Signed, Sealed, Delivered...

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!

 (please excuse the unshowered "beautifulness" of ONE of us!)

Saturday, November 16 we went through our official dossier and one photo copy for the last dozen times to make sure that all things were included and in their correct places. It was the day in which it would FINALLY leave our hands. I told my friend Marcie (who is also in the midst of their own Ethiopian adoption and who just sent their own dossier off as well. WOOT WOOT!!!) "This is almost like what I imagine it might feel like to send a kid to college." This has been a huge undertaking in the past four months. To say that we have been consumed may just be the understatement of the year. Granted, we had plenty to do before this all started. We have been in the midst of what is iconically referred to as the "paperchase". No matter what type of adoption you are entering into, which number adoption it may be, or the number of children involved, you will go through the process of compiling our dossier. I love to say it "Dossier" pronounced (doss E A). It is from French origin which simply means a group of papers containing detailed information about someone or something. For our adoption it is a substantial collection of formal, legal and most times notarized (sometimes even certified) documents that will be sent to our government and if you are adopting internationally, then on to the government of the country from which you wish to adopt children.

Racing to the post office in true West style, with only minutes to spare, we arrived, seven in tow. We mailed our package PRIORITY and WITH TRACKING to our agency for final checks, US certification and translation. Amazingly, it arrived Monday and had already been inspected once when we received notification from our Family Coordinator. Our estimated DTE (dossier to Ethiopia) date is November 29. After months of seeing other announce their DTE and longing for our own, we have it! It is a milestone that does not mean much to many unless you are involved. You are at the mercy of so many other agencies, government offices and sometimes even government SHUTDOWNS! It is a tedious process and can get very frustrating at times, maybe more so for the Type-A personalities.It closes this chapter of the process and opens the waiting portion. We can officially receive a referral of precious little ones AT ANY TIME. This fact alone is absolutely surreal. We have no way of knowing when it will come. The approximate wait time for a healthy infant is 30-36 months. The fact that we are seeking an older child (over the age of 4 years old) sibling group, may or may not affect that wait time. Only time will tell. 

Assuredly, it will come in the Lord's perfect timing.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14