The fingerprinting is completed and went off without a hitch, almost. It was an interesting experience to say the least. We got to the application support center in downtown Brooklyn relative quickly. We had enough time to stop for a cup of coffee and a bagel. We were able to finish our bagels and still walk in 20 minutes before our scheduled appointment time. (The appointments actually mean nothing -- it's just a way of getting people to arrive scattered throughout the day.) We filled out forms (almost identical to the ones that we received with our appointment letter) and were given a number. That's when the almost glitch happened.
Since Edward is 18 he had to go with us and be fingerprinted. He's the one that almost ran into the problem. His name is legally Ralph Edward Snyder-Ritter, but goes by Edward. When we got his non-driver's license photo ID, he decided to have his name on it as R.E. Snyder-Ritter. They couldn't put R. Edward since the program the DMV uses wouldn't allow for middle names. That's where the problem arose. He had filled out his application as Ralph Edward Snyder-Ritter and since the ID and application didn't match, even though the ID was a photo ID, he was sent to the opposite side of the room that I had been sent to, to await a conflab with the manager. Fortunately the manager okayed everything and we were good to go (Edward said that the manager had that look of "this is not worth my time"). From there, we had no problems.
Now it's a matter of waiting for the fingerprints to be processed before we receive our permission to bring an orphan into the country. PTL!!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Fingerprinting Time
It's been quite a while since I've updated and with Christmas coming, I've been soooo busy I haven't gotten around to posting.
We received our finalized home study report in the mail on December 1. So, on December 3 we mailed the appropriate copy to USCIS (immigration). We had already sent in our application and the fee for the fingerprinting. I was ready for quite a wait for our fingerprinting appointments. The website that I had been checking for time frames was saying there was a 3 month wait. Okay, I was prepared for that. However, I wasn't prepared for the time frame that is taking place.
Let me explain. As I said, we mailed in our completed home study on December 3 and by Saturday, December 8, we had received our fingerprinting appointments -- less than 1 week later. And, the cherry on top of this sundae is that our appointments are for December 20!!!! The real answer to prayer is that the appointments are for the day after Edward's college finals are finished. He finishes on December 19 at 5:00 pm and our appointment is Thursday, the 20th, at 10:00 am. I have to admit that I was concerned that our appointments might conflict with his college class schedule in the spring, but God is good and arranged for that NOT to be the case.
Once the fingerprinting is completed and we are approved to bring an orphan into the country, it's just a matter of waiting for a referral from our agency. Please pray with us that the referral comes quickly and that we can travel during spring or summer next year. We are hoping to have our child(ren) here by Christmas 2008 at the latest. Please pray with us!!
This is an amazing journey that we are on and we so often see God's hand at work in this whole situation and our lives. We look forward to sharing pictures with you when we receive them!! :-)
Merry Christmas to you all. May you experience God's blessing this holiday season and in 2008!!
We received our finalized home study report in the mail on December 1. So, on December 3 we mailed the appropriate copy to USCIS (immigration). We had already sent in our application and the fee for the fingerprinting. I was ready for quite a wait for our fingerprinting appointments. The website that I had been checking for time frames was saying there was a 3 month wait. Okay, I was prepared for that. However, I wasn't prepared for the time frame that is taking place.
Let me explain. As I said, we mailed in our completed home study on December 3 and by Saturday, December 8, we had received our fingerprinting appointments -- less than 1 week later. And, the cherry on top of this sundae is that our appointments are for December 20!!!! The real answer to prayer is that the appointments are for the day after Edward's college finals are finished. He finishes on December 19 at 5:00 pm and our appointment is Thursday, the 20th, at 10:00 am. I have to admit that I was concerned that our appointments might conflict with his college class schedule in the spring, but God is good and arranged for that NOT to be the case.
Once the fingerprinting is completed and we are approved to bring an orphan into the country, it's just a matter of waiting for a referral from our agency. Please pray with us that the referral comes quickly and that we can travel during spring or summer next year. We are hoping to have our child(ren) here by Christmas 2008 at the latest. Please pray with us!!
