Selah: The Art of the Pause: To catch you up...

*whew!* Guys. It’s been a busy 2 weeks. I have a few new things for you:

1. I updated you guys on the 14^th to let you know our file was at USCIS and we did not have a case worker yet. Four days later, we received a letter from them stating we had a case worker and that they needed more evidence. I know, it happened REALLY fast!

Turns out, they need the official death certificate (or an official letter stating that they do not have it) for sweet B’s parents. *hold back tears*

I guess our agency didn’t send an official one. They also need clearer copies of a few other official forms and statements. Our agency thought they were clear, but apparently NBC didn’t think so. *shrugs*

Our case worker stated they were blurry and needed to be clearer because they don’t always scan clear when they send to Addis. SOOOOO I guess that our file doesn’t go through snail mail, but EMAIL! That shaves off a lot time guys.

Our agency is in training today, so they won’t get my email with the information from our caseworker at NBC until tomorrow.

*UPDATE!*

Our coordinator already emailed me back and said they are going to work on getting an official letter typed up. They are also going to get with the team in Ethiopia to see about getting better copies of the translations! Yay!!!

KC and I are continuing to pray that we can get this resolved this week and our file sent over soon! God has just opened one door after another. It feels great after feeling like we run into the doors sometimes. Ha!

Once our file is in Addis for “investigation”, it will take them 6-12 weeks to make a determination and for us to get our official PAIR letter.

And then……

...........

WE GET A COURT DATE!!! WOOOHHHOOOOO!!!!!!

2. In other news (maybe not quite as exciting as número uno), our van started acting up on Easter Sunday. It started making a loud screeching noise and smoke was coming out from under it. Then, it wouldn’t start on Monday. The mister and I have THE worst luck with vehicles. KC and I said we wouldn’t stress about it and we spent all day yesterday in prayer.

We called our dealership to see if we could have it brought in to see if the issue was covered under the extended warranty we bought. We called a tow truck and thankfully, the tow was covered under our car insurance.

We get it there, and they tell us it’s the AC compressor relay (?). It drained the batter because it was stuck in the on position. It was building up pressure, and the smoke we saw was the “pop-off valve” releasing pressure so it didn’t explode. THAT smoke was definitely a good thing. Good news? Our extended warranty covered it he said.

After work, we drove to pick up Helga. KC and I had a bet going on. I thought our deductible was $100 and he thought it was $200. He walks in to pay and get the keys. I notice he was in there for a few minutes. When he walks back out, he has a weird look on his face. I asked him what was up. His reply:

“It didn’t cost us anything. It turns out, it wasn’t covered under our warranty. He looked up the wrong warranty when he talked to you. So they are going to eat the cost since it was his mistake.”

Yeah. I know. My jaw dropped. God is SO good. This may not seem like a big deal to most people, but KC and I have put A LOT of money into our vehicles the last few years. Honestly, we have horrible luck with vehicles. Our van is only 4 years old.

I had tears in my eyes as we drove home and I praised and thanked God the whole way. KC and I put the issue into His hands, and He took care of it for us. He’s always taking care of us. :-)

3. Last but not least, KC and I spent all day Friday having some down time/anniversary date day. We also made an appointment that morning to get our travel vaccinations. Mr. Collins HATES needles. In his words, “I fought guys in the jail where I worked, I went overseas and was blown up, and I can handle most things. But I just can’t deal with needles!!”

Poor guy. But he did great! He managed to keep his blood pressure down and didn’t pass out once! Haha! I even documented the trip. You can tell from the look on his face that he wasn’t a happy camper. Oh the things we do for our kiddos. :-)