Waiting For I800 Approval

We filed our I800 soon after getting home from seeing both girls. We had to file an addendum and so our agency sent it to USCIS. The problem is, that we and our homestudy agency both forgot that our Hague agency had to approve the addendum so our homestudy agency had to send a copy to AAC to get approval. AAC approved it very quickly and sent the letter of approval to USCIS but all of this slowed us down a little. Now we have to wait for approval and we were told by our agent at USCIS that it will probably be another two weeks. That seems so long right now but I guess in the scheme of things it really isn't. 

This past week was fairly busy as Claire and Jordan both had surgery on their eyes  -- actually, Claire just had botox. The surgery went well for Jordan and her eyes look better now, but I am not sure that Claire's botox worked. So far, her eyes are still turning in some, but they say it can take a week or two for results. They both have appointments tomorrow morning to have their eyes checked. They will both be getting contacts in the next couple of weeks. I'm sure it won't be fun getting Claire's in her eyes, but I am told that contacts are the best thing for her. 

So, we will wait for USCIS approval and enjoy the balance of the summer. I have so many things that I had planned to do with the kids and have hardly done any of them. I guess I better get busy. 

The Farmer's Market

Today I went to the farmer's market with 4 of my daughters. We walked around for about 45 minutes before it started raining. It was our first trip to this particular one and the sights, sounds, colors and all the different people made it rather festive. We checked out every booth and bought a few things  -- ice cream, a rag doll, an owl necklace, jam, cinnamon bread, cake and a small jar of honey. There were many people eating breakfast and having their morning coffee before they shopped. We are thinking that next time we go we will also get our coffee there and maybe have a bagel or muffin for breakfast. 

It was a beautiful day for the market -- the temperature was about 76 degrees  -- much cooler than it has been, and made walking around more pleasant. I couldn't help but think of how nice it would be to have Bella and Allysen here and take them. I think they would love the colors and all the people, dogs and excitement. Since the market is open until December 1, there is the possibility that we will actually be able to take them this year  -- depending on how quickly we get to travel to get them. 

Here are a few pictures from today. 

Ordinary Days

We now find ourselves waiting, yet again. Since summer is here the kids spend more time outside playing, reading, having picnics, dressing up and enjoying a trip to the ice cream store  -- just ordinary days. 

I800 Mailed

I finally got our I800 mailed. I had planned to get it done as soon as I got home from EE, but once I got home I took a few days to just spend time with family. Then a series of storms came through our state and we lost power for three days. I couldn't even get online to get the forms and fill them out. Finally, on Friday afternoon I got them mailed. Now, we need to update some other stuff  -- physicals, psychologicals, and police checks. We will start working on those in the next couple of weeks but I don't want to get them done too soon as they can not be any older than 6 months. 

While the power was out we spent a lot of time on our front porch. It was so hot inside and at least the porch offered an occasional breeze. The temperature reached over 100 everyday. The kids would bring their breakfast on the porch and eat as Bill and I drank our coffee  -- I would run to the nearest place with power to grab our morning coffee. Our porch seemed to be the only place I could really enjoy being without power.  

Zola Having Breakfast on the Porch (obviously before brushing her hair)

Bethany Having Breakfast on the Porch

Claire Twirling on our Porch

My Hydrangea Poking a Bloom Through the Balluster

Fourth of July

Each year on the 4th of July we have family and friends over for a cook out and a small neighborhood celebration. Yesterday was no exception. We cooked out, visited, and watched small fireworks in our cul-de-sac. We look forward to sharing this day with Allysen and Bella next year.