I Have Zero Faith In Ladybugs

Hi Folks!

Just a quick update on the process. I've not really posted anything since the big announcement because, well, there's just not much else to tell at this point. Our paperchase is going tremendously smoothly thus far, PRAISE GOD! We completed our fingerprinting yesterday, and are just waiting on two things at this point: 

1. Josh's birth certificate is slooooooowly making its way through all the channels up there in Chicago. They were not this slow last time around, but it's not something I'm super worried about at this point. It just means I get to call and "wish them a nice day" (which means, call and constantly ask them when I can expect to receive his certified birth certificate so that we can forward it to the Consulate). 

2. Our I-797 approval from USCIS - for those of you who don't speak Paperchase, that just means our permission from the United States Citizenship and Immigration people to bring an immigrant child into the country. Once we have this piece of paper, and it makes its way through a photocopier, a notary, the Florida Secretary of State and the Houston Consulate, (minor steps, really)... then we will have everything we need for our Dossier.

Again, in English, the Dossier is the big file of info about us that goes over to China. Once they receive it and log us in, we get an LID (Log-in Date), and at that point we can expect to receive a match file at some point.

Our lovely social worker/CCAI rep says she thinks we can expect an LID by the end of July, but that all depends on USCIS (and those Chicago people with Josh's birth certificate). So, we wait...

... but truly, it's all going smoothly. Even the few panic moments I've had over paperwork have been quickly resolved. I am beyond thankful!

Also, in reference to the title of this post, there is a superstition in the China adoption community that says that ladybugs are lucky, and if you see one then it means your match is not far away. You can go online and read cutesy stories about tons of people who waited years for matches and then saw a ladybug on their shopping cart at the store, or on the head of the bald man in front of them on the bus, and then came home to find a match file in their email box. Last time around, we saw one during our Home Study visit. The social worker wanted to cry. We received Asher's file two weeks later. I do not credit a bug for us getting his file in the least, but it made for a cute story. 

Monday morning I woke up and opened the blinds to find a ladybug sitting on my sliding glass door. I rushed out to take his picture. Why? (And why do I always refer to ladybugs as "he"?) I don't know why. Because he happens to be the 5th ladybug spotting (pun intended) since we began this process. Five ladybugs. No match file, and from what I can tell right now about the way things are going, we won't even get to look at a file without an LID. So thus, I have no faith in ladybugs. 

I DO, however, have complete faith in the fact that whomever God matches us with, in HIS timing (not mine... *sigh*... and not a random insect's), will be exactly who belongs with us. And besides, I'm not really in a rush to see a file. The wait gets 10,000x harder when you have a face to stare at all day long. So, for now, we chase those papers. We make those phone calls. We spend tremendous amounts of brain power and printer ink (hooray for owning a printer!!!) on grant applications and USCIS applications and spreadsheets and courier information.... 

... and we remain thankful that it's all moving along. 

I am just a bug.... on a very dirty window. 

(Does anyone really wash the outside of their windows anyway? If you do, don't tell me. It'll just make me feel bad...)