Eventually, a Watched Pot Will Boil

I eyed the mailbox and tried not to get overly anxious about the possibility of our I-171 form being contained therein. I had sent an e-mail to the Orlando USCIS office yesterday hoping they could verify if our home study had even been received. Some others in our group are having concerns over their I-171 as well, so I tried not to get my hopes up. I unlocked the box and peered into the darkness to see a stack of the usual deliveries. I thumbed through bills, a letter from grandma for the kids, a catalog, and then there it was. The anticlimactic government envelope stared back at me as if it had always been there and couldn't understand why my pulse had quickened and I was resisting the urge to dance right there in the street. Feeling a little like Charlie from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, I flipped it over as the lyrics to "I've Got a Golden Ticket" play somewhere in the back of my mind. I opened it then and there. Not only had our home study been received, but our orphan petition had been approved and forwarded to the American Consulate in Ukraine! I know this happens everyday for families all across America, but this letter was for us. It was for Kristina. At this point we wait to hear on the other paperwork that's being proofed, send everything to Tallahassee for apostilling, and then send it to Ukraine with a request for a travel date! Sounds easy enough, right?