1 Month Waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have officially been waiting for an entire month already!! Can you believe it?!! I can't. This month has flown by. I know it doesn't seem like much to have been on the wait list for a month but when I look back on all the work that it took to get us to this place, I just can't believe we are already here. I remember looking at the wait list when we were up to our ears in application paperwork, the appointments, notaries, county sealing, state sealing, doctors visits and on and on and on. At that point the wait list seems like a distant dream=) But here we are!!

There have been some referrals on the Bethany boards, some of which only submitted their dossier 4 months before us. Now I'm not saying we will get a referral in 4 months. I know that international adoption changes in a heart beat. But a girl can hope can't she??=)

There have been a few new changes to the program within the past month or so :

#1 we now have to have a birth certificate issued by the local districts before our case can be submitted to court.

#2 we also have to have pictures of the their previous guardian (except in abandonment cases) before going to court.

These two things can increase the time from referral to court date. But we also got some good news that the Bethany team in Ethiopia was able to work with the government and now both adoptive families and birth families can have court on the same day. Previously you had to have two court dates anywhere from 1-2 months apart. So that will help to bring the wait time down some!!!!
We have been reading up a lot on Ethiopia and adoption, attachment and all the other things that go along with this journey. I have read some really good and heart touching books. I plan to share some of them with you soon!!

Meanwhile we have started our new year of homeschooling rather early this year since I know that we will be missing a few months in the middle when our new little miss comes home. Kids are LOVING our new curriculum. Bethany Joy is doing great. She is walking all around the house with the help of her newest toy. She really is such a joy in our family. Her smile and personality are just super sweet.