First Court Date!

We FINALLY have some good news/progress to report!  We found out this morning that our first court date has been scheduled for January 14.  This is also the supposed deadline for MOWCYA to give their final letter of consent.  These two items are the last pieces of the puzzle before we can travel.  Unfortunately, MOWCYA hasn't been signing these letters over the last month or two, so we are hoping and praying that things start moving in the right direction with that.

For now, we are thankful to be taking one step closer to bringing home our kids.

Court Date Update

We heard all last week that discussions were happening about a potential court date for us.  However, after waiting each day, no first court date was ever set.  The good news is that it sounds like the judge is planning on scheduling one for us next week.  We'll believe it when we hear it's officially on the calendar.  :)

In the meantime, their room waits for them.

Week Three

Tomorrow (Monday) will be three weeks since we were submitted to court.  We were told by our agency that hopefully this week we will get a date for the first court.  However, we also need the MOWCYA letter of consent in order to get the go-ahead to travel.  Unfortunately, it seems like these final letters have been delayed to most people currently in the Ethiopian adoption process.  None of us are sure what is holding things up, but we are all praying that they get back into gear SOON.

Gratefully, we heard from a traveling family this past weekend who was picking up their children in Ethiopia.  Our kids are at the same orphanage that their children were and so this family not only spent time with our kids but also took pictures and even a video!  We have been blessed to get little video snippets along the way, but it is still always thrilling to see news ones of them moving around.   We watch them over and over, gazing at their little faces and observing all their slight actions.  (In this video they were blowing bubbles.) :)

It breaks our hearts to have watched them grow up in pictures for almost a year now, but these updates from other families have always been an encouragement to us.  We are thankful for each of them (there are many) who took the time to take photos and videos, play with them, hug them, deliver gifts and pray over them.  We are trusting God that He is comforting their hearts and keeping them safe until we can bring them home.

Waiting Again

I know my last post was so enthusiastic about the future and potential travel and how things would be moving along for us.  Well, as we anticipated, we are waiting again for things to move in Ethiopia.

Currently, all of our paperwork has been submitted to court. Everything is correct.  Everything is up to date.  It's sitting on someones desk.  This is the kind of thing that makes me want to rip my hair out.  For the previous several years, when someone gets to this point in the process, there typically has been somewhat of a predictable timeline.  (I outlined this in my previous post.)  Once submitted to court, a family usually hears about their first court date within a week or so.  We are on day 12 of not knowing anything.  I've heard from some people with other agencies who are also stalled at this point.  And unfortunately, as with so many times before, there is no end in sight or idea of how or when we might progress.  It seems like it's a matter of when the proper authorities just make up their mind that they want to move our case forward.

So our nightly prayers are for the person who has control of our file - that they are moved by the Spirit of God to process our case.  Please continue to pray specifically for this for us.

In the meantime, we are in full swing basketball season at our house.  Which means faithful practice and playing. . . even in the snow!

FINALLY!!!! And the Next Steps

Our hearts were OVERJOYED on Friday to find out we got the Regional Head signature we have been waiting for!!  I don't know what she heard or saw that was different from the last 10 months but I am so happy we are finally past this step.  Believe it or not, receiving this news was almost as wonderful as when we got our referral call.  Our hearts have been longing to meet our kids and it feels amazing to move forward again.

Here are the next steps:

- Monday (tomorrow) we are submitted to court.  Then, three things need to happen.

1.  There is a First Court Hearing where birth parent/abandonment documents are approved at the federal level.  We do not attend this court date.  It should be scheduled sometime within one month of being submitted.

2.  MOWCYA's Letter of Consent  The Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs reviews the documentation on our children and they give a letter of consent to the courts.  This is supposed to occur by the time of the First Court Hearing.

3.  Second Court Hearing - This is where WE appear before court, testify that we have met our children and want to proceed with the adoption.  After this court hearing, they are legally our children!!  This is supposed to happen 2-3 weeks after the First Court Hearing.

All this being said, we are hoping and praying that we are able to travel sometime in January.  If things go smoothly, early January. . . if not, late January.  After having  hit so many detours along the way, I'm bracing myself for delays - but still am so thrilled that we feel like we are moving again.

