Thursday, January 27, 2011

Immigration Approved - Finalizing Dossier...Can Someone Pinch Us?

This week has been EXTREMELY crazy, let's just say really, really, really. Both Patty and Kevin's work has been busy, Dane has been really excitable, 3 birthday parties, several committee and sub-committee meetings, 3 days of on-site for Patty, AND....


THE USCIS APPROVAL!!!!  Kevin and I now have the seal of approval from the US Government to bring our child into the US and they will be a US Citizen when we arrive in the US Embassy in Addis Abba!  Can you say exciting?

Our agency called today and asked where we were at.  I said, we just have a couple of documents to get notarized and then we should be ready to go.  She said we have another few weeks before the process will be delayed by the rainy season this summer, so we are a go, finalizing the dossier tomorrow and then we are 2 weeks or less before our papers will be in Ethiopia.  (Anyone else thinks it's neat that this will be approximately Valentine's Day?)

Example of Dane's craziness: An entire box of Costco Band-aids, I don't think I have ever made a rule about Bandaids before, but in case you are wondering, Band-aids require having blood on your person in the Hendrickson household.  Dane has been having growing pains and they have been really painful for him (going from size 3 to size 7-8 in 9 months  can be rough on a guy), so we have let him put Band-aids on where it hurts...until this week.  He took the entire box and I am still finding wrappers around the house.

But he's sooo cute...Especially with 4 layers of Bandaids on his forehead.

We will update the blog when we have the dossier completed and the paperwork is in Olympia!

Blessings!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Martin Luther King Jr Day 2011

Somehow I think next year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day will have a different presence.  I feel like I will plan for it better.  I feel like we will have a plan to go to the peace walk downtown.

He's made such a difference in my life, knowing how he stood up for what was right at the risk of his life, his family and definitely his comfort.  In a country where being a Christian is less and less popular, it's so good to know that Dr. King's life is still celebrating, even by people who do not know how much his faith played into what they respect about him so much.


If you have ever been to Atlanta and been to the King Center, you have seen the history of such an amazing man. Every time I go to Atlanta I try to make it to the National Park Services King Center and walk the path of peace and stand in the church he pastored and listen to his wonderful words of wisdom. What he stood for and what I stand for are one and the same, "It's all about love." Live his legacy today and love your neighbor, love your family and love the Lord your God.
 

Sunday, January 16, 2011

9 Tolls and Time for the Straightaway

Things have been a little crazy since the post right around Christmas.  Of course, lots of snow and shoveling and more, but now we are on to the flooding stage.  And we really should put gutters on our house so our basement doesn't flood, but we didn't get to that this year, so if we aren't shoveling snow, we are shoveling water.  Next year Gadget, next year. :)  (Tolls 1 & 2)

Adoption Update: We are working on getting our last few documents ready for our dossier and we hear the INS Approval is almost ready if not already on it's way.

Right before Christmas Patty's, Mom's doctor found a tumor on Mom and found out she had to have surgery.  We found out about this right before Christmas, and then Patty's Dad broke his leg and it's taken a while for it to get better.  Mom's surgery was on the 12th and she's still in the hospital.  Dad has to stay completely off his leg for another month, so no work for him.  (Tolls 3 & 4)

Christmas was also hard emotionally knowing that our kiddo is somewhere without us, his/her family, it felt quite incomplete and just like something was out of place.  We pray that next Christmas our family can celebrate together! (Toll 5)

Dane had his first cavities filled December 30th, and we is scheduled to have the rest of the work done January 31st.  Not something we are proud of, but it's reality, and it also has taken a toll too. (Toll 6)

Patty was sent out of town for work to Portland and it took a toll with a canceled flight, a rescheduled 4AM wake up for 6AM flight,  12 hour work days and Dane's attitude going South with the disruption in schedule.  We are working to put some more structure in place to help get back to the normal swing of things, so hopefully that will even out soon. (Toll 7)

Patty has been fighting with headaches since the week before Christmas, they seem to be getting better, but 100% stress related.  (Toll 8)

The dogs have been eating something that has created quite the mess in our basement. (Toll 9)

So with all of these tolls, we are hoping that soon we will be over the bridge and onto a straightaway for a while.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love ya, Tomorrow You're Only a Day Away!

Last week Kevin and I had our fingerprints done at the Federal Building.  In the process, we found out the name on my paperwork for the fingerprints was wrong, but they let me take the tests anyway and I spent some quality time waiting for another Federal employee to tell me they couldn't do anything about it, and then I went home and called the INS and they said it was not big deal.

So yesterday we got a call from the INS, and apparently it is a big deal, as she couldn't find the records.  It was quite hilarious listening to us go back and forth and I kept spelling my last name correct and she kept spelling my first name incorrect and it really should have been the other way around. :)

Anyhow, she said that she was going through the final runs and this was her last item and she planned to approve the file TOMORROW!

In the meanwhile, I, Patty, have been shipped out of town to our home office to work on a special project with little or no lead time, and I am going home tomorrow!  Tomorrow is going to be great and it's only a day away!