To Augusta and beyond

So we went on a journey south yesterday to the city of Augusta. It is a land that flows with Panera and state buildings. It was a beautiful day for a drive and even a better one for getting our dossier documents certified. We dropped them off at the Secretary of State's office and wandered around for about 20 minutes while they were stamped.

We saw the Maine seal.


We saw the rooms where the Maine House of Representatives and the Senate battle it out.


We saw the inside of the capital dome which I thought was quite beautiful.

After that we headed back to the Secretary of States Office and found our documents sealed. Of course it wouldn't be a true experience without drama. I expected to pay $10 per notarized document and I thought we had 19 in total, so when the secretary behind the double glass windows said that is would be $310, my heart sank. Surely, I am not that bad at math, but I submitted the payment any how. I then sat down and began to look through the prized documents to see where I had gone wrong. AHA...I brought five copies of each of the police reports, for a total of 12 notary signatures that did not need to be certified, but rather kept for the additional copies of our home study that were provided for grant applications. Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know about you, but I always get red in the face when I have done something foolish, so thank goodness Randy was there. He gently shared the news with the lady behind the glass and if you can believe this, we received a refund for $120.00 instantly. Praise the Lord for grace. So we broke bread a Panera and traveled back north to make our 222 photo copies. I will share the tale of sending the dossier on in my next post. For now, I leave you with a thankful heart and a restful spirit.