This Is What I Am Asking Santa For This Year...

A friend at church who is a huge advocate for orphans of the world (2 now call her "mom") let me know about this very worthwhile charitable organization: www.angelcovers.org Please go to this website and see how little money it takes to provide things like formula, blankets, vitamins, bouncers, cribs, wheelchairs, chickens!, surgeries, and education to children in orphanages across the world. Maybe not every family out there can bring a child home, but everybody could send $10 to keep an orphan warm. Donations actually begin at as little as $5!.

The organization also provides a way to turn gift-giving into a truly amazing act of love. You can make a donation in someone's name and they will receive a card with information about the donation that has been made in their behalf and a message from you. So, instead of buying those boxes of chocolate (they just make us fat anyway ;o/) give a gift that is meaningful and serves to improve the lives of children who may never find permanent homes. I think it would be a great way to honor the babies and children who are waiting for some of us in China. What a perfect way to focus on the true meaning of Christmas!

....And Waiting.....

Nope, no I-171H yet. I am convinced that they are carving it into a stone tablet! It seems to be taking FOREVER. On a lighter note, we did receive an e-mail from our agency stating that all of our other documents have been successfully certified and authenticated. That is exciting but means that USCIS is officially holding us up. I need that form to come so I can do something besides stalk my own mail box for a change!

Still Waiting...

Well, it has been more than 2 weeks since we were fingerprinted and we have yet to recieve our I-171H. If I am having this much trouble waiting 2 weeks for a piece of paper, I can't imagine what it will be like to wait the rumored 10-12 months for our referral!

Last week we had an I-171H false alarm. I went to the mailbox and found an envelope with a USCIS return address on it. I ran in the house and scared the kids to death with my hyperventilating and yelling, "It came! It came!" I opened it to find somebody else's fingerprinting instructions. What a let down!!! Then the joy continued while I tried to contact someone to fix the problem. Since my address was attached to somebody else's name, I knew it had to be fixed in the USCIS computer system so that they could get their appointment and so we could get our I-171H. Anyway...problem solved.

I guess I am glad to have Christmas preparations to keep my busy while I wait. In fact I should check the calendar and find the day that I am most busy in the near future. That would be a great indicator of when the I-171H is sure to arrive-the day that I have absolutely no time to get it copied, notarized and sent off with Mailing #2 to our agency....Okay, I checked and that day would be either tomorrow or next Tuesday. Let's see if Murphy's Law prevails.