Complete.

Today was a great day as we finally turned in our dossier.  We felt a sense of relief as we handed over 6 months worth of paperwork to our case worker.


It feels good to have this step done, but we know the hard part of waiting is now upon us.  The approximate wait time for a referral is still 6-12 months from the time our dossier reaches Ethiopia.  We now just continue to pray for patience and rest in the knowledge that God has a child in mind for us already.  We pray for that child's health and development and cannot wait to meet him or her!

It's Finally Here!

Our USCIS Immigration approval finally came in the mail on Monday!  We were so excited to see the final document needed for our dossier.  


I went to Grand Rapids today in an attempt to get several documents in our dossier state-sealed.  This is done at a Secretary of State office, but the closest office that gives state-seals is in Grand Rapids.  I walked in and was told that their computers were down, and they did not know how long this would last.  I burned some time shopping at a few stores and then went back.  No luck. Still down.  I decided to go to a few more stores thinking this problem can't last much longer.  I headed back to SOS and they were still down.  So, I decided to drive back home since I had already been there for 2 1/2 hours...with no state-seals. 


Scott is going to GR tomorrow to try to get our state-seals.  Hoping he has better luck than me:)  Then we can officially submit our dossier!

Tulips!

Here are a few pictures from our Thursday evening in Downtown Holland, MI at the Tulip Festival.  We met up with Scott's sister and brother-in-law and our two nieces- Lauren & Allie.  


The food was great, the Dutch Dancers danced, and of course the tulips were beautiful!  

Mother's Day

To be honest, Mother's Day is not a day that I have looked forward to over the past few years.  It seems to be such a raw reminder that our children are not with us, but we look forward to celebrating with our adopted child in years to come.  We made the best of our weekend and enjoyed celebrating with our families.  Scott & I are blessed to have great mothers and do not take those gifts for granted.   Our weekend was highlighted by our church service on Sunday morning which focused on not only celebrating mothers, but "Celebrating Women".  A major part of the service also focused on adoption and foster care! Such perfect timing! We cannot help but think about our child's birth mother on Mother's Day.  We pray for her each day as she takes steps toward this HUGE sacrifice.   And...Scott gave me a "Heart for Africa" necklace for Mother's Day.  Soooo cute, I love it! (Thanks for your help Sara!)

Quote, the Mailbox, & Vacation

God does notice us, and he watches over us. 

But it is usually through another person
that he meets our needs.

Therefore, it is vital that
we serve each other.

~Spencer W. Kimball

******

We are about 3 weeks into waiting for the LAST thing needed for our dossier.  The USCIS approval is the only piece of paper we need to proceed, so we open the mailbox each day in hope of seeing the envelope.  Once we receive it, we need to make a trip to Grand Rapids to have the documents state-sealed.  Then we will drop off our dossier at Bethany in Holland, they will forward it to Bethany in Grand Rapids, they will send it Washington DC to be authenticated, and then off to ETHIOPIA and officially on the wait-list!  

We recently learned that Bethany Christian Services (BCS) is not currently changing the wait times for referrals.  So, we expect to wait 6-12 months to get a referral.  The big question mark comes after we get our referral.  Many changes have occurred in the Ethiopian adoption process and BCS hopes to have a better idea on wait times for court dates and Embassy appointments in the next few months. 

******

We were able to get away last week for a week in Florida with our good friends. We had a great time a relaxing week!  More pics to come!