Wait List Update

We got our wait list update for the month and we are...still #23. I think we would have moved up because there was a family moved off the girls' wait list this month -- they choose to accept a 2 year-old boy instead! -- but for a turn of tragic events. Remember the baby girl with special needs? A family was all set to bring her home and help her through her surgeries, but she unexpectedly passed away due to some unforeseen health complication . In circumstances such as this, the family is returned to the wait list and placed at the top. When we received word of this the email actually said that if we had a problem with that or needed further explanation we should contact our case worker! I can't imagine being upset with such a move for that poor family! They essentially lost their baby -- before even bringing her home! My heart hurts for them. And I pray that they find healing and are able to be united with another child, if that is what they wish to do. So we didn't move up the list this month -- I really am okay with that.

More Fingerprints

After weeks of wondering what had become of our packet sent to USCIS, we received notices for our fingerprint appointments! According to our social worker, it is safe to assume that we are approved (pending clearance of the fingerprints) for our renewal of our Favorable Determination with Citizenship/Immigration. This will save us about $600 and a whole lot of paperwork! The appointments are set for the 11th of August, at a location about 20 minutes away. Once the prints are processed, we should receive a new letter of approval and then all we need to do is wait. When our referral comes through, we'll be good to go!

Paperwork Update

We got word today that our dossier just made it back from being authenticated in Washington DC. It will now be sent to AGCI's contact in Ethiopia. She will look after it until we are matched with (and accept) a referral. At that point I would assume it would probably move into the court system there.

Two weeks ago we sent in a request to USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration) to have our approval extended and also to be approved to adopt from Ethiopia rather than Vietnam. We were extremely fortunate when we did our Vietnam dossier to be able to hand-deliver our CIS application and have our digital fingerprints done on a walk-in basis. Since then, the policies here in Washington have changed and we had to do it all by mail, requesting that they set a time for our fingerprints to be taken*. Last time we were approved in two weeks. This time we are at the mercy of the system. I know I'm just spoiled though, because most other states don't have the availability of walking in to take care of this part of the process. There is a good chance that it may take a few months this time around. Fortunately we technically don't need to have our CIS approval in hand until we have a child referred to us, but it would sure be nice to have everything in order.

That's all I have to report right now, which is actually good since we have plenty on our plate for the time being....

*These fingerprints are different than the ones required for our dossier. I don't know why the different government agencies have to each have their own fingerprint process, but hey, that's government for you!

2 Weeks Later

We are number:


Now, before you all get excited about how quickly the list seems to be moving, keep in mind that the Ethiopian government officially shuts down over the next two months, due to a national holiday of sorts. That means things are going to slow way down. Its still going to be at least four months, but likely six months or more before we reach the top. BUT in this house, we are never ones to scoff at progress!

Twenty-Six

We are officially number:

On the waiting list for a girl!

We did it!

We mailed our dossier in yesterday! Praise the Lord!

I wrote a long and heartfelt post soon after about how it feels to finally reach this point after three years...and promptly lost it all. The resulting agony made me unable to attempt it again until now.

I feel like I can finally get excited about our adoption now. This is a milestone in the process that has eluded us for so long. We were so close with the Vietnam adoption process, only to have to turn back for a time. Everything that follows this point will be uncharted territory for us!

It seems like most of the process so far has taken place in the quiet background of our life. There isn't a whole lot of drama to be found in paperwork and notarizations. Also, I know I have avoided talking about it much due to the assumption that most people probably think we're crazy, given the chaos that is our current family life. As to that, all I can say is that I have come to believe that God likes to keep us right on the edge of what we think we can handle so our only choice is to rely on Him. Or something like that.

The next few months will likely pass without any excitement, in regards to the adoption of course. This is fine, since our lives are pretty full this summer. As referrals come in for other families, we will slowly move up the waiting list and will hear occasionally where we officially stand. (There is a message board where many mommys-to-be keep an unofficial list of where folks fall. This is based on the limited information that we do get about eachother. In the adoption world, there is little knowledge of what is happening with other families. Things are kept confidential to the extreme. I technically cannot post a picture or give out the name of our referred child until I have her -- and her visa -- in my hands in Ethiopia.)

Once we finally receive the name and information of a referred child, we will have a short amount of time to consult with a pediatrician trained in working with internationally-adopted children and to pray a whole lot before we submit our decision to accept the referral. We have the choice to turn down a referral, but I believe the result is moving back to the bottom of the wait list. (??) If we accept a referral and then change our mind, Ethiopia has the policy that the child is deemed unadoptable forever and we would never be able to adopt from the country of Ethiopia again. Heavy stuff.

Upon acceptance of a child, our file would move into the court system where the end result would be the declaration of the child as officially -- on paper, at least -- ours. (As I said before, we cannot really claim her as ours until we are leaving Ethiopia with her and her visa.) We will then be assigned a date to travel to Ethiopia.

For now, we wait. I will still occasionally post if there is anything of interest to be shared or if I need to vent about how long everything is taking or about how other mommies are having babies in a predictable length of time and why didn't we just decide to do this the old-fashioned way, etc.

Oh, and we need to start fundraising. More on that later!

For now, we can just celebrate the fact that the hardest part is done!

All Clear

Hooray! My fingerprints cleared! Our homestudy is done and can be sent off to the adoption agency ASAP!

Waiting on one more reference letter and our dossier can be sent off too!