May 23--Saw our little sweetheart "Abraham's" picture for the first time and were captivated by him.
May 24--Inquired about him.
May 30--Received first instructions to get the application process going.
June 3--Completed online application and completed phone interviews. Received his medical information.
June 5--Found out "Abraham's" real first name and year of birth. Medical exams for our kids already at home.
June 11--Application approved.
June 12--Service agreement received.
June 13--DocuSign for service agreement received and signed. First agency/case management fees paid via online payment. Ordered prints of "Abraham's" picture to present to grandparents and for us.
June 14--Received commitment documents and learned his full name, birth date, and location.
June 15--Shared happy news with "Abraham's" paternal grandparents. Started studying the language of our little guy's country.
June 16--Father's Day. Shared happy news with "Abraham's" maternal grandparents.
June 17--Decided on homestudy agency.
June 18--Updated Samantha's social security card to reflect married name and citizen status.
June 23--Converted Samantha's driver's license from GA to SC.
June 24--Completed and notarized commitment documents.
June 25--Notified that the online payment from June 13 did not go through. Arranged to have certified check sent through our bank instead. Received updated photos and a video of our sweet boy.
June 27--Check received at agency, officially matched with Abraham, at last.
June 29--Mailed first packet of forms and fees for homestudy agency.
July 2--"Abraham" is listed on "My Family Found Me!"
July 3--Completed 2 hours of adoption training.(2 hrs. total)
July 5--Completed 4 hours of adoption training. (6 hrs. total)
July 8--Mailed commitment documents for apostilles and second packet of homestudy forms.
July 13--Apostilled commitment documents received.
July 17--First homestudy visit.
July 24--"Abraham's" Family Sponsorship Program page is up and we receive our first donation--Thank you D.S.! http://reecesrainbow.org/63138/sponsorbailey-2
July 26--Completed 4 hours of adoption training. (10 hrs. total)
July 27--Completed 2 hours of adoption training. (12 hrs. total)
July 31--Purchased first item for "Abraham" Record a Story: Guess How Much I Miss You
Aug. 19--Mailed next batch of documents and payment for homestudy.
Aug. 31--Second homestudy visit
Sept. 9--Medical exams for Sean and Samantha
Sept.16--Completed 2 hours of adoption training: Parent Planning for Special Needs Adoption. (14 hrs. total)
Sept. 17--Applied for US passports.
Sept. 25--US passports issued.
Sept. 30--Homestudy completed and approved!
Oct. 2--Homestudy mailed to us and to SC DSS, en route to USCIS.
Oct. 13--I-800A completed.
Oct. 24--We received the SC DSS homestudy approval letter, and USCIS received the homestudy from SC DSS.
Oct. 27--We received the Blessing of Expectant Parents from Bishop Robert Guglielmone of the Diocese of Charleston.
Nov. 21--Biometrics (fingerprints) done for USCIS.
Dec. 30--USCIS approved our I-800A application.
2014
Jan. 3--Written I-800A approval notice received in the mail.
Jan. 8--Mailed first part of dossier for submission.
Jan. 24--Mailed second part of dossier for submission.
Feb. 4--Notified that our dossier had been received in "Abraham's" country and is awaiting authentication.
Feb. 26--Dossier approved in "Abraham's" country and verbal referral issued.
Mar. 12--Written referral and travel dates issued.
Mar. 16--Received translated referral materials and updated information about "Abraham." He's grown by 4 lbs since the report we received at commitment!
Mar. 28 to Apr. 5--First trip to meet "Abraham"
April 7--Mailed second part of dossier to be apostilled/authenticated, submitted I800 to USCIS, and applied for updated FBI background checks.
April 21--Easter Monday! Received I800 approval notice! Also, we mailed out the LAST pieces of paper for our end of the adoption! FBI background checks to be apostilled/authenticated by the US Secretary of State, and they will send the authenticated clearances to our adoption agency, completing our dossier.
April 29--We received our National Visa Center notification. Our information is being forwarded to the US Embassy in Sofia.
May 9--Article 5 Interview. Everything from the US side of our adoption is now completed!
May 19--Our dossier was resubmitted to the Bulgarian government for a series of signatures in preparation for sending our paperwork to court.
June 20--Received notice that our dossier has been sent to court. Awaiting news of a court date.
June
23--Received court date for the 4th of July!July 1--Received notice that we were approved for a $2500 grant from Gift of Adoption Fund
July 4--"Abraham" is legally declared to be our son--Alexander Jude Bailey!
July 16--Received travel dates.
August 24--Leo Michael was born. Alexander has a new baby brother!
Sept. 2--Sean flew out to Bulgaria
Sept. 3--Sean arrived in Sofia
Sept. 4--Sean drove with his driver and translator, Marty and Dani, to Alexander's region.
Sept. 5--Gotcha Day! And drove back to Sofia
Sept. 8--Applied for Alexander's passport.
Sept. 10--Picked up Alexander's passport and completed medical exam/TB screening.
Sept. 12--Received results from the TB test, which was negative
Sept. 15--Embassy interview
Sept. 16--Picked up Alexander's visa
Sept. 17--Flew home and met his family! Alexander became a US citizen when his cute little feet touched US soil for the first time!
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