US Citizenship: Samuel Chancelet Wilkins!

What a blessing of a day!

I was able to take the day off to “hang out” with Samuel and get some paperwork details in order for our USCIS interview this afternoon. I made Joe and Samuel eggs for breakfast (I like to be able to play stay-at-home mom every once in awhile!) We then waved good-bye to Joe as he headed off to work and I decided we needed to get out on a run (with BOB) to enjoy the fresh morning air.  It was going to be a special and beautiful day for the Wilkins! (Plus it was sunny and feeling "Autumnish.”)

It was good to have Samuel home as he was able to go down for his nap a bit early, in preparation for the 2pm meeting. And while he was napping I got the house ready for a “CITIZENSHIP PARTY” for the three of us… I was just praying things would all come together and it would really happen (I would have liked to have celebrated with family/friends, but I hate putting the "cart-before-the-horse" with things like this... my fears were still very real that something would go wrong - and have been “cautiously optimistic” with all the red tape we have gone through up to this day.)

But today was different.

It happened. It really happened!

Samuel is a U.S. Citizen!

Joe got home around noon and we left for the appointment around 1:30pm… We put the letter “in the basket next (just like it told us too) and waited for officer Gibson (which took all of 2 minutes!) Then we headed to his office as he thumbed through the stack of paperwork that must have come from the countless email files that I sent. He asked for our passports, Samuel’s original adoption decree and then we were off to another room to pay and wait for the CERTIFICATE OF CITIZENSHIP! We had to wait for about 30 minutes, but Samuel was a gem and played with his toy car and colored while we waited.

And then they came out with the certificate. Joe signed and we asked for some pictures and we were out of there! After all we have been through… I cannot believe this took place. Praise God.

When we got home – we had a simple party (similar to what you might see on the 4th of July!) Red, white, blue AND stars. Along with angel food cake, whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries! It was a small party – but our hearts were full and smiling and Samuel even tried the blueberries and angel food cake!

This was a day that we will never forget. All of the hard-work of the past 3 years, the stress, pain, love and emotions came together today. Samuel is a U.S. Citizen!

MY SIDE NOTE:

My only true and deepest additional wish is that ALL of the 81 kids who were on the plane with Samuel would be able to have a celebration day like this, in 2010. Every family walked the same long road we did - and these kids all have homes, here in the USA. They should all be given the this gift from the US Government… But they are requiring that most families have two years legal custody and residency with their child before they can file. This has all sorts of frustrating ramifications for everyone involved… We just happened to be far enough along in the paperwork (in Haiti) to qualify.