The Waiting Game

We are officially DONE with the homestudy! This is no small accomplishment and marks the almost-there-well-almost-maybe-not-quite stage in the adoption journey. Now begins the waiting game, as we are officially on the waiting list for the referral of a child. And so begins the scramble--or shuffle--to get the last of our dossier papers put together in order to submit them to our placing agency. Once our agency receives our dossier, they will make sure we've got everything right and then send it on to Ethiopia for translation into Amharic for use in processing our adoption. It's anyone's best guess as to when we will receive a referral. From start to finish, we were asked to be willing to wait a year (from the time we applied.) So, I would say we are about a quarter of the way through that timeframe, and I am told that most families have not had to wait that long.

What's in a dossier? Basically, the dossier is a compilation of documents, including our homestudy report which approves us as fit parents (smile), including birth certificates, marriage certificate, passport photos, a letter to the court in Ethiopia explaining why we wish to adopt, and a handful of other documents, all which must be signed and notarized before being submitted.

In addition to this paperwork, I have begun applying for a couple different grants, to see if I can raise a little support to cover some of the remaining expenses. In doing so, I have gone around with whether or not it's appropriate to raise support from the kindness of family and friends. I am reminded of a request from a friend, not all that long ago, asking for donations to fund his graduation trip. So, maybe I shouldn't be so shy to ask for support--especially in light of what it's for.

While you won't catch me sending you a mass email or calling you up to share my adoption story in hopes of soliciting your support, I will be so bold as to at least say on this blog that we would be most grateful for any small gift from family or friends to go towards our many adoption expenses. And I will leave it at that. You know where to find me.