Travel Details

I still can’t believe we have a son.  I still grin at the oddest times whenever I think of that. :-)

 

It does feel a bit different in that I was with my daughter on the day our relationship was made legal.  Having a son that I’ve never held is a bit unique- even to us- and adds a different dimension to the situation.

 

Speaking of which, “Why aren’t we traveling for six more weeks?  What’s the hold up?”

 

I will share the steps to bringing Gav home from an email our agency director sent to us.  First of all though, the email opened with:

 

“Hi Jennifer and Jim, Congratulations on passing court!  I know this is a huge relief, but unfortunately the waiting is not over just yet.”

I just had to laugh.  “Sweetie- after the past 5 months of uncertainty and ambiguity, the next 6 weeks are NOTHING knowing he is all mine.”  MINE.  Mine all mine.  I know that’s not the politically correct thing to say.  People are not possessions.  The cute way of saying it is ‘We are all HIS!’ but that assumes much, and I’ll let him decide for himself if that’s something he wants to celebrate or not! lol!

 

Rather than bore everyone with a bunch of words, here is a picture.  (I included the verbal description of each task as the bottom in case anyone really cares.)

 

 

 

Even though the embassy date is on a Wednesday, we will leave on the Saturday prior and then come home on the Friday after.  We’ll be gone for about 6-7 days.  And yes, if we travel for the 12/23 date, we’ll be flying home on Christmas Day!

 

P.S.  Once again, Gigi has been inadvertantly overlooked in all the craziness.  There is a brand new post on her.  Check out “Fall Festival” up in Keeping it Real.  Jim was the one who actually wrote this post two nights ago!  He did a great job, and there are some great pictures on that page.

 

Details:

“The first step is to wait for the court to issue the official decree stating that everything is approved and final.  The time it takes for the court to issue this varies, from as little as 4-5 days up to two weeks. Until the decree is in hand we cannot do anything but wait to start on your child's paperwork.

 

Once we have the decree in hand we can apply for the new birth certificate and again the amount of time it takes to get it varies and it is usually at least a week.  Now it is time to work on getting your child's passport, which can take another week.

 

Once we have all three documents in hand, they are taken for translation and submitted to the US Embassy.  The Embassy issues an appointment date for your child's medical to be done.  [This] usually happens within a few working days.  Once the medical is done, we can submit everything to the Embassy for a date for them to allow you to come in.  A reminder the Embassy only allows us an appointment every other Wednesday and all paperwork must be submitted two weeks in advance. [Emphasis mine]

 

In short, with the amount of time it will take us to have paperwork ready with the Embassy requirements, it is best to be thinking in terms of travel coming around the six week mark after court.”