Dossier Accepted!

Our dossier, the information to be sent to Ethiopia, has been reviewed by our agency and approved. This means that as soon as we are able to pay our next set of fees, we are on the list to get a referral!! And it also means a big break from the paperwork.

What happens once we get on the list??

Children are referred to AGCI, our adoption agency, by the government orphanages based on need in Ethiopia. Once a family is able to complete their home study and international paperwork, they are able to get on the wait list to receive a referral of one of these children. As of now, there are 8 families waiting for an infant boy and 28 families waiting on an infant girl. The average wait time for a referral of an infant boy has been 1-3 months while the wait time for an infant girl is 8-9 months. So, it looks like we will be adopting a little boy, which we are very excited about.

The times can vary quickly based on the needs in Ethiopia so we are not counting on any timelines but it is looking like we may have a referral in the next three months and then will be waiting 4-5 months for a court date to be able to finalize the adoption in Ethiopia.

As of today, we have been given $3,500 toward the cost of the adoption with $12,500 to go. Thank you so much for your support!

Final Home Study Received!!

We got copies of our final home study in the mail today!!  All of our paperwork items have been checked off our list.  What a relief.....

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting......

We haven't posted for a couple weeks and unfortunately we don't have much to report.  We are still waiting for a final copy of our home study to send off with our immigration paperwork and our dossier.  Everything has been copied, signed, notarized, kissed and is just waiting this final piece.  We were promised a copy today but it is now almost three so it isn't looking good.  It has been nice to have a bit of a break from all of the business of the paperwork.  We have heard that adopting is made up of a lot of waiting so I guess we are just getting our first taste of it.

On a financial note, we have been given $1,225 toward our adoption.  Thank you so much for helping in this way!!  

Seeds of Hope Banquet

Last week we were invited to intend a benefit dinner for an organization based in Greensboro called Caroline's Promise (http://www.carolinespromise4u.com/). The purpose of Caroline’s Promise is to Reclaim Hope for Orphans through adoptive family assistance, orphan care and educating the community about adoption.



It was very encouranging to spend an evening with others that share our same passion for adoption. We heard many heartbreaking stories of children finding homes with others and were made even more aware of the needs of children around the world.



Update On Our Progress



We have turned in everything for our home study and are waiting for it to be finalized. We are hoping to get the thumbs up in the next two weeks. Once our home study is finalized, it is forwarded to our placement agency and then our paperwork can be sent to Ethiopia. To take the next step and begin the international process we are required to make a payment of $6000. We are hoping that through our continued personal savings, fundraising activities and the generosity of our family and friends we will be able to to make this next payment and continue on our journey.

Adoption Newsletter

Many of you have received this newsletter via email. If you did not and you would like to be added to our email list, please reply to this post with your information and we would be happy to send you a copy. Thank you so much for following our journey!

Adoption Newsletter 03.16.09

Abba Fund Donor Preference Card

If you would like help us by sending a check to the Abba Fund in the mail, please print and fill out this form so that the money is allocated to our account. To Print this form, click on "more" in the bar above the below document and a drop down menu will allow you to print.

Thank you!

The Pells

Abba Fund Donor Preference Card

Back in Focus

These past couple of weeks has been marked with frustration and weariness for our family. We have a lot going on with John in school and myself in tax season and have felt overwhelmed by our responsibilities. As the newness of the adoption process wears off, we are becoming more and more aware of the realities of adopting a child. The hours of paper work and dwindling savings account has brought down our spirits. Yesterday, John and I were reminded during a time of prayer the reasons we began this adoption journey and the wonderful blessings that our next child will bring into our home.

Our children teach us so much if we are willing to listen. Emma is a daily reminder of the joy that a child finds in the little things and what is really important. I was struck by this today while out running errands. I turned around to see Emma dancing to the music and smiling back at me from the back seat with chocolate chip cookie covering her mouth.

Will all of this be worth it? Absolutely!!