Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork

Well- with only a couple of months before I return to work, I figured I needed started on the last piece of paperwork for Maggie's adoption: The California Readoption. I signed up with my agency last month and received the paperwork Friday, so 5 forms later, I was ready to drop it off at the courthouse this AM. From here, we are assigned a case number, then our social worker files an updated home study. We get our hearing date, show up to the hearing and complete the process with the judge, who kindly poses for pictures as he signs documents. All the adoptive families in Alameda County have the same picture with the same judge. It is sort of funny.

Before you ask: Yes, our adoption of Maggie is already final. We finalized it in China, but the only way to obtain a US birth certificate in the State of California is to readopt her. Things like school and sports will be easier for Maggie if she has a birth certificate that looks like everyone else's, so I believe in doing this step with only normal levels of whining. When we complete this process and pay a few more fees, we recieve a "Delayed Registration of Birth", which is looks the same as a birth certificate and lists her Dad and I as her parents. Then, aside from the post-placement visits required by China, we are done with paperwork! Considering I have been dealing with adoption paperwork since 2001, I am rather glad to see it wrapping up.

As I was saying, this morning, Maggie and I headed off to the courthouse to file our papers. We made it to the Courthouse, cleared security, waited in line for 10 minutes and were told we didn't have the required 2 copies of our forms to start the process, therefore we were not allowed to file. UGH! Back to the van we went with our 5 forms. What a drag. I will get the copies tomorrow and go back on Wednesday. I guess the finish line wasn't as close as I thought.