Please remain seated...we are in a holding pattern.

And of course, we are not very happy about it. There was a team of people involved with expediting Quinn's paper work...our agency, the CC@@, my home study agency, our USCIS officer and of course, US. Everyone (listed above) did their part in helping our paper work speed along and everyone (again, listed above) has been INCREDIBLY helpful, compassionate and sensitive to our unique situation. Last week, it all came to a screeching halt when our officer discovered the NVC (not listed above) had not yet returned our original paper work. We submitted our retraction on May 17th, over a month ago, for our original I800A paper work to be returned to the USCIS. Our I800 approval will go no where but the desk it's on right now until that paper work is received.

Phone call after phone call revealed that the NVC did not understand how the process would work with our paper work getting returned to the USCIS. My amazing USCIS officer requested our case to be a high priority with expedited shipping. Neither one of these things happened. As of June 22nd, our EVER IMPORTANT paper work was sent REGULAR mail, no tracking number, back to the USCIS. Now, I hate to be a pessimist; however, we have not exactly had the best luck so far in this process. Given all that has happened, I am just ready for smooth sailing. I'm okay to wait, as long as the process is moving along. So, now we sit.....WAITING and WAITNG.....to hear that our paper work has been received. It's been 10 days since our I800 has sat at a stand still. And I know that 10 days does not seem like a lot of time to the average person, but to a waiting parent, it's an eternity.

So for my therapy, I met up with my 2 girlfriends (both adopting little girls from China next month) and we shopped...

and shopped.....

and shopped. (and it was so much fun...thank you, girls!)

(By the way, I didn't buy all of this in one day)

Right now, I have to find my happy place. I think I've decided it's at the Galleria. :)

So another weekend is coming....and I'm already wishing it away. I know, I know, I shouldn't do that, but I can't reason with the heart strings right now. We cannot rest until our paper work is confirmed safe and sound.

Baby girl, we ALL want you home!!!