FAQs - Dossier Preparation

We are currently in the dossier [pronounced: doss-ee-eh - like the Canadians say] preparation phase. For the past 2 months we've been working on the home study, and we've officially complete our part of that step!!! It's currently being written by our home study provider, Dillon. The home study becomes one part of the dossier. We are also preparing our USCIS, which allows us to adopt Baby Ethiopia in the U.S.

So what kind of paperwork does the dossier contain? Note that every document has to be notarized and we keep 2 photocopies just in case. Enjoy...

1. Dossier Cover Letter
   
2. Power of Attorney
3. Home Study
4. Home Study Agency License
5. Social Worker License
6. Home Study Provider Approval Letter
7. Police Clearance Letter - both of us
8. Passport Size Photos - both of us
9. Birth Certificates - both of us. This is a fun one because Brian was born in the Dominican Republic. Pray this goes through quickly!
10. Marriage certificate
11. Medical Report - both of us
12. Family Photos
13. Employment Letter
14. Bank Statement
15. Tax Form [page 1 only] from the last 3 years
16. Patter Letter requesting Adoption from Ethiopia
17. 3 Reference Letters
18. Parent Commitment to Provide Post-Adoption Reports
19. Adoptive Parent Form - both of us
20. Obligation of Social Welfare Agency

After I first read through the 23-page document detailing the dossier requirements, I cried. Just a couple tears, but I thought the home study was a lot of work! My not-so-favorite part of the dossier process is that several of these items are also in the home study, but they're a little different so you have to do it all over again.

Our prayer is that we'll be able to send our dossier to Ethiopia by the end of August. Please join us in this prayer:

• that we'll get it finished swifly
• that it wouldn't overwhelm or stress us out
• that the different government agencies that we have to work with would be able to get us the documents quickly
• that documents wouldn't be lost or slip through the cracks
• that we'd even find joy in this process!

Thanks for walking through this with us. We love you.

Hurry Up...and Wait

If there's any phrase that defines the adoption process, "hurry up and wait" does. For the first part of the process - "paperwork hell" as I've affectionately coined it - is the hurry up part. It's the time when you're building inches high amounts of paperwork from every known government agency proving you are who you say you are, that you'll be fit parents, that Brian and I actually really love each other. This is the fun part.

The not fun part is waiting. Waiting for people to approve all the said paperwork and matching you to a child. After we send our dossier to Ethiopia, the full-on waiting game begins. At that point it could be up to 6 months before we get our referral. And there's not much that we can do about that!

I'm a little snarky, but it's actually a great metaphor for life. At times there's much to do and it hardly feels like you see the end of the tunnel. At other times you're waiting on people, God, or circumstances to change. So it really should come as no surprise that the adoption process isn't any different.

I've actually come to a place where I'm enjoying the waiting. Perhaps because the past 2 years has been a waiting game, and I've been so deeply, profoundly changed by waiting. I had an epiphany a few weeks ago that Brian and I are in the final days of "just the two of us". So I'm really trying to enjoy these days. We are overwhelmingly excited to be parents, but our marriage will never be the same. I'm enjoying the green grass on this side of the fence for today!

FAQs - Part 1

We're already getting barraged with questions from friends wanting to know about our journey. We love your questions! Here are some of the most common questions...If you have more, post a comment so we can share more.

1. What agency are you adopting with? Christian World Adoption [www.cwa.org]. They have an amazing history and reputation with Ethiopia. In fact, they are doing a massive humanitarian building project in the capital, Addis Ababa, and Ethiopia's president is the honorary chair of the project [http://www.acaciavillage.org/]! Each year CWA places about 200 children from Ethiopia.
2. How long is the process? The average process takes 9-11 months, but could be shorter or longer depending on how quickly we complete paperwork and also how long it takes to get a referral match for our little girl.
   
3. How much will it cost? If we just get one baby, it will cost $20,000-25,000. Obviously, we don't have that money sitting in our savings account. So we believe it will take a village to raise our child. If you'd like to donate to our adoption, visit the CWA donation link on our blog!
   
4. How old will Baby Ethiopia be? Under 1 year old. If we get siblings, her older sibling will be under 4 years old.
5. Do you go get her in Ethiopia? Yes! We'll travel to Addis Ababa for about a week to finalize the Ethiopian adoption and bring her home.
6. Will she be healthy? We don't know for sure. But every baby is tested for infectious diseases, and we will be given the option to accept the referrals given to us. Her medical information will surely be incomplete, but we'll be given everything the orphanage has. She'll also have several medical reviews and be given immunizations that are age appropriate.