I-171 was in the mailbox!!

Oh yeah it was! It took 2 days shy of 8 weeks for us to get our I-171. I was taken back by how informal it looked. It actually looked like a print out of an email which scared me at first. I told Clay I don't think this is it. Once I pulled over and looked it over pretty well I was convinced it was it! From there I had to go get county certifications and state authentication. The day was an adventure in itself. I had a couple of panic attacks but bottom line it was Fed-Exed (sorry dad) to America World. They should have it there in Virginia by 10:30am Thursday! I learned alot today about the whole process so please call me or someone who has done it before you b/c the directions are as clear as mud if you haven't done it before. After tracking down a couple of people by phone to make sure I was doing everything correctly, I learned that I probably did a little more than required but you know me the overachiever. I am anxious to get the good news that my "paper baby" arrived in Virginia safe and sound. By the way the "paper baby" weighed 2lbs 4.5oz. That's alot of papers that I was so glad to get out of my possession. A huge weight was gone when I left Kinkos without it.

So what's next everyone ask.
1. America World will review everything.
2. They have a courier service take it from their office in Virginia to D.C. They review it and put their stamp of approval on it.
3. Then it gets mailed to Ethiopia.
4. Once its in Ethiopia we are officially on the waiting list! OH YEAH!!
5. Then we will probably wait 6 months or so for a referral. A referral is a picture, stats, info on a little boy 0-12 months.

We are praying for no big glitches and to travel to pick our son up in the summer!