I-171 (And Some Other Happenings Too)!

Well, it is here!!! We cleared the immigration milestone-our I-171 came Friday!!! We are officially approved to adopt up to 2 kiddos from Ethiopia!! Not bad turnaround for our local USCIS field office. Fingerprints were done on 11/19 and the I-171 was approved on 12/01/08!! Now all we have to do is wait...........and wait, and wait.

We had some other events here too. Matt and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on 11/30, and *someone* had a birthday that day too. My Dad, Matt and Alina Jayne and I celebrated the anniversary, b-day, and the fact that we were DTE on 11/13 by having dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant-I guess we were also unknowingly celebrating the receipt of the I-171 too! The restaurant was awesome, the food was phenomenal, the Tej honey wine was excellent, and the atmosphere was so relaxing. We cannot wait to go back. Even my meat and potatoes Dad loved it-I was shocked (he was very hesitant to accept the invitation when he found out what kind of food we'd be having). I am going to order some injera (the flat, spongy bread the food is served on and used to scoop up the food you eat) and some Ethiopian spices. I am going to practice my Ethiopian cooking skills while we wait for our baby(ies)to come home.

Ethiopian Meal

My Dad also supplied the awesome b-day chocolate chip cookie-no candles. The store he was at did not have enough packs!!!

Happy Birthday!!

Matt bought me the most wonderful gifts. He went way overboard, but I did not complain! He got me a necklace that is the shape of Africa, with a heart in the center, and two pairs of Chinese character earrings-one with the character for mother, and one with the character for love. Everyday I wear the necklace he bought me for my 2nd Mother's Day, which has the Chinese characters for "Born in my Heart." Now I am wearing that and my new Africa necklace daily. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband.

Sheng Zi Wo Xin (Born in My Heart) & My Heart is in Africa

Off to enjoy the cold, snowy weekend. We may bake gingerbread cookies today. Seems like the perfect day for that.