Friday, February 11, 2011

Oh SO close

We received our final form from US Immigration services yesterday! I was totally shocked when I saw it in the mailbox. We had been told it would take 6-9 weeks from the time they received it and yesterday marked 5 weeks exactly, so it was at least one week early! Thankfully I already had today off, so I was able to drive the form to our Department of State for final authentication. My good friend Sarah joined me for the trip; being a native "Harrisburgian" she directed me right to the building that I would've been circling blocks to find had I have journeyed alone.  Don't you just love caring friends? We had some great conversations during our drive and it was so nice to have company on this exciting day.  As you might remember, this was the last step to complete our dossier!! It's done!!

Well, almost...

I had planned to review everything with my husband tonight and then head to the UPS store tomorrow to mail the documents. However, when I got home from our trip today, I went to put the authenticated paperwork in our folders and noticed a slight mistake (which I had failed to notice earlier). They had mistyped the name of our notary, instead of "Cramer" it read "Gramer" :(  I thought to myself, is anyone even going to notice?? But then started to think, if they do, who knows what will happen to our dossier and our timeline.  Our little boys don't deserve to have their home and family dreams delayed because of an easily correctable mistake.  So I called our social worker to ask her opinion of the best way to handle the situation.  She recommended I call the Dept. of State immediately to let them know of their mistake and let them handle it from there. When I called, the woman who answered the phone was the same woman who had checked me in this morning. She remembered me and was VERY apologetic when I explained the error. After speaking with her supervisor, she asked that I mail the form back for correction, then she assured me that they would overnight it to me (at no charge).

Looks like it will be a few more days until the Dossier gets sent, but we're closer than I thought we'd be at this point, so I'm still smiling! God is so good, and continues to amaze me through this process, despite the tiny bumps along the way.  I'm still praying that He's taking care of our sons until we can, which hopefully won't be much longer now! Keep us in your prayers that the rest of our journey will go as smoothly as it has so far, in the hopes that the hole in our family will soon be filled! 
"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families"
Psalm 68-5-6

3 comments:

  1. Erin,
    I enjoy keeping updated about your boys. I am thankful that Sarah was willing and able to help you out today...she certainly is a gem. And that comes from a proud mama! You and JT are in my daily prayers as are you boys. I can't wait to meet them and buy them special prizes!!!
    Love,
    Grammy Snyder

    ReplyDelete
  2. So awesome to hear of your decision of integrity and intentionality to do things right...even though it hurt your heart to add another small delay. I'm so grateful the woman on the phone was as helpful as she was. Praying for this preparation time as you wait!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Erin,
    I had meant to begin following your blog after the dinner, and I had completely forgotten about it until Jenna mentioned it to me today. It took me a while, but I was finally able to get caught up. I made sure to add it to my Google Reader to make sure I don't miss it again. It's amazing what God has been able to do for the two of you. Just further proof that we serve a very real and loving God who takes care of his people. I spent equal amounts of time smiling, laughing, and crying along with you as I shared your journey. May God continue to bless you and JT throughout this process, and may you be rewarded for the selflessness and kindness you've shown.

    Andy from A Day Awaits

    ReplyDelete