It's been a busy few days - and we now have tickets and visas. Rather than try to figure things out online or over the phone, we went to the airport on Friday morning to buy our tickets on Delta. After talking with a very helpful agent, we decided to forgo the International Adoption Fare (main advantage of that fare is no change fee at the end when you're coming back), and bought regular coach tickets for all of us.
Tickets in hand, we went directly to the Colombian Consulate in downtown Boston to see if we could apply for our visas right then, or at least make an appointment to come back. Fridays are quite busy at the consulate, so we made an appointment with the vice consul to come back today at 11am. The one thing we had to figure out was how to get a document apostilled.
"What's an apostille?" you ask. It's like an international notarization. But first you have to get it notarized. Then you take it to the state Public Records office to get it apostilled. The apostille seal has a ribbon and everything!
This morning we set off in morning traffic to get our letter apostilled. Then we made 2 copies of everything for our visa application and hustled to the consulate. Left our papers with the vice consul, went and had lunch and a little walk, and then came back for our visas. Ta Da!
6 days and counting...
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Gotcha Day assigned!
We have a Gotcha Day! On Tuesday, October 5, at 9:30am Bogota time, we will meet Isabella! We are in the process of making our travel plans. We'll keep you posted!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Cable sent
The mail today brought the notice that the cable from the National Visa Center about our I-800 approval was sent to Bogota yesterday. Hip hip hooray!
This means that this next week should be filled with lots of activity in Bogota on our behalf, and (fingers crossed) we may have a "gotcha" date by the end of this coming week.
The waiting of this time between referral and gotcha date assignment has been new in the process this time around (with Esteban, we got the gotcha date assignment a few days after the referral) - and it's REALLY hard. Isabella turned 6 months old this past week, and I just wanted to be there with her - holding her and watching her roll over and grab things and "talk" to us.
And, yet, there's so much to do before we go. Isabella's bag is packed, and I think I have everything for Esteban's - though, since the weather turned fall-like this past week I'll have to put off packing most of his clothes until right before we leave because he's wearing them. Julien and I both have work things to finish and leave tidy for others to handle in our absences. Deep breath. And, when we go, we will go to be a bigger family - and that's amazing. Thanks to all of you who keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
This means that this next week should be filled with lots of activity in Bogota on our behalf, and (fingers crossed) we may have a "gotcha" date by the end of this coming week.
The waiting of this time between referral and gotcha date assignment has been new in the process this time around (with Esteban, we got the gotcha date assignment a few days after the referral) - and it's REALLY hard. Isabella turned 6 months old this past week, and I just wanted to be there with her - holding her and watching her roll over and grab things and "talk" to us.
And, yet, there's so much to do before we go. Isabella's bag is packed, and I think I have everything for Esteban's - though, since the weather turned fall-like this past week I'll have to put off packing most of his clothes until right before we leave because he's wearing them. Julien and I both have work things to finish and leave tidy for others to handle in our absences. Deep breath. And, when we go, we will go to be a bigger family - and that's amazing. Thanks to all of you who keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Adventures at the Travel Clinic
We had a family outing to see the travel nurse on Tuesday afternoon. I picked up Esteban from day care and Julien from work, and we all traipsed to the clinic. Kind of fun and unusual for us all to see the nurse at the same time, so that helped keep Esteban's usual terror of doctors at bay. Mom and Dad got their blood pressure and pulse taken - fascinating for Esteban to watch. Esteban got weighed (he's gained 1 lb in the last month!). All good fun.
The nurse talked with us about what immunizations we needed. As expected, Esteban is the best immunized of us all! Even so, he needed one shot and Julien and I each needed two. The nurse left the room to get the immunizations, and Julien and I had a brief conversation (mostly sign language) about who should get their shot first so Esteban wouldn't be too terrified.
As the nurse came back in the room, Esteban saw what was in her hand and said, "Oh, goody, pencils. I want to go first!" So, he sat on my lap, and he went first. He's never had shots in his arm before, so he wanted to know why I was taking his shirt off. The needle going in didn't really register - but by the time she took it out, he was howling. He then sat on Daddy's lap while Mommy got her shots. By the time it was Daddy's turn, he was pretty much done crying.
We all had sore arms for a day or two, but have fully recovered. Esteban is now telling me about us all getting our shots and how it hurt. Seems like he's probably not scarred for life :-)
The nurse talked with us about what immunizations we needed. As expected, Esteban is the best immunized of us all! Even so, he needed one shot and Julien and I each needed two. The nurse left the room to get the immunizations, and Julien and I had a brief conversation (mostly sign language) about who should get their shot first so Esteban wouldn't be too terrified.
As the nurse came back in the room, Esteban saw what was in her hand and said, "Oh, goody, pencils. I want to go first!" So, he sat on my lap, and he went first. He's never had shots in his arm before, so he wanted to know why I was taking his shirt off. The needle going in didn't really register - but by the time she took it out, he was howling. He then sat on Daddy's lap while Mommy got her shots. By the time it was Daddy's turn, he was pretty much done crying.
We all had sore arms for a day or two, but have fully recovered. Esteban is now telling me about us all getting our shots and how it hurt. Seems like he's probably not scarred for life :-)
Friday, September 10, 2010
I-800 Approved!
I called USCIS this morning to find out the status of our I-800 form - and they said it was approved on Tuesday 9/7! Hurray!!
The process from accepting our referral to actually traveling to Colombia is a set of steps, each of which depend on the previous one being completed. The I-800 approval is a major step in this process. Next we wait for the approval to be processed by the US State Department and a cable to be sent to the embassy in Bogota. Once that happens, another series of things are set in motion in Bogota which culminate in CRAN setting a 'gotcha' day (date for us to receive Isabella). Once we have a Gotcha date, then we can buy plane tickets and apply for our Colombian visas.
I had called USCIS on Tuesday this week, and they told me our I-800 hadn't been reviewed yet. I was frustrated because we knew our form had been received on 8/20. So this is great news!
On the home front, we have appointments with the travel clinic next week, and I'm just about ready to pack Isabella's bag. We are getting pretty anxious to be there and meet our daughter!
Please continue to keep us and Isabella in your thoughts and prayers.
The process from accepting our referral to actually traveling to Colombia is a set of steps, each of which depend on the previous one being completed. The I-800 approval is a major step in this process. Next we wait for the approval to be processed by the US State Department and a cable to be sent to the embassy in Bogota. Once that happens, another series of things are set in motion in Bogota which culminate in CRAN setting a 'gotcha' day (date for us to receive Isabella). Once we have a Gotcha date, then we can buy plane tickets and apply for our Colombian visas.
I had called USCIS on Tuesday this week, and they told me our I-800 hadn't been reviewed yet. I was frustrated because we knew our form had been received on 8/20. So this is great news!
On the home front, we have appointments with the travel clinic next week, and I'm just about ready to pack Isabella's bag. We are getting pretty anxious to be there and meet our daughter!
Please continue to keep us and Isabella in your thoughts and prayers.
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