The great fake out! The great redemption!

I about had a conniption when I opened the mail to find a very official document. I mean it people, it had the water mark, parchment paper, the whole nine. You know, the kind that you hold up to the light and you can tell it is fancy paper with an embossed seal and stamped paper? You know? The kind when you copy it on a XEROX machine it says "COPY." Anyway, it was OFFICIAL. It looked like a cross between a dollar bill and a birth certificate. Talk about Authentic. I was jumping up and down until I read the script. It said that the United States Department of Homeland Security had received our application. SIGH. DUH! I already knew that FED EX had delivered the form with our homestudy and I had also received an email to that effect. Why waste a fancy piece of paper and get this mom-to-be all in a tizzy?

THE ULTIMATE FAKEOUT courtesy of our good ole' government.

The adrenaline surge and "high" I got quickly dissapted into an incredible low.

Then, miraculously...two days later we got our letter that stated that we have our fingerprint appointments! Again, fancy paper and all! We were worried that the appointments would interfere with our trip to Key West next week! We did NOT want to have to reschedule!!! If you don't show up when they schedule your appointment, you lose the $890 (is the fingerprint ink made of gold?) you spent. SO, we are blessed that our appointments are March 7 at 1 and 2pm! WOO HOO! I rescheduled my entire day at work and got the time off. WOO HOO!!! After we get the fingerprint appointment we'll wait for our I-171 form and once we get it we're ready to send our paperwork to Ethiopia and we'll be on the wait list!

Please pray for a FAST I-171!!!!

Here are some photos of the beloved documents...If you are in the adoption world, you know these documents are PRICELESS and constitute a HUGE milestone! It means the USA government approval process is in full motion! :) The current time frame to receive your form is 2 weeks to 6 weeks....We intend to get our dossier authenticated and ready to ship off! :) YAY!

"ASC Appointment Notice" Appointment for Authentic Processing of Orphan Petition

The FAKEOUT LETTER!

THE REAL DEAL! :)

A little practice for parenthood...

Last Saturday, Lee took the neighborhood kiddos to "Boondocks" to play mini-golf, ride go-karts, play video games, and play laser tag. I met the "boys" later on and it was a blast! It was soooo much fun to play! Lee was soooooo good with these rowdy boys! We learnd alot about parenthood---carrying coats, toys that were won, and giving out tokens like mad! They disappear fast! :)

I had to share what Clayton said as we departed and I left in my car and Lee/boys in his. "Hey guys! Where do we want to meet for lunch?" :) He clearly wasn't ready to go home...:)

Upon returning home I heard the clammor of feet on the roof. It startled me so I went outside to find the neighborhood boys in the driveway and Lee chucking parachute guys off the roof. The boys would catch them and toss them back up to Lee. It was adorable! :) Finally, the day ended up with a little impromptu football game in the street. Lee had asked me to dinner for Valentine's Day, but he came in and said he was far too exhausted for that. I was in agreement of ordering a pizza and staying home. :)

Here are some photos and a video of our adventures.

Clayton

GOOOOO GRADESTER!!!!

Yeah Clay---you can pass a chick!!!




***TO listen to videos, scroll to the right of this blog and click "pause" on the music player (black box at the bottom of all the pretty buttons etc) Then press "play" on these videos.

I forgot to share something else extra cute that Lee shared. After our Ethiopia culture night Lee came home and said "Wow, after seeing all the transracial families, I can really picture us being one. We'll fit right in." Its not that he is not on board to adopt, of course he is, but he could really picture it as a reality. :) I'm thankful for a guy who is GREAT with kids and that even though I almost had a heart attack, the footsteps on the rooftop only signals the great dad he will soon become...It makes my heart smile.

OH MY. Somehow I missed this. I love it. I have recently grown to love Steven Curtis Chapman! He has adopted 3 little girls from China. His songs are adoption focused and lovely. I just think he is great! :) He inspires me.

I had this realization today. My thought was "What will we do once we get our baby home?" If we didn't have a biological child what will we do? This process has ruled our thoughts, actions, spare time activites, in short...EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES. One baby isn't enough. Some how I think these 'labor pains' we're experiencing will DISSIPATE quickly and we'll be on this journey again. Please pray for us also as we consider adopting TWO. :) If God brings us siblings...well, we'll see. :)