small victories

OK, so this doesn't mean a whole lot to anyone but us (or those in the IA community), but I wanted to share. We had to file an I-600A with the USCIS to get approved to adopt a child from another country. Originally when we filed this in November it cost us $685 for the form and two sets of fingerprints. Well, it expires after 18 months (well, the fingerprints expire after 15 months...who knew fingerprints would expire!), which means we will have to update our I-600A at least once before we go to China. Well, the USCIS just upped the fees to $830 to file and have two sets of fingerprints. But, much to our surprise, and due to the complaints of many potential adoptive parents, the USCIS is giving each family one FREE update! WOW, the government is giving us something free! So, we essentially just saved $830. We don't have to renew ours until April 2008, but when we do it will be free!!!

Cute Item of the Month

Wow, there are some anxious people waiting for this cute item. Just to clarify, I will post it on the 20th of every month. Today we have officially been waiting for three months!

This was her very first gift given to her by her Aunt Stephanie. Of course, we all know about the Giant Pandas in China, so this is where the collection begins. As you can imagine this is a common theme among people adopting from China, and our baby is already on her way to a large collection (as you will see this theme continue!).

A little more information regarding the panda. Stephanie is the most creative in our family (second to my mother) and she gives each one of us a bird themed 30th birthday. What I mean is, on Jill's 30th she got 30 flamingo items in the mail, I got 30 chicken items, Kevin got 30 penguin items. For each birthday after that we get our "bird." So, Steph wanted to give our daughter an animal, and so she got a panda. As soon as we made our announcement that we were adopting Stephanie was quick to find a theme! Thanks Steph, you are always so thoughtful.