This is an amazing journey that we are on and we so often see God's hand at work in this whole situation and our lives. We look forward to sharing pictures with you when we receive them!! :-)
Merry Christmas to you all. May you experience God's blessing this holiday season and in 2008!!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
One Step Closer
It's been a while since I had any updates on our adoption. We are one step closer. Yesterday we received, via the US postal system, our completed home study report. So, on Monday, one report gets sent to USCIS so that we can get approval to bring an orphan child(ren) into the country. The second report gets mailed to our agency and we get to keep 2 copies of the report.. The rest of the process is then out of our hands and into the hands of our government and Zambia.
Once we receive USCIS approval, we then wait for a referral and travel. Please keep praying with us that this process moves along quickly. The Zambian program has some details that need to be ironed out; pray that these things will be taken care of quickly and efficiently.
We will continue to update you when there is news to report. Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf and for all the support that we have received. We love you all!!
Once we receive USCIS approval, we then wait for a referral and travel. Please keep praying with us that this process moves along quickly. The Zambian program has some details that need to be ironed out; pray that these things will be taken care of quickly and efficiently.
We will continue to update you when there is news to report. Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf and for all the support that we have received. We love you all!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Final Yard / Flower Sale Update
I haven't updated in ever so long because there has been nothing to update. However, we have the final tally on the fund raiser that my aunt and cousin organized. Are you ready for this?!? Drum roll, please . . . . the final total is $1,800!!! Yes, you read that correctly, one thousand eight hundred dollars!! Isn't God great!?! We are so excited because we can now send in the forms to USCIS (immigration) and get pre-approved to bring an orphan into the country. Those forms will be mailed later today or tomorrow.
So that's the latest! Thanks so much for praying for us during this journey. Please don't stop!!!
So that's the latest! Thanks so much for praying for us during this journey. Please don't stop!!!
Monday, October 1, 2007
Not Much New
There's not a whole lot of news to share. We're still waiting for our police clearance and home study write up. That could be a while yet. We're told that the NYS police clearance could take up to 2 months and the home study can't be finalized until the agency has that clearance.
The yard/flower sale keeps on going and has raised about $1,500 so far!! God truly is amazing. Who would have thought that we would ever get that much from a yard/flower sale?!? God sure did!! My aunt tells us that my cousins are willing to keep putting flowers out to sell as long as they are selling (and as long as they have them to put out). With this amount from the sale, we now have enough $$ to file with USCIS. After that, we'll only need about another $500 (in addition to what we have saved) for the second part of the agency fee. Then it's just a matter of time before we receive our referral and can travel. We don't have the travel $$ yet, but I know that God will supply that when it is needed.
Thank you so much for praying with us and supporting us in our adoption journey. God bless!
The yard/flower sale keeps on going and has raised about $1,500 so far!! God truly is amazing. Who would have thought that we would ever get that much from a yard/flower sale?!? God sure did!! My aunt tells us that my cousins are willing to keep putting flowers out to sell as long as they are selling (and as long as they have them to put out). With this amount from the sale, we now have enough $$ to file with USCIS. After that, we'll only need about another $500 (in addition to what we have saved) for the second part of the agency fee. Then it's just a matter of time before we receive our referral and can travel. We don't have the travel $$ yet, but I know that God will supply that when it is needed.
Thank you so much for praying with us and supporting us in our adoption journey. God bless!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
No Doubt About It
If there was ever any doubt that the Lord was behind this adoption, there certainly wouldn't be now!! We got an update on the yard sale total last evening. We are now at $1,200 and counting!!! Is that a God thing, or what?!?!?!? I'm am blown away by all of this. I certainly didn't expect this to happen, but I shouldn't have doubted. Our God is a great God and greatly to be praised!! Amen!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Home Study
It just dawned on me that I never wrote a thing about the home study, although I did ask for prayer.
For those that may be contemplating an adoption, the home study is not a big deal. It was a very painless process, just a long one. We talked with out social worker for about 3 hours. She asked a lot of questions about our families while we were growing up and our family now, how we met, why Zambia and the list goes on and on. One of the questions she asked was how Ralph and I met. It's an interesting story (if you don't know it and want to, just let me know) and she was quite intrigued. By the end of the interview process she made the statement, "This is the most fun home study I've ever done" and she's been doing them for close to 30 years.
She interviewed Edward and Johannah but that lasted about 5 minutes. She basically wanted to know if they thought that we would be good adoptive parents and if they were in favor of the adoption. No problem there!!
