Fingerprinting DONE

We are happy to say our fingerprinting through US Homeland Security is DONE! Yes! Our appointment was actually scheduled for today but we took our chances and drove down to St. Paul 2 days early and they got us in! (Of course they reminded us they normally don't do them early but since we showed up right away and it wasn't packed yet, they let us in!) In and out in 23 minutes after waiting almost 2 months to get this done. One more step closer! 

Of course the question is now: What's next? We wait with patience again to get our approval back and then we include this with our Dossier (more paperwork) to now be State Certified (which I plan to drive down and "show up" again instead of mail waiting,) then Authenticated in Washington and Ethiopia. Sounds like a lot of processes; well it is, but our job is almost done! (atleast with the paper chase.) I am hoping we will be on the official "wait list" by the end of September. I'm not sure how the Ethiopian raining season will affect all of this? (All courts shut down in Ethiopia from mid August  through September for their raining season.)  
Goal: Focus on the things WE can control and LET GO and have FAITH for all the things we cannot!
Blessings...

Biometrics Appointment Received

Yeah! We received a letter in the mail yesterday from US Home Land Security! Our biometrics (fingerprinting) appointment is set for July 29th! One more step closer. 

Precious

How precious is this? Notes found in Avah's room that were made by her neighbor friends and her. The neighbor girls wrote about which house they lived in and their dogs names welcoming her to the "hood." Avah's note indeed conveys she's excited. Notice on the front: one blond girl and one with black curly hair... precious!

Our first Mehaber

Mehaber Celebration on Saturday went well. It really got us all more excited! Such cute kids and so fun to see all the adopted families. Here's some pictures from the day. Keegan eating Ethiopian food for the first time; and he liked it! Avah wearing her Mehaber African t-shirt (and she'll show you were Ethiopia is.) The kids in line to get their names written in Amharic (Ethiopian language) see picture- quite different from English. I don't think we'll be learning that anytime soon... Big brother Chandler being a good sport and going down the slide with his little sister!  We got to shop in the Merkato, watch some Ethiopian dance and take in all the kids and their families. Next year~ we'll have one more joining us!

Ethiopian Celebration

Updates: 
We have been checking the mailbox daily STILL waiting for our Fingerprinting dates through Immigration... patience, patience. Our dossier papers are all finished and have been approved by our social worker; yeah! We just need to wait for Immigration and our I-171H approval. Next, our dossier papers need State Certification (lets hope the MN Government is up and running soon) and then the Ethiopian embassy authenticates everything. After that- we will be officially on the "Waiting Family List." Everyone asks- how long? Boy if all of us adopting families knew the answer to that question, ha! Everyones story and journey is different. The age request for our daughter, being that she will be older age 3-5, "should" shorten our wait time compared to couples waiting for an infant. Indeed- one step at a time! I am starting to truly believe in Gods path, God's journey, Gods time. For so many years, Allan and I have discussed adoption. After loosing my very missed sister Katlyn, maybe its NOW that we will need each other even more; maybe now is the time intended. (I do believe Katlyn is helping us along this journey by the way.) Keep the children and families waiting in your continued prayers along with my parents and us for strength in grieving for Katlyn!

Coming up! Our family, along with grandma Diane, are attending MEHABER this Saturday, July 9th at the MN State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. Mehaber is an Ethiopian celebration with cultural booths, Ethiopian food, a Merkato with different Ethiopian items for sale, round table discussion for adopting families, dance etc. Should be fun and I'm so excited for the kids to start to learn and see their sisters culture, our new culture in OUR family! We'll post pictures. Blessings to you all and your families!