Fingerprints done!!!! Medical clearance being notarized tomorrow! Home study being notarized in the next few days! Sooooooo....next week everything is headed to the Secretary of State for authentication! and my home study will be sent to USCIS! Wow! The paperwork portion comes to an end! Hoping immigration is in a speedy mood hese days so we can get that 171H back soon soon soon!!!!!

My agency handles the authentication in DC and then sends the dossier off to Ethiopia once that is done...then......we wait for a referral.

Here at home....we headed to the pumpkin patch tonight and then came home for the ooey gooey carving! The kids are all excited about costumes and candy...well...except for Alina who will, of course, be marching Friday night and Saturday....

The weekend update...

So here is where it all stands as of right now....my homestudy is in review at WACAP and should be headed to the homestudy agency for final write up in the next day or so. On Wednesday I will go in and get fingerprints and head to the doctor (I gave up and changed doctors, since the one I have been using clearly isn't inspired to help me unless I am popping out a baby the old fashioned way). So.......hopefully by this time next week, I will have a completed, notarized home study, a notarized medical clearance, and good to go fingerprints! I will then have everything I need to send in the dossier documents for authentication in NC! According to the site this process should only take 3-4 business days! Wow! So to bring it all together...everything should be at USCIS for approval for the 171H in the next 7-10 business days and my dossier should be through with authentication by then as well....and then we wait!

On another note....I watched Amistad today....it really makes my mind reel about the experiences and history between the US and Africa...it didn't really give me perspective....quite the opposite.....it truly makes me ponder the implications and irony of adopting a child from a continent that my ancestors so horrendously abused. It makes me wonder how much awareness there is on the African continent about what Africans went through for generations as they were brought here so many years ago......it really makes me wonder..........

Fingerprints

YAY!!!!! I got my fingerprint appointment in the mail yesterday! I am scheduled to go in on October 29!! Another step down. That leaves my medical clearance (which I hope my doctor decides to finish at some point). It's a bit frustrating that they don't seem to have the sense of urgency with the adoption process that they have with a "real" pregnancy. (That was me venting).

The only other piece of the dossier is the homestudy which went to my social worker for a couple revisions and should be in my hot little hands this week...and I still have to get some pics of me and the kids. That's just a matter of Alina's band schedule.........

Speaking of band.....we spent the weekend in Towson, Maryland for Bands of America Regionals...slept (using the term loosely) on a gym floor Friday night, then drove overnight last night to get home (8 hours). So I had about an hour of sleep since Thursday...a tad bit delirious, but well worth it. West Johnston High School Marching Band won Regional Champion!!!!!!! First time in it's seven year existence!

Back to adoption.....nice to be making progress! Hopefully, the USCIS will keep things rolling along with the paperwork once the fingerprints and home study are completed!

The dossier update...

Got my passport in the mail yesterday...started mailing off my paperwork to be authenticated...the birth certificate went of to Massachusetts today...I have to send one item off to California, another off to Wisconsin, and the rest will go through North Carolina...the joy of having moved all over the country is that now each of my documents has to be authenticated in the state where it originated...

Next week I will work on the Police Clearance, get the letter of adoption to the Ethiopian Government notarized, and check in with the doctor's office to see if they have finished my medical clearance. Took the outside and inside pictures of the house; still need to do individual and family pictures (it's a little tough to do that these days with Alina lost in band land) :)

......on another subject.......we are a "band family" :) Alina will be marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade this year with the West Johnston High School band! Over 300 bands auditioned, and only 5 high school bands were selected! So....we see very little of her these days with rehearsals being frequent and long in preparation for their week in New York City.....check it out:

http://wjhsmarchingband.blogspot.com

Beth is a senior at Mississippi State University, majoring in Music Education. Tessa has been playing oboe for about a year now, and Steven has begun taking trombone lessons. The kids are all excited about helping their new brother pick an instrument when he gets settled in! At the rate we are going, we may end up with a marching band of our own!

The home study is "mostly" complete....I am dropping off the letters of reference tomorrow and it will be off to the home study agency for draft review. Once I get my copy and everything looks good I can send it along to WACAP (my adoption agency). After all of the draft reviews, it will get final approval and be sent along to USCIS (immigration) where it will be reviewed yet again and I will hopefully receive my 171-H before the end of the year. Fingers crossed!

The waiting isn't driving us crazy ywt...I think that is primarily because as anxious as I am, I am hoping that the travel to Ethiopia happens in summertime so that we have plenty of time to enjoy our life as a family (I'm a teacher for those who didn't already know). Beth is also hoping to travel with me, and summer would make that much more feasible.

Soooooo we are anxiously waiting, but hoping and praying the timing is best for everyone.....

Nothing like a good miracle to reassure me!

The day I made the final decision to adopt, pulled off the road into a gas station to call a dear friend who is a hard core prayer warrior. I had discussed the possibility of adoption with her many times, so she was not shocked to hear the news. I asked her if she could begin to pray me through the process. Her response was, "Well, Lisa, tell me specifically what you want me to pray for." UGH! THis was challenging since I hate to admit it out loud, but I sucked it up and told her that I needed her to pray for the finances to make this work.

Let me digress for a moment....about 4 years ago we sold a baby grand to a wonderful man who teaches children with special needs. He made a few payments, but then faced financial hardships and could not continue making payments. He still has the piano, but we never received the balance for it.

Soooooooooooooooo....here I am years later and I arrive home and start opening the mail. Thinking this particular envelope was junk mail I ripped it open nonchalantly to hold in my hands a check for $1000!!!!!! What in the World!!!! I started crying and just could not believe it! What an amazing blessing! I definitely plan on writing a letter to let him know how much I appreciate his fulfilling this debt and playing such an awesome role in bringing home our little guy! I called my friend immediately to tell her how impressed I am with her hotline to God! haha!

Keep the faith...you never know when a miracle will arrive in your mailbox!