Woods Family

We received many more phones over the Holidays and this time we found $399 worth of phones to send in! That is pretty good. We have been through about 120 phones, now. So it wasn't the amount that I thought we might raise - but $400 is GREAT!!

I will return to work on January 21st - and am looking forward to putting some normalcy back in my life. I can't wait to meet my students and talk about physics again. I have missed my friends at work, too.

Since I'm going back to work and actually can't get the LOI (without a whole lot of trouble) - we might just hear something. : ) We shall see...

I can't wait to celebrate the New Year. I would like to put 2005 behind us. It has been a rough one. Plus, in 2006, we just might become parents.

This week has been a rough one for me. I have been feeling a little...angry at the whole situation. I guess mostly feeling sad that Christmas has arrived and we don't have our son to celebrate. But yesterday, my wonderful hubby reminded me why we want to bring a child into our family. We have a lot of love between us. We have come so far and maybe soon we will get that LOI. After a cry-fest, he held me close and told me he'd love me forever and that even if I'm crazy, I will make a good mom. Then he took me for sushi! What a sweetpea. He is very strong and I need to rely on that right now and that is okay. : )

Thank you Jason. I love you with all of my heart.

The Sapp's returned home and as promised, they sent more pictures of our rapidly growing boy. They are too fabulous. I was worried that Maks was getting so big. The new pictures make him seem like a little boy still. I can't wait to get my arms around him.

Why is this adoption thing so f...ing difficult! Every adoptive parent says the same thing but I am really starting to lose it. Ask my dad, he'll tell you. I have some pyscho blah blah blah. He's right you know! And so the f... what. I feel nauseous (how do you spell that) all the time. Food doesn't taste, look or smell good. Well - except for sushi. MMMM Hawaiian Volcano Roll. So I should be losing weight, right. No.. I am gaining. It is alright if I go crazy! I am an expectant mother. You try to carry a 22 month old baby until he is over 3!!!!!! That's over 20 pounds.

My husband thinks I have lost it. He doesn't even like me anymore. I am not really the same person, anyway. Deal with it!! I am a pregnant woman who is 3 months late. Yeah that's right. 3 months late. Really, I am 6 months late, but who's counting?? A warning: Don't you dare ever tell me " atleast you won't have to go through labor!" You'll draw back a nub. LOL

Not only did I not get to pick up my baby, but I lost my job (temporarily I think), my ability to workout (knee surgery) and my appetite. My hands are sore, I have huge bruises on my legs, and stinging cuts on my thumb and fingers. Fish trapping is not for 120 pound, pencil pushing, female physics nerds. I have a perma-sunburnt chin and upper lip. Yes - I have been wearing sunblock. And my son's room sits empty, still.

I am not getting a Christmas tree. I did not put up any lights. I am not buying any presents - can't afford it. Our adoption costs are around $17K and we haven't given the orphanage donation or traveled.

Some days I wonder what the f... I am doing.

I am becoming a mother.

We just found out that we made it through the NY Consulate! Our paperwork is traveling to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as we speak! Yeah!! This international adoption thing is definately the roller coaster ride everyone has talked about.

Our agency says that it should be around 6-8 weeks before we will receive our letter of invitation. Sounds familiar! We'll see.

:) :) :)

1. No, we haven't heard anything - except that two documents from our dossier have gone "missing". Don't worry - just spend another $500! (sorry I've almost had it)
   
2. Yes, the pics of Maks are missing from the blog. Someone told me that a family lost their referral by posting pictures. So I removed them. Once I see his little face in person, I will re-post them.
3. When it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!! We have gone through about half of the cell phones we collected. Only 1 of them was worth anything: $4. We have raised $4. LOL There were many phones that had potential to be worth something - except they had a broken latch or battery or.... We do have a large stack from the Santa Barbara area. Maybe they'll be worth something!
   

Thank you to everyone that sent the old phones to us. It was worth a try.

I will be returning to school on January 21, without having traveled to Kazakhstan. What in the world! Why didn't I go back to work when the chance presented itself? (Because they told me we would be traveling soon! Don't listen when they say "soon") Hopefully, we will at least travel around the time of Spring Break (March 27-April 7) so I won't go over the 30 work days that I can be gone legally (my maternity leave days.) Good thing I didn't use those, yet.

Just keep waiting....

Maks turned 3 today! Chris and Michelle were actually able to bring him a little birthday present from us. Our first present to Maks! We sent a sweatshirt and a little car that when you shake, the tires spin. It goes really far! We hope he likes it. We kinda feel like parents. How weird that the present we picked out and sent made it to Maks. We feel sooooooo thankful. Look at that picture! "Check me out in my addidas!" Michelle says that he liked the gift bag so much when she first gave it to him that he didn't know "it" wasn't the present. He didn't even know to open it. Then he got even more excited when she helped him pull the car out. The best part, she said, was when he put the sweatshirt on. He was so proud. Sigh! They sang "Happy Birthday" to him and then left Ust for Almaty. Michelle said that they have a few more pics that they'll send when they get home.

