Happy Dance :)

It finally came!!!! Woo hoo!!! 171h Last check on the list!! Now I am off to get a copy notarized and then overnighting it to Tallahassee to be apostilled...please pray we get it back on Friday so we can get this dossier mailed out to Eastern Europe asap!!! I am overjoyed at the thought that our paperwork could be there this time next week!!!! Thank you Jesus - you are soooooooo amazing!

Best Monday Morning News...

This morning I woke up and found the most wonderful email...finally a response from the USCIS local office. Our approved 171h is on it's way to us! We should have it in the next day or so...Yea!!! Unfortunately, things are moving a bit slower in our kids country right now due to an Interpol check they added on to the process - after we submit our dossier (first we must mail it and have it translated and then it is submitted) we are looking at a 6-10 week timeframe to travel. We are praying for a mid March submittal. Please pray that by that time it is closer to the 6 week timeframe, as our children really need to get home (and so do we!) We are trusting in the timing of our Heavenly Father though, as He continues to remind us of His goodness and His faithfulness! Praise God :)

Grab the cheese...

because here comes the whine! Okay, I know that was really cheesy...(hehe!) BUT seriously the last few days have been, well, discouraging. Where, oh where, is our 171H?!? Oh mailman, please, please bring it tomorrow! I am sooo tired of stalking you! ;)

Just in case, I emailed the adoption officer at our field office two days ago, but no response yet. Apparently they have three days to respond. I just was really hoping to get our dossier out this week :( With political changes in our kiddos country, it has become more crucial than ever for our paperwork to be submitted as soon as possible. I just keep reminding myself that God's timing is ALWAYS better than mine. And certainly He knows, but my heart just ACHES at the thought of our kids waiting any longer!

On the road...

On our way to Ocala, just for the day...BUT all of our paperwork came back nice and neat and APOSTILLED yesterday from the state! Amazing to see months of work all stacked up in one pile! Still waiting for our 171h but that should come next week hopefully...then we can submit!

Fingerprint Appointment DONE

USCIS fingerprints were done today...for everyone! YAY! The people were SO nice and spent the extra time to take us all. They even spent extra time going over my mom's prints since we had so much trouble with hers being accepted by the FBI. And instead of just my mom's getting done today, everyone's are done. Which, of course, means that we are just waiting again!

I also mailed out all the paperwork to get apostilled today ($320 plus shipping, just for apostille). It was INCREDIBLY hard to hand over all that paperwork to our very friendly UPS guy! We are always at the UPS store getting stuff notarized, faxed, copied, and mailed, so at least he understood my drama! They have been so supportive of our adoption and have become "family" and they always give us a discount (sometimes we have to BEG to pay them!) Love, love, love the UPS store! But, if today was any indication, it is going to be even HARDER to hand that dossier over to be mailed internationally!

SO, now we wait for our approval to come back from the USCIS....God is so incredibly good and I stand in awe at the mountains He has moved for us during the last few months! Now, I MUST go to bed - music class tomorrow morning with my not-so-baby baby girl, which means LOTS of dancing!!!