I guess I forgot to post the other day. Well, the letter had mentioned an option of a "Gesundheitsamt", which is basically the overseers for all of the Doctors in town. I was hoping they would have signatures on file to they could verify that it was our Dr's signature without having to interrupt his schedule. So, I did what I still hate to do more than just about anything else in the world....I loaded all 3 kids up and away we went! (While they typically do much better than I expect, I still hate the uncertainty of waiting, especially in a country that thinks a 20 minute wait to check out at the grocery store is "normal"!) With the aid of our trusty GPS, we ventured into a new area of town that had remarkably wide roads. That instantly brightened my mood. (It's the little things in life....) We were able to find a pretty good parking spot and the kids did relatively well, especially considering the situation. We were told to go to the 3rd floor to a small office. The office was located in the middle of a LONG narrow corridor that might have been the most bleak, depressing hallway ever! It was dark and hot and LOUD! The kids, unfortunately, are not exceptionally good with the concept of "quiet". I tried to turn whispering into a game but, let's face it, the echos of their regular (loud!) talking voices and footsteps were just far too appealing. The lady I spoke with seemed to understand exactly what I needed and gave the impression that this was a reasonable thing to ask of them and that it should be only a matter of a few minutes. Well, after 45 minutes of various comings and goings of 4 different people who all insisted on giving us their best "German stares", they all finally came out and surrounded us. Then 1 guy asked me what exactly I wanted. Never a good sign. I explained again that I needed our Dr's signature verified or notarized. He talked to the others in German for a while and one of the other ladies told me that they did not have his signature on file, so they wouldn't be able to help me. I would HAVE to get the Dr. to go to a Notar in person and that was my only option. Ugh! Such a pain!
I felt terrible even asking him to do that but everyone made it clear that there was no other option, so I called and explained the situation to him. He was not upset with me, but thought the situation was absurd! He had no problems laughing about the ridiculousness of their request. Luckily, he was really sweet and was willing to do it "just for us", he said. He actually told me that the reason he was willing to go for us was because he wanted "one more in Heaven". :-) It was funny though, because he asked me if he would need to bring his mom with him so that she could verify that he was who he said he was! lol!! I'm so glad he's such a great-natured person! We went to meet him there an hour ago. He had a very small window because he had phone calls and house visits to make. (Yes, a Doctor that still makes house visits every day! I told you he was awesome!!) The Notar's office was locked when it was supposed to be open. We waited and kept ringing the bell outside the door that is supposed to ring inside, but nothing. Finally the Dr. had the idea to go downstairs (the office is on the 1st floor upstairs) and see if the phone number was on the front door. Luckily, it was! When he called, a lady answered and said that of course they were open! She had forgotten to unlock the door!! Yikes! If he hadn't called, who knows if they ever would have noticed that and he would have had to leave to go back to work without getting to meet the Notar. I hate to even think about that!!
Unfortunately, all the craziness rubbed off on DJ & L (N was sleeping) and while we were waiting, they decided that they needed to run up and down the stairs. These are marble stairs in a very small sterile environment, so it was LOUD! Then when we finally got inside, they decided that they needed to fight with each other. DJ kept taking away L's toys and holding them an arms length from her while she freaked out. L decided that it was a good idea to climb on the chairs in the least safe way possible. They were so bad, the Notar actually asked me if we were certain that we wanted another child. I HATE that question. A lot! Especially when it's completely reasonable to ask it. *sigh* At any rate, that notarization for those forms is done and they will also get them certified for us. That just leaves the proof of employment letter from D's work and there are 2 signatures on that letter. Both of the people said they were willing to go to the Notar's, but they didn't say when. I hope they go in some time this week so we can get these certified documents to the German Federal Office to be authenticated. We really need to get everything to the Crescent Moon embassy ASAP so they can be on their way to our agency in the states, then sent on to Crescent Moon before September 13th. No pressure or anything.... ;-)
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