out of our hands

Yesterday we sent the dossier to CWA and then they will send it to Ethiopia. We each said a prayer over it and went to our favorite UPS store again to send it. I'll let you know when it arrives in Ethiopia. Keep praying for our little girl and for us adding to our already busy family. It's out of our hands now and we know God is in control of this journey.

dossier keeps traveling

Now, our dossier is in Washington DC to go to the State Dept. and the Embassy of Ethiopia. It should be back to us by Friday and then we'll send it to CWA and they will send it to Ethiopia. It's hard to believe that it is almost there. For so many months, you are busy getting documents done and re-done and organizing paperwork and now we are almost to the waiting stage. This is when we really don't have any control and we just wait. Most days, I have a peace about waiting and trusting God in this process. Sometimes I do get discouraged when people make negative comments but I am learning to have tougher skin. I know we are taking a huge step of faith, but we know that many blessings will come from this. Thank you for your prayers and support.

it was found

Our document was located and should be on its way to our house. Yeah!! Instead of putting the information in the computer under my name, the lady who did it (and is on vacation today) put it under J.Mark. My name was on the cover sheet so everyone says that is the name that should be in the computer. We have also got to start using only one name for Mark. This is why you shouldn't call your child by their middle name. Sorry to my in-laws...you know I love you anyway. :) It's on the way even though UPS hasn't scanned it yet. We should get it tomorrow. Thanks for your support...

problem

As I am writing this, I am so very frustrated. Please if you read this today, say a prayer that our documents are found. I sent our dossier to the state department on Tuesday evening using an overnight service. The state department signed for the envelope on Wednesday morning and they even show where the lady in the authentication office signed for it that day, BUT now they cannot find it anywhere. This morning, I just called to ask how long it would take for them to send it back to us, and then I find out it is LOST!! This is our original copy that needs to go to Ethiopia. I thought I was taking extra precaution by sending it overnight and being able to track it. It made it to the building and even the correct office, and now it is lost. I just asked the lady over the phone to keep looking for it. I hope they find it today. I'll let you all know. Thank you for your thoughts...

one step down...two to go

Yeah!! Our dossier was approved this time and I just sent it to the state department for authentication. We should receive it back by Saturday or Monday and then we will send it to Washington, DC. We will pay a courier to take it first to the state department and then to the Ethiopian Embassy. Then it will go back to CWA and they will send it to their people in Ethiopia. I have never been so concerned about a document before. I feel like we have poured our hearts and souls into these papers and I want them protected. I really think the dossier may be to Ethiopia within two weeks. I'll keep you posted.....We keep wondering if she has been born yet. This is just such a walk in faith.

patience.....

I did send the first copies of our dossier to our agency a few weeks ago and guess what....we had done some things incorrectly and were missing one document that I thought the agency provided, but our home study provider got it for us. About the time that I found that out, the girls and I were getting ready to leave for New York with my mom for a few days. After you do so much work, it is heart breaking to find out you have to do some of it over, but I decided to just step away from it for a few days. Yesterday, I sent the new copies for approval so we are hoping that this time everything is done correctly. If so, then the next step is to have each document authenticated in Raleigh, then our dossier will go to Washington for approval and then finally to Ethiopia. We had hoped to have everything there by the first of April but now we will hope by the end of April. We did recently find out that now the wait for a girl referral is about 4 months...when we started the wait was about 6 months. Honestly, we just don't know when it will happen. Ethiopian courts also close in August and September. My concern is that we will get out referral and see her face and then it will be September and we'll just have to wait for courts to reopen to move forward. If that happens, we just have to trust that it's all part of the plan. We did have a wonderful time in NYC and the boys had fun at some of the NCAA games. Thank you to my mom for giving us a wonderful trip that we will never forget!! We hope to hear good news on Monday that all of our paperwork looks good....if not, just keep praying for our patience.

in the mail!

Today, I sent our dossier (the large amount of paperwork that eventually goes to the Ethiopian government) to Christian World for approval. Once they approve it, the package will be taken by courier to Washington and authenticated by our government. The next stop will be Ethiopia!! We are hoping that our complete dossier arrives in Ethiopia by the end of this month. And then the waiting will truly begin. Right now the average wait for a girl is six months, but we know that God doesn't follow schedules. We just hope that our paperwork is complete and that those papers and pictures will respresent who we are and how much we want to love the baby God has chosen for us. With all the paperwork, of course, we are also sending large amounts of money. It's amazing how we have such a peace about the large amounts of money that we are having to send. I guess when you know you are doing something you are suppose to do, you just don't question what it takes to get there. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts. We are still thinking about taking Macall with us and need to make a decision soon so she can start getting her shots. Let me encourage you to take a few minutes to look at the blog that I follow called "the journey". You will be completely inspired by this 20 year old beautiful girl who has devoted her life to orphans. It's amazing!!