Translation of our Letter
Yesterday, we had Tatiana Dedyk (our Ukrainian tutor) translate the Cyrillic portions of our letter. While there was no conflicting information, it was very interesting that the Ukrainian contained additional info. The best was that the paperwork on the children is ready. I'm not sure what that means, because this could be a form letter, but it could also mean that the paperwork on our own kids (or possible groups of them) is ready. We'll see.
More News from Ukraine
Jonathan telephoned Darlene today. She had tried to fax the NAC letter to Maria in Kiev, but it's a holiday over there and the fax machine wasn't turned on. So Darlene telephoned her on her cell phone to ask her about our letter. Maria told her that we didn't need to write back to the NAC because she has already turned in an appointment request for us. The "date" she gave was "as soon as possible." And get this--Maria thinks we will travel quite soon because there aren't very many parents requesting sibling groups.
Whooooh--take a deep breath. Last Sunday, we were planning as if the adoption might be in the fall or even next spring. Just two days later, it's feeling more like it will happen this summer!
So, now we wait for a second Ukrainian letter in our mailbox, this time with a travel date. And in the meantime, we work like crazy to get everything ready.
Letter from the NAC Came Today
A letter from the National Adoption Center (NAC) arrived at our home today. Jonathan noticed it because of the airmail stripes on the edges of the envelope. We were doing yardwork, which came to a halt immediately! The letter is in Ukrainian and English, and says that our dossier was registered on June 15 and postmarked on June 21 (Mom and Dad Benson's anniversary). They mention that appointments at the NAC are full through the first half of 2005, but that we should write to them with our requested time in the second half of 2005 or in 2006. That sounds like July 1 is the starting date! We telephoned Darlene Lundy, our social worker in Connecticut, for further information. She had us fax the letter to her, and she will fax it to Maria in Kiev for her advice. Suddenly it feels like our trip has moved up to a earlier date, although we don't know yet what that date is. The other great news is that the NAC did not request that we redo any of our paperwork, which we hear is quite common for many applications. We're going out tonight to celebrate!
