Updates

We're getting ready to do our first unneccessary post-placement visit on Monday (can you sense my frustration). Dan went down to the court last week to see why the confusion. The woman who usually deals with adoption related matters has been out on medical leave for quite some time. I've been dealing with a gentleman who I have found to be intrusive, not at all knowledgable, and just plain frustrating. Dan got to speak with the lady who was very knowledgable, and kind. She led him through the paperwork (the correct paperwork this time). She also informed us that even if we got an attorney, the process would still be lengthy.

At the same time, I spoke to a lawyer who was very familiar with Indian adoptions specifically। I expressed that I was surprised and disappointed that there was such a wait and process at this point. She told me that our county is certainly the most "oh, let's use the word dilligent." Great. Slow judge in India, slow judge in Maine. The other thing that she mentioned was that usually she completes all of the paperwork and files it as soon as the family comes home. Then she just hands in the post-placement reports as they come, so no time is wasted. We were under the impression that we couldn't file anything until the initial 6 months had passed.

We had really expected to get much more support with the court process than we have. I guess I had high expectations, and this is one area that we will reconsider when we do this again. I take full responsibility for the decisions in this area, and don't feel I can say much more, but my decisions in this area were not based on the research I did on other areas of our process. Next time it will be.

The woman with the probate court said that right now there are only three cases in the judge's drawer right now. However, we have to have our fingerprints done, and oddly, it takes 2-4 weeks for them to get the cards that we need to make the appointment. This makes no sense to me. After that, we need to wait for our fingerprints to clear, and then we can get an appointment with the judge. After this meeting, he will set a court date. We made it very clear that we are very flexible and can come in with an hours notice. So who knows.

The other update I wanted to provide was on my friend। Thank you to everyone who sent prayers, positive energy and other well wishes. Casey was on her way from one of our offices to the main office to drop off paperwork when she was struck head on by a man going North in the Southbound lane of the interstate. She had no time at all to respond. She had a brain injury and many broken bones, compound fractures to her legs. It was very scary for the first week, and she was kept in a coma. She is now awake, recognizing folks, has a sense of humor (which is so important for her :) So we are very glad to see her recovering so quickly, and it has been such a joy to get to know her family. We can't wait to have her back at work!

OK, here are some of the recent pics. Myles' eyes are so gorgeous in some of these. He is truly so sweet and sensitive.