Is this the year?

Two weeks ago I went onto the message board for Korean adoption that is hosted by our international agency. While there I spotted a post from another women about her finger prints and how they were about to expire. Not surprisingly this got me nervous. I realized that I didn't know when our finger prints would expire and I had no idea what steps we were supposed to take as that date approached. I went through the file we have and was unable to find a form from USCIS with the approval dates. I looked at our huge Korean adoption manual and it wasn't helpful either. At this point I was getting pretty upset and decided I would just go ahead and email the HS agent.

It turns out there was a form, I had even faxed a copy to the HS agent back in September, but I didn't recognize it when looking through the file. Finger prints are good for 15 months and the HS is good for 18. We can request a 1 time free extension up to 90 days before each expires. The 90 day prior date for the finger prints is mid March. I have the forms we will need and have posted the date on my Outlook calendar so it will remind me to get the forms off.

I had a very positive conversation with the HS agent. She asked if I had heard anything from the international agency and I read the contents of the quarterly email. We agreed it seemed as if things might happen for Frig and I by the end of the year.

It seems like this would be the year for us. Mom and Dad Ratcliff got Chris on their 5th anniversary when he was 10 days old. I was born during my parents 5th year of marriage. This is currently our 5th year of marriage as well; I hope this is a sign!