The time continues to pass and when I look back, it is passing quickly. We are still waiting for our pre-approval from the CCAA and our I171-H from the Department of Homeland Security. Those are the last two pieces of paperwork we need to finalize everything in order to send our dossier to China. We are really hoping to have everything complete and out of our hands and in the hands of CHI or possibly the CCAA by Thanksgiving.
We leave the day after Thanksgiving for a family vacation to Orlando. We have 17 family members going including my parents, siblings and their spouses, nieces and nephews and my 86 year old grandmother (she just decided this past week and we are thrilled). We are excited about the trip and hope we will have things completed so we can just enjoy the company of family and holidays. I know we will constantly think of Cassi while we are there and wonder how she would react to all the new and exciting things, but we can look forward to the next trip when she will be able to join us. Including Issac, we have seven children going on the trip ages 15, 13, 12, 11, 3, 10 months and 8 months. I can't wait to see the faces of the smaller ones. We have experienced Disney World with the older four but watching the younger three will be such a treat. Our older ones are as excited about watching the younger ones as they are about going themselves.
We have so much support in this process. Several weeks ago, I decided to have a yard sale and use whatever proceeds for the expense of the adoption. Some family and friends found out and we had so many donations that we had sales two weekends in a row. We did change locations, so we would have a different crowd, but I know the people in our subdivision had to wonder where in the world all that stuff came from in our house. How funny is that. When growing up, if my mom mentioned "yard sale," I would run the other way, but I had a ball pricing all the donations for Cassi's sake. Thank you to everyone who supported our sale and the donations.
Please continue to pray for Cassi daily. I can feel all the prayers going her way.
