ONE GIANT LEAP

Okay, "giant leap" might be a slight overstatement; yet, it perfectly describes my sense of excitement as I share that:

Our paperwork is only a few hours from being in the mail to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service to get pre-approval to bring an orphan to the US.
AND
Our dossier (our WHOLE file of personal documents) is only a few hours from being in the mail to our agency!!!

The ONLY reason these things aren't in the postal system at this very moment is because I am waiting for Ryan so we can mail these things together (if it were up to me, they would be at the post office 5 minutes ago...).

What's next? WAITING, and lots of it.

Everything we have any control over is out of our hands as of this evening when we place those envelopes in their respective metal boxes (USPS and UPS).

Next Steps?

1. Fingerprinting appointment to complete US authorization for future child to come home.
2. Dossier to Ethiopia - about one month from now, our file should go to Ethiopia. This is when we officially get on the waiting list for a child.
3. Referral of a child with information and a picture! - Likely 4 months from the date Dossier goes to Ethiopia. (September?? Maybe a nice birthday surprise!)
4. Wait for court. - Likely 2-3 months after we accept a referral for a child.
5. Wait to pass court. (Some people end up having multiple court dates. Passing is NOT guaranteed on the first round). - Could go very fast, could take 6 months or more!
6. TRAVEL! - Approx. 6 weeks after we pass court in Ethiopia.

This has gone much faster than I anticipated and God has continued to provide everything we need to complete this process. We are so thankful to be on this journey and are learning ever more each day to walk (or LEAP!) by faith.

Rebecca :)