Friday, January 27, 2012

Wing and a Prayer

Around the anniversary of Alex's court date, the kidlets and I are going on a special trip.  We're cruising with some other adoptive families and close friends.  I literally can't wait!  I think I am worse than the young school child, almost counting down the days til we depart!  Our destination is Mexico.  We're hoping to even take a dip with some dolphins and generally enjoy some time away, relaxing. 

Because we're headed out of the country, it's time to get Alex's passport.  Tatiana has had hers since our summer '09 trip to Niagara Falls, Canada.  Besides we live 30 minutes from Canada, so a spur of the moment trip there is not out of the question -- and now, you need a passport.  

Most adoptive parents can relate to my stress over sending away for the passport.  All the passport application documents state that for adoptive children who were not born in the US, you need to send their adoption certificate, country of birth-birth certificate and certificate of citizenship.  Oh yeah, and they need to be the ORIGINALS.  You know, the ones you only have 1 copy of and would be very, very difficult to replace.  So yes, just a wee bit of stress sending those off to an unknown office somewhere in never, never land.  

But alas, it must be done, so this week -- it was.  Documents are in the mail and we're now on the clock.  I did spring for the expedited process (meaning RUSH, double meaning pay more) as I have heard this is a good way to not only obviously speed things up, but have a tracking #... so hopefully next week Alex's brand spankin new passport will arrive, along with my sacred originals.  

His passport picture cracks me up, but then again so does Tatiana's.  In T's -- she looks SO young to me.  And it is apparently Murphy's Law that the photo must capture a child's best expression of.... "huh, what?".  So therefore, without further ado, here is Alex's passport picture.  We'll chock the constant mouth open pose of late to cutting molars.  


5 comments:

Graintad said...

Oh my... your passport system sounds scary... I would hate to send off our boys documents...
In Finland you just walk up to a police station, with a photo and €57, fill in one paper and then you leave. Come back in 1 week and you have a new passport. That's it...

Mamapierce said...

That DOES sound scary! I hope they come back safe and sound. I am guessing we had to do the same thing as both Keith and Iryna have passports.

Yvonne said...

Elina's is also in the mail. I sent both kidlet's together so that hopefully they will keep all of the documentation together. I didn't do the expedited... so I am very stressed, though I did spring for the passport cards so that once that I have their passport books unless we are going on a trip by air I will carry their PP Cards instead of the books for Canada crossings. :)

Saying prayers that it moves quickly and I get everything back quickly....

Bill and Michelle Curran said...

I received all Jackson's originals back EXCEPT his original birth certificate - which has been lost.

Shelly said...

I just stumbled across your blog! We brought home our son about a year ago! I dread getting Andrei's passport for those very reasons...but it must be done!