Waiting is...well waiting

Although officially waiting means we are one step closer to being united with our child, I feel as though everything is out of my hands. At least when paper chasing, you feel like you are actually doing something and making some sort of progress. Waiting is just that, waiting. Today, however, I was actually able to accomplish one more task towards our adoption. Back in March, we filled out a the I600A form, which confirms the qualifications of prospective adoptive parents, and sent it to the USCIS (United States Citizens an Immigration Services). Next we received our appointment to get fingerprinted, and then about three weeks later, we received our Notice of Favorable Determination. We were told by our case worker that it would be a great idea to check on this approval to make sure it was forwarded to the appropriate offices in Ethiopia. So that's what I did today, and sure enough, it's there. What a relief. For one thing, I thought it would take forever to get through to a live person at the USCIS office. To my surprise, while shoveling in popcorn like they were going to run out or something, a very nice woman answered and she very kindly answered all my questions.

So now we wait some more. I shouldn't complain as we have only been waiting for 3 months. There are some families from our agency that have hit the 9 month mark. Here's to wishing them speedy referrals.