RELEASE LETTERS

I know, three in one day is quite excessive, but we just learned that our release letters have arrived! Great rejoicing here. Now we await a court date.

An update for no particular reason

It’s June 1st and we had hoped to have our release letter by now, but no. The release letter, as best I understand it, is from the Federal Keepers of Children Left Without Parental Care releasing them to the jurisdiction of the Local Keepers of CLWPC. It basically states that the kids have not been promised elsewhere and we are free to move forward. So, we are still waiting for our release letters.

Happy news includes the following:
o Other families with our agency have been getting court dates about three months after their last trip, so I am hopeful that we will also. This puts us into Russia mid-July. HOT!
o We are making progress on our house. Our bedroom and the kids’ bedroom are all pulled together except for headboards, which are en route. Jamie has built the lovely bookcase/stairwell guard. Aforementioned toilet, sink, and carpet have all been installed.
o Two of our lovely nieces (we have 4 between us, all grown, or nearly so) blessed us with visits this week. This always makes us happy.

Prayer requests, for those so inclined, include:
o Traveling mercies for my mom, niece, and aunt who are adventuring through Israel right now, and also for my dad and brother who are also traveling on their own separate adventures. I’m always a bit uneasy when my loved ones are so far-flung.
o Jamie’s big exam in this coming Wednesday. He has been industriously studying for weeks and weeks, so we are hopeful that he will be successful. It’s a really hard one.
o And of course, that our release letters come, our court date be set, and our judge be generous.

What happens next

Next:

We apply to the Federal Databank for a Release Letter. We did this today.
The Release Letter arrives, slowly.
The Children's dossiers are assembled for court.
Our dossier and the children's dossiers are filed with court and we request a court date.
We wait.
We get a court date (usually 10-14 days notice).
We come back to Russia for court.
We visit the orphanage and confirm our intentions.
We go to court (see imposing courthouse in pic).
Court says yes (we hope and pray).
We wait 10 days for the decision to become firm.
We may or may not have the children with us at the hotel during these 10 days.
On the 11th day, the children's Russian passports are issued.
We travel to Moscow.
The kids get a medical exam from US people.
We get US Visas for the kids.
We fly home.