From WAAH to WOO-HOO in 24+ hours

I need to thank Beth, Ana & Jojo for their support and encouragement yesterday. They let me vent, ramble, and vent some more. Then they walked me through a major meltdown and talked me off my ledge…they were my cheerleaders but most importantly they were (and are!) my friends and I so, so appreciate their kindness and empathy.

Oh, and so does Norm since it saved him from having to do all of the above! Although I must say that he definitely did more than his share in working through the obstacle we faced.

Beth & Ana – if you think you had it bad with my email drama, poor Jojo actually SPOKE to me on the phone last night. Jojo, thank you for your patience!

I’m sure you’re all thinking “Enough with the gratitude, get to the point already!”

Well, much of what happened between 10:30am yesterday and 11:30am today is a blur. I will say that I was about as angry and discouraged as I’ve ever been. It started when I received a call yesterday morning from our SW saying that Judy’s prints had been rejected. That was bad enough. What made me flip out is that she also told me a message had been left at her office last week stating the prints had been rejected, but that info was never passed on to me or Norm. Other stuff made me flip out as well but the fact that it took 7 days to tell us about the rejected prints gave me “exploding head syndrome.” (I hear Ana has suffered from the same thing from time to time!)

I usually try to be as diplomatic and tactful as possible but that all flew out the window during my conversation with SW. I wasn’t rude but I was far from being subtle. I said what I thought needed to be said. And I cried. (May have yelled a few times after hanging up the phone but I was the only one in the office so there’s no proof of that!)

Then I vented and rambled to Ana, Beth & later to Jojo. Then I tried a dose of Susan’s therapy – a wonderful combination of chocolate and a couple furry friends. Susan’s version includes dark chocolate and a chocolate Lab. Mine was Reese’s, a Lab mix and a German Shep. Mix. It worked wonders!

Today at 11:30am I found out that the fingerprint thing has worked itself out. Yes - the fingerprint drama is OVER! Can you believe it?

SW asked me to stop by her office to retrieve 5 glorious, wonderful copies of our home study. After I picked myself up off the floor, I said I’d be right over. Thankfully her office is about 12 minutes from my own. I made it in 5!!

She & I put aside our differences, she handed me the most anticipated package I’ve ever received, and I was out the door (after writing a hefty retainer check for PPRs – post placement reports). Come to find out, SW was inspired by my meltdown yesterday. She coordinated with two other offices in Northern Virginia to have the committee re-approve our homestudy and get it to their Regional Director for signature yesterday afternoon. Then, they FedEx’d a packet to her for morning delivery today! I’m very impressed that they moved so quickly and secretively for us. Neither Norm nor I had any idea we’d have the homestudy in our hands today.

This means that I get to FINALLY mail in or I600A. For those who have already done this, can I FedEx it? Do I need to give them a return airbill to send me the receipt and/or appointment invitation back?

I also get to have the rest of our dossier notarized on Monday and apostilled on Tuesday. Providing everything is correct, we’ll be able to deliver the entire dossier to C. from our agency when we meet her in Asheville on Saturday, 1/19!!!!! Oh my gosh…talk about warp speed! Even though this is exactly the outcome I have been praying for and asked all of you to pray for, I can’t believe this is happening so quickly.

As if all if this weren’t enough excitement to make my head spin, Ana & Russ have decided to drive 3 hrs. next Saturday to meet us in Asheville! We’re going to have lunch together and hang out a bit before our meeting at 3pm with C. Yay! There’s also a chance that on our way home Sunday we’ll be able to reconnect with one of my cousins, his wife & their 3 kids who lives about 1.5 hrs. from Asheville. It’s going to be a busy weekend but so much fun.

Now if I could just make it up to see Beth & Nick…

Thanks to everyone who have been lifting us and Baby C up in prayer. Keep ‘em coming and remember to also rejoice for all He has provided to us in our adoption journey!