Roberta, our social worker, was getting ready to leave and I thought that all of my cleaning was in vain. But, no. She did want to do a walk through of the house to see the space that we have available for a child. Not a problem there, either.
The interview process was actually enjoyable and nothing to stress over. She will be writing it up and giving a a draft to read and make corrections (of a factual nature) if necessary. She'll finalize the document and send us a copy.
The only thing that I was really concerned about was the dog. However, she loves dogs and Oliver was on his best behavior so it is not a problem.
All in all, it was a great experience for us all. I am looking forward to reading what she wrote from her copious pages of notes!!
For those that may be contemplating an adoption, the home study is not a big deal. It was a very painless process, just a long one. We talked with out social worker for about 3 hours. She asked a lot of questions about our families while we were growing up and our family now, how we met, why Zambia and the list goes on and on. One of the questions she asked was how Ralph and I met. It's an interesting story (if you don't know it and want to, just let me know) and she was quite intrigued. By the end of the interview process she made the statement, "This is the most fun home study I've ever done" and she's been doing them for close to 30 years.
She interviewed Edward and Johannah but that lasted about 5 minutes. She basically wanted to know if they thought that we would be good adoptive parents and if they were in favor of the adoption. No problem there!!
Roberta, our social worker, was getting ready to leave and I thought that all of my cleaning was in vain. But, no. She did want to do a walk through of the house to see the space that we have available for a child. Not a problem there, either.
The interview process was actually enjoyable and nothing to stress over. She will be writing it up and giving a a draft to read and make corrections (of a factual nature) if necessary. She'll finalize the document and send us a copy.
The only thing that I was really concerned about was the dog. However, she loves dogs and Oliver was on his best behavior so it is not a problem.
All in all, it was a great experience for us all. I am looking forward to reading what she wrote from her copious pages of notes!!
Pictures, Finally
I've finally gotten access to a quick internet connection, thanks to my son's computer. So, I can finally update everyone with pictures of the yard sale. By the way, as of Friday evening, the yard sale total stood at $1,100. The greenhouse owners, my cousins, keep adding flowers to be sold and they keep selling!! Thanks so much Ken, Jon and Dan!! Your support of the adoption is overwhelming and greatly appreciated.
Okay, now for the pictures.
This gives you an idea of how we displayed the items for sale. Since the sale was basically inside the greenhouse, we needed a way of displaying the items. These carts are usually used for moving plants around. We just cleaned off the soil and put the items on them.
In the center we were able to set up some table for displaying books, puzzles and games and clothing. Behind the clothing table is our daughter, Johannah. She worked very diligently on getting the clothes organized.
The plants made a great impact on people as they drove past. They were just beautiful!!
Cousin Dorothy, the idea lady!! She suggested the idea for the yard sale fundraiser, and her mom, Aunt Nell, ran with the idea.
Ralph, my husband, is on the left and Uncle Russ is on the right. These guys "manned" the flowers and outside sale items (like the bikes in the foreground).
Other miscellaneous photos are below:
This pictures shows the carts as they are normally used.
I think that gives you an idea of the yard sale. What a blessing it has been for us!! Yes, the amount raised has been a huge benefit, but knowing that others are supporting us in our adoption (through their donations to the yard sale) has meant a lot to us.
With the home study finished, we are just waiting for police clearance and USCIS approval. When that's done, we then wait for our referral. It's an exciting time for the Ritter family!!
Okay, now for the pictures.
This gives you an idea of how we displayed the items for sale. Since the sale was basically inside the greenhouse, we needed a way of displaying the items. These carts are usually used for moving plants around. We just cleaned off the soil and put the items on them.
In the center we were able to set up some table for displaying books, puzzles and games and clothing. Behind the clothing table is our daughter, Johannah. She worked very diligently on getting the clothes organized.
The plants made a great impact on people as they drove past. They were just beautiful!!
Cousin Dorothy, the idea lady!! She suggested the idea for the yard sale fundraiser, and her mom, Aunt Nell, ran with the idea.
