Where We Are: Practicing Patience

Patience is a virtue that I was pretty sure I had, that is, until we started the adoption process.  Or maybe I just don't have patience when it comes to waiting on government agencies (who are notoriously sloooooow) to approve documents that are keeping me from getting our baby boy.  That's what I'm going with.

Right now in our adoption process we are patiently waiting  to receive our I-171, which is the approval of our I-600A, which is now in Texas waiting to be approved.  This process can take two to three months and once they are both approved we can send out our Dossier and then be placed on the waiting list for a referral. What is an I-171, you may wonder?? Well, it's a document from Immigrations that basically approves our family to bring an orphan from another country into the U.S. and the I-600A is the form you send to request the I-171 approval.  Our home study is also completed and is in Texas right now.  Between now and receiving our I-171 we will receive a letter stating that Nathaniel and I can go get fingerprinted.  Which, thankfully, will be a first time experience for the both of us :)

Most agencies (as does ours) require you to have your home study completed and your I-171 before you can be placed on the waiting list, and all agencies require it before you can have a referral...it's just SO HARD to wait! I have thought of 100 different ways to get them approved in a more timely manner, ranging from driving to Texas and getting on people's nerves to calling the President, however, I am pretty sure that those would be wasted efforts so I am trying to remember that patience is a virtue...

And I'll leave you with some pictures of these sweet girls as they wait for their baby brother: