Well, what can I say. I'm in Hawaii. Life is good...
We've been spending a lot of time with family and friends. And the hotel we're in is unbelievable. It's one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. It's called the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa at Ko Olina. Absolutely unbelievable. The only negative thing I can say about Hawaii (Oahu to be specific) is the traffic. It's aweful. Some of the worst I've ever seen and that's coming from someone who has driven in Los Angeles, New York, & New Jersey. So you know it's bad! But hey, it's still one of the most beautiful places on the planet!
Oh well, when we return we'll be ready to complete the paper-chase and get that long awaited DTC date!
I just added pictures of Naomi and I to the Our Story page. The 3rd photo is a picture of Hanauma Bay in Hawaii. Naomi's from Hawaii so we try to get out there ever two years or so. And we just happen to be scheduled to fly there in a few days. Can't wait!
We received notification that we are scheduled for fingerprinting this Friday, January 23rd. The only problem is we will be on vacation that day (we're going to Hawaii - more on this subject later). I'm still trying to sort out the details of the letter we received. It appears as though we can go before our scheduled date but it's a bit confusing.
But that doesn't really matter because there's another problem...
Naomi leaves for Hawaii on Tuesday and I leave on Friday. Naomi's from Hawaii and she has family and friends there so she usually leaves before me and returns after me. Must be nice! :-P Anyway, I'm sitting here thinking we'll just go get fingerprinted on Monday. But here's the problem. Monday is a federal holiday (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) and the fingerprint office will be closed.
So, it looks like we won't be able to get fingerprinted until we return from Hawaii. Naomi gets back on Sunday, February 8th so we won't get fingerprinted until sometime during the week of February the 9th. Wow... that's over three weeks from now.
You know, I look at situations like this and at first all I can see is doors closing on us and blocking us from getting things completed. But then I begin to realize that it's really just part of the overall plan. I believe there's a baby girl out there that God has already matched us up with. And so I will continue to move forward and accept these delays as part of the required timing for His plan.
But I do have to admit that it's still really frustrating!
Do you know of any other adoption blogs? I can't believe there aren't more blogs out there documenting their adoption journey. I see tons of adoption story sites where people create sites to tell their story after it's completed. And those are great. I love those! But what about sites that are used as a journal along the way?
If you know of any adoption blogs, please let me know. And also let me know of any adoption story sites. And if you're not quite sure what a blog really is, you can click here to get a quick description!
Our home study is completed. It was done earlier this week but we've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to post the good news. Our HS Agency, Nathanson Adoption Services, was fantastic! And our SW, Kit, was extremely professional, caring, and an absolute pleasure to work with.
All of our out of state documents have been certified. We're waiting on our I-171H to be completed. Then we'll take all of our NC documents and get them certified. When they come back we'll send everything off to be authenticated. That's about all there is left. Once it all comes back from being authenticated we send the entire dossier to CCAI. They'll have several people look everything over for verification. Then the dossier is sent to China!
There's a light at the end of this tunnel they call the paper chase...
Yum.... I'm eating left over pizza from last night. COLD! Anybody want a slice?