D'oh!

So, we sent in our I-600A to the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services a little more than a week ago. Pretty much, the form is meant to give our government a "heads up" that we are adopting internationally. We will then be asked to fill out more forms, get fingerprinted, etc. as required by our country.

Our check made for the processing of the I-600A was deposited last week, according to our bank statement. We got excited!

After checking the mail this weekend, we received a letter from USCIS. At first glance, we noticed the letter was on "official" paper, watermarks and all. We got REALLY excited!

We read the body of the letter and... D'OH!

It seems our application was incomplete. While we did send a $670 check for the processing of the form, we did not send in the required amount for our biometrics (fingerprinting). Oops! This isn't the first mishap in the process, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Luckily, it's a quick fix.

We also received another packet from our placement agency. They received our application and cashed our application fee check. Woot! But with that came a few more items we have to fill out. Many are duplicates of what we had to do for our home study, so hopefully it won't take too long.

So, unfortunately no checklist this post. Only more things to add to our "To Do" list. I feel like the sixth season of "Lost"—instead of answers, we frustratingly only get more questions. We'll keep trodding along though!

Focus on the Positive, Right?

Yesterday was a rough day. I can't even explain why it was rough without hearing myself sound like a whining "Debbie Downer." Seriously, nothing terrible happened... it was just one of those days that I let all the little negative things that happened get to me.

There's no need to go into details—not on a blog that may become public again one day, anyways. Pretty much two people were outright rude and disrespctful to me. One has treated me that way in the past, so I usually try to brush it off. The other was someone I don't know personally, but still got offended nonetheless.

I know, I know. I shouldn't let silly stuff like that bring me down—especially when there was quite a lot that got accomplished that same day! We received a rough draft of our home study from our social worker. It looked great! We have just a few things we need to clarify and change for her and we should be all set! We filled out and mailed the I600-A (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition) along with the required $670 fee. *GULP* And we filled out and mailed our application to the placement agency we plan to use, along with its required application fee *GULP* *GULP* Despite the holes in our pockets that day, there was a lot to celebrate.

So, why is it when we finally feel like we're making headway on this stretch of God's path, things start to go wrong and we get flustered and lose focus...?

hmmm...
yeah...
I think we all know the answer to that...

I've always loved the imagery of Matthew 14:22-33. At some point, the Lord commands us all to "come." Peter was doing just fine after answering Jesus' call and focusing on Him. Peter was walking on water for crying out loud! He was doing something man deems impossible. Then Peter loses his focus. He notices the storms and winds, becomes fearful, and sinks.

If only we weren't so easily distracted by the storms and winds of life. If only we could ALWAYS keep our focus on the Truth and the Light. But even when we don't, I'm so thankful that God reaches out his hand and pulls us back up.

Next time maybe I can keep my focus, enjoy the journey, and skip the soggy shoes.

CHECKLIST:
• Submit I600 A to USCIS
• Send in placement agency application