It finally came!

Our long awaited I-171H form arrived today! (It took 30 days.) We are officially on the (unofficial) waiting list! Our coordinator is visiting the orphanges in Ethiopia currently, so she was unavailable to give me a slightly more specific timeframe now that we are considered "waiting." But she'll be back next Friday, so we might know a little more after getting a chance to talk with her. Until then, we still fall in the 3-10 month wait time until receiving a referral. But nevertheless, we are just so thankful to be "in line" and have our all our paperwork done and ready for when the Lord shares with all of us who this little miracle is!

Back to the Basics

Several people have asked some similar questions that caused me to realize I have missed mentioning a few of the basics referring to our adoption.

First, and the hardest question of all, "How long will it take?" The truth is, it is a difficult question to answer because one can never predict when and how many orphans will be dropped off at the orphanage. Some months there might not be any, while another month has 8. But in a vague attempt to satisfy our need to know, they tell us anywhere from 6-12 months until we have her in our arms and can bring her home. To prepare our hearts, we are leaning towards the longer wait times.

Second, the age of the little girl will be somewhere between 4-17 months when we pick her up in Ethiopia.

Third, international adoption is expensive because of many factors: homestudy fees, agency fees, international fees, documents, document authentication & translation, foreign aid, traveling costs to receive the child. Adopting from Ethiopia costs just over $20k. (Yes, we are set up to receive donations if anyone is led to do so.)

Fourth, no we don't have any name ideas, so all suggestions are welcomed!

Thank you for taking the time to ask your questions. Blessings to you.

Yard Sale Fund Raiser

If you've known anyone who has done an international adoption, you know the costs are great, so we are having a big Yard Sale at our house on the weekend of June 6th to raise money to cover some of the costs associated with bringing her home. Since Spring is approaching us (though the weather would say otherwise) and the "Spring cleaning" is beginning, I wanted to offer a place for you to donate your things. We are opening our garage to house any items that you might be wanting to get rid of. (And if you'd would like, we are working to arrange a tax-decuctible receipt for your donation.) If you have anything to donate, please let us know if you'd like to drop it off, or if you'd like to arrange us to pick it up. We are blessed by your consideration. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us. We sincerely appreciate it.

Prints Passed!

So thankful to hear today that my prints passed! I won't have to make another trip to Yakima. But unfortunately we're still waiting for our I-171H. Our application is currently with the adjudicator still waiting to be reviewed. It has been three weeks since we turned our application in. Patience is a virtue.