Referral!!!!!

Well, the adoption process we've been on has taken us significantly longer than we had originally thought.  From the time we were first accepted into the Ethiopia program at America World Adoption Association (April 20, 2010), through our paper-chasing stage which concluded when we sent our Dossier To Ethiopia (DTE - November 19, 2010), and finally through our waiting stage up to now, we have been in this process for 2 years, 7 months, and 8 days.  Of that time, we have been at the top of our agency wait list for 5 months and 1 day, each day during the week bringing with it the excitement and opportunity that maybe it is the day we get "THE CALL," and then the inevitable disappointment that has come when it doesn't happen.  This has been a roller-coaster ride, for sure, and through it all we have been incredibly blessed by the many people in our lives who have supported us financially, emotionally, and certainly through prayer.

It is with great excitement and joy that I am finally able to say that on Wednesday November 28 at 10:33am, we received a call from our agency to let us know that we have been given a referral for a 19 month old girl.  GOD IS SO GOOD!  We are incredibly happy that God has continued to grow our family through adoption, and has blessed us with a beautiful baby girl.  Since we still have a ways to go, here is a short synopsis of what comes next for us:

• After our agency receives our referral acceptance, they will work with the Ethiopian government to set a court date for us in Ethiopia.  Court dates usually come about a month after our referral, which likely means that we will be traveling in late December or early January.
• Once we pass court, we will have legally adopted her according to the Ethiopian government.  However, we will still need to wait for approval from the U.S. Embassy in order for her to receive a Visa which allows her to enter the U.S.
• After the Embassy reviews the paperwork, we will have to travel back to Ethiopia for our second trip for an interview with the Embassy, and receive her Visa so we can bring her home.

We have estimates of how long the rest of the process will take (hopefully we'll be bringing her home in February or March), but the reality is that there are no guarantees when it comes to the time it takes for each of these steps to be successfully completed.  We would also love to give you more information and pictures, but at this point she's not yet legally our daughter.  However, rest assured that we will keep you all posted with more information as we are able.

We thank you all for being with us through this, and ask that you continue to pray that God will grant us a swift conclusion to this chapter of our adoption story, without complications or hang-ups, and that we will be able to bring our daughter home quickly.