Look What Came in the Mail Today!!! Our I-797

We are nearing that finish line at lightening speed! Today, our I-797 came in the mail!!

What is an I-797? This is a form used by the USCIS issued when an application to convey an immigrant request has been approved, so essentially this form is the start of Julieth's immigration and it is the 2nd to last form that we need for our Dossier! :)

Our Girl is still Itsy Bitsy

We continue to be blown away by Julieth's Babyhouse, FANA. On Sunday we emailed Marcia, our contact helping us sort through our Dossier, and asked if there was any way that she could find out the answers to a couple of our initial questions. We had asked how big Julieth currently is, as we are going through Z's clothes, and we wanted to know Julieth's current sleeping arrangement. Just 3 days later, TODAY!!, we got an email back with our answers! Crazy, who gets that in international adoption? We do!! Our little bean is still wearing a size 2T in clothes, just a little peanut! Julieth is currently 22.5lbs and 33 inches tall. :) We also learned that she sleeps in a room with 3 other kiddos, so sleeping in our room, and later with Zahria in her room, should feel very comfortable! They also let us know that J still sleeps in a crib but should be just fine to transfer to a 'big girl bed' with a rail. SO helpful as we want to start thinking about the girls' bedroom!! Other good news, we got Christy's apostilled South Dakota Birth Certificate and FBI Clearance Letter today!! Now, all that we have left on our dossier is the apostille (from DC) for our FBI Clearance letters and our I-797!! Not too shabby!!

And Out Comes Zahria's Clothes

And so it starts, the tubs of Z's clothes have made their way back into our house and we are starting to sort through them. So many wonderful memories as we pull out each outfit! It is fun to share in those memories alongside Z too. I just pulled out this 6 month outfit (that was oversized on Z when she was 11 months.) Man, the memories are so amazing!

Feeling so fortunate that Julieth can share in all of Zahria's little clothes. Makes my heart SO full!

The FBI Called Us

Yes, we are big time! Today, Cynthia from the FBI called us!! Ok, so she called to let us know that she was sending back out my FBI Clearance for our Dossier, but crazy that we got a call from the FBI! Sounds so big time! Impressive that we got that kind of service though!!

Off the List

Feeling good about today. Two little hiccups taken care of! Looks like my Apostilled Birth Certificate left over from Zahria's Adoption will not work. Argh! Because Kazakhstan was not a Hague Country when I went for Zahria, the Apostille is different, so today we called the Secretary of State in South Dakota and ordered up another birth certificate along with the needed Hague Apostille. Should be in the mail already! :) Second crisis, we received Chris' FBI Background check back but we cannot find mine anywhere. Eeeek! Did we get it and threw it away in the bills? So, what do we do? How do we find out if my background check is just lagging behind or if we did indeed get it and .................... well, misplace it? ;-) We call the FBI! Yep, we called the FBI today. Felt so BIG time! In the end, we got a real live person on the phone, and Cynthia is sending back out my FBI Background Check. So, yes, looks like we might have misplaced that stinkin' thing. Argh! But no worries, it is back in the mail!! Woop Woop!

Dossier Nearly Complete

What a great day we had today! It feels like we got so much done! First stop, the USCIS office in St. Paul for another set of our fingerprints for Julieth's future Visa!! The fingerprints today were a little different, they were taken electronically versus with ink on paper. Looking at each of my prints electronically made me think of just how amazingly creative our God is!! He did make each of us uniquely different, even down to our fingerprints. Just amazing to take in!

And then we were off to the Secretary of State office, just a couple blocks away in St. Paul, to get all of our Dossier documents apostilled! We are just missing one document, our DHS Clearance Letter (Department of Homeland Security), and then our Dossier is complete! Woop Woop! One might ask, what is an Apostille? An apostille is an internationally recognized form of authentication. The sole function of the apostille is to identity any stamp or seal affixed to an official document; certify the authenticity of the signature on the document, and the capacity in which the person signing the document acted. And this is what an Apostille looks like:

USCIS Here we come!

