The good and the bad...

It has been an overwhelming week so far and I'm only half way through!  So, I'll start with the bad so that I can get on with the good.


The bad things I've learned:
1.International adoption paperwork seems to multiply like bunnies until that is all you can see around you

2.Your birth certificate is always just where you store it unless you are in a hurry and heading out to get your passport

3.In a pinch your marriage certificate will not work as citizenship verification for your passport

4.If you get frustrated while at the post office due to the fact that you have wasted a trip and can no longer get your passport...your husband will get distracted with helping you feel better and will leave his cell phone on the counter

5.Even bedridden 90 year old grandmothers are under suspicion and must complete FBI, DOJ, and child abuse checks for every state that they've lived in...even if they no longer can hold a pen in their fingers or understand how or why to sign a form(and yes, we did go all the way to the top of the food chain for an exception and we got nowhere)

6.Fundraising is hard

7.Affording an international adoption of twins is harder




The Good things I've learned:

1.Eventually the paperwork does get completed

2.It is not that hard to order a copy of your birth certificate by ordering online at http://www.vitalchek.com

3.Many people are kind and will tell the next person that calls your lost cell phone to let you know that your cell phone is still at the post office

4.There is a notary that is so kind that he would be willing to come to the house to help notarize grandma's forms

5.Furthermore, it is still possible to even be shocked by someone's kindness when the same notary refuses to charge any fees and informs you that he notarizes for the whole community for free!

6.Adoption should be difficult...it helps weed out those who aren't committed or safe and most people place more value on what they have worked hard to do

So, with a deep heavy sigh, I am finishing out this week.  I really have made progress and we are just about ready for the homestudy social worker to come out. (Well....I do plan to do my floors upstairs first)  I know, I know, I definitely never learn!

Stay tuned for some fun pictures of Robertson's birthday monster chocolate fudge fight that I will try to post later today...yet another very fun and disastrously messy activity and what happens when I spy a HUGE container of chocolate syrup and industrial size can of fudge!