Lost in the mail?

I emailed USCIS on Monday and my officer told me that my I800a had been approved on Friday.  I thought that I would have the hard copy today, but no such luck.  If it doesn't arrive tomorrow, I will call USCIS again on Monday and ask them to send another copy.

The waiting has been getting to me lately.  It is hard to not have anything productive to do towards the goal.  Last night in my church's small group we talked about Genesis 12, which is all about acting/waiting on God's promises.  I loved that it was so relevant and that I am not the only one in a waiting stage of life.  This weekend I hope to make a list of things that I want to finish before travel, so that I have concrete projects to work on.  Unfortunately, many of the items on my list will have to wait until the referral.  Maybe I will make two lists instead.

This weekend to put my anxious energy to good use I am heading up north again to my parents' house.  I will be helping my little brother figure out what he is doing with his life and my parents clean/organize before my grandfather moves in next weekend.  My grandfather's health has been deteriorating and at 89 years old he is finally willing to admit that he can no longer live alone in a farmhouse that is about twice as old as he is.I am not looking forward to the long drive there and back, but I am glad to see them and to have a productive use of my time.

In other news, my computer was moved and as of Monday I started my new job.  Things are going quite well so far.

Things that I have learned

This week I have learned that the information that I have been obsessively trying to figure out is on the China Adoption Facebook groups, specifically the DTC or TRAVEL groups.  I joined because even though more than half of the conversation is not relevant much of it is very relevant.  There isn't enough people on the Landia adoption groups to crowdsource the answers to the questions that I am currently trying to answer.  Just an hour ago someone asked the current timeline for I800a approvals.  I was able to share the dates in my timeline, but also see some other recent timelines.  Even more exciting, I was able to figure out how to email my assigned officer and to hear a few accounts of her work.  If I don't get anything in the mail tomorrow, I will be emailing her.

I also found a blog of a couple adopting from Landia right now.  This was really exciting because in 2012 and 2013 only around 80 children each year were adopted from Landia in the US.  That means that there just aren't that many blogs.  To give a comparison, 2,306 children were adopted from China in 2013.  Even more exciting was the fact that the three kids that they are adopting are 6 or under.  To give context to that, in 2012 and 2013 only 6 kids total were adopted from Landia that were 4 or younger.  This means that blogs about toddlers/preschoolers that are adopted from Landia are pretty much non existent.  It has been really useful to read about their experiences what has worked, what hasn't.  I am trying to figure out a way to contact the family.  I am fairly sure that they use the same agency as me, but maybe I just need to leave a comment on their blog.

Another birthday!

My newest nephew was born two days ago.  I am going up north to go meet him this weekend.  The adoption is moving along steadily.  My dossier is off to Landia tomorrow with another adoptive family and I had my fingerprints done this morning.  It took me about an hour, but I got to read inspirational signs such as "A hug is a gift that is one size fits all" and Don't let the love of Power overpower the Power of Love."
Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday!

Today is the birthday of two little girls in Landia.  The twins are turning two years old and there is a chance that by their next birthday they will be at home here with me.  For now I will call them Faith and Hope.  I won't know for a few more months whether they will definitely be my daughters, but it is a definite possibility. As I have been telling people, it is up to God and the Bureaucracy at this point, but I have an absurd trust in both of them, although much more in the first than the second.



In other news, I got a great birthday present for them in the mail today: my fingerprinting appointment letter.  This is the letter that USCIS sends to let me know that I can now get my biometrics done to get approval to adopt children internationally.  The appointment is for one week from today, which is the day before my dossier will fly off to Landia with a family that is finishing their adoption process.  The dossier will take about a month to translate by which time I should have USCIS approval.  I have a general timeframe that I think the rest of the process will take, but it is a little early for me to publicly speak about it.  Let's just say that I am hoping to be in Landia sometime late Spring or early Summer.