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I read a quote today that said, “Every survival kit should include a sense of humor.”

After the day that we have had here in our house regarding our adoption I am thankful that our survival kit does happen to include a sense of humor~ one that has been through the ringer a few times!

My husband and I are first time adoptive parents. We are also first time parents, period. In just a matter of weeks we believe that we will be traveling to Ethiopia, Africa to pick up our son. The little guy is going to be a year old sometime this month. Today I had a consultation with a local pediatrician. I went into the consultation with excitement over how “motherly” I felt! I had a little pad of paper full of scribbled questions and notes for the doctor. I had questions about vaccines, circumcision, formula, diaper rash, snotty noses, head circumference, solid foods, and so much more. The doctor was rushed, but kind and attentive. The thing I liked so much about talking with the doctor today was that is was a solid step toward what I know is to come.

I met my husband for lunch at a local burger joint and as we slurped down a chocolate shake I rambled on about all that the doctor had said. We felt good. We felt that things were in place….and then….a bit of a surprise came our way.

As I checked the mail, still full from lunch, I saw a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The letter was a copy of an I-171H form that announced to us that our advanced processing orphan application and been approved and was waiting for us in Moscow, Russia. Russia? Russia? We are adopting from Ethiopia! Why is our paperwork in Russia?

I called my husband. He answered from work and asked if I had forgotten to tell him something about the visit with the pediatrician. “No, but I did forget to tell you that our sweet little Ethiopian baby is actually Russian!”

God granted me a dose of humor and instead of the normal heart racing, tummy aching, fore head sweating nervousness I get with anything involving a possible delay in our adoption- I simply laughed and then asked the Lord to make this situation one that brings our son home sooner.

After a few phone calls I found out that the USCIS department made a mistake that can be fixed with fairly little ease as long as one does not mind being on the phone! When we travel soon we will be traveling to Ethiopia- not Russia!

We have everything ready to go. The room is ready. The walls painted. The crib set. The mei-tai carrier made. The books read. The toy chest packed. The pediatrician consulted. Although we do not know yet if we will make it through court before it closes in Ethiopia in the coming weeks we know this- whatever comes our way the adoption survival kit is packed and ready to go!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 2nd, 2007 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.