We've got passports and medical records!

Here's another general update on our progress with the adoption...

• Susan continues to slog through the endless paperwork necessary for the dossier. The latest news is that my (Jerry's) passport just arrived in the mail (a big shout out to Suzanne for funding that!)...this is good because the passport information was needed in order to complete anothe ream of documents that will need to be notarized and apostilled. 
• Also, Susan has completed her medical examination and lab tests, and I will do the same on Monday. The only hitch there is that Susan's doctor's license (which the country requires a notarized copy of) expires in a month, so probably we will need to wait for her to renew it. 
• And our Minnesota home study agency says that the home study should be done early next week, which means that they will be sending it, along with a big fat check from us, to Homeland Security so we can get on a waiting list for the fancy-shmancy fingerprints they require. 
• The typical wait time for getting the fingerprints is apparently about two months...pray that we get in sooner than that, because that is one of the main factors determining how long we'll have to wait before going to Alex's home country.

Also, I am attempting to learn Russian in my "spare" time. My thinking is that Alex will feel much more comfortable if someone speaks at least a few words of the language he has grown up with! So far it is slow going. I am comforted somewhat by remembering that I only have to acquire the vocabulary of the average five year old...so only 2,000-4,000 words to learn, huh? Wish me luck!