November 2, 2006
With incredible excitement I have to tell y'all, I FINALLY, after 3 1/2 LONG months, got the Immigration form I-797 allowing me to bring in a child from Kazakhstan!
OMG, I am SO relieved! My mother's fingerprints never showed up properly but it took the local INS office 3 1/2 months to tell me. So today I took the afternoon off work and put Mother in the car, dropped her in front of the courthouse with Alesia, in her wheelchair. I parked the car, walked two blocks to the courthouse, went in with Mother. Two hours later, we had run around to two different offices [3 blocks apart] to get a criminal background check done. Then we had to go to Homeland Security and Mother had to swear out a statement and sign it saying she hadn't committed any crimes in the last 5 years. I asked the woman handling the case when I'd get the 171H and she said no, now it's the I-797 form, and handed me the beautiful, magical I 797. I just started crying. Mother teared up. Such incredible relief! I had begun to despair that I would never get the dossier completed. Everything was done except for getting this ONE form.
The woman asked Alesia is she was happy to get a little brother, and Alesia, face beaming, said "Yes M'am!"
I'm going to Kazakhstan for the spring!
NEXT big news:
I met with the publisher briefly today and gave her the original illustrations for my book, which I got from the artist in Russia last week. They are gorgeous. I am meeting with the publisher to do the final book layout this Saturday, and the book should be ready then in about a month. YAY! Just in time for Christmas!
Prayers ARE answered!
