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Celebration’s going on here today: our dossier left for Ethiopia today!! This is a huge step in the process, and I have to say I am just amazed at how fast everything has come together. It has only been 7 weeks since we made first contact with our agency for this adoption. Delays could still happen, but if everything progresses normally, we have a really good chance of getting through court before the court closure over the Ethiopia New Year. Hooray!
Also pending is the delivery of the welcome bags to announce to our girls that they have a family. We are really excited to see pictures of them getting their bags and to know that they know about us.
Another wonderful bit of news today came from our agency. Our agency has never failed to place the kids that come into Layla house. But over the years there have been a few sibling groups that for unknown reasons wait unusually long times to be chosen. One such pair of kids arrived in December 2003. That means they were at Layla house when I went to get our first Ethiopian daughter in 2004, and they were still at Layla House when I went in 2005 to get our second daughter.
This April when we got the waiting child list from AAI, and I saw that they were still waiting, I really felt for them. John and I talked for days about taking them along with our two girls. But we just didn’t end up feeling confident that we could help four children settle in well at once. And so we passed on them, with heavy hearts.
Well, today Merrily e-mailed the yahoo group to say that these two children have a family. Wonderful, wonderful news. I was in tears instantly when I heard it. I am so thrilled for these kids, and so thankful that they finally have a family.
It has been a good day at the Owlhaven!
I have also been praying for those siblings to get a family. I stare at their picture every day on my fridge.
I’m so excited that your dossier went out today! Hopefully mine will be soon to follow!
Congratulations! I think that your time frame may be a record! Way to go Super Dossier Mom.
nice.
Congratulations on getting your dossier together so quickly!! Wow, you should consider starting a dossier prep service to assist others! You are truly a pro!!
I am SOOO excited that those kids got a family!! The boy hung on me all week that I was there, begging me to bring him home with me. They are great kids and I would be happy to share a photo of them with you for your blog (no names are mentioned, so I think it would be okay).
Sharon
Our local homestudy agency and AAI both get tons of the credit for things progressing so quickly. If they hadn’t been lightening-fast, there’s no way it could have gotten done this quickly, no matter how fast I did my part. We were very, very fortunate.
So happy for you and the gang!
So much good news! You DO make the adoption process look easy from afar– I KNOW the up close reality was not as pretty as the blog summary.
Hey, have you seen the adoption story linked at http://humblemusings.com/? (Assuming you’re a good adoption story junkie like I am…)
wow! 7 weeks! you very fortunate!
I know….maybe we will hit some snags in future weeks, but I am so thankful to have gotten this far this fast! Actually, what I really think is that we will have our time of challenge and patience-building AFTER they get home! We’re not expecting this older-kid-adoption stuff to be easy. (grin)
Mary
Congratulations. Your girls are beautiful (and I’m sure brilliant, strong, and kind, too!) Great news from Layla as well. We left pieces of our hearts with those older children when we were there.