A New Role & Title for me...Court Petitioner

Well, today we completed one more step in this long journey called adoption. I officially "petitioned the court" this morning for a re-adoption hearing. It sounds so official doesn't it? It really was much easier than I thought it would be...

Basically we had to fill out some additional paperwork, gather some additional documentation from our adoption agency, notarize one document and make an appointment with the probate office in our county courthouse. I was there for about 10 minutes. Everyone was pleasant and I left having successfully obtained a scheduled hearing date and time for December 7, 2010 at 8:15am. It all went unbelievably smoothly and I was quite pleased to not have to use an attorney for any of the process. {To all of the other adoptive parents out there, you are FULLY capable to handle this part without spending big dollars on an attorney...it is nothing compared to the work that was required of you to get you this far.} =)

So, why re-adoption? Re-adopting Mia in the U.S. is not a requirement. She is already fully our daughter and legally adopted. And Mia is a U.S. Citizen. She has a Certificate of Citizenship and a social security card. Re-adoption is recommended, however, because in doing so, she will be issued a U.S. Certificate of Foreign Birth which looks almost identical to a U.S. Birth Certificate. Right now she has a Chinese birth certificate (3 originals), but it is in Mandarin and requires us to also carry a translation. We will also be unable to obtain (without incredible difficulty) any additional originals. Thus having a U.S. Certificate of Foreign Birth will make life a little easier when she would need to present a birth certificate (ie. schooling, marriage, sports, etc.) And it will be relatively easy to obtain additional originals. There are additional benefits to re-adoption including the ability to change Mia's name or date of birth if necessary, but the above reasons were the ones that most resonated with us.

So, we will be moving forward with Mia's re-adoption. And our big day is December 7! We plan to have the whole family there. And hopefully we will take some pictures. Anyone else who wants to join us is welcome. =) I was told it should take 10-15 minutes and then... I think this mound of paperwork is mostly done...

except for the post-adoption reports, but those are easy. =)


Off to tackle the house with a new level of authority...

because I petitioned the court this morning. =)