10 months since DTE!

Oh my. We have been waiting for 10 months now since we sent our dossier to Ethiopia. I'm bracing myself for 'more of same' ... and I know that GOD IS GOOD!

9 months waiting since DTE!

Another month has passed. We sent our dossier to Ethiopia 9 months ago!

Since the current projected wait time for an infant girl is 18-24 months, we could possibly be half way there...
Very likely the wait-time time frame will be lengthened yet again... but we sure would be thrilled to get a referral next Spring!

8 months since DTE!

This past month just flew by! Today we have been waiting for 8 months since sending our dossier to Ethiopia.

This also means that we have been waiting for 13 months since we first started our adoption! 

We are encouraged by all the progress we have been seeing in our agency - lots of referrals, including several infant girls, lots of families passing court, and lots of families coming home with their kids after passing Embassy. The wait time between referral, court date, and Embassy has also gotten shorter, at least if everything goes smoothly. 

We haven't been announcing our position in line because so much can change as families change their requests etc. but I have had a few requests to at least mention our position. So: We are now at position #49 on the unofficial wait list ~ that is definitely progress from where we started, slow but steady. Keep in mind that not all 48 families ahead of us are exclusively requesting an infant girl - some are requesting either gender, some are requesting girls from 0-4 years etc... so they may "skip" out of our line sooner than anticipated because they might get a referral for an older child or an infant boy. There are currently 14 or so families ahead of us who are exclusively requesting an infant girl. At the current rate, we may have a referral this time next year, possibly sooner... we have to remind ourselves that possibly the wait could also become longer. Getting a referral TOMORROW would be fine with me, but obviously we will wait for however many months or years we need to! God knows exactly which little girl will become our daughter. We trust HIS perfect timing, even when our hearts become impatient at times. 

I have really enjoyed looking at the photos other families from our agency are posting of their cute kidlets. I can't wait to have a sweet little face to look at, and then a sweet little girl to love on!

Expected wait times extended... *sigh*

Today we got an eMail from our agency that the projected wait times for an infant have been extended to 18-24 months now.

Deducting our 7 months that we have already waited since DTE, this means we will most likely have to wait for another 11-17 months before we get a referral.

The projected wait times may change again - you never know with international adoption. Things may speed up, or they may (more likely) slow down. The hold-up is in the rate at which the Ethiopian government is processing cases and clearances for the children.

My initial reaction is to feel discouraged, but at the same time, we knew from the beginning that international adoption is unpredictable. We hold fast to the knowledge that God's hand was in WHEN we began this journey, and HE has just the right little girl in mind for us. Our daughter will come into our lives in God's perfect timing!

~Just think, how special our little girl must be, that God would have us wait for her for such a long time!

7 months waiting since DTE!

Has it been this long already? We applied to AWAA's Ethiopia program a year ago, and sent our dossier to Ethiopia 7 months ago.

It has been encouraging to see how many AWAA families have been getting referrals (for children of both genders, infants and older kids!), passing court, and passing Embassy lately. Things are moving slowly but steadily. As they say in the military: slow is smooth, and smooth is fast!

~It is strange to wonder whether our faraway daughter has been conceived yet. I'm praying for her and for her first mother...

Fundraising Goal has been reached - THANK YOU!

I can't believe I'm announcing this more than a year out from when we expect a referral:


... *drum roll*...


WE HAVE REACHED OUR FUND RAISING GOAL!!! 

I feel so blessed by God's provision, and am so thankful to everyone who has helped us. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Now what?!
Have no fear, our hands will not be idle:
-I am going to continue selling my art on Etsy, and 20% of my Etsy earnings will go directly to buying formula and diapers etc. for the orphanages in Ethiopia. We will bring the money with us when we travel to ET to meet our daughter, and will buy everything locally, to support the Ethiopian economy at the same time.

-I am very happy to help other adopting families fund raise with my art. Don't be shy to contact me!

~We are ready for you, sweet girl! I can't wait for you to come into our lives and make our family complete!

6 months since DTE!

It has now been 6 months since our dossier was sent to Ethiopia.

This week I am thankful for the many referrals that were given to families last week - including some infant girl referrals! This bumped us up by a few spots on the inofficial waiting list. Yay for progress!

Speaking of progress, our agency has also informed us that the Kilil (khalil, killil) clearances from the Southern Regions of Ethiopia are starting to come through for some of the children waiting in the transition home. This will hopefully speed things up a little. At the same time, the necessity for more in-depth investigation prior to referral, as well as extra bureaucratic hoops to jump through after passing court, before submission to Embassy, may still keep things going slow-ish. I am choosing to focus on being excited about referrals and the  Kilil clearances coming through.

We continue to cruise along in life, excited to see what God has in store for us, and eager to find out who the little girl is who will become our daughter. We MIGHT have a referral by this time next year. 

...as mentioned before, time is passing slowly... and quickly at the same time.