I600A form submitted!

We submitted our I600A form today! This is the official form we submit to the USCIS (formally INS) to ask the US government to approve us for the adoption. I am not too worried about this being approved. We submitted our home study with the form and I don't anticipate there being any problems with it.

Like most things adoption related, I was surprised by the cost. The form costs over $600 and then we also have to be fingerprinted by the FBI and that costs another $160. Some of you may be asking, didn't you already submit your fingerprints to the FBI? Yes, we did. We were fingerprinted and the the FBI did a background check on us before our home study and dossier could be approved. But for some reason we still have to go the actual FBI office in Austin and be fingerprinted again.

Despite the redundancy of it all I am still smiling because this puts us one step closer to our baby girl. Now I really don't have anything to do but wait. I have been counting ahead and trying to figure out when we will be bringing her home (Jed strongly advises I quit doing this for the sake of my own sanity).

In a perfect world she would be home with us next April. That would give me two months to bond with her while the kids are in school. But I have a feeling she will be coming home some time over the summer. That would be much more challenging since Jared and Laine will be home and needing my attention. Also, the plane tickets run about $900 more in the summer and I would rather avoid the higher cost.

I have to just leave it in God's hands and know that He will look out for us.