Just got the call that our official, complete, approved, notarized home study is in the mail. As soon as I get it I will add our letter from USCIS and overnight it to them so they can abort their intent to deny based on our first one. The next thing I will do is begin grant applications. Since we already did our biometrics, I will also review our dossier to make sure it is ready to be driven to Jackson the moment we receive our I-171h to be certified by the secretary of state and then fed-ex'd to AWAA. Hmmmm....will this phase go smoothly and timely????
Good news....we sold our camper for just more than enough to send our dossier to ET!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
breathe in, breathe out
I am on the verge of crazy! We had our last meeting with New Beginnings ***insert hearts around that name*** yesterday and reviewed the rough, rough draft of our homestudy. The next step is for our social worker to make the adjustments that we went over and send it to our adoption agency for approval before creating the official, final copy. The final copy then goes to USCIS for approval to bring an orphan into the country and then it's all off to Ethiopia and we can sit back and wait (a good 6 months or so) to be matched with a child.
So I'm going crazy in a good, superly excited way because I can't believe we're this close to being on the official waiting list, but I'm also going crazy in a bad, overly anxious way. I have known all along that there is potential to be denied by USCIS because of our denial by That Other Agency, so I've been nervous about that but hopeful and prayerful that all will go well. Well......today we got a notice of intent to deny from USCIS! The letter says we have 30 days to show them why they shouldn't deny us. I immediately called our social worker and family coordinator to let them know of the urgency to get our final home study to USCIS within 30 days and they assured me that that will be no problem....but, oh, it's all I can do to not have a complete break down right now. I'm speed reciting in my head "be anxious for nothing..., be anxious for nothing..." Pray with us that USCIS will be favorable toward us and they will have no hesitation in issuing us the beloved I-171h when they review our new home study.
And on a related note, we don't have the money needed to be able to send our dossier to Ethiopia, BUT we have a couple coming on Saturday to look at our RV with the intent to purchase (they live 2 1/2 hours away) and that sale will give us exactly what we need for this next payment. Please also pray that the sale goes through!!!
"...but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
So I'm going crazy in a good, superly excited way because I can't believe we're this close to being on the official waiting list, but I'm also going crazy in a bad, overly anxious way. I have known all along that there is potential to be denied by USCIS because of our denial by That Other Agency, so I've been nervous about that but hopeful and prayerful that all will go well. Well......today we got a notice of intent to deny from USCIS! The letter says we have 30 days to show them why they shouldn't deny us. I immediately called our social worker and family coordinator to let them know of the urgency to get our final home study to USCIS within 30 days and they assured me that that will be no problem....but, oh, it's all I can do to not have a complete break down right now. I'm speed reciting in my head "be anxious for nothing..., be anxious for nothing..." Pray with us that USCIS will be favorable toward us and they will have no hesitation in issuing us the beloved I-171h when they review our new home study.
And on a related note, we don't have the money needed to be able to send our dossier to Ethiopia, BUT we have a couple coming on Saturday to look at our RV with the intent to purchase (they live 2 1/2 hours away) and that sale will give us exactly what we need for this next payment. Please also pray that the sale goes through!!!
"...but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Sunday, January 2, 2011
fear revealed
I had a flashback from my childhood this evening as I spread out all of our dossier documents on the dining room table for the sole purpose of looking at them. I remembered lining up all my freshly purchased school supplies on the floor days before that much anticipated first day of a new grade and lying on my belly, head propped in my hands, staring at the utensils and imagining the thrill of organizing them in my new desk and eventually putting them to use. Hmmmm, I guess I just confessed to being a geek. We are SO close (or so I think) to sending our dossier to Ethiopia, which is a HUGE step in this process, and as much as I daydream happy thoughts of meeting our son for the first time, I fear our trip to Africa.
One thing this whole adoption journey has done in me is grow my desire to give more. I want to give it ALL away...time, energy, resources. This world is not my home and I don't want to be comfortable in it. I possess HOPE that too many have not even heard of. There is no joy or satisfaction in living for self, and yet I'm selfish and my priorities are out of whack. I'm afraid when I experience a world completely deficient of the luxuries that I consider basic amenities and full of a people who know what it is to live in want I am going to face an utter contempt for our society. I am anticipating our time in Ethiopia to change us, and I'm scared.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSdP6PqsbJY&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=MLGxdCwVVULXcCM_1zMMoMRza_NKgVpwJZ
One thing this whole adoption journey has done in me is grow my desire to give more. I want to give it ALL away...time, energy, resources. This world is not my home and I don't want to be comfortable in it. I possess HOPE that too many have not even heard of. There is no joy or satisfaction in living for self, and yet I'm selfish and my priorities are out of whack. I'm afraid when I experience a world completely deficient of the luxuries that I consider basic amenities and full of a people who know what it is to live in want I am going to face an utter contempt for our society. I am anticipating our time in Ethiopia to change us, and I'm scared.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSdP6PqsbJY&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=MLGxdCwVVULXcCM_1zMMoMRza_NKgVpwJZ
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