How lucky! We are excited and hopelessly attached to Maks. His caregivers told him that his Mama and Papa are on their way. So he knows we are coming. : ) We wish we had any idea when we will go. But haven't heard a peep....

We decided to send our paperwork through the NY Consulate instead of the Embassy at the suggestion of our agency. We sent the new checks to AIP and we are waiting to hear news. I sound like a broken record!

We hope to hear something significant by Thanksgiving. Waiting, hoping, praying....

We finally received the official forms for the new requirements. The FBI clearance was really easy to obtain and they sent us our "no record found" letters within 1 week. We also had to sign a statement saying that 1) we will allow a Kazakhstani official to visit our home up to twice per year and 2) we will continue with post-placement reports until Maks is 18. Though the first few have to be done by a social worker, the last can be done just by us.

The last hurdle was another medical statement proving absence of disease. At first, we were worried because Dr. Mandel wanted us to come in for another physical. Would we have to wait 2 weeks for our HIV test, then 1 more week for the "transcription department" to write our statements on letterhead??? When we got there, Kristina, Laura, and Dr. Mandel worked to help us figure out a way to finish the statements right away. But wait - we need it notorized. We called every Notary in the SB phonebook. The last lady couldn't do it but had a friend named Lori. Luckily Lori arrived at Dr. Mandel's office within 15 minutes. Everyone signed and the new requirements were complete!!

We took the documents to Mail Boxes and Fed Ex-ed them to Parasec for the apostilles. Hooray!!

Now, we wait!! Our dossier will travel to Kazakhstan to be translated, which might take 2 weeks, then back to the Consulate in New York. It should spend about 2 weeks there if Orson is correct. Then 4 weeks at the MFA , 1 week and the MOE and we will have our LOI. That's right, you guessed it, 8 weeks! We could travel in December. When they say "you can come to Kazakhstan to adopt your child" - I think we'll be on the first plane. : )

Soon!

We are going to immerse ourselves in boat work and hopefully this time will fly by....

Our agency called last night and said he was going to get us to Kazakhstan in December. We just have to get a few more items of paperwork together ASAP. The news is exciting because maybe things are going to start moving forward. Maksim feels so close now. But we still have a little bit of anxiety because we know it is possible to lose him.

Things are looking up! I have been working with Jay on the New Salt. Fishing is pretty fun actually. The weather has been nice and the fishing decent. : )

Anyway - the reason why Maks feels so close, I guess is really because of the Sapps. I love to hear about him. We will be parents soon! By the way, Michelle and Chris arrived back in Normal, Il last night and Michelle emailed. I'll quote her (it is easier).

Just wanted to let you know we are home and would love to answer ANY
questions you may have about anything.  I should be home after 5 most
nights and I'll be home all weekend, too.  Your son is precious!  He
not only is in Mateo's group, but eats at the same table and shares a
locker with him!  They are like brothers - we'll definitely have to
keep in touch and keep the boys friends.  We told our favorite
caregiver to give your son extra love as well - that his family is
coming.  Maksim really stands out as a leader in the group.  And as I
said before, he is always smiling.  Can't wait to chat with you!

Michelle Sapp

Michelle and Chris sent more pictures! He looks like a little boy, today. Look at that Machina right on his shirt. He will fit right in with the Johnson side of the family! Dumptrucks are my favorite! (Melissa)

Chris tells us that their translator said Maks' speech is very good! That is great news. In December of last year, his medical information said his speech was delayed. We are very thankful for any bits of information. It helps us hold on. Thanks again to the Sapp family. Hopefully, when we are there, we can take some pictures for another forever family.

Michelle and Chris Sapp are a couple that works with AIP and they are in Ust right now. As luck would have it, Maks is in their son Mateo's group! They sent us these cute pictures. They write that Maks "is such a sweet, loving boy! He is always FULL of smiles! I can't tell you how glad we are that he has a forever home. He is also one of the tallest in the group. "

Isn't it amazing to get a second set of updates. We are hoping and praying that we are able to go get Maks soon. So, THANKS Sapp family for taking pictures of Maks. We are so happy to hear details about him. We can't believe his outfit! The tights and sweater are too much!
LOL

You may have guessed that the adoption is quite expensive. We have budgeted enough money for the trip and documentation. What we need help with, however, is the airfare. Especially, if we have to make two trips.

I found a quick way to earn money for the airfare. I am collecting used cell phones. Companies on the internet recycle the phones and will put money toward our adoption depending on the quality of the used phones I send them.

