A little stressed!

Everything is fine now, but I waited all day Thursday for the 2 Certified FedEx documents from California and they never came. I called FedEx and they showed it going to Brandon, Colorado. Very far from my address!! The gal at the Calif. Sect'y of State transposed my zip code so it was never going to get here. I got a FedEx agent on the line and explained how urgent I needed these and she was kind enough to have it rerouted to me, but not the day I needed it, but the next day which was yesterday at 7:30am. I drove it over to my agency and it went out Friday and all was fine, but seriously, the stress people have put me through by simple mistakes on their part are just ridiculous. I mean, I make mistakes myself too. But in every situation, these people have known that these records are vital, urgent and involve 2 precious little girls in a 3rd world country that need to get here to their family.

However, on a happy note, I made sure that the last piece of mail I sent regarding this adoption was sent from the precious hands of my favorite Ethiopian postal worker, Mesfin. I stood in line and let other people go ahead of me so that I could have Mesfin help me. This guy is just so sweet! Remember he's the one who invited us to his Ethiopian church that we go to sometimes now. So, sealed with a blessing....off went the final docs.

Next steps........
We wait for the I-171 approval to come back which is our "Golden Ticket" to "approve" us for adoption. I know....you already thought we've been approved with all of this preceding paperwork. But, not so fast. Homeland Security needs to tell us officially that we are okay folks.

Decision

" must decide whether the adoptive or prospective adoptive parent(s) are able to care for the child properly, whether the child is an orphan as defined in U.S. immigration law, and whether all other legal requirements have been met. If the petition is approved, an I-171, Notice of Approval of Relative Immigrant Visa Petition, or an I-797, Notice of Action, is sent to the petitioner.

If the petition is denied, the petitioner is notified in writing. The petitioner may appeal that decision. Instructions on how to appeal a denial are included in the notice of denial.

Denial is justa river in Egypt! So no denials here!!

Meanwhile, we wait for an appointment to be given to us to take yet a 3rd set of fingerprints electronically called biometrics.

As paperwork comes in and dates become more precise, I will have a better idea of when we would travel, etc.

I'm just grateful to be at this stage of the process with paperwork behind me. REALLY glad! I still dream about the girls many nights. I imagine smooching on their cute little toes. Kissing their cheeks and letting them know in every way possible how much they are loved...even now.