge]

- The file for our case is presented to a judge in the region where our boys live.

[it can take anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks, depending on the judge's schedule, to get a court date]

- BOTH of us attend the hearing where the judge hopefully approves our adoption.

{Lauren will go back home at this point.}

[10-day waiting period when the decision could be appealed]

 - The final decision takes effect and we have full parental rights and legal responsibility for our boys.

 - We apply for a new birth certificate for each of the boys.

[it can take anywhere from 1-3 days to receive the new birth certificates, depending on where they were all born]

NOTE: As soon as we are registered as legal parents on their new birth certificates, we can move the boys out of the orphanage.

- After receiving the post-adoption birth certificates, we apply for a Ukrainian passport for each of the boys. 

[10-day waiting period for issuance of the passports]

- After receiving the passports, we apply for a U.S. Visa from the U.S. Embassy for each of the boys and email the Embassy a Letter of Request for a Visa appointment. 

[no delays here--as a rule, the Embassy approves the date we request in our Letter of Request]

- Visit the U.S. Embassy for final review and approval of our I-600 petition and to obtain a visa for each of the boys.

- Ben and the boys travel HOME to Texas and our family is united together under one roof!!