It is not only good for the environment (where do all those old cell phones go anyway!!) but you can help us get to Maks. If you have any old cell phones, email me and I will tell you what to do. woodsphysics@yahoo.com

12/27/04 Jason (finally) agrees to proceeding with adoption in order to start our family.
2/2/05 Homestudy application to Angel's Haven Outreach
2/10/05 Sign with Adoption International Program
3/25/05 Received completed Home Study
3/26/05 BCIS application
5/12/05 Received I-600A
5/13/05 Paperwork notarized and submitted to AIP
5/31/05 Documents translated and sent to DC Embassy
6/15/05 New requirements for Dossier
6/22/05 Fully apostilled documents submitted to AIP
7/12/05 Dossier to DC Embassy
10/08/05 Dossier returned to AIP for new requirements again!!
10/20/05 FBI clearance, medical, and Post-placement reports will be required.
11/12/05 Submitted new requirements to AIP. Dossier complete again! Will it take this time??
11/17/05 Documents translated and submitted to NY Consulate.
12/08/05 Documents sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Kazakhstan.
12/19/05 Dossier received by the MFA
01/16/06 We have received word that our "cable" will arrive in about 1 week. We can start thinking about travel dates. We are looking at Feb 3rd or Feb 10th right now.
02/08/06 We received our confirmation number: 0330pp This means that we really received our letter of invitation and our adoption visas will be issued soon!
02/10/06 We were given the okay to book our flights! We will leave Thursday, 02/16 at 2:40 pm. It has been exactly one year since we signed with AIP that we received word we can travel. hmmm....

We found out this week that our dossier was returned from the DC Embassy, AGAIN! This time we need to get another FBI clearance, more medical exams, and a letter stating that we will submit post-placement reports until Maks is 18 years old.

Okay. We can handle it. It will only be a few weeks to gather the new paperwork and back to the Embassy. We know that it will all be worth it in the end. We are on our way to get him and we won't stop until we do. :)

This week was the second worst of my life. Second only to my sister being killed in April of 1999. I found out that we would not travel to Kazakhstan to adopt our little boy until "later". An undisclosed "later"! It seems that the Kazakhstani government has put a temporary hold on adoptions until new requirements can be issued.

What am I supposed to do now? I am on a semester leave of absence from my teaching duties at Santa Barbara High School. I asked for this last May when my adoption agency assured me we would leave for Kaz in "10 weeks and no later". I knew that we wouldn't be home in time for Maks and our family to bond so my husband and I decided that taking time off of work would be appropriate. We can't really afford to take too much time off - but we knew the loss in income would be extremely worth it as our son learned about his family.

So, when I found out about not traveling, I called the school district's personnel office. I was informed that because I took an official leave of absence, I would not be allowed to return to my regular duties as a physics teacher - they had contracted a subsitute teacher until the end of January. To me, this is understandable. Not only that, but - I wouldn't be allowed to substitute teach for the district, either. To boot the personnel director also informed me that I couldn't sub for any public school in California! What??!! I suppose it is my fault for trying to do the right thing and give my school plenty of notice to try to find a suitable replacement physics teacher. (they didn't from the rumors I hear) I was told we would travel in July! It is really nobody's fault... noone could have known that the adoption would play out this way - not Jason or I, not our agency, not the school district, not the orphanage in Kazakhstan - but it seems unfair.

I really can't even think right now! I am in shock. I worried when Jason and I first decided to adopt that I might "lose everything" - my home (it is a huge financial undertaking to adopt internationally), my marriage (okay - I am a worry wart - but kids add stress to a marriage), and my job (with unknowns that come with kids - both homegrown and heartgrown). Now we are stuck with half of our normal income and what is going to happen with my job!!!!?????

Well - I'll try to stop crying soon.

We haven't heard from our agency since they told us that the DC Embassy was "not processing" any dossiers. A 2 week process at the Embassy has turned into 10+ weeks and my semester sabbatical is quickly passing by.

The wait is difficult but Jason and I know that it will be worth it. Keep us and Maks in your thoughts and hopefully we get to leave soon. :)

Nate and Justin are riding ice blocks down the hill at Arroyo Verde Park the day of the baby shower!

Fun! Then Moorea joined in. As you can see, Roni watches as Moorea rides down the hill!
Uncle Brian and Jonny had a pretty good ride, too.

The BBQ/baby shower at Arroyo Verde Park was really fun. Luckily, Ireland waited to be born the next week! It was fun to have a baby shower for Ireland and a toddler shower for Maks on the same day. Boy, was it alot of work. I'm sure Auntie Elizabeth would agree. :)

Thanks to everyone for coming and celebrating with us. It was great to see all of you.

We are Jason and Melissa Woods. We decided to adopt a child from Kazakhstan so that we could be parents and a child could have a forever family. We signed with Adoption International Program after some research.

In Kazakhstan, referrals (the child that you want to adopt) are not official until you meet the child, spend 2 weeks bonding, then go to court to ask to adopt that child. The judge usually assigns a 2 week waiting period after the court date for the adoption to become final. Then you travel to Almaty where there is a US Embassy and you obtain the paperwork to bring the child home. Sounds straight forward, but the whole trip takes roughly 8 weeks! Sometimes, parents make two trips. We are not exactly sure if we will take one or two trips.

We started the process in January of 2005. (see timeline post) We have had some paperwork delays so things aren't going according to plan! We continue to hope and pray that it will all work out in the end.

Thanks for reading. We will continue this blog along our journey in order to keep you posted on what's going on. If you would like to leave us comments, please do. We love to read them. Which reminds me - sometimes strange comments get through. I am working on deleting them!

Keep us in your thoughts!