Celebrate the Small Things

A dear friend of ours recently gave me some wonderful advice... She said "celebrate the small things during your adoption process. They may not seem big to those around you but they are one step closer to bringing Evelyn home!" She and her husband recently adopted a little boy from South Korea and they know EXACTLY what we are going through. She has been such an encouragement to us throughout our journey to Evelyn.

Today, September 1, 2010, we have 2 "small things" to celebrate...

First of all we received our I-171H from the USCIS after MONTHS of waiting. Let me explain...the alphabet soup of international adoption can get a bit confusing...

The I-171H is a document stating that "It has been determined that Dr. & Mrs. Patrick O'Mara are able to furnish proper care to an orphan as defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act." We must have this initial approval in order to apply for Evelyn's Visa. The next step after receiving this approval is to file form I-600 to start her Visa process.

That leads me to our second reason to celebrate today...

This morning we received an email from our adoption agency, Holt International, that Evelyn's Legals arrived from Korea today! They originally told us it could take 4-8 weeks to receive these documents...ours only took 2 weeks!!! The legal documents from Holt Children’s Services of Korea include:

• Affirmation and Oath Certificate

• Certificate of the Guardian

• Family Register

• Statement of Guardianship

These documents are required by the USCIS to start her Visa process. So as soon as we receive the original documents from Holt we will apply for her Visa!

Since we received our referral things have moved quickly and smoothly but please continue to pray for us and for Evelyn as we wait patiently on the Lord to bring her home. We know that His timing is perfect.

Until then thank you for celebrating the "small things" with us...