We are so excited about this - I can't even believe it!
Today we received our fingerprint clearance in the mail!!
(Now I won't have to stalk the mailbox.) This is amazing because we had our fingerprints taken last Monday (4/16) and were told we could expect the results in about a month. Or... maybe in a week and a half! This was the last thing we were waiting for. I had planned on having all of our dossier paperwork certified by the Secretary of State before this came, but now I can have it done all at once.
Next steps:
- Meet with Erin on Friday to have her approve our dossier paperwork before I send it to the Secretary of State
- Take the paperwork to the Secretary of State's office for certification (This could take 1 day or could take a week)
- Send our dossier (via CHI courier) to the Department of State (in DC) and the Ethiopian Embassy. (This takes 1-2 weeks normally)
- CHI will then send our dossier off to Ethiopia where our in country representative will translate it and take it to the appropriate ministries.
- We wait for our referral and then we travel!!! (Please excuse excessive amounts of exclamation marks- I have a problem :)
And, after we received this good news today, we watched American Idol (that's right - I'm admitting it) and I cried through the whole thing. I'm still about to cry. It was extremely moving and they had raised at least $30 million and were still taking donations. Amazing.
Congratulations! You guys are getting closer and closer! I watched American Idol too, and cried too! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so jealous! I wish my paperwork was that close to being done. Congratulations!!!!!! (I like to use exclamation marks too.) American Idol was amazing and it really seemed to help some of my co-workers understand some of the emotions I feel with this adoption.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations:o) I came across your blog from the Ethiopian blogroll. We too are hoping to adopt from Ethiopia. Actually I've had a lot of agency's send packet's out and I was most impressed with CHI! The lady who called me from there (Wendy) was so sweet and made me feel at ease. It's nice to know someone else that is using that agency. I would love to know more about your experience with them :o) kelli@picgroup.com
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, you really are getting close. Any idea how long a referral may take.
ReplyDeleteYes, American Idol and tears.
ReplyDelete