Mary update: FINALLY!

In the waiting room of adoption world, the ONE thing that keeps you sane once you've seen your child's face is seeing your child's face AGAIN.  Updates are, as I told my social worker, "a balm to my heart and my eyeballs."  I SO desperately needed to see Mary's face again...... the last pictures we had of her were with the original referral and were taken back in November!  Some orphanages are GREAT about sending updates.... pictures, video, descriptions, etc.  Well, not ours.  We've been yearning to see that little smile again..... YEARNING..... so imagine my THRILL when I checked my texts this afternoon and saw one from Joe with these pictures: (which I have no idea how to turn so they're right side up.....just tilt your head for the cuteness!)

My heart is full.  I have stared at these pictures ALL afternoon..... had a to-do list a MILE long and didn't get one thing done.  I have studied every inch of her..... and here's what I'm thinking:

1.  She looks happy.  This was the one thing that worried me a tiny bit about receiving an update:  what if she's sad in the picture?  It would totally break my heart.  So I was relieved that she still looks like she's got a great sense of humor.  Cause joy is important in our house.

2.  I will not be learning how to do piggie tails any time soon.  They shaved my baby's head.  I might have to have a word with them about this.  Do they not realize the number of HAIR BOWS that I have already collected?  I mean, I've already packed the Strawberry Shortcake hairbrush and the tiniest little elastics you've EVER seen.  Guess I'll be taking those out of the suitcase.  Dadgum it.

3.  She's brilliant.  Don't you just see it in her eyes?  I absolutely cannot WAIT to read books with her and work on colors and letters and stuff.  Gonna be a fun year of two-year old homeschooling!

4.  The shoes.  The kid next to her got cute red shoes and frilly white socks.  We gotta get that babe some cute shoes.

5.  We're going to have a wonderful time together.  By the time her hair grows out ($^$#@#$#$^!!!), we'll be settled into our new normal as a family.  We're gonna laugh and read and go to Disney and sing and play.

6.  We are blessed.  The Lord has led us to this precious little girl who waits on the other side of the world and we are beyond thankful to welcome her into our family.  I am giddy to see what He's got for us down the road.... for the boys, for Mary, for our family.  I.  Can't.  Wait.

I'll think about that tomorrow.

Much is happening.  MUCH.

First of all, Jack finished up his finals today and waved goodbye to RQMS as we pulled out of the parking lot.  He's finished at Rock Quarry.  He has been walking those halls from Kindergarten through 8th grade and is now moving on to high school.  If I REALLY stop and think about it, I get a little sick at my stomach, so I'll think about that tomorrow.

Yesterday, Max had 5th grade graduation.  He has finished up his elementary years and will be moving over to the middle school side of the building.  The graduation video showed some pictures of him in Kindergarten and I got a little misty-eyed seeing that little feller from the past.  He is precious and has learned so much.  He won't be walking down the halls of RQ elementary next year either...... growing up and moving on..... sigh..... I'll think about that tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for this year.  There are boxes filling up in my classroom and paperwork about Family Medical Leave sitting on my table.  It's starting to dawn on me that I'm not just packing up for the summer...... I'm packing up for a YEAR.  Someone else will teach in that room next year.  Someone else will hang reading and math anchor charts and gather kids on that carpet for a read aloud.  Someone else will recommend books from my classroom library and hang art on those walls. And I will be adjusting to a new normal. I'll be figuring out carpool and how to do a little girl's hair.  My head literally starts spinning when I think about THAT stuff, so I'm going to just think about that tomorrow.

In the past week, I've had TWO surprise baby showers!  My precious ladies Bible study at church AND my sweet fourth graders and parents surprised me with LOTS of pink!  We now have outfits and toys and books and a carseat and blankets and HAIRBOWS.  Oh, dear gussy..... in just a few weeks, I'm going to have a DAUGHTER.  Because I do NOT have time to have a complete come-apart.... and because this makes me want to cry EVERY time I think about it, I'm gonna have to think about that tomorrow.

This morning, we woke up to an email from the US Consulate in China.  Our FINAL piece of paper is in place...... this paper, called our ARTICLE 5, was picked up by our agency's in-country rep yesterday and has been sent, along with everything else we've spent the last year paperchasing to get in place, back to the CCCWA.  Once they're satisfied that everything is in proper order, they'll issue our TRAVEL APPROVAL!  Then, we get ON A PLANE TO GET OUR GIRL!  I get very sweaty when I start thinking about everything that's involved in traveling to the other side of the world to adopt a sweet 18 month old baby girl.  There's a lot to do..... and not a lotta time to do it.  And while I am THRILLED and SO VERY READY to go get our Mary, I must confess that I'm a bit nervous and scared every time I think about it.  So, I'm gonna think about that tomorrow.

So, here I sit, with NOTHING to think about today....... except how unbelievably BLESSED we are here in the Powell house.  In the midst of a whirlwind of change in our lives, I am sure of this:  WE  ARE BLESSED.

