New Number

Merry Christmas to us and our precious girl!

New Number

We're happy to report that we're now number:

We had to use the HWY 44 sign - it's the main hwy
that runs through our hometown.

Woohoo!

Moving On Up!

Two weeks of being on the "Wait List" and we've moved from #53 to #46!

Our agency sends out a weekly update to waiting families. This Friday's update brought BIG smiles to our faces and made us realize that our dream might be closer than we think. We thought we'd share a bit of our agency's update with you:

Referrals Have Arrived!!

What a great week it’s been for referrals. This week we surprised 6 unsuspecting families with the long awaited news of their referral. We are so excited for them, and are celebrating with them.  Congratulations to all of the families and the children.

They are:
Male – 2 months old – family waited – 10.5 mos
Female – 4 months old – family waited – 10.5 mos
Female – 15 months old – family waited – 8.5 mos
Male – 6 months old – family waited – 8.5 mos
Female – 6 months old – family waited 7 mos
Male – 5 months old – family waited 7 mos
 
As you can see, the wait times have gone down quite a bit at this point, especially for infant girls.

We had to read the last line a couple times to make sure we read it correctly. Wouldn't it be great if the wait to see our daughter's face for the first time was just 7 months away?! The thought of it makes us giddy!

However long the wait we know God has lead us on this journey to meet a very special child, created from our hearts, half a world away and everything will be done in his timing.

"For I know the plans I have for you" Jeremiah 29:11

Ethiopia Comes to the Ville

We tried Ethiopian food for the first time with our friends Nina and Wes and we're happy to report - it was AWESOME! 

Located across the street from Bowman Field in Louisville, KY  

(2804 Taylorsville Rd.)

Three of us shared this plate and yes, we ate it all up with our hands - no utensils.

Doro Wot, Doro Tips, Derek Tips, Injera, Kik Wot, and House Salad. Yummy!

After lunch we had some delicious Ethiopian coffee. We hope to get a similar coffee pot when we're in Ethiopia, they're really neat. 

We highly recommend Queen of Sheba. We feel really lucky to have such a great restaurant so close to home. If you're visiting or live in the area, stop by, you won't be disappointed!

It's Official!

Today we found out we're #53 on the Wait List!
We're officially "Paper Pregnant"!

Ride Like the Wind

Six months ago we announced our decision to adopt from Ethiopia.

Then we began the long paperwork journey to complete our Dossier.

And on November 8th we sent off our COMPLETED Dossier. YEAH!

Now we're waiting to find out when we're officially on the WAIT LIST. Our adoption counselor says it should take about 2 weeks (give or take). Stay tuned.

Bumps in the Road.

Last Friday, October 22nd was the greatest day! Why, you ask? Because we got our I-171H or our "Golden Ticket" as it's referred to in the adoption community.

We weren't expecting to get it so quickly, we were very surprised! The government's website says that the Department of Homeland Security's average processing time for an I-171H is 2.5 months (from the time fingerprints are submitted). Our friends have waited an average of 4-7 weeks. So, you can imagine why we were blown away when it only took one week (7 days) for us to get our I-171H.

We figured that we would be waiting on our I-171H to be able to send off our Dossier but in all reality we're waiting on the Illinois' Secretary of State, All Blessings International, and Kentucky's Secretary of State. We hope to get our Dossier in the mail by next Friday but if not next week definitely the week of November 8th. Please pray with us that all of our documents come in next week!

What happens after our Dossier is in the mail?

Children's Hope International will bundle our notarized documents into one document and send it to the U.S. Department of State to be authenticated. A second authentication is required from the Ethiopia Embassy in Washington D.C. We will then be notified when we are on the waiting list for a referral and our documents are on their way to Ethiopia (all of this should take 2-3 weeks).

We're getting closer by the day! Hopefully, we'll celebrate the holidays with our family and friends, knowing that we're officially on the wait list.