Please pray that the process is speedy and smooth for us.  Even though that hasn't been the norm, I'm praying boldly to make up for all the lost time.  :)

Also, please continue to pray for our kids.  They were moved to a different orphanage last week Wednesday.  We are hoping that they find comfort in the friends who moved with them and that they are well loved and cared for by the new nannies.  My heart just aches for them, imagining how scared they must be in this transition.

Our family so appreciates all the prayers and support from all our family and friends.  This adoption journey has looked NOTHING like what we anticipated.  However, we have felt so much love and encouragement from those around us.  Thank you.

Another Week. . .

Like I said in my last post on Tuesday, I wasn't going to hold my breath in anticipation of hearing a good update regarding the Regional Signature.  Of course, that was good advice for myself because we still haven't heard anything about this updated statement.

It's difficult to comprehend how when the right people saw this request last Monday, they could not issue the one sentence statement required.  It has been an entire week now, with no update or progress on having this corrected document.  We are extremely thankful that an agency staff member is staying in the town until he has the statement in hand.   However, I don't know how long he is willing to stay there and wait for it if this continues any longer than a week.

Waiting for our prayers for progress to be answered. . .

Dossier Done

When I heard that we might have to update our dossier, I was SO FRUSTRATED!  I could not believe that as we have been waiting for things to get accomplished in Ethiopia, too much time had passed and our dossier had expired.

Thankfully, the two items from the dossier that take the longest to complete - the home study and fingerprints (for USCIS approval) were previously updated.  Those two items expired at 18 months (I think that was the time frame) so we were required to re-do those months ago.  (Side note: We actually received our referral call WHILE we were being interviewed by a caseworker to update our home study!)

All that to say, this past week I have been printing papers, making phone calls and emailing people to try accomplish it all as quickly as possible.  Thankfully, we were able to get our medical updates, police reports, reference letters and all necessary documents notarized.  In a surprise miracle, the Secretary of State had NO LINE.  Two years ago, I remember waiting with my kids for about an hour.  This time, I barely sat down and they called my number.  I got the required State Seal and drove 30 seconds over to the Post Office right around the corner.  Gratefully, our dossier is off to Washington D.C. to get authenticated!!  We are hoping and praying it gets back to us quickly and can be sent to Ethiopia.

As far as the Regional Head signature goes, we also have encouraging news.  We are waiting to find out this week if we were able to get the corrected document.  We know we shouldn't hold our breath but are trying to stay hopeful that we are close to getting what we need.

Speechless

In my previous blog post, I was excited to say that we FINALLY got the Regional Head signature we had been waiting for.  Yay!  Right?

WRONG.

I was told yesterday that although she did sign, she didn't include a statement that the federal government is now requiring, which is in regard to the children not being able to be adopted domestically.  This is so discouraging to us and so difficult to understand how on earth this was left out.  It was our understanding that this statement was 50% of the reason we had gone through this rigmarole to get her signature.  Furthermore, since her office is part of the government, we assumed she would know this needed to be included.

It's extremely frustrating to be delayed AGAIN but it's even more maddening that we felt super close to being able to going to get our kids.  This delays us an unknown amount of time. . . again.

In other we-didn't-think-it-could-be-worse news, we found out two additional gems of info. this past weekend.

A.  We need to update our entire dossier.  It's been over two years since we originally created it and apparently, the government won't accept documents over two years old.  So, we have to get a handful of documents notarized, get clearances from the police department, get additional medical check-ups, visit the county clerk for certified copies of our marriage and birth certificates, etc. etc.  Thankfully, my determination to get things accomplished for these kids is in Super-Fierce-Mama-Bear-Mode so I think I can get it done rather quickly.

B.  The transition home where our kids have been living for the past year is closing at the end of November.  There is not ample money to keep it funded any longer so the children have to be moved to a government orphanage in the area.  This was devastating news to us, knowing that moving to a third orphanage in 1.5 years is less than ideal.  The last thing they need is yet another transition.  But, with literally no money to fund the orphanage, there is no other option.

So, today, I'm speechless.  I don't understand why simple things can't get done and why these sweet kids have had to be in an orphanage for such an unnecessary, extended period of time.  I'm mad that we are stalled again and I'm annoyed that we have no definite end in sight.

Ironically, Sunday night I opened this fortune cookie.  Although I don't believe in fortune cookies, I sure am wishing it were true.  Continuing to pray and ask God for some miracles to come our way.

Regional Signature

We finally heard today that we DID get the Regional Head signature we've been waiting for!  Our documents are being brought to the courts tomorrow to try to get our first court date scheduled.  Hopefully within several days we will have a date.  (This one we do not attend.)