And even if the oven stops heating up (which is has) or the downstairs air conditioner stops running (which it has) or the to-do lists keep growing (which they have) or the price of airline tickets to China keeps climbing (which they are)..... I am at peace knowing how blessed we are.

And all that other stuff?  I'll just think about that tomorrow.

Cabled! And Artlcle 5 things....

We are getting VERY close to our Mary.  If all goes like the calendar in my brain HOPES it will go, then we should be waiting on our Travel Approval from China in less than two weeks.  Here's a rundown of what's happened lately:

Thursday, May 2:  we receive our official immigration approval in the mail - the USCIS also sends this approval to the NVC (National Visa Center)
Friday, May 3:  Mikki emails NVC to see if they received our stuff - they have not.
Monday, May 6:  Mikki emails NVC again to see if they received our stuff - Yes.... BUT.....
 
Pause:  This is where Mikki begins to have a come apart.  You see, this step is supposed to be very predictable.  These are the steps, this is exactly how long these steps should take:  period.  We have endured our share of waiting and unknowns and who-knows-when-things-will-move-forward-again and THIS part of the journey is supposed to move right along. There should not be any "BUTs" in this part of the process.

But..... when I sent Monday's email, I got a reply that said that they could not move forward with our paperwork because Joe's birthdate didn't match up in their system.  WHA?

So, I CALLED those folks.  I needed to speak to a human.  Liam from the NVC and I had a nice little chat on Monday night after Jack's TWO HOUR Tuscaloosa Youth Orchestra Concert.  Liam was VERY understanding, glad that Jack's concert went well (maybe I share too much....), and then explained that all I had to do was scan Joe's birth certificate and passport to them the next day.

So, I did.  And the next day, THANKFULLY, we were back on track.

Tuesday, May 7:  receive GUZ# in the morning.  Immediately emailed the NVC with GUZ# requesting our PDF (this is the golden ticket of this phase of the game)  Usually, the PDF comes about 24 hours later...... BUT.... (this is a good BUT), ours came that afternoon!

Which meant that on Tuesday afternoon, the NVC CABLED our PDF to China!  All paperwork on this side of the ocean is DONE!

Our agency then sends this PDF to their China coordinator who physically walks our paperwork into the Embassy over there:  this is our Article 5 drop off.  And then, two weeks later, she walks back in there to pick it up (Article 5 pick up!)  We are waiting to hear from our agency as to when our exact drop off date was, but I'm REALLY hoping it was some time last week.

Once our Article 5 is picked up, we are officially waiting for Travel Approval (TA!)!!! That's our invitation from China to get ourselves over there and get our girl!

BUT.

Yep.  I know.....

The last week of May (24-31 to be exact), the CCCWA who issues those Travel Approvals is switching over to a new computer system, so there will be little or no official notices being prepared.

AND, then, in June, China has what's called the Dragon Boat Festival and is shut down for three days (June 10-12 to be exact.)

So, when will we travel?  No clue.  I am still REALLY hoping for that last week of June.

In the meantime,  we make lists.  We finish up the last 10 days of school.  And we think about our Mary.

To Do Lists

There are things to do.

In my mind (and in the myriad of notebooks where I am making lists), I have separated the list of things to do into various categories.  There's the "at school" category, the "end of school year for the boys" category, and the "we are about to travel to the other side of the world to get Mary" category.

Details:

At School:
  After much prayer and discussion at my house, Joe and I have decided that I will take a one year leave of absence from school.  This will give me a WHOLE YEAR to help our family adjust to our "new normal" and help Mary with any transition, attachment, and medical issues that may come up.  Although I LOVE teaching school, I am thrilled to take this little "sabbatical" to focus on my family.  BUT, in preparation for being out for a year, I find myself approaching these last three weeks with an unusual sense of panic.  Not only is there all of the usual "I only have three weeks left with this group of kids and there's still so much I want to tell them!", there's NOW the added pressure of prepping my room (and myself) for a year off.  To-do list items on THIS list include such glamorous things as completing final assessments, cleaning the room, gobs of paperwork, and final summer check-out procedures.  More fun to-do items include finalizing plans for our Publishing Party and creating the class DVD for the year.  And all this needs to happen by the end of this month.  Yes.

End of School Year for the Boys:
With the end of a school year brings MANY events and projects and happenings for the boys.  We've already enjoyed Max's piano recital (he ROCKED "The Red Convertible") , Jack's Honors Night (Honor Roll and  one of the Outstanding Strings Students Awards), Max's "mixer" with the kids from the neighboring school as they all prepare to enter middle school together, and Max's children's choir musical at church (his last one!  Boo!).  We have also completed the infamous 5th grade suitcase project, Jack's career shadowing assignment, AND the 8th grade castle project.  (I MIGHT have a couple of these for sale to the highest bidder!!!)  The next few weeks will bring a flurry of orchestra concerts for Jack, Max's 5th grade graduation, and last day of school-type events.  And all of THIS will be done in exactly three weeks.  Halleluyer.

