GIANT step forward!!!

So there have been many trying points during this adoption paper chase!!!!  Oct 10, I overnighted my I800A to homeland security...this is a request for the US to approve us adopting from China known as immigration approval!  Well our receipt date was 10-11-12.  We were told that it usually takes a couple weeks for approval however the US government decided to shut down...ugh....well this slowed EVERYTHING down and things backed up!!!!!  So....62 days later we have APPROVAL!!!!  I had been calling and checking on it weekly for the past few weeks....I knew we were really close but received an email from my officer assigned to my case saying that we were approved on 12-12...yep my 33 birthday!!!  Best birthday ever!!!  I told a friend that it is amazing how much difference a year makes because just last year on my birthday was the day that Chesney's obituary came out and it was a really terrible day for me!!!!  SO what does this approval mean???  Well just yesterday, 12-14 we received the paper approval in the mail, so tonight I am going to make my copies and Christie Gajewski has graciously agreed to notarize it for me, and tomorrow morning I will be heading to springfield to get it state sealed.  With all of my other documents I sent them to the courier and she did the state seal and the authenticating in Chicago....well after speaking with her it was clear that if I drive up Monday and do the state seal and then overnight it to her right after I will shave about a week off of my timeline...which for crazy adopting moms is like a year to the normal person!!!!  So....that is the plan....Jason's cousin, Adam has agreed to come over tonight and stay all night so that he can keep Grady tomorrow....since it is a quick trip I just hate to make Grady be in the car all day!!!!  After I get done at the Secretary of State tomorrow I am going to find the closest post office and overnight the paperwork on to our Courier....according to her timeline she will get it on Tuesday and of course doesn't work on wed...so the final paper will be delivered to the consulate on Thursday of this week...I am paying to have it expedited since it is just one document....unfortunately for my timeline Christmas is next week and the consulate closes Mon-Wed for that....so she will either pick my document up on Thursday or the following Monday.....as she doesnt' work Fridays either....so the moral of the story is that after Christmas I will be sending my dossier to my agency and then off to China!!!!!!  Once our dossier is off to China we will wait for a LID which I believe is taking a couple of weeks.  My goal is to have a LID (log in date) by the time that the January referrals come out at the end of January so that we will be eligible.....then it is a waiting game month to month....one shot a month to get her picture!!!!  So now is when we are needing LOTS of prayers...prayers for discernment when we are looking at files, prayers for God's wisdom and direction as to knowing when it is Mabry that we are looking at, and most of all PATIENCE for me!!!!  We started our paperwork in March and so although I am sure you all don't think that is a long time when you are consumed daily with timelines and deadlines it is an eternity.  When you are pregnant you have a due date...and even though I never came close to the due date there was an idea of the longest you have to wait to meet that sweet sweet baby!!!!  With this you process there is NO end date....we just wait until God is ready to reveal Mabry to us!!!!  We are beyond excited that we are to a point where technically we could see her face in January!!!  Will we??  We just don't know....but knowing that we are to the place where every month we FINALLY have a chance is the most amazing feeling!!!!  God bless all of you for following along on the journey and giving us words of encouragement along the way!!!!  God bless you for reading this blog because let me tell you in the future there will be LOTS to share on here!!!!  I plan to blog while we are in China DAILY so that you all can be apart of that journey!!!  There is a lot of differences between babies adopted and babies born to us as far as how the adjustment is handled and a process called Cocooning which I will touch on later when we are preparing to bring Mabry home!!!!!!!