Our family is grateful for some movement forward and to have this long awaited signature.  Once we get this first court date scheduled, I think we'll have a better grasp on when we might actually travel.

Thank you for the continued prayers!

A Day of Waiting. . .

We heard some REALLY good news on Friday!  Thankfully, our paperwork made it to the regional office and the Regional Head asked her assistant to type up the approval. . . and she said she would sign it this week!  We are hoping she will sign it today so we can then be submitted to court this week.

This news was so encouraging to us, but we will feel 100% excited once we hear she has actually signed it.  After so many months of waiting for this one thing, we are eagerly waiting for it to be done.

We also were blessed on Friday to get a couple more photos of the kids.  It is so precious to see their faces again!  Words cannot describe how anxious we are to be able to wrap our arms around both of them!

Hoping to have a positive update SOON.

Steps Closer. . .

We heard early last week about a new plan to help move our case forward.  We are praying this new sequence of events will happen and it will be completed within a decent time frame.

It involves a few steps:

1.  Get a written letter of consent at the City office.  (This happened on Friday.)

2.  That letter will then be sent to the Zonal office to obtain a signature there.  (We just found out today that it did arrive at the office, but we are now waiting on the proper signature.)

3.  Once it is signed by the Zonal official, the letter of consent will be sent to the regional office and the Regional Head will supposedly sign the paper we have needed for 6 months. 

4.  When Regional Head signs, we can finally be submitted to court for our first court date.  This is one that we do not attend.  I don't know how far out court dates are being scheduled but I'm guessing it is somewhere between 2-5 weeks.  

5.  After this first court date happens, we will then be scheduling a court date to appear at court in Ethiopia.  Again, totally guessing, I think this would likely happen 2-5 weeks after the first court date is completed.  

Even though the requirements for this process have seemed quite fluid for us over the last year, we are feeling hopeful - we might be on the right path this time.  

Please join us in praying that the social worker who has our paperwork is able to get both the zonal signature and the regional signature ASAP.  

Happy Mail Day

We received the PAIR letter that we have been waiting for today!  It came much quicker than we anticipated so it was a wonderful surprise to find in our mailbox.

We also found out that because of an Ethiopian holiday, the other paperwork we are waiting doesn't have a chance to get started until after September 12.  After all the months we've waited this far, 10 more days doesn't seem too bad.... we are just hoping and praying that it can be completed in September.

A Praise!

Oh my word, since there have been so many detours on this journey, once something positive happens, there is MAJOR REJOICING in our home!!!

We received an email this morning that our I-604 investigation has been completed.  This is the process that is required and implemented by the US government.  Our paperwork has been forwarded from the US Embassy in Addis back to the USCIS office in the United States (where the process began).  At this point, we will now be waiting for our PAIR letter to arrive in the mail.  This feels like a huge hurdle we finally overcame so we are thrilled to feel like we are moving forward again.  (To my neighbors - yes - you will be seeing me stalk the mailman until this document is in my hands.)

Additionally, as I've mentioned several times, on the Ethiopian side of the process, we have been waiting for a Regional Head/Director to sign a document.  It has been difficult to figure out whey she wasn't signing, what she was looking for, when she would sign, IF she would sign... you get the picture.  However, just last week we received an outline of three things she has requested in order to sign our paperwork.  We are ecstatic that there is a plan in place and the potential to move forward in this regard.

As will all things adoption related, it's difficult, if not impossible, to guess a time frame for this to happen.  The courts are closed now in Ethiopia, but these three requirements and her signing can all still happen during the closure.  Our hope and prayer is that these things will be accomplished within a couple of weeks, but realistically, we know it could take longer.  As soon as she signs, a court date will be scheduled for sometime after the courts re-open around October 15. (That first one we do not attend).  After the first court date occurs, then OUR court date where we DO attend is scheduled and we will book our flights to Ethiopia.

BE STILL MY HEART.

Please continue to pray for those little hearts over there.  Also, now that we have a specific understanding of what needs to happen, please pray that it happens SOON!!!

August Update

This is the time of August that we were dreaming we would be taking our first trip to Ethiopia to meet our kids.  The courts are closing any day now, which means that there is no way for us to travel until it re-opens sometime in October.  Even if they stayed open, though, we wouldn't be able to travel because of a stall on both the US Embassy side and Ethiopia side.

