Ticked!

This week, I've reached my limit.  We've been waiting since May for a silly piece of paper from our nearly bankrupt state in order for our adoption to progress, and I've just about had it.

To proceed, we're required to have certification that neither Jenny nor I am on the state child abuse registry.  In fact, we're required to have one for every state we've lived in.  Over the 10 years we served in The Marines, we lived in lots of places.  So, somehow, we managed to get the required certification from Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Texas and Hawaii; and all of them within 30 days of our request.  Yet, still we find ourselves waiting for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Now, I fully understand the need for such documentation, and I'm not mad that we have to get it.  I'm merely annoyed that the State of Ohio can't manage to look for our names some time in the last 105 days.  The reason this is such a big deal is that we've been standing still since the first week in July.  We can't file for our visas, get travel approval, file for our fingerprints or submit grant applications without a home study, and we our home study isn't finished without this silly note from the State.  Did I mention I'm ticked?  I'm thinking about ordering a bunch of these bumper stickers....

We're trying hard to not let this get us down.  Meanwhile, every additional day we go without it is one less day to get all our paperwork done in time to bring Tommy home before December 31st.  That's heart-breaking to us and I'm ticked!!!!