Still Nothing

We still have not received our I600. Another family from our agency received their I600 this past Wednesday. We filed shortly before them however, they received a "receipt" that their I600 was "in process" before we did and now have approval before us. I guess it all depends whose desk your paperwork falls on. We are just unlucky that way... again. This isn't the first time this has happened with USCIS. Our paperwork took forever the first time we applied with our initial I600 three years ago. Everyone else was getting their approvals except for us. Here we go again. It's maddening.

THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE WEEK.

If You Were Coming in the Fall

by Emily Dickinson

If you were coming in the fall,
I'd brush the summer by
With half a smile and half a spurn,
As housewives do a fly.

If I could see you in a year,
I'd wind the months in balls,
And put them each in separate drawers,
Until their time befalls.

If only centuries delayed,
I'd count them on my hand,
Subtracting till my fingers dropped
Into Van Diemen's land.

If certain, when this life was out,
That yours and mine should be,
I'd toss it yonder like a rind,
And taste eternity.

But now, all ignorant of the length
Of time's uncertain wing,
It goads me, like the goblin bee,
That will not state its sting.

Thank You!

Just a quick thanks to my wonderful friends and family for all of their support. On Friday I went to my friend Lynn's house to find an adorable "Hurry Home Eden" cake, a beautiful blanket made by her mother, and other goodies. Best of all was that I was able to play with her two adorable little sweeties. It is hard to be sad when I look at their sweet faces. I hope you know what a special friend you are. Saturday I spent with family and celebrated Thanksgiving. Everyone wanted to hear all about Eden and how she is doing. It is amazing to see the love in peoples faces when I talk about her. I can't wait to have her meet all of the people who are so in love with her already. Sunday my in-laws arrived with gifts from out of town family for Eden. She now has even more adorable things to add to her closet. Thanks to those who have left a supportive comment or sent me an email. Although we may have never met in person, your support is felt and appreciated. I even want to thank the girl at Kroger who gave me a free pink rose for no reason today. Each of these acts of kindness fill the empty parts of my heart and helps get me through the day. I don't know what I would do without you all. I am blessed beyond measure.

USCIS Update

I contacted my agency and filled them in on what is going on. They got back with me this morning (A Saturday!) and assured me that this will not hold anything up. They believe that when our I600 approval goes through the visa center will receive their updated information. See... right now the visa center still thinks that we are adopting from China... they never received the change of country from USCIS that was completed months ago. Our agency is telling me that everything will be fine. Since there is nothing I can do about it I am doing to trust that everything really is going to be fine. We will just have to see.

I received a receipt today from USCIS Detroit office letting me know that the current processing times for the approval we are waiting for is now three months. It looks like a form letter and I don't put too much stock in how accurate this time line is. I have also not heard of anyone waiting three months for approval. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst I guess.

I have accepted the fact that our daughter will not be home for Christmas and although I knew it would be a long shot... it is still a tough pill to swallow. I am going to try and stay positive in that I know that this is our LAST Christmas without her... something I couldn't say last year.

Prayers Needed

We have hit a bump in the road. There has been an error in some of the paperwork with immigration. This error solely rests with USCIS Michigan office... not us, not Korea, not our agency. They have been a thorn in my side each step of the way. I don't have the time or energy to explain the whole thing and to be honest I don't really understand it all myself. This is not the first time we have had problems with USCIS. Dealing with them is not easy either. There isn't a human being you can talk to to help you or answer any questions. I thought I lucked out and actually got someone on the line but they just ended up giving me an email address telling me to email my concerns. Nothing has been completed without some kind of drama or error. I am trying to stay positive. I am praying that this will be a quick fix and will not hold up our process in bringing Eden home. Pray for my sanity and for a speedy process.

For what it's worth... I know of two families who are home with their children who received referrals about the same time we did. Both are not from Michigan and didn't use the Michigan USCIS office. Also, approvals from Michigan USCIS were taking between just a few days to a few weeks in September. We have been waiting over three and Michigan USCIS is now quoting an average wait of two months. My head is exploding.

The hardest part of adoption, for me, is not the waiting or the unknowns, or the risk... it is having your hopes and dreams in someone hands. Leaving them to do their job, their part in the process. When they mess up, it's a feeling hard to describe.

Two Months

It's been two months since we received our referral. It is hard to believe that we are still waiting for our I600 approval. I thought we would be so much further in the process by now. Since seeing Eden's updated pictures the wait has gotten even harder. Sometimes I look at her picture and just cry. This is so hard. I have been trying to keep positive by continuing to prepare for her at home. This weekend I finally cut the tags off of all of her clothes... some have been sitting in her closet for years. I sorted through the different sizes and washed about 1/2 of her things. Ron put our stroller together Saturday morning. I wrote another letter to her foster family and have contacted work about my leave. Please pray that she will be home with us soon. I don't know how much more my heart can take.

Update

I was sitting at lunch at work today when it dawned on me that today is a holiday. I realized that there would be no mail. I can't tell you how my stomach dropped! No chance of us getting our I600 today. When I returned back to my classroom and checked my email.... I found this waiting for me in my inbox.....

"Sei-in is sitting alone very well. She’s creeping and trying to crawl. She’s turning both ways. She’s very personable and makes very good eye contact. She makes loud sounds and she’s looking at me. She’s smiling. The foster mother said that in her neighborhood there are other foster families but that Sei-in is much more advanced then the rest of the children. She recognizes her name so if it’s called she looks right at whoever’s talking to her.

Today, Sei-in is 7.8kilos in weight, 69.5cm in length, 41.7cm head circumference and 44.8cm chest circumference."


Check out those dimples!

This is not the outfit that we sent but I think she looks adorable!!!!!

I love her smile!!!!! Don't you just want to kiss that face?????

This is the wonderful woman who is caring for Eden until she arrives.

Halloween 2009

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Received something in the mail from USCIS. My heart started to race as I opened the envelope. Alas, it was only a receipt stating that our application was received and is "in process." That's great and all... but I soooo wish it was our approval.

Feeling Crabby.

Hope

A family who is with our agency and also received their referral the same day we did received their travel call on Monday!!. They received the call and their child arrived the next day! One stinkin' day!!!! Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are located in another state and did not need county court approval like we did so they flew through the process. It is good to know that although things are moving slowly here on the US side, the paperwork that is happening in Korea is moving very fast. This I600 is the last item on the US side that needs to be completed. Hopefully once our I600 arrives we will hear something very soon.

Our Girl is 7 Months Old

In some ways time is just dragging. Waiting for each piece of paperwork to be processed is torture. However, time seems to have flown by in that our sweet girl is now 7 months old. I can hardly believe it.

I wish I had a crystal ball...