Yard Sales, BBQ, & Fingerprints, OH MY!

Saturday we had a yard sale to raise some money for our adoption.  Anything that we didn't find completely precious and worth saving for the rest of our lives and we couldn't anticipate using in the next 12-18 months we are selling! We did well until about 10:30 when a crazy storm came through.  So we will be having another sale in the near future.  But a big shout out to those who donated things to sell, to our dear friends the Caples who allowed us to use their garage and yard, and to my mom who watched the girls for us!  Thanks for helping us get one step closer to bringing our kids home.

This Thursday, Marks Feed Store is holding a fundraiser for us.  They will donate 15% of sales of people who eat there and turn in a coupon.  We are excited about seeing our friends and family at dinner and raising money at the same time!  So we'd love to see anyone who lives in Louisville come out and eat with us!  Let me know if you need a coupon.

The most exciting news of the day is our notice from USCIS.  Yesterday I went to get the mail (yes yesterday was Sunday but I forgot to get it Saturday) and in the mail was our notice to go get fingerprinted for immigration!  We were elated!  But our appointments were scheduled for April 28 and May 5.  There is no way I could sit and wait a month.  So this morning Dan and I ventured down to the federal building.  We walked in and I said, "Hi, we have our appointments on different days and I was hoping we could get our fingerprints done early."  The guy smiled and said, "Sure!"  I thought wow that was too easy.  Another FBI personel came over and they stamped our paperwork then he stopped and said, "What's your date say?" Uh OH, my stomach dropped.  He kind of sternly asked, "Is there a reason you're here so early?"  "Yes sir, courts in Ethiopia close in August and Sept and if we get fingerprinted today we might take 3 months off our wait to bring our kids home." (Dan later told me how nervous I sounded...that's because I was.  This man had the power to turn me away and make me and my kids wait, or let us proceed.)  The original guy said, "When you said early, I thought you meant early for today."  But after this conversation they agreed to do it!  Praise the Lord!  I am so relieved and sooo thankful. 

We also got an email today that our dossier is at the Ethiopian Embassy in DC today getting authenticated.  This is starting to happen! 

So I will excitedly check the mail each day and wait for our official approval from USCIS which means we can then officially get a referral!