It's been a long and bumpy road but I just got news that the judge in Bulgaria approved the adoption and we passed court!
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I just got news that I'm officially registered with Bulgaria and I'm now just waiting for a referral. Since I was registered October 1st I could technically have a match right this very second. Crazy! I'm so excited but also a bit nervous. I'm further than India and now I'm at the same point I was with private adoption. I know that I'm much more likely to get a referral this time than with private but it's still hard to be patient and just wait it out.
My coordinating agency informed me, almost two weeks ago now, that my dossier had been legalized, translated, and submitted to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice for registration! Things are happening much faster than I anticipated. At first I was a bit worried because I don't feel like I'm ready, but now that I've had time to process things I'm so excited. I should be registered this week (if I'm not already!) but it will be a bit before I know since they have to translate the confirmation letter. After that I could receive a referral at any time. I could even have a referral before I even get the confirmation letter! Again, I won't know I have a referral for a bit since the documents have to be translated, sent to my coordinating agency, then sent to the provincial government, then sent to my homestudy agency to present to me. Things take such a long time, but I'm almost certain I will have a referral before Christmas! So many years of waiting for this moment and I can't believe it's almost here! I'm hoping I'm not jinxing myself by getting excited since I've been down this road before, but Bulgaria is very smooth and everyone I follow in the process with Bulgaria is having an easy time. Hopefully I will as well.
Just got back from sending off my dossier paperwork. The past few days have been a bit crazy. Running around getting paperwork redo, printing, signing, organizing, talking with my coordinating agency. I was going to wait to submit my dossier but my agency convinced me that it would be okay to submit now. They said that given how long it will take to legalize, translate, register me, then we still have to wait for a referral to be made, all those files translated, then finally have it presented to me, I will have enough time to come up with the next fee. It scares me to not have the money but I'm trying to trust that everything is happening just as it's meant to and that it will all be ok in the end. I can't believe I actually submitted my dossier! Hopefully this one will have a happier ending than when I submitted for India.
After FIVE months my homestudy has finally been approved by the province. I have almost all my dossier paperwork ready to go but I will have to wait until I save up some more money first. I have enough to submit but I don't have enough yet to accept a referral. I don't want to have to turn down the referral just because I rushed to submit. I know that there will be time between me sending my paperwork and me actually getting a referral, since the paperwork has to be translated, mailed, and registered with the Ministry of Justice first, but Bulgaria is very efficient and I don't want to risk it. So I sit here, on the paperwork, for another 11 weeks. I can't wait for this to be over with and I really hope I finally get a happy ending.
I finally was able to get all my paperwork submitted and things moving along again. Since there was so much to update I have to sign a new copy of my homestudy. My agency sent off everything electronically and they are just waiting to hear back from the government that we are good to go. After that they will mail me it to sign, I will mail it back to them, they will mail it to the government, they will then (hopefully) approve it right away and send me my approval. All the postage costs are adding up fast lol.
For the first time in a long time I'm actually feeling hopeful. This homestudy has just so draining when it shouldn't have been. I was just approved and nothing changed except the country. It shouldn't have been this hard. Mind you part was due to the fact that my agency failed to inform me about the documents that I had to redo and that wasted two months of time but still. The questions that the government was asking were things that were irrelevant when there is a child in an orphanage that needs a home. I know they are just doing their jobs but being on this end it's frustrating. Anyway, time to stop ranting and time to start celebrating. This part is almost done and then I can get started on my dossier. Almost all of it is complete, there are just a few things I'll need to print/do. At this point I'm hoping to submit my dossier by the end of September. Financially I will get good because I will have time to save the next fee and my brother offered to lend me some if things happen too fast and I need it. Others that I'm following that are in the process of adopting from Bulgaria seem to be having a smooth experience. It is a country that really has it's ducks in a row and that makes all the difference. There doesn't seem to be extremes in their timelines and the process is pretty streamlined. I know exactly what to expect as things move along. So deep breath, this should be the end of the huge paper chase. A few things will need to be updated before court but beyond that I should be good to go! I'm a bit frustrated right now. First the social worker forgot to submit the paperwork to the government and to call my references. Now I'm being told that document I was originally told I didn't need are needed. This really sucks because right now it's the busiest time of the year at work. I have no way to find time to get my medical done. Thankfully other paperwork I already had because I was getting it ready for my dossier but my medical I was waiting. I told my agency they I wasn't going to get their medical form done just to turn around and need the one for Bulgaria done, therefore I'm just doing the one I need for my dossier and they can use that for my homestudy as well. I am very busy until the end of the school year and then I'm away for the first week right after. Now everything is going to be delayed because mid-July is the earliest I will have the form completed. If my agency had told me about this sooner (like they should have) I easily could have had it completed when I was off on break in February or April. I even could have found time after work one day to do it. Unfortunately now, with how busy I am, it's just not possible. Hopefully in the meantime everything else with my homestudy will be approved so as soon as they receive the medical they can just approve the homestudy and we can move on. I also found out about some fees that I thought were included in another fee but aren't. So now I have to come up with that money as well. I'm so frustrated and tired, I just want this to be finally over with.
My agency approved homestudy is finally moving to the government for approval. It should be arriving on Monday. Right now I'm probably going to delay submitting my dossier to Bulgaria until October anyway because I don't want to be stressed about finances. I can afford to submit a lot sooner but if I get a match right away the next fee is due super fast. I would rather wait to submit until I have the fees ready for the next fee. I'm hoping my agency won't have an issue with this. I'm not expecting to have government approval until end of May, then not actually having it in my hands until early June. I will then get my list for my dossier and even though I have most of the dossier already done I'm going to procrastinate for the rest so I can delay a bit longer. If my agency makes me feel confident that I will be ok I might submit sooner but right now I'm thinking October-November. It sucks, it really does, I hate that my journey is so much about money instead about things that should truly matter, but it's completely out of my control. So one day at a time, one dollar at a time.
I mailed my signed homestudy yesterday morning and it arrived today. Now my agency will mail it off to Adoption Services and then I wait. I'm expecting the wait to be at least eight to ten weeks. The government probably won't get it until the end of next week so going by that the earliest I can expect to be approved at the end of April. Last time it took eleven weeks (hopefully it will be smoother this time though) so realistically I'm looking at mid-May. By the time I get and and get organized the earliest I can submit my dossier is June. The issue right now is that if I get a fast match I will have a big fee to pay that I won't be able to do without borrowing money. I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible. Right now it's looking like I won't have the funds until the end of October. There is some hope I'd be able to get it by the end of September but it's going to be tough. Right now I'm thinking of delaying submitting until the end of August. That way by the time my agency gets it, sends it to Bulgaria, and I get registered, the earliest I would get a referral would be after the September and I will be okay with that fee. Of course this is if I get a match right away. I could be waiting a lot longer. The issue is I won't know until the time comes and if I'm not prepared I'm screwed. If I save and then I'm waiting I'll just start saving the next fee. Better to be doing that than not be able to pay the fee. Sucks needing to delay but that's the reality right now.
My homestudy was approved by my agency and I received it in the mail today. I will sign it and send it back tomorrow. Then they will send it off to the government for them to approve. That usually takes at least 8 weeks so I'm not expecting to hear anything before May. The wait continues, which is ok because I'm not financially ready anyway.
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About Me
I am 31, single, and been on my journey to becoming a single mother since 2013. I have struggled with infertility and I am now on the path to international adoption of a little girl with Down syndrome. Come join me on my journey to becoming a mother! Categories
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