DONE! Dossier is Done!

It has been a great week in our adoption process.... our paperwork is done.  What a wonderful word :)  Monday feels so long ago that we learned of our miraculously fast USCIS approval.  By Wednesday, we had the last of our paperwork.  Thursday, Wes followed me to Belle so we could get the last of our papers notarized then headed to Pierre for our State Seals.

 Every time I go to our state capital... I just can't help but be in awe of the building's beauty.  

I really think the lovely old building is a snapshot of what South Dakota truly is all about.... graceful, time tested and we're willing to make the things we care about tell a beautiful story.  

And... if you ask anyone who is a legit South Dakotan who knows their capital city- they'll tell you the best part of town is the amazingly, wonderful, super old fashioned ice cream shop.  Zestos is the best and a tradition on any trip- including each trip to get dossier state seals! 

 Wes had to skip work and got Zesto's all in one day :) 

 Big thanks to Wes for driving our papers to Pierre- through lots of rain too!  I think two free books from the used book store, Zesto's AND the satisfaction of knowing our documents were done totally made the day worth it! Friday, we dropped of our entire stack of papers at Office Max for them to copy & staple and get it all organized.  Which means we are officially DONE!!!  This morning... I had the fun of taking it to the post office :)  Yay, so incredibly happy to have this phase done.  It should be in Michigan on Monday morning.

 One of my best birthday presents ever...dossier completed & out of my hands :) 

So, what's next?  All our paperwork will arrive at our agency's office on Monday.  From there, it will head to the Chinese Consulate to receive their official seal of authentication.  This step will probably take about 2-3 weeks... I'm praying for the 2 weeks!  Actually, I'm praying that we'll be 'Dossier to China' by the end of May.  We might not squeak in that quickly but I would definitely love it to happen that quickly!
Then... we simply wait for God to match us with our little girl.  Ohh, my goodness- I haven't really let my brain wrap itself around that concept.  I think now that we're past the paperwork, the reality meeting her will start to sink in.  Thanks for praying for our paperwork- we greatly appreciate it!!