And it's off....

The last four days have been a complete whirlwind of adoption focused insanity.  Our fundraiser was such a blessing and the amount of money raised is staggering to me.  The only expenses we have left now are for travel, which is super pricey, to say the least.  We're hoping to spend under $15,000 for that.  God will provide, though, and I'm not even ready to think about that part of it yet.  The best part of the James 1:27 event was when I was trying to help get desserts set out and labeled and Justin started calling me.  I yelled, "just a minute" but he responded that I should turn around NOW.  So, I did and guess who I came face to face with??  My mother, brothers, mother-in-law, and step father-in-law!!!  They drove all the way from Clovis to be there for 45 minutes before driving right back home.  We were so touched and of course I bawled like a baby and, I'm sure, had makeup all over my face.  Having them there and having them see what we're doing was powerful for us.  Also knowing how much they support us with this adoption is really comforting.

Then yesterday was a whirlwind of a day, focused on getting our dossier and I600A in the mail:

• Woke up at 5:30 and to take a nice, warm, bath by candlelight as I prayed for the day ahead.
• Got all the kids dressed and to the doctor by 8:30.
• To Office Max to make copies of some stuff for La Familia
• Detour to Target to buy clothes for Maci because she had an accident.  [what the ?!?!?]
• Drive all the way down in Albuquerque to La Familia and hand off the last of our paperwork to Tammy.
• Eventually find Justin's office to have lunch. I'm directionally challenged and even my GPS gets annoyed with me.
• Get the call and rush back over to La Fam to get the official homestudy!
• Try to be nice and make small talk as I'm freaking out on the inside, doing the math to see if I still have time to get everything done.
• Zoom back to Justin's office to make more copies.
• Race to the Brittain's and throw the kids at Kat.  
• Detour to McD's drive thru - really need caffeine by now!
• The drive to Santa Fe takes forever and then WHERE DO I GO?  Why are there so many tourists walking around in slow motion?!  Don't they know I'm on a mission to get my son home?  Good grief --- see the sidewalk?? Use it!!!
• Found a nice guy who escorted me right to the Secretary of State's office.
• Took about 30 minutes to get two documents authenticated.  I really did try to sit still the whole time, but I think the receptionist got annoyed by my fidgeting.
• More panic as I realize I need to make even more copies and the FedEx I have in my GPS does not offer that service.
• Justin attempts to guide me to a Kinkos FedEx, which ends half an hour later with me in tears and him on the phone with the store.  What's that?  Oh, it's behind a bunch of trees in the bottom of a parking lot with no sign?  Why didn't I think to look there?
• More copies, going through everything three more times *just to make sure*
• Throw up in my mouth a little as I pay to have our dossier overnighted to Holt and our I600A to USCIS.  I knew how much it would cost, because I'd estimated online... but, still.... yowza!  Made the shipping deadline by five minutes.  I cut it close, but it's done!  USCIS has already been delivered today and the dossier should go out shortly.
• Rush, still a bit in panic mode, back to Rio Rancho and make it to KJ's baseball game just in time.
• They won the game, but I think I slept through part of it on Justin's shoulder.  Mom of the year award right here.
• Too exhausted to think about cooking, we headed to Dions for pizza.  Maci had to go to the bathroom, so Cade put her alone in the women's room while we were ordering [um, ok???].  She tried to escape and got her fingers caught in the door and we were alerted to the disaster by her screaming so loudly that the whole restaurant stopped talking to see what that horrifying shrieking noise was.
• The rest is a blur, but apparently we eventually made it home and into bed because that's where I woke up this morning.

Now, we play the waiting game.  Probably until October.  We're going to be ready to go to court right when they close for the rainy season. :(

I don't know how to put pictures on the blog, really.  They look fine when I compose and then all funky when I publish - with funny spacings and such.  Oh, well.....

 Me, Tio, Mom, Jon

 

Terry, Michelle, Justin

The dossier - less the homestudy and agency licenses.

Maci could not stay awake while I fixed her hair.  She's not an 

early morning kinda girl.

Last visit to the doctor.  I think they're pretty tired of us.  

