User Error

Well, being that it had been over two weeks and we haven't heard a word back from Holt (aside from the automated responses we received from online submissions), we decided to get in touch with them and see what was up.

The intake assistant at Holt's main office (in OR, I believe) sent back a very nice reply, stating that she wasn't sure what was going on-- she didn't seem to have our online application on record. This was news to us, since not only did we have email confirmations, we also had $200 taken out of our checking account. (Somehow that part of the process worked perfectly, didn't it?) Off to a great start! Was someone trying to tell us something?

After a few phone calls back and forth, I received a call at work from a very nice woman in the NJ branch office, who explained to me what happened.

She told me that the applications are usually filed under the father's last name, which is fine, except that we used my debit card for the application fee, and that was in my name (which was not changed after marriage, in the event anyone stumbles on this blog who does not know me). So the application and the pictures, and the application fee were essentially filed under two separate accounts. Everything was cleared up, and we were told we could expect a packet in the mail in a couple of days.

Smile!

In addition to the online application, we also had to submit scans of our last three tax returns, as well as pictures of everyone living in your household, and the front of your house. I waited a few days to submit the picture of the front of the house, because the dogwood tree out front was just starting to explode into pink blossoms, and I wanted it in the picture. Finding a picture of both of us together that met both of our standards wasn't easy either. Naturally, I look great in ever picture, so the problem wasn't me. : )

Everything is submitted, and now we just wait for the next packet to come from Holt.

Ready to Submit (the application)

Well, we did it. We filled out the online application this morning with Holt International to adopt a baby! You know, a quiet Sunday morning, cups of coffee, newsprint-stained hands (I mean that figuratively, since most of my news reading is of the online variety) and deciding to become parents. (Guess these quiet Sunday mornings were just a little too quiet for some of us.)

The online application wasn't a huge deal, it asked for the usual, expected sort of information: names, birthdays, marriage date(s), address, employment, and some basic financial info. There were short sections about medical/mental conditions/treatment (we left off the part about me thinking I've lost my mind), and ages/gender of the child we would like to adopt. We set the age from 0-2, and the gender to "either"-- but only because it says we have to be open to either for the programs we are interested in. We both kind of want a girl. Which seems highly unlikely, since we are planning to adopt from Korea, and there are overwhelming odds of getting a boy. We also had to rank by importance several factors, including "medical condition of child," "current care situation of child," "cost," "gender," etc. Naturally, we put "cost" as the most important factor. (I keed! I keed!) Finally, we had to write a short description of why we wanted to adopt from a particular country. We cited Korea's excellent health care system (comparable, if not better than our own) as well as the excellent care the children are given there, usually in foster homes.

We put in the credit card info (we've surely spent $200 on worse things) and hit "submit"!

Here we go...