Our Adoption Process

I love lists. I mean love them!! I make lists for everything. Sometimes I even make a list of my lists. I know, weird. This next one is probably the most important list of our lives. It looks simple and straightforward, but don't let it deceive you. This is not an easy one. It is a challenging, time consuming list that will lead us to our child.
Our adoption process is composed of the following steps: 

1. Formal application for Gladney: Our agency is kind enough to divide the documents needed into three different groups and suggests submitting one “group” per week. 
2. The home study: This part is basically an intense interview about us. This helps the social worker better understand us and our background.
3. The Dossier: This is another packet of documents that are sent to Ethiopia. We have contacted KBS Dossiers to help us authenticate our documents. 
4. The Waiting List: Basically, we are in line to receive a referral for a child from Ethiopia. 
5. The Referral: This is the call we are currently dreaming about. We receive medical information, a picture, and any history known to the child. Once we accept…
6. Trip 1: Court in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We travel to Ethiopia and stay for a week. Come back home and wait for a date to go on a second trip. (Yes, we have to make two trips to Ethiopia :) )
7. Trip 2: This is where we pick up the baby’s visa and complete more paperwork. Only this time, we bring our baby home.
8. Start our lives as a family.

This is what we did all day on Sunday: paperwork :)


In case you have not heard: We are expecting from Ethiopia!