Since Peanut went back to Russia, I've been drowning in paperwork, finances, and stress. The adoption process isn't for the faint of heart! Rather than go through every detail, here's a synapsis of the past four months:

• Completed my home study (lots of interviews, medical clearances, state police clearance, etc) in September.
• Finished my mound of dossier paperwork in October and sent it off to Russia for translating.
• Had my fingerprints for USCIS approval in mid-November. I received my I-171H (aka the holy grail) in late December.
• Just got the news that I was awarded a grant to help with adoption costs.

So, everything on the US side is going quite well. But, as with most international adoptions, there have to be a couple flies in the ointment.

• My agency hasn't received their reaccreditation in Russia yet. First we thought they'd get it in September, then October surely. Then a couple dates in November seemed golden. The latest date is "by the end of December." If I held my breath for every hoped-for date I'd be a goner. So, I hope and pray, but don't count on it.
• There's only one other accredited agency that works in my boy's region. Unfortunately, things didn't work out for me to switch for a number of reasons. I'm kind of afraid it would be the adoption equivalent of jumping from the frying pan into the fire anyway.
• I just found out recently that Peanut has been placed with a foster family of sorts. (It's called a patr*nat family... I'm still not clear on what that is.) At this point, my agency feels that there is reason to hope but we don't know for sure if he's available for adoption.

So, that's the skinny. Needless to say, I'm stressed out beyond belief. But Peanut is worth every effort.

I think there are advantages and disadvantages to hosting programs. Getting to know him and forming relationships with the other host families was invaluable. But, hosting draws attention to the fact that Big Bad Americans are coming. I worry that the added attention in effect caused my boy (and the other kids that came here this summer) to be placed out in an effort to avoid international adoption. It's sad. Peanut and I are family and I feel as if that is being ripped apart.