We Are About to Travel to the Other Side of the World to Get Mary:
Now that we have received our Immigration approval, we have entered the next little phase:  something about emailing to get a PDF so that our Visa application for Mary can be cabled to China so our Article 5 can be dropped off and picked up again two weeks later so we can start waiting for travel approval.  Since I really am SO very confused about ALL of that.... I decided to handle to-do items on the adoption list that I DO understand.  Here are a few of those things:  1) finish Mary's room, 2) call about travel immunizations, 3) prepare gifts for orphanage workers/guides , 4) obtain pretty much an entire pharmacy to take with us when we travel, 5) figure out what "compression socks" are cause apparently I need them, 6) find some big luggage to borrow, 7) get Mary some toys so she doesn't have to play with Star Wars figures and Nerf guns, 8) figure out what a VPN is and how it works and 9) continue obsessing over travel dates.

Yes.  There are things to do.

So.  What do you do when there are so many things to do that you can't possibly get them all done?
Well, in MY world, you pick the "FUNNEST" one and get to it.

So, the following are pictures of what we did today.  It was fun.  It is finished.  And I feel REALLY happy.  All that other stuff?  We'll get it done......

I present to you:  MARY'S ROOM......

Bed AND a crib..... we are ready for any sleeping arrangement she needs!

Books on the wall and dolls on the bed!

I'm ready to sit in that chair and cuddle my baby girl!

Rain gutter bookshelves are my favorite!  

We are ready for you, sweet Mary.  SO ready.

So, that's what we checked off the to-do list today.

Maybe tomorrow I'll figure out those compression socks.

I800 approval.... CHECK!

Last Friday we received a notice from USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) that our I800 paperwork had been received into their lockbox.

Today, I decided to call them just to check on things..... cause, you know..... they probably look forward to all these crazed, tired-of-waiting adoptive Mamas calling them every day.  Anyhoo..... the officer that I spoke with COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE PRECIOUS.   Our conversation went something like this:

Me:  Hi there!  I'm Mikki Powell from Alabama and we are adopting the most precious little girl you have ever seen with your eyeballs.  She lives in China and she is 18 months old.  We totally can't wait to go get her.  Our boys, Jack and Max, are going to travel with us and we all are really excited to meet our new little one.  I just thought I'd call to say hello and that I so appreciate all the work you people do there at the USCIS.  You all sent me a letter last Friday to let me know that you'd received our paperwork.... thanks so much for that letter, by the way..... and I was hoping to see, if you have time to look, how things were going with our approval.  Do you happen to know anything about that?

USCIS Officer:  Certainly, Mrs. Powell.  Do you have your SIM number?

Me:  Oh, goodness!  I sure do!  (reads off a really long number to the lady) You know, Officer, I keep all of these numbers in a special notebook so that I don't lose anything.  Our Mary..... that's our baby girl's name..... Mary Jewel..... is going to LOVE notebooks and pens because her mother LOVES notebooks and pens.  Of course, she's a bit small to actually be able to WRITE anything yet, but oh, she'll love to color and draw.  I can't wait to show her all the crayons and journals that I've gotten her with her NAME on them!  So cute!  Did I mention how totally precious my new baby girl is?

USCIS Officer:  Yes.

Me:  Well, I tell you what, officer, all of this paperwork has certainly made this process quite interesting.  And the waiting?  Don't even get me started on the amount of WAITING you have to do in adoption.  It is NOT fun.  I just want to get my hands on my little girl.  I realized last week that I've only known her face for a little over a month, but it seems like she's been a part of our family always.  I'm a little nervous about meeting her, but I've been praying so very hard that the Lord would prepare her heart for when we meet her.  I sure do hope it's soon.

USCIS Officer:  Well, Mrs. Powell, I have good news for you.  Your I800 was provisionally approved yesterday and should be on its way to the next stop.  Congratulations on your new little one and have a wonderful trip.

Me:  (CRYING at this point).... Oh, thank you so much, Officer!  I can't wait to call my husband and tell him!  We are so thankful for you and your diligence in working on our case and approving it in such a timely manner.  You don't know how much it means to all of us in the process to know that those who touch our paperwork are compassionate and hard-working and efficient.  It makes a hard process much easier.  God bless you, USCIS Officer person.  The Powells are thankful for you.

USCIS Officer:  You are very welcome, Mrs. Powell.


It's a little hard to know for SURE if that was the way our conversation went, but that's the way it went in my head.  But seriously, the lady on the other end of that phone was SUPER nice and GENUINELY happy for us.  We are totally friends now.

And we are TOTALLY approved by the USCIS to adopt our little one and make her our own!

Petition to Classify Adoptee as an Immediate Relative ------- Approved!

I'd tell you what the next step is...... but I have actually no idea..... gotta go check my notes.