While we are waiting on the I-171H to come back, we still have a few things to complete. Most of them just require getting someone to notarize our signatures, but one fun thing that we had to do again was go to the police department to get background checks on both of us. (Please note that I am being sarcastic when I say, "fun.") We cannot figure out why we have to have background checks done when we had to be fingerprinted as well. ??? Interesting that the Department of Homeland Security and local authorities cannot get on the same page.
This was the 3rd time (twice now in Nashville and once in Chattanooga) that we have had to do this. I will say that Chattanooga/Hamilton County gets the award for the most efficient office in this particular matter. The last time we went (in Nashville), the notary public was not there, so we learned our lesson to call before we go to make sure that he/she is there. So...I called this morning and waited on hold for 45 minutes. I am not exaggerating here. The most frustrating thing about it was that I could not get a person on the phone. Anytime I pushed any buttons, it was still automated. So, I stubbornly waited until someone picked up. You might ask why I didn't hang up and call back later, but my work schedule was very tight today with meetings and conference calls. I had a very tight window in which to operate. Plus, I worked downtown today, where the police department is. So, today was the day. When I finally got someone on the phone, she had to see if the notary was working today, and she was. However, she was at lunch at that time. I asked how long they get for lunch, and she told me that they got 30 minutes. So, by the time we got down there, she should be back. So, Philip picked me up at work, and off we went. When we got to the police department, we were very fortunate (We thought.) in the fact that there was only one person in line ahead of us. So, we filled out the appropriate paperwork and waited in line. After we waited about 10 minutes, we got up to the window, and I told the person what we were there for and that we needed the documents notarized. After another 20 minutes of waiting, the person came back with the documents...not notarized. So, I reminded them that they needed to be notarized. So, off they go again. After 40 minutes of waiting again, they FINALLY came back notarized. So, after a total of 1 hour of waiting at the police station, we had what we needed. There had to have been 15-20 people who came and went while we waited. I STILL cannot believe that it took that long to get 2 pieces of paper. This is just one more example of why the adoption paperwork process is so frustrating. And, once again, I can understand why more people don't do it. If you aren't organized, there is no way that you would ever get all of this done.
On Saturday, we are attending a pre-adoption class put on by our adoption agency. We will learn about talking to our child about adoption, how to incorporate a lifebook into our child's life, life as a multi-cultural family, the adoption tax credit (yay!), and birthparents/adult adoptees. We have attended one other pre-adoption class thus far. In addition to these 2 classes, we still have to watch a series of DVD's and take a test, plus attend a community infant care class at a local hospital. These things have to be done before our paperwork can go to Ethiopia. We'll update you on the class this weekend.
We hope you all have a great weekend and thanks for reading!
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