Boy, things sure changed quickly. January was a pretty awful month all around until the very last week, then everything got much better. The sun came out again during the day and Orion and the big dipper shone bright at night. The dog remembered that she is indeed housetrained and the rooster decided he values his life more than fighting with me. I even got my broken tooth repaired today. Our I800 got approved the day it got on the officer's* desk (after 3 weeks of transit time), and I got the GUZ 1 week later, filled out the DS260 late that night and got the RTF (PDF) email the next morning. We had to wait a few days because it was still Chinese New Year, but we had Article 5 dropoff as soon as they reopened. Now there is nothing to do but wait and prepare. Art 5 is always 10 business days for dropoff (plus another day for Presidents Day... could we possibly hit any more holidays?). I should not be impatient; my to do list is very, very long. But I would really like to be able to buy the plane tickets now while they are still cheap and have my arrangements made. I am so excited! We are SO close! But then I get queasy when I think about all the unknowns. And when I think about having a medical emergency in a foreign country. Or taking child #2 on a plane. Or how our new son will react to us. Mostly, I try not to think about unknowns, otherwise my stomach churns and I break out in cold sweats. This is where God stretches me and molds me. This is the really hard part for me. I am trying to control my excessive researching and over preparing. I know staying up until 2am reading China travel tips and Trip Advisor hotel reviews is not necessarily helpful, but it gives me a false sense of control. When I realize how little control I have, I have to breathe
deeply and remember that God set the path before us and we are following it. He holds us in the palm of His hand, and I have to trust Him to provide everything for this journey. And my how He has provided! I cannot believe all the ways He has shown us that this is His plan. The support, the smoothing of the details, the ladybugs, and the dates are all little pictures that God gives us that encourage and sustain us. The date numbers are pretty amazing and hilarious. My husband thinks I am a total geeky dork for being so excited by the dates. See, I noticed Child #5's birthdate at almost the same time I noticed his smile and his name. Our kids birthdays are all fifty days apart and Child #5's birthday is fifty days before that. So he would fit right into birthday season. Also, his birthdate has the numbers 1, 2, and 3 in it, which isn't all that spectacular, but the way our dates have fallen has become downright fascinating and comical at the same time. As we were keeping track of dates on FB, I started to see something funny.
LID 11/2
In Review 12/1
LOA 12/23
I800 Received 12/30
I800 Approved 1/23
Am I the only one that thinks that's kind of cool? You would too if you knew when our Article 5 pick up is scheduled and when our proposed Family Day should be. I can't wait to tell you!
*
officer - I just want to say that I am pretty sure I got the sweetest USCIS officer there for our I800. Officer F., if I could have kissed you through the phone I would have. I was going to send you cookies, but I wasn't sure they would make it. Also, I didn't want to make my husband jealous. From all of us adoptive mommas, we know your name on the message boards, and we love you.
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