Still no birth certificate--the tracking information doesn't even show that anything has been picked up yet. :-( Maybe for some reason they sent it by another method, but I don't know why they would have.

We did get our state certified documents back from Maryland today. A receipt from USCIS saying that they received our form also arrived today. I'm a little concerned because it says that if you have not heard about a decision on the case in 180 DAYS to contact them. (Oh my goodness, I hope it doesn't take any where near that long!)

Practicing Thankfulness

I am thankful...
...after about ten calls and leaving messages this morning my birth certificate should FINALLY be sent out today
...that someone in the NC SOS office actually returns phone calls! (That kind of practice could revolutionize the government!)
...that after almost a month someone finally figured out that they haven't been able to match my records up because the name on the order was my married last name, and the name on the certificate was my birth name. (Never mind that in all communications, I have given them BOTH names. And it's not like I have a first name they see all the time.)

Okay, okay! I know that is not having a thankful heart. I have finished my rant, so now I can share...

~I am truly thankful that I was able to speak with someone to get this figured out.
~I am truly thankful that it has happened now, so we were not just waiting on this one document to have our dossier complete.
~I am truly thankful that we have had so few problems in gathering our documents this time
~I am thankful for another lesson in patience and God's timing!

Give thanks FOR everything

My husband and I often read "Daily Manna From the Net" on the International Bible Society website. Today the Scripture was from Ephesians 5:15-20, and part of that passage really got me thinking. Verse 20 says "...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." That's the NIV. I was curious, so I looked it up in other versions. NIRV, KJV, NASB, NLT, and AMP all use that word, "FOR."

I know that we are supposed to be thankful to God at all times, even DURING trying times. God is always good, so I believe there is always something to be thankful for. It's so much more difficult to be thankful FOR those times and situations.

God, please give me a truly grateful heart; teach me to give thanks for everything.

Valentine's Day...early

Today was like Valentine's Day at our house. Elizabeth had a party at pre-school. She received so many cards and candy you would have thought it was Halloween! After school, we had fun going out to meet some friends for lunch and shopping.

When we arrived home, there were flowers waiting fo me--a dozen beautiful roses and six Calla Lillies! Yes, they were a little early for Valentine's Day, but David knows I appreciate the flowers more knowing he did not pay the $30 or so they were going to charge for delivering Thursday.

After we had been home a little while, the delivery man came again and brought red and pink lillies for Elizabeth! What a sweet Daddy! He made sure to include Elizabeth in the Valentine's surprise. (Any guy who tries to date her in the future is going to have to treat her like a queen...just as it should be!) Of course, this melts my heart more than just getting flowers myself. "The way to a mother's heart is through her children," I've heard. I'm finding it more and more to be true!

Go Lady Terps!

We were able to attend a women's basketball game at the University of Maryland last night, and had a lot of fun! Elizabeth was especially excited to have her friend Alex come with us. (We missed you Dawn and Callum!) The girls were all decked out in Maryland sweatshirts--David wouldn't have it any other way ;-)--and cheered and danced with the crowd.

It was a great way for the girls to see positive images of young women, and was an excellent way to spend a Friday night! As David pointed out, it was cheaper than a movie and more exciting!

MD 86 VA 80

GO MARYLAND!

In the Mail

Our home study update was approved February 5! We received it in the mail yesterday. This means we are ready to move onto the next step--asking for our USCIS approval process to be changed for the new criteria...Two children under the age of four from the country of Ethiopia! Hopefully, things will move quickly!

We only have a few more things to have notorized, then we can get everything state sealed for our dossier! I'm probably being too optimistic, but I'm hopeful our dossier will be out of our hands before the end of February.

We also finished our Hague compliant training in January and received our certificates in the mail today!