We've run out of paper!

Or, at least, our list of paperwork to do has dwindled to nothing. US Citizenship and Immigration Services finally sent our updated Form I-171H (Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advanced Processing of Orphan Petition)--we've been waiting a month for what is, essentially, a one-line change from "May 28, 2011" to "November 25, 2012".  But anyway, we've got the form, and it, along with 23 other documents, in duplicate, all notarized and apostilled, are right now winging their way across the Atlantic, there to be translated and submitted on our behalf to the Russian court system.

The next step is being assigned a court date. We should hear in three weeks or so when exactly that is, but the best estimate places our second Russian trip in early-mid August.

In a holding pattern

In Russia, the formal court petition to adopt a child requires a list of paperwork.  Medical forms, financial forms, legal forms, government forms, in duplicate or triplicate, signed, notarixed, apostilled, and current within some certain date.  Some 30 different pieces of information in all.

And it's all required.  Every last bit of it.  We have everything in hand now, except for one last piece: our US Citizenship and Immigration Service Form I-171H, the Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition (received after filling out Form

I-600A, the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition) has an expired fingerprint clearance.  We were re-fingerprinted three weeks ago, after applying for an appointment weeks before that (after being rejected for an appointment before that, because we correctly followed the old procedure, not the new procedure, for requesting a re-fingerprinting).

So we're waiting for that.  When we get our updated Form I-171H, (Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition), we'll send it, and the rest of our dossier, off to Russia, where it will be translated and the Russian court system will set a court date for us.

Our court date will probably be in early August.  If we're lucky, it might even be in late July.  If we're unlucky, it'll be later in August.  If we're really unlucky...well, let's not dwell on that.

Your turn: Send us pictures

Elena would like to get to know you

Yeah, I led with a cute picture, just so you'd pay attention.  But I did it for a reason.

We're sending letters and pictures to Elena.  This is in part to let her know what to expect, as much as a two-year-old can.  But it's also in part to establish, formally and legally, that she'll be welcomed with open arms when she comes home.  The Russian courts want to know that.  Seriously.

But it would be even better if the Russian courts knew that a lot of people would welcome Elena with open arms when she comes home.  Also seriously.  That's where you come in.

If you have a moment, email us (or mail us if you want) a picture of you and/or your family and we'll print it out and send it to Elena.  Doesn't matter who you are--grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, second-cousins-twice-removed, friends, or honorary relatives--if you're reading this blog, and you're ready to welcome Elena when she comes home, you're invited.

Pictures can be formal or informal, whatever's convenient.  Two minor restrictions on the photos: please no pets (sorry dog-and-cat-lovers) and please no alcohol (sorry party-lovers).  Both invite questions about shots of one kind or another, and the fewer questions the better.

Our email's in our profile. 

Thanks.

The Hermitage Part II: The upper floors

The Hermitage is huge, so we didn't see all of it.  We skipped the copious 18th century artworks, and went straight for the late 19th and early 20th century stuff.  The Hermitage has a nice collection of Picassos:

 One of the more famous ones is The Visit:

 But I like The Absinthe Drinker better:

I love the expression on her face.

In addition, the Hermitage has a great Matisse collection.  Here a group of preschoolers is studying The Red Room: