A day in the life of an adoptive parent.... What an Adventure!

Background Info:   As you know, we have been waiting for the past 2 months for one more piece of paper to go into our dossier.  It is an approval letter from Homeland Security.  Well on Friday afternoon, it came in the mail!!!   I was so excited and rushed to get it notarized and county certified that I did not read the instructions that I received about it.  We quickly went out and had it notarized and county certified and the plan was for me to go to Columbus on Sunday night and certify papers at the courthouse and Secretary of State office on Monday.    Well after the rush of going to get it notarized and county certified, I realized that I had notarized the original and not a photocopy of the original.. (I know...details details) I GOOFED!  ...I was so disappointed in myself for not reading the directions.. ( I am teacher too... no excuse! )   Of course, everything was closed by then so I just had to think about what to do to correct my error.  I decided to go back to the instructions again. ( That is always the best option)   That meant that I had to endure some inconvenience, but I needed to do it the right way.  So get this... On Sunday night  at 9 pm  David called around looking for a notary to sign this photocopy that was not signed.  I could not believe it, but he actually found one in Columbus that was willing to help me.  So I drove up to Columbus an hour away...to meet Roger, the notary.    My brother and I met him at a McDonalds at 10:30 at night so we could finish notarizing the documents that needed to be completed.   That was such  a blessing, but it was funny to be doing something so official then and there.     You see, the certification office only accepts walk ins for one hour each morning  8 am - 9 am.. so I had to do it before 8 am.  Sunday night was the only option so I could save time today..   Today:  On a time crunch during rush hour in downtown Columbus..   So here I am , running to two different buildings looking for the right office to go and then driving a few miles away from there to get more documents certified.  I even had to parallel park on a very busy road in a very tight spot.   Have I mentioned that I do not like parallel parking?  But when I got to the offices, I had no problems at all and it went as smooth as ever.   After a few hours of stress, I accomplished the task!   I was so happy and I praised the Lord the whole way back home.   When I arrived at home, I immediately gathered the items for the dossier... made copies of them (228 to be exact), and got the information of the courier in New York City. ( You can't mail documents to the embassy... They have to be hand delivered.)  So after getting a certified check for a hefty amount of money  and all my items for "the package", I mailed my 15 very important documents to a complete stranger in New York City hoping he will do this huge task for me with no problems.   The package is on its way and despite the stress, I had a wonderful day!   What a day, but it was a very productive one... more like an Adventure!

Without the prayers, support and donations of so many friends and family, it would not be possible for us to have paid  all of the recent fees that have been paid.  We are so grateful and blessed beyond measure!  Thank you for continuing to be a part of the big picture!