FBI appointment

Good news!  We received notification of our FBI biometrics appointment in the mail this week, which means we are much closer to receiving our I-800a approval!  The I-800a approval, from Homeland Security, will allow us to finish authenticating documents and prepare our dossier for China.  Our appointment is next Friday at the FBI office in Louisville.  It is a bit frustrating to have to attend this appointment - as we have already been fingerprinted and "cleared" by the FBI (in January).  Just more hoops to jump through, so we will do what we have to do...

We have been working hard to prepare Alexis for being a big sister - which is a bit more complicated in this situation than if we were adding a child to our family through the "traditional route."  It's hard to explain the concept of adoption to a three-year old, but we've been reading books to help her understand as much as possible.  I was very excited the other day when Alexis said, without being provoked, "Mommy....Annabelle in China doesn't have a family.  She doesn't have a mommy, a daddy, a sister or a Copper (our dog).  So, I'm going to be the sister and you can be the mommy and Daddy can be the daddy.  She will be sooooo happy!"  It was a sincere, sweet moment and I'm very proud that she is beginning to grasp the big picture in this journey.