On the US side, we are required to go through something called the PAIR process.  I'm sure I've mentioned it several times before.  It's basically the US government evaluating all the paperwork, conducting an interview of either a birth parent or the person who found an orphaned child, and granting a PAIR letter to move forward with the adoption.  Since this process is new as of September, many people have experienced bumps along the way with average time frame of 4-5 months to be completed.  We have experienced 10 foot deep potholes and mountains trying to get through this.  It seems like if something could go wrong, it does.

For example, when our paperwork was supposedly ready to be sent from the US office to the Embassy in Ethiopia (they scan it in the computer, so it's fairly quick), I was told it was being sent on a Thursday.  Come to find out, the employee who told me that left the office permanently on the following day and left our paperwork in a pile, waiting for the  next person.  It sat there for almost two weeks before we figured out where it was.  Then, once we found it and had a new officer assigned, she informed us that we were missing a document.  The previous employee had made a mistake.  So, for a simple task of our paperwork being sent to the Embassy, (15 minute job) it took almost three weeks.

We are almost to six months now, with no PAIR letter, and waiting for an interview to be scheduled.

Things like this have continued to happen over and over again and it's almost driving me crazy.

On the Ethiopian side, apparently our agency is having to re-do most of our paper work in order to have it meet a certain requirement for the Regional Head.  She still refuses to sign for our kids, even though we really do have everything thoroughly documented and turned in.  This KILLS me. Our kids have been in an orphanage for over a year of their life now and will continue to be probably for a total of at least 18 months, because of one signature.

One signature.  It's ridiculous.

At this point, we have no idea of when PAIR will be completed.  We have no idea of when the documents will be updated and ready and we have no idea of when/if this regional head will ever actually sign the paperwork for our kids.  There is an overwhelming uncertainty as we think about, pray for, and love two little faces across the world.

As I've said probably in every other post, the only thing that encourages us and keeps us hopeful is our trust in God.  We know he has a plan for our family.  It makes ZERO sense to us, but we know he is faithful and we believe he comforts the hearts of our kids in Ethiopia.  

We would appreciate prayers and we continue this process.  We've given up praying on specifics because specifically, almost every aspect needs prayer.  At this point, we are just praying for a miracle.

July Update

We did not receive good news last week in regards to the long-awaited signature we need.  Instead, we found out that not only will we not make the court closure, but most likely will even be delayed beyond the courts re-opening again. 

Apparently, in order to try to get this regional head to approve our case, we have to go backwards and re-do city and zonal approvals.  These were originally completed before our referral.  From what we understand, because the requirements were changed while we were in the middle of the process, we now have to go back and get them done over again.  (This is all paperwork that needs to be accomplished in Ethiopia- we have no control over getting this done.  It is up to various staff in Ethiopia to complete these documents.)

This has been upsetting news, to say the least.  We don’t know how long this will take or even if the regional head will sign the document after we have all this paperwork re-done.   We are hoping so, but after hitting roadblock after roadblock during this journey, we're not sure what to expect anymore.   

Our wait continues. . . 

June update

Praying family and friends,

Unfortunately, we found out today that not only do we not have the signature we need, but that the regional director/head is literally refusing to sign for our case (and others as well).  This, of course, is devastating news, and also confusing as we don't understand WHY.  Our agency is trying to get further understanding but it makes no sense to us.  

We also received medical updates updates on our kids today.  In one aspect, it's thrilling to receive any tidbit of information about them and pour over the pages to learn more.  However, it also points out the start reality that they are growing in an orphanage and we are missing it.  Our daughter grew 2.9 inches and gained 3 lbs.  Our son grew 3 inches and 6 lbs.  This seems (to me) to be astronomical growth for just 5 months so I'm not sure if it's totally accurate.   However, I am extremely thankful they are being well fed and cared for that their little bodies are growing.  

I'm not sure if we will figure out this regional signature in time.  I'm not giving up hope yet but I'm trying to come to grips with the reality that we most likely not meet our kids until October.  

Four Months

FOUR MONTHS.

We accepted the referral of our kids four long months ago.

Prior to September, before all these new processes were put in place, families traveled to see their kids approximately two months after their referral and went to bring them home at around the five month mark.  If we were still in the old way if doing things, we would be packing up, preparing to travel again to bring them home.  