Especially after Maci peed on their floor yesterday.

In Santa Fe - the building where I eventually found the 

Secretary of State's office.

The elusive FedEx.

Oh, The Joy!

The kids and I were hanging out yesterday, not doing much of anything.  We knew we were waiting for our invoice and placement papers to come sometime this week.  I had already gotten the mail and then checked to make sure it didn't come again.  To be fair, that worked on Tuesday.  It DID come twice, strangely enough.

Then Tatum, who was playing out front with a friend, came running into the house with a Fed Ex envelope.  At first, I was like, what are we expecting???  Then, I realized.  THIS IS IT!  DUH!  I know that Holt overnights this stuff, but since we're still a week away from the homestudy being done [stupid, stupid doctor appointments!], I wasn't expecting them to overnight it for us.  

The joy!  The fear!  The gravity of it all!  It hit me all at once and I was overwhelmed by the emotion.  This is the part where we are officially assigned to Little E.  He's not 'on hold' for us anymore.  We are his family, he is our son, and we are working as hard and fast as we can to get him home.  

This. Is. Huge.

We dealt with some unexpected financial issues, which were resolved within an hour.  God worked so swiftly that my head was spinning!  Today we'll go get everything in our dossier and the placement papers notarized!  We are soooo close!

Our James 1:27 Adoption Fundraiser is this weekend.  The outpouring of love and support has been overwhelming.  The silent auction will be amazing - massages, gift cards, household items, hair products and services, crocheted bags --- that's just a small portion of what's been donated!  We are praying for the blessings to overflow and for people to be touched by the spirit of adoption.


 
Me with the surprise delivery

When It Rains, It Pours

First, some exciting news.  We received our first draft of the homestudy last Saturday.  It was so fun to read over - all 25 pages.  We only had minor corrections.  Now Tammy will submit it to La Familia and Holt for pre-approval.  Then, we're just waiting on five more doctor visits.  We should be done with those two weeks from today.  So, that's when I'll be frantically wrapping up last minute stuff, driving to Santa Fe to get a couple of things state certified, and then overnighting our dossier to Holt.  It's surreal to be at this point.  It seems like it's gone fast so far, but I think that's because we've been on the paperchase.  The wait for travel dates will probably seem excruciatingly slow.


This week, however, it feels like we're under attack from every direction.  On Monday, I came home to a broken garage door opener and couldn't get into the house.  I didn't have a key, so I had to break KJ's screen, pry the window open, and then hoist Cade through.  Luckily Justin figured out the problem and can fix it.  We're waiting for the part to arrive in the mail.


Later that evening, as I was getting ready to put homemade rolls into the oven for dinner, I turned it on --- but nothing happened.  Sooooo, one expensive service call later, we're on the prowl for a new oven.  The timing couldn't be worse with this stuff.


Then today, I was at Walmart and my debit card wouldn't work.  Strange.  I went straight to the bank to figure out why.  Turns out they locked our account down due to fraudulent charges.  Lovely.  It's refundable to us, but so frustrating and icky feeling.  Now, I'm without a debit card for a week or two until my new one comes in the mail.  Probably not a bad thing to not be able to spend money easily right now.

I will not be discouraged.  I am joyful in this journey we are on!  This is what life is all about and though we feel very low right now, the Lord is with us.

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." - Deuteronomy 31:8

One Step Closer

Our second homestudy meeting was last Friday.  I couldn't believe the relief I felt when it was done!  Tammy has the study mostly written.  We're really just waiting on our doctor appointments.  The state of NM requires everyone in the family to get checked up and it's not easy to get six appointments within a reasonable time period.  So, now we wait, and Little E waits, and this mama is already feeling very impatient....

Last Sunday, the pastor asked Justin to share our adoption journey so far, during both services, as part of his sermon on hope.  It was an amazing day and Justin did so well!  I'm still smiling about it.

The fundraiser we're doing along with the Norris family is coming up quick.  It will be on the evening of Sunday, May 23.  We're planning a praise concert led by our new worship director, along with a silent auction and dessert bar.  Should be a great time!  I'm looking forward to fellowship and celebrating our adoption journeys.