We are in a sort of holding pattern right now: waiting for documents, counting the days until the trip to Italy, etc. Here are a few updates for what is happening.
1. The birth cert request went to Sacramento and I will not get it back till mid July by thier reckoning. I have been checking my bank site to see if the state has cashed my check. after nearly 5 weeks, they still haven’t. That makes me nervous. I have had ALOT of things lost in the mail, and while I should have sent this registered or something like that, I didn’t. Well, why not? That was dumb! you might say… yeah, yeah, but it’s too late for that. I actually checked into sending it through UPS or FedEx, but since it was going to a PO box, they couldn’t do it. I should have checked with the USPS, but again too late for that. I just sent it through the mail. Anyway, if they don’t get it, I will have to petition the court again for another court order, so I can send it to Sacramento again…. all of these things take months at a time. I have about 10 months till my appointment at the consulate, but I need to submit the docs with an explanation to the consulate and see if I can get this adoption thing cleared up.
2. The adoption “thing”…. I am convinced that when the consulate officer mentioned adoptions to her contact in Rome, he didn’t understand the situation. Everyone I have talked to, including several Italian nationals that have adopted [as well as looking at various laws] states that the adoption should NOT be a problem in the way that they are saying. There is simply no reason for needing an italian court to recognize it. So…. once I get that original birth cert, then I will submit copies of the entire package to the consulate with a detailed explanation of the situation and let them research it a little more. At which point I am SURE that they will see a court petition as unnecessary. But as you can see, having one-of-a-kind court orders lost in the mail on the way to Sacramento slows the process down. I will have to wait until mid July before they will even answer my questions on the status of my request. If I have to wait 3 months just to find out they never got it, initiate the request again for another court order [another 6 months??] and then wait another 3 months before I can get the birth cert, then I am already out of time. I’m hoping the reason California hasn’t cashed my check yet, is that they have received it, but haven’t opened it or started processing it yet.
3. On the plus side, everything is now arranged and paid for with the upcoming Italy trip. Ronnie and Kristi are excited as well and I can’t wait either. “Non vedo l’ora” like the italians say. Literally translated it means “I don’t see the hour”…. but it actually means ‘I can’t wait’….. I don’t know why either, it just does!
Sorry I haven’t done more updates, but I wanted to have some real updates, not just reiterations of what you’ve already seen.
Well pray for the upcoming trip: safety, Kristi’s health while we are traveling- she has specific diet and medical needs that HAVE to be met, or we will have problems, spiritual insight to our situation and that God’s will in all of this will be further revealed. Pray for both Shelly and I and Ronnie and Kristi to hold firm and not be derailed by any attacks of the enemy.