the notebook

And when your adoption is complete, this great organizing tool can be your child's very first gift...

If there's one thing an international adoption requires, its TONS of paperwork.
By the time you've found your child and brought her home, you'll have gathered more papers than is required to buy a house, purchase a car and apply for college...combined.
As you work to meet your state, federal and foreign government requirements, you'll gather birth certificates, marriage licenses, health records, homestudies, USCIS approval and many, many more.
All the while there's the chance your country could change the rules, forcing you to fill out new forms, gather more documents, or get fingerprinted -- yet again.
While the process can be frustrating, you get rid of some of the headaches just by being organized.
You've worked this hard...the last thing you want to do is lose any of it, which could mean significant delays.
The key is to get organized.
We suggest purchasing a three-ring binder and some clear plastic sleeves where you can place each and every copy of adoption-related paperwork.
Your USCIS approval.
Your marriage license.
The application to the agency.
Everything.
Its great not only for keeping all of your paperwork together - it also makes it incredibly easy to take an extra dossier with you on your adoption trip, just in case.
The sleeves are also useful for keeping track of your adoption receipts, which is incredibly important at tax time.
And when your adoption is complete, this great organizing tool can be your child's very first gift...
A keepsake of their story.
A journal of the journey you took to bring them home.