It has been awhile....

I know that it has been awhile since I last posted anything, and I have received a few emails asking if everything was OK.  Everything is great!  A matter of fact, our dossier arrived in Ethiopia this week!  What next? We wait!  :-)  At this point, we will wait for a referral to be sent our way! It can be as quick as a few weeks or as long as 6 months.  However based on our desire to adopt a child between the age of 2-5 and being open to either gender, it should not take 6 months.  When most people adopt, they are seeking to adopt infants and that process can take a long time.  Our adoption agency currently works with 4 orphanages in Ethiopia and we have been told that they have kids that are currently waiting that fall within the age range that we requested.  We will have to wait to be matched with a child.  Once matched, they will provide us with a photo of the child, their medical exam/history and they will give us as much information as possible about how the child became an orphan.  But for now, we will wait for that day to arrive!   XOXO

I-171H Received

We received our I-171H at the end of January while I was traveling for business. As soon as I landed in Minneapolis on 1/31, I had to book a flight immediately to head to California because my grandmother's health was failing.  I didn't even have time to really enjoy or be happy about the fact that our I-171H for had arrived finally as I had been waiting for this day to come.  Instead, I would go and spend time with my grandmother, who later passed away on 2/7/13.  It was the first time that I had ever lost anyone this close to me.  I wanted to be sad but I was also angry at myself about all of the missed opportunities to just call and say hello.  It seems that my life was always too busy, at least that was what I tried to convince myself of.  But was I really too busy to pick up the phone and have a 5 minute conversation?  No, I wasn't and now I can't get that time back.  While we were dealing with her being on life support, I thought of ways to try and keep myself busy.  I was going to work on the adoption while I was there.  But then, I thought about how many times I was too busy to pick up the phone.  And it was at that moment I decided that I would leave all of our adoption paperwork in the suitcase and I would stop and focus on her.  For this would be the last time that I would be able to do so. 

Although I told my grandmother before she became ill that I was in the process of adopting, it saddens me that my grandmother will never be able to see, know or hug her grandchild.  Nor will she be able to see pictures or hear about the journey and the travel that lies ahead.  And although I know that she will not be able to share in this experience, I know that she would want me to keep following my dreams and that is what I will do.

I love you Granny.....

USCIS Update. Happy Friday!!

I had this feeling all day that I needed to call and check the status of our application. I ignored that feeling for most of the day, out of fear of being disappointed. 10 minutes ago, I decided to call. To my surprise someone answered right away. She then told me that my case had been assigned to an officer and that she would transfer me to her. Considering that I was once a government employee, my first thought was that I was going to be transferred to someone's voicemail. Surprise again! She answered! She then told me that she reviewed our file this week and that it has been approved and we should receive the letter within the next 7-10 business days! Woohoo!! Can you say Happy Friday!!! This just made our weekend! Hope you all have a great weekend! XOXO

Still waiting.....

I must admit that the hardest part of this process so far has been waiting.  I called and checked the status of our application today and it STILL has not been assigned to an officer.  Hopefully it will get assigned soon....until then, we shall wait.  XOXO

And we wait.....

Today I called USCIS to check the status of our application and as of today it has not been assigned to an officer.....BUMMER.  So we wait.  I am not sure how long it will take.  I have read on other adoption blogs where it only took 7-10 days.  Although it has only been 8 business days (not including the New Year holiday), it seems like it has been months.  I am hoping that by the end of next week we will receive some good news in the mail, in the form of a golden ticket.  :-)

Until then.....we will wait. 

XOXO

Biometrics DONE

We had our appointment today at 2pm. Now we wait for the golden ticket. To celebrate, we went to a nearby Ethiopian restaurant to get our first taste of Ethiopian food. All I can say is nom, nom, nom! Loved it.

My heart aches.....

Today, innocent children were taken away from their parents, never to return.  I cannot fathom the thought of ever losing a child.  And I can't even begin to imagine what the parents in Connecticut are going through right now.  Today was a very sad day across the U.S., as we watched the senseless tragedy unfold.  My heart aches for the families that lost a loved one today, for the children who's lives will forever be changed as a result of this incident and for the community that has been shaken.  My prayers are with them.  Hug your children a little tighter tonight, tell them that you love them and remember not to sweat the small stuff.  You never know when we will have to say goodbye.