Our Dossier is In!!!

Yesterday was a busy day for our family but was a day where we reached a big milestone in our adoption. We all piled in the car, went to Salem and had our home study certified, piled back in the car, drove down to Eugene, and turned in our dossier. The dossier is a compilation of documents we have gathered that lets Ethiopia know about our family and our desire to adopt. It is such a good feeling to have this done. This means that we are now on the wait list for a referral! One of the most amazing things about all of this is that we will most likely only have to wait 3-6 months for a referral. That seems like nothing compared to the 3 years we waited for Eliza. It's surreal to think that somewhere in Ethiopia is a baby either born or soon to be born that will join our family. We are praying daily for "baby Africa" (a nickname given by Eliza), baby's health, and the transitions to come.


The kids posing in front of Governor Straub's portrait. My parents live in one of his old houses.


One of the cutest things growing in the garden at the capital.






The next thing we are waiting on is our fingerprint appointments for immigration. Once that is approved we will have everything we need to schedule a court date after our referral is received. Once that court day is scheduled we will be off on our first trip to Ethiopia.

In other news, we are finishing up our curriculum this week! I don't know who is more excited, me or the kids. Finishing our second year of home schooling all three of our older kids is a huge accomplishment. Not only did we finish, we had fun, and we actually want to do it again next year. Granted, bringing home the baby will keep it from being dull, but we are up for the challenge.