FDL Update, Rain Forest Week

Yay!  We finally have some information about our FDL (Favorable Determination Letter that we need for a referral that shows the approval of the government of our adoption)!  USCIS has had our paperwork for 6 months and every time I have called the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi!  I'm calling to check on the status of my form.  Our fingerprinting appointment was in April--almost 6 months ago.

Them:  Hmm...I can't find it in this system give me a few minutes to check this one.  Oh, it hasn't been assigned to an officer yet.

Me: Do you know if it's missing anything or how long it will take to be processed?

Them: I can't tell anything from the computer system and we have over 18,000 files to be processed.  Once it's assigned to an officer they will contact you.  Call back next week.

I've been calling regularly since the beginning of July.  BUT, today before I called I prayed that I would have the right words to say, because quite frankly I didn't know how to figure out how to hurry things along.  Most people seem to get theirs back within weeks.  I know it's not URGENT just yet, but it would be so nice to just have this piece done. 

Anyway, back to today.  When I called today, again, the officer checked multiple systems and said it wasn't being processed yet.  I said that I had been calling since July and that got her attention.  She left for a few minutes to literally search for the file and then when she couldn't find it she sent an email to the file room.  She said that as soon as they found it she would personally take care of it. 

THEN, tonight when I was at work, she called J to say that they had found the file, she had looked it over, and that our FDL would be coming in the mail!  YAY!  Thank you so much, Officer H!

Ahh...FDL drama. ;)

Okay, and now for last week's theme--Rain Forest Week!

We listened to the Magic Tree House Rain Forest story multiple times.  And we read Compassion's latest children's magazine about life in the Amazon.  We also draped ALL of the upstairs doorways with blue crepe paper to look like waterfalls.

And we visited a fun pet store with a room full of un-caged tropical birds, lots of fish and of course the usual rabbits and mice.

In the Magic Tree House story they talk about piranhas, so I thought it would be fun if M and T could see one.  I would love to know what the guy working in the aquarium section thought about this mom with her two young children asking to see the piranhas.  Apparently he thought I was interested in buying one because, in case you were wondering, they are, in fact, not allowed to sell piranhas in NY.  But not to fear, if you would like to have one for yourself you can just go to PA or CT.  Thank you, Mr. Pet Store Guy. :)