” Since our arrival in Wroclaw, we have had relatively warm weather, but today  – our    court date – is frigidly cold.  In the early morning we made an hour’s commute to a neighboring city, the regional court.  The grey icy trees stood like rigid soldiers along the way, the river already half frozen.  Our translator and lawyer spoke quickly and passionately, only occasionally interrupted by the friendly banter of the cabby. 

 In nearly each town along the way I could spot a statue of John Paul the II through the hazy glass.  His arms extended, he waved us on to victory again and again.  We arrived early for our ten o’clock hearing and to my surprise stood outside in the cold talking back and forth with anyone who happened to be near, our cold breath mixing with the smoke of cigarettes, a common pastime here. 

 We entered a modest wooden courtroom, its one ornament the Polish eagle staring bravely down upon the space.  We faced a judge with a robe, who wore a heavy insignia, and two robed jurors, one of whom was so much a part of the process we at first wondered if they were judges too.

 I was first up to the stand – lawyer’s choice – and kept repeating in my head part of my training, “Look directly at the judge even when questioning comes from other places.”  This activity is harder than you might imagine with a translator standing stolidly by your side whispering in your ear and other people than the judge occasionally questioning you.  Is it difficult to answer the question, “How old are you?”  I get that question wrong in real life.  How about – “What is your parenting style?” “Why didn’t you adopt domestically?” “How do you plan to bond with a four-year-old?” “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” “Do you realize that you could be prosecuted for not stating the entire truth?”  When it seems your whole future hangs on a thread you sometimes look at your husband for support.  That is not allowed.  Rule #2.  Do not look at your husband for support and/or answers.  I kept thinking the final judgement cannot be so very different.

 Since I was first, they were quite stern and lengthy with their questions, including questions about our finances, which I was not expecting.  It seemed to me the whole world listened and winced as I stumbled through some answers.  In an instant I felt what ever mother feels – utterly unequal to the task; the guilt of every possible mistake weighing on my shoulders.  One question from the judge brought to mind a whole myriad of inane responses, yet lifting my eyes heavenward I spotted the Polish eagle once again and confidently wove our appreciation of JP II into the answer.  For the first time, some ease seeped into the room as if at the very name the whole world had smiled on us.

 Then, my husband was called to the stand, and in his usual calm way did not say too much or too little and peppered his remarks with just the right amount of humor.  When asked about communication, he indicated that we had learned more Polish than she English, and if the Polish judiciary had any aspirations for a Polish speaking North America, this was the child to send.  They were visibly impressed with him and with our lawyer’s impassioned speech, which surprised me because of its dramatic delivery, hand motions, almost tears, and length.  Next, was Weronika’s legal guardian, who spoke highly of us and said it was high time for her to find a family.  A few minutes after noon the court went into recess, and we were told to wait outside.  The sun had emerged and was melting much of the ice off the trees.

In fifteen minutes, we were called in to hear the official court decree.  This was the moment we had been waiting to hear.  “Colina Michaela Canavana z Jeanne Theresy Canavan…” A blur of words!  Yes!  We received permission for the bonding period to begin!

Now, about our little girl?   We were blessed to see her Tuesday and Wednesday, even though we had arrived earlier than expected.  She responded positively to us, and the first time we saw her she was wearing the Christmas gift we had left for her on our first visit – a size five suit that fit only when the top was worn as a dress with tights!  Well, there you have it.  She is not yet size five. 

We received an added bonus because we were able to take Weronika to the doctor for a scan that was on the calendar six months ago.  She was not happy with having to get an i.v. and proved herself truly related to me by being over dramatic about it.  Crying, pouting, showing it off to everyone in the entire hospital was the least of it.  For an entire day afterward she held her bandaged hand above her shoulder saying, “Owee,” and mama understood because I kissed it a hundred times and got her a pillow to gently lay it there.

She does know that she will be coming “home” with us tomorrow, an apartment in Wroclaw.  Tonight she was showing me her bag and various items to be packed, stacked neatly by the sisters.  She prattled away… the basic point being she wondered where her water bottle was…she thought a natural place would be my purse and soon found it there when I came back from the kitchen!  In the meantime, she is carried around like a princess by “Tata” daddy and never bores of playing repetitive games with him. 

 We are truly spent and overwhelmed by all these new things and can honestly say we relate to every mom or dad awake in the middle of the night caring for a newborn or worrying about a family problem.  God has blessed us with our own…. A family is born, and in the midst of utter confusion and sleepless nights, we rejoice!”

Hague Re-Accreditation

Today, we are received the paper copy of our Hague Re-Accreditation!

Every 4 years we have to apply for our COA Hague re-accreditation. This is a lengthy and difficult process including an on-site visit and thorough inspection of our agency. Today, we got news that we HAVE SUCCESSFULLY BEEN HAGUE RE-ACCREDITED! 

We look forward to continue serving our adoptive parents and orphans!

Dear Saint Mary’s Adoptive Parents:

There have been some recent changes regarding the FBI clearance.  Please read below:

 Does the FBI *apostille?

 *An apostille is a document that has been “legalized” or “authenticated” by the issuing agency. This is a process in which various seals are placed on the document.)

 The CJIS Division will authenticate U.S. Department of Justice Order 556-73 fingerprint search results for international requests by placing the FBI seal and the signature of a division official on the results if requested at the time of submission. Documents prepared in this way may then be sent to the U.S. Department of State by the requester to obtain an apostille if necessary. Requests to authenticate previously submitted responses will only be honored if the original results are returned by the requestor and received by the CJIS Division within 90 days of the search completion date. Submission of a new letter request, fingerprints and processing fee are required if the 90 days have elapsed.

What does this mean?

As soon as you receive your FBI finger prints, you have to apostille in Washington DC because they now have a 90 day expiration time frame.  You will have to send them for Apostille in the following address as described in your dossier instructions.

U.S. Department of State
Authentications Office
518 23rd Street NW.
SA-1
Washington, DC 20520    

Don’t forget to use the cover letter:  http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/63001.pdf

And that the fee is $8 per notary’s signatures on the document

Also, it means that the other option, of sending the FBI fingerprints to your home state, described in your dossier instructions is no longer a viable option. 

Also, we currently have 1 family in Poland on their 1st trip, one family on their second trip and 1 family leaving for their second trip later this month.  We are also anticipating the news for the second trip for another family very soon!

To Christ be the glory!

Mental and physical delays.  For more information please request further information.