"Please send your dossier ASAP"

I was checking my e-mail on Monday, 11/30, and received an e-mail from my case manager.

She asked if we had our fingerprints taken on the 30th as planned. She also asked for an update on our process. And lastly, she asked me to confirm that the only thing missing from our Dossier was the I-1717H, and that everything else was ready to go. She said if all this is true, it is possible that we could get on the 2009 list!

WHAT?! Did I read that right? You know, the part about being registered in 2009??? So instead of being on the 2010 wait list, we would be on the 2009 list?! That would push us up by hundreds of people!

I could hardly type fast enough back to my case manager to say, "Yes! We got our fingerprints done on Monday, and yes - all we're waiting for is the I-171H. Everything else is done and ready to go." (FYI: The I-171H that she's talking about is the document that gives us approval from our government to internationally adopt.) I heard back from my case manager the very next morning, Monday - 12/1, with this as the subject line: "Please send your dossier ASAP". She asked me to send her the dossier without the I-171H ASAP. She said she would review the original dossier as soon as she got it, then mail it to Nepal. She said that it was very possible we could ge registered on the 2009 list before Nepal closed for the year. But, we need to complete everything this week because the Dossier had to be there by 12/15.

Ahhhh! Thankfully, I had our Dossier basically ready to go, and thankfully, I have a boss at work who let me take some time on Tuesday to tie up the loose ends and get our dossier mailed! By 2 p.m. that day...it was overnighted and on its way to my adoption agency! Eight months of blood, sweat, and tears...38 notarized, state-certified documents and copies of each document...on a FedEx truck to Adoption Ark!

My case manager called me today, Thursday - 12/3, and she said everything looked great. She said, "You did a good job. It's very organized." Music to my ears! There are a few items that she would receive from the state on Friday, 12/4, and once she got those, it would be in the mail and on its way to Nepal. She told me she would have it in the mail by Monday at the very latest, and that she had already talked to their in-country coordinator, who is expecting it by 12/11. Then, he'll register it with the Ministry by the deadline of 12/15.

AHHHH! We're having a baby!

We are now officially waiting! The paperwork is done. The waiting has begun!

Dear Jesus: THANK YOU!

Photo captions: Dec. 1, 2009 - our copies of everything in our dossier packet that are on their way to Nepal!