As of my last blog two days ago Masha had no idea of our intentions to bring her back permanently, even though I skated around the topic pretty close without breaking the rules. I could not definitively say anything about adoption. I could see there was uncertainty in her eyes even though I attempted to make it clear that hosting was not the last time I would see her. Well she no longer has to be uncertain. When she got off the plane in Ukraine the facilitator got a moment alone with Masha, told her our intentions were to make her a permanent part of the Atchley Family, and asked her if that is what she wanted. The report we received was she got extremely excited, and she even stated that her family in Ukraine would be very excited for her to have the opportunity for a different life. A little leap of faith by this brave little girl to come to America for a summer may just change her stars forever.
Getting Closer to this One Day at a Time!
Now with that said we still have a long way to go. We are still waiting to find out if she is legally available (Should Know August 8-9 Please be Praying). This was just a large relief because some families were allowed to talk about adoption with their kids. Two of these kids were in the same orphanage, so I am sure she got to hear about it all the way home. Liz and I knew about this before they left, and it definitely made it more difficult letting her go. We were given multiple excuses why, but lets just say I am not a fan of excuses(Insert Multiple Quotes From
John Wayne Here).
Well Chris, if you ask me, that wasn't the question that anyone was unsure of. Of course she would want to be a part of your family, I think we've all known that by reading your blog posts over the past 5 weeks. The bigger question is the status... Hope you get some good news soon.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Lori, It was more about her knowing for herself not for us. I felt for her going back on the plane not knowing. It is what really upset me the most. Especially since we are prepared for everything now.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same as you Chris. I didnt need to know his answer. I needed him to know our intentions. But I also dont want to be just another person in his life who makes promises and then lets him down. When we get the official word - please, please let it be next week as hoped - then I will be okay.
ReplyDeleteHome study tomorrow. Hopefully find out on Monday or Tuesday. If she's not available knowing she wants to come it will really sad. If she's not registered I hear it takes 14months. She will age out.
ReplyDeleteChris, it might still be possible if you have filed the I-600 in her name before her b'day, if you get news she's not registered, I mean. But prayers she is!!!
ReplyDeleteWe are trying to adopt a 16 year old. What you have to do is have your USCIS approval BEFORE her birthday. You then must file for her I-600 in her name within 6 months of that initial USCIS approval. Once that document is filed it is good for one year. So, if she becomes available during that time, it should work. The boy we are trying to get turned 16 twenty days after we got our USCIS approval, but he wasnt available until mid-July, as in after they briefly halted adoptions over there recently. So we filed our I-600a for him with his name on it while we were in Ukraine prior to his availability. Also be sure that your homestudy states you are approved for the adoption of a child up to 16 years of age. The US side of things does not require this as you would have filed your application with the USCIS before she turned 16 thus only needing approval for up to a 15 year old, but Ukraine wants it to say 16. We had to have our homestudy ammended to say this get it notarized and apostilled and sent to Ukraine. Complicated, but possible. Get your stuff into the USCIS asap. They are slowpokes. We were able to get our state senator involved and that sped things WAY up. (but the USCIS had also lost our app among other things). There was a law passed in April, I believe that allows for this process. Google the Julia Peck law or the Clay Peck adoption blog.
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