What Does That Mean?

I often forget when talking about our adoption that many people are not familiar with some of the terms I use. I get a lot of "What does that mean" or "what is that." I have decided to dedicate this post to defining some of the terms or explaining some of the processes so that everyone will have a better understanding of what I am talking about in future posts.

Dossier: This is a compilation of paperwork that we needed to obtain to send to the agency for the adoption. It contained documents that both the agency needed as well as those required by the Government of Ethiopia. These documents included:

Homestudy (has it's own set of needed documents)
BCI/FBI fingerprinting
Our birth certificates and marriage certificate
Police clearances for Troy and I
Medical statements from our family physicians
A statement from our bank attesting to our deposits and balances
Most recent 1040 tax forms
Employment letters
Two reference letters
Family letter to the Government of Ethiopia
Two power of attorneys for the agency representatives in country

All of these documents also had to be notarized. Once completed, the dossier was sent to the agency where it was put together and shipped to Ethiopia and then translated.

Waiting List: This is the wait list you are put on after your dossier is sent. There are different waiting lists depending on your child request/preference and it is the list with your adoption agency. We requested either gender and less than 6 months at referral/infant. Infants are the most requested so you generally have a longer wait, especially for infant girls. When you request either gender they automatically put you on the "boy list" as it is about a 4 month shorter wait than for a girl.

ET: Ethiopia, of course.

Referral: This is what you are actually "waiting" for--the referral of your child. It involves getting "The Call" from the director of our agency with an offer of a child. Our agency typically refers you a child based upon your preferences. You usually get a few pictures, a medical report, and any other pertinent info. You have a few days to get the referral looked at by a pediatrician familiar with IA (if you choose) and make your decision.

I will continue to define terms as they come up in future posts.

Still waiting with bated breath . . .

Exciting News

Hey everybody! We received some good news today. We are now number seven on the wait list or possibly even closer. Our agency director, Merrily, sent out an in process update today and said they gave out about 10 referrals in the last several days. These referrals of course mean not only infants; but siblings, older children, and special needs as well. One family posted the acceptance of a boy today and I can only imagine that there must have been a few more boys referred. This would mean we are actually closer than seven!!

She did post that they are still referring to those families whose dossiers were sent to Ethiopia in May of 2009 but the good news is that were are the first family in June!

Unfortuanately, some not so good news was also relayed. Troy and I will both be having to travel for the court hearing. Apparently, the judges in Ethiopia are standing firm on this. I guess on the bright side we will be able to meet our child several months earlier than we would have the previous way. I will most likely, however, be traveling over there twice. For being someone who absolutely hates flying this should be quite an experience!

We hope and pray that things continue to move swiftly.

Love This

Natural Child: any child who is not artificial.
Real Parent: any parent who is not imaginary.
Your Own Child: any child who is not someone else's child.
Adopted Child: a natural child, with a real parent, who is all my own.

My First Official Post

I am sooo excited---this is my first official post on my very own blog!! I had no intention of starting a blog but after seeing other ones and how fun they looked, I couldn't resist. For those family and friends I don't talk to often I thought it would be a good way to keep you informed of the adoption happenings. I also figured it would be yet another way to help pass the time while "waiting."

Speaking of "waiting"--I learned yesterday that we are now #8 on the wait list! Of course this could mean a referral in the next month or two or it could be 4 or 5 months. That has been the hardest part of this process is that you just don't know. Sometimes you don't know much of anything! When we started the process it was a 4-6 month wait for a referral of an infant boy---then it increased to 6-8 months---then 10 months---now it is at about a year. It is definitely a rollercoaster ride.

The latest news out of Ethiopia is a proposed change to the travel part of the process whereby they want to have both parents travel for the court hearing. Currently, only one parent has to travel for the Embassy date to get the child's Visa and bring the child home. Now they are proposing that both parents meet the child prior to the court hearing and then appear before the judge. One parent would then have to return 3-8 weeks later for the Embassy appointment and bring the child home. This is proposed due to some adoption agencies passing off special needs children to parents who wanted a "healthy" child and the parents aren't aware of it until they go to pick up the child and it is too late--the child has passed court and is already theirs. Some parents then end up leaving the child there.

Of course we aren't too happy about this proposed change as Troy did not want us to both go over due to already having children and the risk involved, not to mention the unforseen added expenses. Our agency said it has not been finalized yet but we have been hearing rumors that it WILL start May 9, 2010.

What was I saying about a rollercoaster ride?