Words cannot describe the frustration, anger and helplessness we feel as parents right now.  Our hearts are overflowing with love and care for these children...and we have the least amount of power to do anything about bringing them home.  

We still are in need of a regional signature- it has been sitting on the desk of a director for months now.  As soon as this paper is signed, we can continue to move forward again.  It makes zero sense to us on how this could be taking so long.  Furthermore, Ethiopia's courts close mid-August through October because of the rainy season.  This means that if we don't get this signature within the next week or so, there will not be enough time (due to all the paperwork processes) to travel for our first trip before this closure.  If we cannot move forward with our case before the closure, it will be at least eight or nine months before we are able to go see our kids.  The thought of nothing happening for two months and our kids continuing to live in an orphanage unnecessarily is totally unacceptable and maddening to us.  

We do believe God has greater plans than us. We sure don't understand His plans sometimes, but believing in Him is the only thing that keeps us sane right now. Our hope is in HIM.  We pray that HE comforts our son and daughter every day.  We pray their hearts are drawn to us as they look at the photo books we sent.  We pray they are well fed and cared for in the orphanage.  

Please pray for a miracle to happen.  Also, there are several families in our agency who have also been stuck like us...but they have each already has their referrals for 6-8 months.  Not making it before the court closure for them would be absolutely devastating.   Praying miracles for them would also be appreciated.

Thanks for continuing to pray,

Kamarah

Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

May Adoption Update

I haven't posted any update recently because there hasn't been anything to report.  Unfortunately, there are so many twists, turns and delays in the world of international adoption and we are attempting to be patient through it all. However, we do have three updates:

1.  The awesome news - on the US paperwork side - our case has been reviewed by the USCIS office and they are now forwarding our information on to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa.  Even though there are still many steps to move forward, we rejoice in this progress.  PROGRESS!!  

2.  The we-still-wait news -  We continue to wait on a document from the regional director.  We've needed this for three months now....she was in Korea for three weeks and has returned.  Still no signature.  This has been frustrating to wait on, but there is nothing we can do to make it happen.  We must wait and pray that we get this document SOON.

3.  The kids - Our kids seem to be doing very well!!  As time has passed and we receive new photos of them, we have seen more smiles!  We have also been given a handful of short videos which are treasures to see them moving, smiling and waving!   It's hard on our hearts to see months go by, but they are well cared for at the orphanage and our hearts are grateful.     

Please continue to pray for all these documents to get be completed and for some serious forward movement.  

One Step Closer

Praise the Lord!  We found out today that we got the RFE that we have been waiting for!!  Although the document needs to get to the capital city, get translated, then sent to us before we can send it off to the USCIS office, it's still an important step forward.

Sitting at a standstill, waiting for something to happen is no fun . . . it actually, at times, feels excruciating.  We are tremendously grateful to have received photos and videos of these precious kids on the other side of the world.  Every time we get a new one, our family gathers around to see their faces . . . their smiles . . . any little clue to try to know them better through these pictures.  Our hearts continue to grow in love for them. . . truly a miracle and mystery only God could orchestrate.

In addition to praying for the RFE to get in our hands quickly, we continue to ask for prayer for obtaining a regional signature.  This document needs to be signed by one person. . . we are hoping and praying he/she can do it SOON so we can make continued progress.

Tomorrow I am painting Awune and Mamo's room!  It's exciting to continue to create a place here that will welcome them to our  home.  We can't wait!!

March Madness

March madness is huge around our house.  Filling out brackets is almost like a holiday.  We take the afternoon off school the first Friday of the games to watch all the competition on big screens at a sports restaurant.  Our kids love it.  We love it.  It helps us survive the end of winter.

This is KJ keeping track of the women's bracket.  It's not just the men's bracket, people.

As a joyful surprise, Ryan's employer offered us the chance to go to Dallas for the final three games of the tournament in their private suite.  This was beyond anything we would ever dream of doing ourselves, so we were thrilled with accepting such a generous gift!  The food, the view, the games- it was all extremely exciting!  Here we are at the final game, getting photo-bombed by our friend, Ron. (By the way, he's doing the sign for a three point shot that all the student fans were doing as they cheered their teams on).  

We continue to pray non-stop for our case to move forward with the USCIS office. At the end of last week, we found out that we received an RFE which stands for 'Request for Evidence'.  Simply put, as the US investigates all our paperwork, they are researching to make sure it is all legit.  This process was implemented in order to ensure ethical practices within international adoption. As much as we support this, time is added to our waiting as it creates more paperwork to process through. All we can do now is hope and pray that it gets completed in a timely manner.

