FAQs: What's Next in the Process?

I've been getting a number of the same questions recently about what's next since our dossier is completed, so let me attempt to answer a few of the most pertinent.

What will be the ages and gender of your little ones? We're adopting 2 little ones under the age of 4. Most likely, they will be under 3 years old and under 1 year old. And we're open to either 2 girls or 1 boy/1 girl. Our bold prayer is that God would give us biological siblings: older brother and younger sister. We're not sure why we want this, but Brian & I both had this vision for our family. God inspired? We'll see.

How long until they come home? Don't know yet. We need to get an estimate from our case manager. But I'm guessing late spring 2010. We'll probably wait for a referral for 6-9 months. Once we accept a referral, we'll travel 5 weeks after our court hearing approval. Feel free to pray they come home sooner than that!

What happens between the referral and travel? Craziness! In those 5 weeks, we will need to prepare the baby room, register for baby stuff, make work arrangements for travel & April's maternity leave, make travel plans, and OH do life. Stresses me out just thinking about those 5 weeks!!

How long will we be gone to pick up our babies? We'll only be gone 10-12 days, including travel. It will be a crazy quick, emotion-filled, jet-lag intense trip!

Will your babies be in good health? We don't know. That's another act of radical faith. Ethiopia is one of the top 10 poorest countries on the planet, so the risk for a number of diseases, medical issues, and conditions is possible. Our bold prayer is that God would physically, emotionally, and spiritually protect our little ones before they come home. We'd love for you to pray with us that they would be free from ALL diseases, conditions, and medical concerns.