This week's paperwork consists of signing: (1) the agency contract; (2) a form saying that we are responsible for our own travel insurance; (3) a form stating we know that in Russia we'll need crisp US currency dated after 1996; and when we send this paperwork in to also include photocopies of our passports and the agency fee.

The contract does a good job of explaining the uncertainties involved with international adoption. Summary - lots of risk and no guarantees. They also included a list of medical/social risks involved with international adoptions:

Salmonella, Milk Intolerance, Malnutrition, Retardation, Depression, Decayed Teeth, Hearing Impairment, Parasitic Infection, Mental Illness, Physical Deformity, Exposure to Nuclear Disease/Environmental Fallout, Tuberculosis, Dehydration, Pneumonia, Rickets, Under Stimulation, Drug Exposure, Learning Disability, Institutionalization, Abuse (Physical, Sexual, Emotional, Psychological), Seizure Disorder, Genetic Disorder, Hepatitis A, B, C, Scabies, HIV/AIDS, Prematurity, Veneral Disease, Visual Impairment, Delayed Development, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Undiagnosed Congenital Problems, Serious Illness (Cancer, Heart, Diabetes), Reactive Attachment Disorder.

Whew! Long list, but nothing we haven't thought about and discussed. Unlike others I know, we have never had to do a "checklist" of what conditions we would accept or not accept... not sure if that comes later when we are at the referral stage or not. Our agency has a long history of healthy referrals so I am very confident things will work out just fine. I feel like we are going into the process highly educated and aware. Bring on the dossier paperwork!