Tomorrow is our appointment in St. Paul at the USCIS!! So exciting! Date day for Mommy & Daddy! St. Paul for our appointment and then off to get some apostiles for our dossier documents! Getting closer every day. :)

Travel & Emotions

Okay, so an honest post coming. Today, at church, tears poured down my face. As we worshipped, I weaped. The realities of our new family, the complexities of travel, the unknowns of timing, the worries of finances, all hit me. I have complete faith that our journey to J is completely of God, and I have faith that He knows the end from the beginning and will lead us as should be. It is interesting how different it feels when it was just me planning a journey to Kazakhstan for Zahria versus now, so much more at stake. More schedules to consider. More emotions. More transitions. We are told that Chris will need / get to be in Colombia for the first 7-10 days of our trip. In that time, we will get custody of Julieth and bring her back to our apartment to begin attaching as a family. After that time, Chris will come home and either Zahria will stay with me in country, or she will come home with Daddy. Emotions either way! What is best for her? What is best for Julieth? What is best for Mommy & Daddy? Will Z still be in school when we travel? If so, how does that play into our decision? We already know that transitions are so difficult for Zahria, and either way we do it, it will bring a lot of change for her...... We want to best take care of Zahria, and we want to best take care of Julieth. Will I be overwhelmed with two in Colombia on my own? Will Julieth be experiencing extreme seperations, depression, anxiety, sleepless nights, eating issues, etc? Would it be easiest on all of us to have Z stay here in MN? SO many what ifs in these decisions... I am told that I will be in-country for approximately 1-2 months. Makes me want to cry. I will long for Zahria if she is with Daddy, but I am starting to wonder if that isn't what is best for her in the long run. If I am honest, in my worship time, I also realized that I have nerves about Julieth's attachment too. I know that she will attach, but I pray that our family grows, and isn't tested too much, in this time. I know that this will be a huge transition for Zahria, as she is used to getting all of the attention (not completely good, I know, the addition of a sibling, at home, will be, in the long run, be SUCH a blessing for her!!) and I pray that Chris and I find ways to continue to grow as a couple and that we make time for each other .... somehow! :) I am sure that this is all normal for a family that is getting ready to grow, growing pains are normal. I just have never been through them.... Chris on the other hand, has 4 boys, so he helps ground me in my worries. He assures me my worries are normal and valid. He assures me that, yes, this will be tough for Z, but in the long run, this is a total blessing for her. He assures me that we are on the absolutely right path and that our journey to J is, without a doubt, what is God's plan for all of us! So, onward we move, full steam ahead! Not that we were ever turning back, but I did have a slight emotional breakdown today. :)

2013 Business Planning

With the start of a new year come many changes for our family, and with that, come many changes for our business!! Chris and I have had many talks about our family, and growing with the addition of Julieth. What does this mean for our daily life and thus for our business? This is what we know, we both agree that J is going to need us full time, or at least one of us! This means, no daycare! We plan to get serious about attachment and will be funneling. This means that everything comes through / from us and then is given to Julieth. This means that all affection, holding, feeding, taking care of boo-boos, etc. all come through us. Until we feel J is attached, we will be her sole everything! And given the need for a total concentration on attachment, and our commitment to no daycare for J, it means that our business needed to change too. I must admit that I am super dooper excited about all of this!! Ever since we were married, I have yearned to take care of my family. I waited so long to be a mom, and to be a wife, and I am now ready to live lean, living by a strict budget, so we can keep me at home more! I lived for me, and lived big, working endless hours, for 12 years, and now it is time for a transition to take place. SO............how do we make this work? We grow! So, with that said, and our business planning in process, Chris and I are starting to discuss what Realtors we have done business with that we have liked. Who are the Realtors that would be a good fit for our team? Here we go! 2013 is going to be a year of great change & blessing, we just know it!!!