Russian Adoption... Take 2

Okay, so I should probably first start off by saying that Randy and I are in a MUCH better place than we were last week. Feeling okay about things again, and even a little positive! I also want to thank everyone that commented and gave us wonderful advice and support! Thanks!!

We were able to put a stop payment on the bank check that our agency lost, and we informed them that we won't be using them for our placement service! We are so thankful that we were able to get that $$ redeposited into our account. Ironically, them losing that check was the BEST thing that could have happened to us.  If they had deposited it, we would be stuck with them. We would have been so deep in  with them finanically that we wouldn't have been able to start over somewhere else.

This is basically where we are now. Starting over. We have decided to go with a new agency, and are going to be working with Adopt-A-Child, Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA. They came very highly recommended, had great reviews, and when we spoke with them earlier in the week, they were so efficient, answered all our questions, and actually provided us with more information in one 30 minute phone call then we got from our old agency in 6 months! It was like, "Ah.. THIS is the way it is suppose to be!" We both feel very confident that we are doing the right thing, and actually very relieved that we were able to leave our agency.

So.. we just filled out the application this week and sent it over to get our file opened. The next step will be to go there, sign the contract, and figure out what the next steps are. Since our home study is done, and we have our appt with USCIS on Wednesday, we won't have to start from scratch! They informed us that we can just bring all our documents we already gathered for the dossier for the other agency and we'll go from there!! They do have a mandatory 10-week training course that we need to complete which we hope to start asap.. then we'll be able to get our documents together and sent to Russia! Our hope is that everything will be sent by early September. Since we are open to a child of either gender, we were told we could receive a referral within 2-3 months! So, chances are good we may make at least one trip before the holidays, and have our little one home hopefully late winter/early spring. To be honest, even if it takes longer.. it will be so worth it in the end to just know we are working with an agency that we trust, and to have the peace of mind to know that we are going to get the child that is meant for us.

So, we are hopeful again and feeling positive about things. It is actually nice to not have the "bad feeling" anymore. I would be lying if I didn't say I'm still really nervous and a bit scared.. but I also know in my heart that Randy and I did the right thing! Now, we just have to trust and have faith that we are truly on the path we were meant to take and soon we are going to be meeting our child.