K

Who's K you ask? Well, she's our adoption consultant assigned to us by our agency. It's the first thing to happen since we signed the contract so it feels like a big deal. Looking back I'm sure this will seem like a somewhat insignificant event. But, as I promised, I'm going to keep you up to date. Even if it's a boring, minute detail. So, K's job is pretty much to walk us through this whole process, step by crazy step. She'll tell us what to do when we're totally confused. She'll tell us what forms we need and what we've forgotten. Dotting the i's and crossing the t's, if you will. Today, to kick things off, we spoke on the phone. She got some basic info about us and asked some questions. Heres a basic summary of the conversation.

K: How many kids are we looking to adopt?
Me: One. (There are sibling groups available which would take half the amount of time but cost double the amount of money. Also, they'd be older. So, just one for us.)

K: Boy or girl?
Me: Boy (for every one girl in a Russian orphanage there are 14 boys. Besides, we just want a boy)

K: Preferences regarding what the child looks like?
Me: As close to us as possible.
K: Blue eyes or brown?
Me: Don't care.
K: Brown or blonde hair
Me: Don't care.

It's crazy to me that we have that much control. But seriously, I want there to be at least some element of surprise here.

K: Are you ok with flying to another region in Russia once you arrive in Moscow?
Me: Uhhhh....is there a reason why we wouldn't want to do that?
K: Are you afraid of flying?
Me: Most definitely yes.
K: Well, if you're afraid of flying in the states you'll be terrified of flying in Russia. They have different planes in Russia. And they don't follow the same regulations.
Me: Say no more. No flying in Russia for me.
K: No problem. There are plenty of regions accessible via car or train.
Me: Hallelujah.

And that about sums up my convo with K. The next step is starting our homestudy, which can take 2-4 months depending on how diligent we are. I'm anxiously awaiting a packet to arrive in the mail which will get us started. In fact, I can't do anything until I get it. So, until then there's not much left to report.