Readoption Again

Readoption redux? Readoption once more? Readoption Part 2? Part 3? My head is full of PTO crap (yes, crap. let's call it what it is.) and I can't remember how much I've told you about this.

Anywho, we promised our adoption agency that we would officially 'readopt' Phoebe. Although the Vietnamese govt recognizes her adoption as final and the U.S. govt acknowledges that we're her parents, any future document-gathering that she wishes to do will be greatly simplified by a U.S. adoption decree and U.S. birth certificate. Plus, ya' know... we promised.

So I did some digging and was jogging along in the process and ran straight into a judicial wall. Namely, no readoption without a lawyer. Which was somewhat irritating to me, since I've managed to do scads of paperwork all by my little self that convinced a respected adoption agency and a foreign government to hand a child into my care. But I digress. As usual.

I whined to a friend about this legal roadblock and she set me up with a friend who was willing to be paid in brownies. That's my kind of lawyer! We had our first meeting today and I LOVE HER! We'll definitely be hanging out. Which reminds me... I need to set up a night on the town with my doctor too...

Damn. Digressing again.

The essence is that I need to provide our final adoption decree, the lawyer needs to type some legalese, we'll request a court date and Ta Da! Phoebe will be both recognized by the State of Kansas and will have her Vietnamese name changed to reflect her American name. It may take a bit, but - as I mentioned to my new bestest friend in the Kansas legal community - I can't complain about the timeline when the currency is chocolate. Our goal is to have the readoption through the court system in November, which is both National Adoption Month and the one year anniversary of Phoebe becoming a part of our family.

One year. C.R.A.Z.Y. Man, I love that little peanut.