Dossier enroute and another do not panic note...

We have been told that there "may" be changes coming in Joshua's country again. It looks as though the country may close adoptions for 90 days while they make some changes. Of course again it is speculation as no concrete word has come yet. But we are looking at around June12th or so it would seem. This of course has many families including us trying to move at a frantic pace. To be honest I was moving at a frantic pace since we committed to Joshua in January. I always hate those little email notes that basically tell you not to panic.. as soon as I see that I am running for the first paper bag to breathe into.

This is where we are at right now. Dave and I have our USCIS fingerprint appointment. Cody my 18 year old still does not. I will be calling USCIS again on Monday to beg for his letter so we can go at the same time. If they do not let us we will be making the trip without him to get ours done ASAP. Our dossier has been sent to Joshua minus the USCIS approval otherwise known as the I171-H I believe. This is a big step for us because usually dossiers are not sent on until that golden ticket. However, the feeling is by sending it on ahead all the documents can get translated and all set for the final document by the USCIS. We are hoping when that final piece comes we can get submitted very shortly after. Our dossier will arrive in Joshua's country on Monday.

Please pray that God's timeline for us is before any changes. If changes in documents take place during any time of shutdown it could mean that we would have to obtain more documents costing us more which we simply can't afford a long with all the travel costs coming up. Documents submitted in your dossier can NOT be older than 6 months. We have some documents expiring in July and August which would mean if we are not submitted before those documents expire and will have to be hunted down and gotten again. Our homestudy would not have to be redone but the added costs of mailing the documents- getting them apostilled could run us about $500.00 more.

I really am trying to remain optimistic but as I have said I have been caught way too many times with my head in the clouds so I am really trying to maintain a toe-hold on ground. I won't lie and say I would not be devastated if we do not make it before the deadline. But Dave and I are determined to save our son and we knew the path would not always be easy and we decided to take it. There is no turning back just moving forward step by step.

I want to thank everyone who has donated to our donation. It really means a lot that there are people out there who want to share in our journey. I ask you from the bottom of my heart to please share our fundraiser. I was hoping for a bit more response on it and it just has not seemed to God's will for us. Some families find fundraising easy and some do not. But please even if you can't donate- share our story. I do not have the connections that some people have but I do have you readers that come here often and I truly need your help more than ever. It is looking more and more like a possibility of a quick submission and hopefully quick referral date. First and foremost my worry is getting to my son quickly.. then hopefully we can raise the funds quickly as well. Our fundraiser is still going till May 7th. You can reach the fundraising page up at the top of our blog.Thanks for listening. God bless!
Lisa