Gimme an L! Gimme an O!!!! GIMME AN A!!!

That's right! We got our Letter of Acceptance. At 5:56 local time on Monday August 25, my phone rang while I was putting supper on the table: Sloppy Joes, corn, along with strawberries and bananas for those who are interested in our fare for the evening. ;) When I looked at the screen and saw Holt, OR, I was at a loss. Why would they be calling this late? I mean, I know they're two hours behind us, but still. DHL had surely made the delivery long ago, so if we had gotten our LOA, they would have called then. Besides, I know another family who had their LOA uploaded into the system the same day we did, and her agency had confirmed that she had not gotten the hard copy that day. So the question remained -- for the 2.3 seconds it took to slide the bar to answer -- why was my agency calling? What could I have possibly done? Amy quickly allayed my fears and put my curiosity to rest. Once she told me she had that beautiful piece of paper in her hands, I exploded. I screamed, I laughed, I required repeated reassurances that she was, in fact, not joking. I may have even cried a little.

Amy informed me that she would scan and email our LOA so we could get a on day jump on the I800 process - the next step - assuming I had that form and all corresponding, supporting documents completed, organized, and ready to go. Well, there's a chance that had been been filled out, oh, about two months ago. I reviewed the forms about 20 times, finally decided I had to just "Let It Goooo," and sent Troy with that precious package to FedEx so it would be waiting for the USCIS at 8:00am -- in 12 hours. $85 later, it was mailed and we're officially awaiting I800 approval now.

We said YES! (Even if we initially forgot to check yes. Um. Ooops! But no worries. Crisis averted, problem solved. Got it checked and off to the NBC!)

Although the LOA wait (the biggest unknown, and in my estimation, the most frustrating obstacle) is over, we still don't know when we'll be traveling. We are praying for November. If we are on the fast track through the next steps, there is a possibility that we could make it. We pray that's the case because if we don't, December is a much less attractive time to go for several reasons: Christmas away from the boys, child care for the boys, another month away from Carter...!!!! So we appreciate any and all prayers that the next part of the process goes smoothly and quickly. THANK YOU!

Carter, sweetheart, we're getting closer. <3