#43! We are officially past the paperwork stage and are now officially waiting. This is such a great feeling! Before Friday, our agency had 42 families in the waiting stage and we joined on as #43. This number will decrease as families receive their referrals and we will get an official new number each month. Each family waiting has a stated preference on the gender and age of child(ren) that best fits their family so we will not necessarily wait for 42 referrals to pass before it is our day.
We are encouraged at this next step in our journey and are so thankful for family and friends for their support and faith. My husband deserves his own special HUGE thank you for putting up with me during this paperwork phase. There was a lot of whining going on in this house and all of it was coming from me! He has been so loving and optimistic and I am forever grateful. God sure knew what he was doing when he put me with this man!
To celebrate, we are going to try, for the first time, a nearby Ethiopian restaurant this upcoming weekend. We have heard great things about the Ethiopian cuisine. It might take some time for the kids to get used to it, so I might try to sneak in a PB&J in my purse just in case! We are looking forward to exploring and learning about the Ethiopian culture in the coming months. Of course, next month, we will post our new number handwritten by the kiddos and proudly displaying the colors of the Ethiopian flag.
MELISSA
I am so, so happy for you!
ReplyDeleteHow much paperwork did you have to redo? Was the dossier about the same as Colombia? :)
www.walkingbytheway.com
Thank you!!! USCIS won't transfer between an 1800 and an 1600, so we had to submit for that, but our home study agency was great and worked with us. She had already done two visits for Colombia (initial and update) so just came out and did a third visit and had the revised home study to our new agency in no time. There is no psychological write up and MMPI required for Ethiopia and that was one of the largest time takers with Colombia. Otherwise, other items were very similar and we felt like a pro knowing where to get everything we needed :) Your blog is so sweet, I know you are ready for your family to grow too!
ReplyDeleteWow it seems like you did that in super human speed!! I can't believe you are already waiting! Great for you :) can't wait to see what the number is next month! So exciting!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brittany! I was not fooling around and think I really may have broken a record :) It really was much easier since we had already complied another dossier for Colombia and then had to do a home study update for Colombia and then we were about to have to do another home study update for Colombia, so I already started getting appointments set, etc. for that before we officially switched. I am following your blog and hope to hear some news from Ayudame soon for you! I don't think Chiquitines has processed any adoptions but I sure hope Ayudame and other IAPAs are starting to move again. Praying for you all....
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