Saturday, November 30, 2013

USCIS Approval

We got it!!!  Our I800-A has finally been approved!  That means the US has approved us to adopt.  Now we need to send all our paperwork to my girls country.  I can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure a few things happened when I opened up my mail.

The sky opened up and angels began to sing.

People everywhere jumped in celebration.
 
Even the animals got excited.
 
Yep....kind of like that.
 
 
Goodness....if getting USCIS approval is this exciting, I wonder what getting clearance from my girls' country will feel like......
 
 



Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Come on already!!

I believe it's been six weeks since we received our Request for Evidence letter from USCIS.  I've gone through a few phases since then.  The first was the "It's ok because people make mistakes" phase.  In my previous life, I prepared taxes.  Even the smartest and most experienced person (not me) can make a mistake.  It's cool.  But after 3 weeks of waiting for the missing information to show up, I moved into the "My jaw hurts like heck because of tension" phase.  After my social worker received the clearance and I still didn't receive the addendum for another week, I moved on to the "Don't talk to me.  I'm bitter and angry" phase.  I decided it would be best that I talk to no one.  Only negativity came out of my mouth.  God worked on me during that phase.  I turned to Him and just tried to keep my mouth shut.  This is why I'm a God fan.  He is there to keep me from going off the deep end.  But now, I'm just in the "I'm completely dumbfounded" phase.  The USCIS officer has had my changes for a week and she's not returning my phone calls.  I'm not a drinker.....well...not much of a drinker....but this whole situation has me googling sangria recipes.  Why be dumbfounded, bitter, or angry on Thanksgiving?  Instead, I'm going to take my stress out on a sangria and a whole lot of turkey.  Poor turkey.....
 

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Feeling Down

On October 17th, we received a Request for Evidence from the USCIS office (otherwise known as a pink-slip).  There was an item missing from our home study.  Over two weeks later and we're still waiting to get that cleared up.  To top it off, I found a new picture of my little dude on the internet.  My heart just aches right now.  I hate this feeling of helplessness.  On the other hand, I feel so blessed to see my boy again.  But it hurts.  All the memories have come flooding back of our visits with him.  The feel of his hair on my nose as I kissed his head.  His sweet smile.  The smell of his little neck.  And I am also frightened that something will get in the way of getting our sweet girl home.  God tells us not to worry, so I am truly trying hard to just relax.  But I am praying continuously that things clear up soon and God provides comfort to get through this ugly bump in the road.