Letting Go

Yesterday I took a folder full of really important, really hard to get, really expensive documents, photos, and fees in a run of the mill manila folder and placed it in a run of the mill UPS Ground shipping envelope.  We've had some of these documents in our possession for close to a year and now off they go.  I didn't expect to have butterflies and fears as I checked and rechecked addresses, but I did.  We've let our dossier go and this is likely the last time we will see those documents until they arrive in China.  For now, they have a much shorter (and hopefully safer) trip just across the state to Louisville, Kentucky and they ought to arrive at our agency today, prior to close of business.

Once our social worker receives them, she will review them and ensure they meet all the standards required for China.  She'll hold it until we send her notification of our approval by USCIS (her last approval was just 53 days and we are somewhere around day 21!).  Once she gets that, she will authenticate all our documents and then......off to China!

This week we also received notification from USCIS for our biometrics (fingerprints) appointment part of the process.  We will go to the nearest center, which is Cincinnati.  We will have that appointment on Wednesday of next week.  This is all part of the immigration approval process, so we are thankful we have our appointment coming up so soon!

Really at this point, we are so close to done on our end, as far as hoops to jump through.  We go to the biometrics appointment and then we do a looooooot of waiting till we are DTC (dossier to China) or waiting on referral.  I can't decide if I will be relieved to be done with the paper chase part of this or if the waiting will actually be harder than fighting for very specifically worded and created documents.  Only time will tell.

For now, I am refreshing my UPS tracking number to watch my documents move and watching e-mail for confirmation from our social worker that the documents have arrived!  This is all part of the process and part of God's process for me.  I needed to let go of those really important pieces of paper and trust that God will provide for us, even when we are so completely out of control.  there is nothing in this adoption process we are in control of.  Thankfully, it all rests neatly in His hands and I am so thankful His plan is so much better than my own.

Good-bye dossier!  Travel safe!  One BIG step closer to you, Little One!