Adoption Update I-171H

Yesterday it was drizzling when I went to get the afternoon mail. A big fat manilla packet was laying on the bottom of the stack. I saw it was from Homeland Security and had a sudden sinking feeling. It was a BIG heavy packet. What if our entire oprhan petition application was being returned to us, and we had to start again? What if our fingerprints taken for the criminal background checks weren't clear enough and we had to drive back to Fort Worth to redo them? What if the government was asking for even more information about who we are and why we are adopting a child and bringing her home from Ethiopia? As Pooh Bear asks, "Is there any more?"

What if I just take a deep breath, open the packet and see what's really in it? After oxygen reached my brain again I couldn't tear that packet open fast enough.

The first page read "Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application For Advance Processing of Orphan Petition" right at the top. It also says they forwarded it to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Whew. My prayer of thanks went up right then and there, standing in the road with the mailbox hanging open.

So, now we have the coveted I-171H. But what does that mean? It means one more big thing to cross of the official Adoption Process To-Do List. With great ceremony, we crossed it off. The List is important to families who adopt, because there is so little in this process that we actually control. The List is the only part that is truly in our hands. Everything else in this process hangs on the expertise, or schedule, or good humor of people who are usually  perfect strangers to us and the child we are adopting. So we manage our big List with the loving care we would use to manage the rest of our child's journey home, if only we could.

We scrutinize The List and hover over The List and rejoice when The List gets shorter.  And it just got a bit shorter today!