Almost There!

We  have been officially approved by USCIS (US immigration), which was the very last piece of paperwork that we needed!  I don't think I could put into words the emotions, relief, elation, you name it, when I answered my phone and heard our USCIS officer on the other end of the line say that we are approved and that the letter is in the mail!

Thank you all so much for praying and praise the Lord for His hand in this.  We had been told that this step in the process could take days to months depending on the officer that you get.  I am so thankful that we got an incredibly kind and efficient officer who approved our file within a few days of receiving it.  He was so amazing!  It could not have gone any faster! 

As soon as that letter arrives in the mail, I will hustle to get it notarized, then certified at the County clerk's office, then apostilled at the Secretary of State's.  This only takes a few hours and is the process for every document (approximately 40) that has been sent to our facilitator in Eastern Europe. 

This last piece in our process should be submitted in Europe early next week and then all we have to do is WAIT for our travel dates!  Travel dates are all over the place too.  They could be 8 days away or they could be 8 weeks away.  There is no way of knowing. Please pray for fast travel dates, Lord willing, and an adoption friendly judge!

If I could describe for you what this is like, I would say it is sort of like being pregnant in your ninth month and you just cant wait to get that baby out and hold him.  All the excitement, anxiety, running around, waiting, sleepless nights and you feel like you're going to burst if you don't get your baby in your arms at any moment!

One major difference though is that unlike my pregnancies, I can't feel him or see him through an ultrasound, or have a doctor check on him to know he's ok.  We can't talk to him so he hears his mom, dad's, sisters and brother's voices to know he's loved.  He is thousands of miles away laying in an orphanage crib.  His picture on the cover of my phone is as close to him as I can get and that still catches my breath and sends my emotions all over the place at any given moment.  That part is painful. We just continue to pray that our Father in Heaven will wrap Nic in His love so that he might feel how loved he is while we now count down the days until we can get there!!

Thank you again and again for all of your prayers and support!  You are just as much a part of giving Nic a family and love as we are!  We are so grateful for all of you!