Inching along...

The appointment that I needed much prayer about has come and gone and went great! At least as far as I can tell. I still don't want to go into a ton of detail, but thank you to all of you who were praying. Another little hurdle has surfaced (this is very common in adoptions, there is no such thing as a "perfect" adoption)...one of the first steps of the adoption process is filing with the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) to demonstrate that we are financially able to support our child. They ask for lots of paperwork as evidence, including a marriage certificate, which (to make a long story short) we filed for back in May. We have to submit the marriage certificate to USCIS within the next week, but probably won't receive it from the Office of Vital Statistics until sometime in October. This means the USCIS denies our application and we have to refile and pay the $680 filing fee again. Our homestudy agency suggested contacting our Congressman (Sam Farr) to see if he could intervene in any way. I called his office in Santa Cruz this morning and left a message. So, nothing to despair about, except that finances are bit tight, so another $680 is kind of a big deal for us. Again, please pray! We know that God works all things out for the good of those who are His. Sorry if this is detail-overload, but I know some of you appreciate knowing what is going on. If you have a chance, visit some of the blogs of families that are also adopting from Ethiopia. They are heartwarming, enlightening and encouraging!