On the Move Again!

Those of you who know me know that I don't just sit. I am very restless, always need to be doing something at all times. I couldn't be happier that we are in motion again, adoption wise. And off we go.... a new countdown began effective January 4th. The Adoption Unit from USCIS in Ho Chi Minh City has officially accepted our I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan As Immediate Relative. The office will take our petition and supporting evidence and make a determination as to whether our child qualifies as an orphan. In some cases, an administrative field inquiry or request of further evidence may be necessary to complete the examination. Most determinations will be completed within sixty days. They will notify us by mail when the determination is made. I think- in fact I am fairly certain they send an e-mail first. So, I am back to stalking my e-mail and adopting strange sleep patterns just in case the notice arrives at 3 am. Not that I needed to add anything to my ever-growing to-do-list but we are also having to re-do our home study and I-171H filing. Our expiration is just a tad too close to when we may be traveling (we are hoping for March) and I can't just can't stomach tempting fate. We are so close to the finish line and if we got called out of the game on a minor infraction I just wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

I also jumped another huge hurdle. I have had this project I just couldn't tackle the last few months. When we had our two amazing showers we requested that friends and families consider clothing donations for the orphanage in lieu of gifts for Mattine. The response was overwhelming. I ended up with a closet full of clothing (boys and girls ranging from newborn to 4T) not to mention the adorable outfits I had already purchased for Mattine which will now be a tad too small. So, with a lot of help from my sister, we sorted and packed the clothing up. Thank goodness she got right in there and went to town. Of course, we were "oohhing and aahhing" the entire time. I am by no means a "girly girl" but little girl's clothing just pulls at your heart strings. I think one or two of the snazzier outfits might have been snatched up? I saw my sister eyeing the ensembles for herself! Let's just say, if you see an amazing brown haired beauty sporting a orange onesie with a giraffe on the bottom you know who it is!