The most frequent question we still get is 'When will you get to go meet your kids?'  Unfortunately, the answer is still totally unclear to us.  Cases ahead of us continue to move at a snails pace, but we're hoping that the kinks are getting worked out and that possibly we will be able to travel at the end of the summer.

I wish I could post photos of our sweet kids but we are not allowed to until after they are legally ours.  If you see me though, I have all the pics on my phone and will be happy to show in person!

Please pray that our RFE gets resolved quickly and that we get the last regional document that we need to move forward.

Good News, Bad News

The good news: As I mentioned in the last post, we finally have been assigned an officer as of March 21st.  I was thankful to hear this since it had been an entire MONTH that our paperwork was sitting in a pile, waiting to be reviewed.

The bad news: Ryan called today to check in on how our case is progressing, only to find out that after over a week of having it, our officer hasn't even looked at our files yet.

As you can imagine, this is incredibly frustrating for us.  There are two kids who are waiting for their forever family on the other side of the world, and a family (OURS!) who is ready to bring them home.  Instead of steady progress forward, we continue to be at a dead standstill.  It's heartbreaking for us as the wait continues.

Unfortunately, this has been the norm for Ethiopian adoptions recently- very little progress for anyone in the process. We continue to pray that things start moving forward for all families and that God comforts all the children waiting.

Lamentations 3:22-23- "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

The Wait After the Wait

It's been over a month now since we accepted our referrals of Awune and Mamo.  I wish I could say that much progress has been made to bring them home but unfortunately, that's not the case.

We sent in our packet of information to the USCIS office on the 18th of last month.  Since then, our paperwork has literally been sitting in an 'inbox' pile.  As of Friday, we were assigned an officer to review our case.  We knew this would be a journey of waiting (again) for all the proper paperwork to get processed, so we rejoice in the baby steps that move us forward.

We did have the BEST gift sent to us via a traveling family who recently went to Ethiopia for their first trip.  PHOTOS!!  It was so amazing to see new pictures of our kids and even hear a little bit about their personalities.  He told us that they were both quiet, but Awune was very nurturing to her little brother.   To know that someone was there and playing with the kids and taking pictures was so encouraging to our family!

As for things here at home, we are trying to get the kids' room ready - deciding on paint color for their room, bedding and things like that.  It feels like there are many projects to accomplish but we should have plenty of time to get them all completed.

There are so many ways you can pray, if you'd be willing to join us in prayer!!!

- Pray for all the families in our agency who are stuck in the process.  There are many ahead of us with referrals who have been waiting on all kinds of paperwork and signatures that need to happen in order for them to bring their kids home.

- Pray for Awune and Mamo that they stay healthy, are loved on by the nannies and that God heals their hearts and comforts them.

- Pray for our paperwork - that we don't have any major issues and we move forward within a reasonable time frame.

- Pray for J and KJ that God prepares their hearts for the big change of adding a brother and sister to our family.

- Pray for Ryan and I that we trust The Lord through this process and depend on Him as we ache to bring our kids home.

Thank you!!

Valentines Day

This past Valentines Day will go down in history as one of the best for our family.  It was that evening that we sent our kids on a scavenger hunt around the house - room to room, from clue to clue, they ran, waiting to find the end prize.  The last clue was our referral paperwork, letting them know we accepted the referral of a 3 year old boy and his 4 year old sister! They jumped up and down screaming, hardly able to contain their excitement!  (Best Valentines Day Ever!  :) )

We have no solid idea of when we might travel but more of a vague time frame of 4-6 months.  Other families who are ahead of us in the process have taken longer than they would have hoped, so we truly don't know what to expect.  

Our first step:  I-600 Review Process:  

We filled out a handful of required paperwork and sent it to USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services).  Here it will be reviewed and sent to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa.  The Embassy will then return our case back to USCIS  and it will be pre-approved.  A letter (PAIR 'Pre-Adoption Immigration Review' Letter) will then be sent to us which we will need in order to continue moving forward.  

So, all that to say, the documents are out of our hands and we will simply be waiting to get updates on where they are or if any further documentation is needed from us.  

I hope to keep this blog updated with our progress. . . thank you for all the love and support!!