December 25, 2010

A very merry Christmas! We feel so blessed with our amazing circle of family and friends. What a gift they will be to our daughter! We think of next Christmas and how our family could be hanging another stocking out for Santa!

December 16, 2010

Really frustrated this week! We were due to have our last fingerprinting appointment with the USCIS on December 21, which is the kids last day of school before break. We weren't sure how that would work out as our appointment was set for 8am in Naperville (2 1/2 hours away) and how childcare could be arranged. We were assured via our agency that we could request another time, so I mailed off a form December 1st. When I still hadn't heard back this week, I began making many phone calls to government offices and sent several urgent emails. I finally heard back today that our new date was set. Phew!

December 10, 2010

Gavin requested to sleep downstairs tonight in his new room. In one quick moment Emmett climbed into the bottom bunk where his big brother once resided and promptly said,"my bed!" I tucked Gavin into bed, solo for the first time in three years as Emmett joined Keaton for their first slumber as bunk mates. With that I walked by the empty nursery and knew it was no longer Emmett's. It now waits for another sibling to take his place!

December 8, 2010

We just received our December update and we are #80 on the girl wait list! While this is not as big of a move from our last update, it is still bringing us closer to our daughter.
In this waiting time we have been working on preparing Gavin's room downstairs. With a fresh coat of paint, furniture arranged, and a Star Wars theme for the decor-our eldest is getting excited for a room to call his own!

November 22, 2010

I just started reading "There is no me without you". It is a story of an Ethiopian widow whose home became a refuge for hundreds of orphans. I have already gained some insight into our daughter's country's rich history contrasted against many heartbreaking statistics noting the state of this nation today. This has been both an informative resource as well as a beautiful story of parenting. "At heart, it is a book about children and parents, wherever they may be, however they may find each other."
http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com/

November 6, 2010

We received an email today from AGCI that we have already moved up on the waitlist! We are #86 right now!

October 27, 2010

We got the call today! Our dossier was approved and we have moved to the waitlist!!! It really is sinking in now. We are another step closer to meeting our daughter! We are #95 and will get monthly updates on our status. Now we can finish the form for USCIS and mail that off for that approval. And immuzations! We have to wait until the first of the year to get started on those due to an insurance change, but during this waiting time, we still have plenty to do!