The questions have been pouring in...

Q & A

So are you keeping the names as is?
Yes, there has been some discussion about calling Joaquin by his first name or calling him Alex. Right now it’s staying put, we will call him Joaquin. Jessica does not have a middle name. Eric wants to give her my middle name, Ann, Jessica Ann. But no final decisions have been made.

How long have Jessica and Joaquin lived in the Orphanage?
They came to the orphanage 3 ½ years ago and came in pretty bad shape. All is well now, they are both doing wonderfully.

Where will you stay when you are there?
We will stay at a Bed and Breakfast type of place that caters to families who are in Colombia to adopt. We will have laundry facilities, internet, and other amenities as well. We will know more about one week before we leave as to which place we will stay specifically. Our agency will make all of the arrangements for us.

Will you have an interpreter?
Yes, we will have the CHI rep that lives in Colombia to interpret for us. We will have our own lawyer assigned specifically to us as a CHI family and will even have a driver to pick us up at the airport and such.

Are Emilee and Nate going and will all of you be staying the whole time?
Yes, Emi and Nate are going with us. Their school has been wonderful and everything is working out on that end. We all plan to stay for the entire time we are there.

How long will you be there, and when will the children actually be Hollis’?
We will have to stay for about 4 weeks, give or take a few days. Once we meet the kids they will go “home” with us to the bed and breakfast. A few days later we will go to a meeting to show how things are going. If all is well, which it will be, we will get custody of the children and await a court date to finalize the adoption. Once we have custody we will be free to travel around the city/country. It will be a few weeks before we get a court date. The adoption will be finalized the day we go to court. The birth certificates will be changed, giving them our last name and we will make arrangements to travel home.

When will the children be US Citizens?
As soon as they step foot on American soil, they are US Citizens. The adoption will all be final in Colombia, however we will have to go thru a re-adoption process here in the states. Just a formality. We will also have to send updates to Colombia several times in the next year to show the progress of the children. We will work with our social worker to make that happen.

What all do you know about the children?
Actually we have been extremely blessed to have so much info given to us. Details will not be shared on line, but I can tell you we have info on the birth parents, some family members, a summary of their lives before being brought to the orphanage, their physical condition upon arrival to the orphanage, current medical, psychological, social, and emotional info, descriptions of their personalities, and their likes and dislikes. All of this and even a little bit more.

Will the children be prepared some how and understand what adoption is all about?
Yes, oh yes. A social worker and/or a psychologist will be meeting with them several times before we meet them. The photo pages we sent with our dossier will be given to them and completely explained and gone over. They will be fully aware of the events to come.

Will you meet them at the orphanage?
No, we will meet them at one of the ICBF offices in Bogota. They will know they are meeting their new Mami, Papi and siblings and will have said their goodbyes to their friends and orphanage staff.

And there you have it......Any more questions?