The Process

We've been meaning to sit down and write a post all week, but the days have all run together and this was honestly the first opportunity we had to recap. On Tuesday, we had our first conference call with Kiersten, our case manager at AGCI. During this hour long call, she walked us through what the next two-three months will look like.

We now have a binder full of documents that will compile our Dossier for Ethiopia. Each document has to be meticulously read, signed, notarized, and sent to the cooperating people involved. Once we have each piece of the intricate puzzle completed, we will send this to AGCI for review. The Dossier is what will be sent to Ethiopia for review in court when we are placed with our child. Therefore, each document must be accurate and meet the standard of the court in order for us to pass.

While we are working through the dossier, we will also be doing our home study with a contracted local agency. This is an intricate part of the dossier process that will reflect who we are as people and parents for our future children. No pressure at all. The home study consists of four "meetings" which are conducted by our social worker. On Tuesday afternoon, we had our first home study, which went really well. It was a time for us to ask questions about the process, and for our social worker to get to know us. We were really encouraged that we are working with a woman passionate about adoption and committed to helping us with this part of the journey.

After our last home study visit, which is scheduled for the end of January, our social worker will write a report of her findings. This information will be based not only on our interviews, but also from the stack of paperwork we will complete for her as well. The key word here is paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork. We have quickly realized that this is a process that involves being organized and committed to spending most of our free time gathering info, writing, signing, emailing and calling.

Our goal in this "paper pregnancy" is to have both our home study and dossier completed by April. We know this may be overly-optimistic, seeing that we are relying on government officials to return our documents in a timely manner, and we recognize that there will be glitches in the system. But we also know that we serve a BIG God and are praying for His timing in this journey. While we are motivated and excited to complete this part, we also want to enjoy each step, recognizing that this is a labor of love for the child God is calling to be ours - it is all worth it!

Once we have sent off the required paperwork, we will be put on the waiting list!!! The length of this list will depend on how many families are contracted with our agency and the wait-time for a referral (that is what it is called when you get placed with your child). There will be two separate lists, one for girls and one for boys. We are open and excited about either gender, so we will be placed on both waiting lists, waiting to see which one we rise to #1 first on! We are preparing ourselves to be on these lists for several months, and it's hard to say how fast a referral will come. This could be a process anywhere from 3-10 months. We get giddy thinking about the call that will tell us we are parents. God has already orchestrated the day and time in which He will reveal this news to us and we are so excited He knows all the details!!!

So there you have it. A narrative of what we learned this week and what we have started to work on in our adoption. We want to keep you all apprised of the process, as this is an adventure that many of you are taking with us for the first time. Thanks for your prayer and unwavering support!