Ralph, my husband, is on the left and Uncle Russ is on the right. These guys "manned" the flowers and outside sale items (like the bikes in the foreground).Other miscellaneous photos are below:
This pictures shows the carts as they are normally used.I think that gives you an idea of the yard sale. What a blessing it has been for us!! Yes, the amount raised has been a huge benefit, but knowing that others are supporting us in our adoption (through their donations to the yard sale) has meant a lot to us.
With the home study finished, we are just waiting for police clearance and USCIS approval. When that's done, we then wait for our referral. It's an exciting time for the Ritter family!!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Successful Yard Sale!!
I've been wanting to post an update, but we have been having some computer problems. I have pictures from the yard sale that will help you visualize what we were able to do in spite of the threat of rain. Hopefully I can get those up later tonight. In the meantime, the yard sale was a huge success as a fundraise. We were able to raise over $900 in the "pay what you think it's worth" sale. Didden's Greenhouse, where the sale was held, donated lots of flowers that were a beautiful attraction. We left those outside to help draw people in -- we figured that the rain certainly wouldn't hurt them. :-)
When I'm able to post pictures, I'll write more.
When I'm able to post pictures, I'll write more.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Sorry for the long overdue update!
It's been quite a while since I've updated. I'll just give you a quick update on our vacation. The trip to the museum was fun as always, but it was overcast and rainy. Fortunately the exhibits are inside and the only time we had to go out was to get from one building to the next. I'll try to get some pictures posted in the near future.
Our vacation ended all to soon, but we had to get home so that Edward could begin his college career. He started the Monday after we got home (August 27) with two days of orientation and then two days of classes. He is now in his 3rd week of college. He enjoys Western Civilization and NT Literature, but abhors College Writing and thinks that Pre-Calculus is boring. I think that he enjoys Logic, but I'm not sure. That's a 3 hour, Wednesday afternoon class.
That's enough about the rest of my life. Since this is supposed to be a blog about our adoption, I better update you all. Our homestudy is on Friday, September 14 at 11:00 AM. It's about a 3 hour process. Hopefully, I'll be able to post an update. On Saturday, my extended family is holding a yard sale as a fund raiser for us so we will be headed to Pennsylvania for that.
Our biggest news is that we have made a decision about which country!!! We have decided to go with Zambia for a number of reasons, the least of which are the finances. We weren't really country specific originally. We just knew that we wanted to adopt and didn't have a whole lot of $$. It looks like we should be able to have a completed adoption within 9-12 months. We are excited about this and really feel that the Lord has led us in this direction. This means changing agencies and that's the saddest part. I loved working with the people from Christian World Adoption -- they have been so loving and caring. I will miss them!! I have had contact with the director of the Zambian program at our new agency, Faithful Adoptions. She is a Christian and has also been a pleasure to work with. I look forward to our future relationship as we work together to bring our child(ren) home.
Please keep us in your prayers this Friday. The house is clean and we are ready to go! :-)
Our vacation ended all to soon, but we had to get home so that Edward could begin his college career. He started the Monday after we got home (August 27) with two days of orientation and then two days of classes. He is now in his 3rd week of college. He enjoys Western Civilization and NT Literature, but abhors College Writing and thinks that Pre-Calculus is boring. I think that he enjoys Logic, but I'm not sure. That's a 3 hour, Wednesday afternoon class.
That's enough about the rest of my life. Since this is supposed to be a blog about our adoption, I better update you all. Our homestudy is on Friday, September 14 at 11:00 AM. It's about a 3 hour process. Hopefully, I'll be able to post an update. On Saturday, my extended family is holding a yard sale as a fund raiser for us so we will be headed to Pennsylvania for that.
Our biggest news is that we have made a decision about which country!!! We have decided to go with Zambia for a number of reasons, the least of which are the finances. We weren't really country specific originally. We just knew that we wanted to adopt and didn't have a whole lot of $$. It looks like we should be able to have a completed adoption within 9-12 months. We are excited about this and really feel that the Lord has led us in this direction. This means changing agencies and that's the saddest part. I loved working with the people from Christian World Adoption -- they have been so loving and caring. I will miss them!! I have had contact with the director of the Zambian program at our new agency, Faithful Adoptions. She is a Christian and has also been a pleasure to work with. I look forward to our future relationship as we work together to bring our child(ren) home.
Please keep us in your prayers this Friday. The house is clean and we are ready to go! :-)
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