A good song with a good message

It was a very Happy Halloween at our house

October 31st was a great day! Not only did the kids have fun trick-or-treating, but we also found out our dossier was mailed to Ethiopia that day! In the "adoption world" we call that DTE (dossier to Ethiopia). Now we are officially WFR (waiting for a referral). Lots of new terms to learn along the way. It was such a great feeling to know things are moving in this process. We have officially been put on the "waiting list" for a baby girl and from what I can determine (through informal tracking), we are about 30th in line for a baby girl.

As we go along in this process, we learn more and more about the conditions and circumstances of the Ethiopian people. Right now, there is a severe shortage of formula for the orphans. Can you imagine that even happening here in the US? The problem is not that they can't afford it......it's that they do not have it at all! Families from our agency who have been traveling recently to bring their children home have been taking over formula cans in big rubbermaid containers. The cost is quite high to transport it as extra luggage, but still cheaper than shipping it over. It definitely puts things in perspective and makes me appreciate the abundance we have in this country.

So now we begin a new phase of the adoption process and we look forward to receiving a phone call one day next summer telling us our baby daughter is waiting for us to come and get her!

Oops......

Hmmmm, the photo of our dossier paperwork didn't seem to make it into the last post......so here it is!

Going on a road trip!

On Friday I drove to Richmond to get all of the papers certified by the state. It was nice because another lady rode with me who is also adopting from Ethiopia and she needed to get her papers certified too. So we had some nice long chats which made the ride go much faster. Everything is ready to be turned in to America World on Monday. They will get the dossier authenticated at the Embassy in DC and then it will be sent to Ethiopia on Friday, Oct. 31. Our name officially goes on the waiting list Friday. The top photo is the paperwork we are submitting for the dossier. The second photo is of me at the Secretary of Commonwealth office in Richmond holding the last piece of the paper needed for the dossier......can you see my joy?

Hip Hip Hooray!

FINALLY, the anxiously awaited letter (better known as 171-H) arrived in the mail today. What a great feeling to know all of our paperwork for our dossier is now ready to be certified. On Friday, I am driving down to Richmond with another adoptive mom from our area. We will get our dossiers certified and then drop them off at America World Monday morning. If all goes well, we'll be DTE (dossier to Ethiopia) next Friday (Halloween). We are one big step closer to bringing Ava home. Once we turn in everything next week, we officially get on the agency's waiting list. Currently, the wait time for a baby girl is about 7-9 months. That seems so far away, but when I look back on how quickly these last 5 months have gone, I realize it will be here before we know it. There was a feeling of excitement in the house tonight knowing that we are finally moving ahead in this long process.

Where is that little piece of paper?

So, we are STILL waiting to receive the 171-H form from Dept of Homeland Security. We were told it could take up to 9 weeks from our fingerprint date. This Tuesday (Oct 14) will be nine weeks. I sent an email to the lady who reviews our paperwork at USCIS and have not received a response. It is very frustrating to sit here with our piles of paperwork ready to go... just waiting for one piece of paper. If I have learned anything in this process so far, it is PATIENCE! I have also sent an email to our state representative asking them to send an email or letter to this woman to check on our case. I know some other families who have taken this approach and they have received their 171-H shortly after contacting the State Representative. I am hopeful that it will arrive this week. I will then drive to Richmond to have the dossier certified by the State of Virginia and then drive all of that to America World Adoption Agency.

Duni, who was in the photo of our previous post, and who cooridinates the Ethiopia Adoption at our agency here in Virginia, will be moving with her family to Ethiopia in November. This is wonderful news because she will be working for America World over there.....making sure the paperwork is ready for the courts, overseeing the referrals, etc. So we will be seeing her again when we travel to Ethiopia next year. And hopefully it will keep the referrals and court dates running smoothly and quickly. She is such an amazing person and really pours her heart into her job.

Hopefully, my next post will be about receiving our 171-H form.

Still Waiting.......

On Aug. 12 Bruce and I went to the USCIS (Immigration office) to be fingerprinted.  Now we wait for a form called 171-H.  A letter from Homeland Security informed us the wait time for that form is taking about 9 weeks from the date we were fingerprinted.  That would put us at around mid-October.  I am being optimistic and hoping it comes any day........I run out to the mailbox everyday hoping it's there.  My neighbors will think I am a crazy woman when that form arrives because when it finally does arrive,  I will probably be standing out there jumping and screaming with joy.   That's all we need in order to send our paperwork to Ethiopia.

Today we went to a seminar in Arlington, VA called "Ethiostork".  It's designed to educate us about Ethiopia and the adoption process.  The great thing about it was that the woman who spoke was also the Coordinator of Ethiopia adoptions for our agency (America World).  So she will be very involved with our referral.  She was born in Ethiopia and has lived here for 17 years.  Her mother runs an orphanage in Ethiopia which is connected with our agency.....so it was cool to meet her and be able to ask her questions.  The photo is of us with Duni today at the seminar.  We also were able to meet about 5 other families who live in the area and are adopting from Ethiopia.  The kids were troopers and sat through the presentation and then we all ate a traditional Ethiopian meal.....our first introduction to their food.  We had mixed reactions from the kids, but they did try everything.  We asked them what they liked about the seminar and Claire said jokingly  "I liked the Ethiopian Coke"  which was actually just regular Coke!!!  We did learn some interesting stuff about Ethiopian holidays, their government, how to incorporate foods & traditions into our lives so that our child will grow up with a sense of pride about where she was born.