Dossier was delivered to AWAA representative

Today, our package was delivered to the appropriate AWAA official in Ethiopia! We were really anxious to follow the FedEx tracking upon the package's arrival in Ethiopia because we were forewarned by our agency that oftentimes the package is marked as invalid address for some odd reason. Once again, God's hand never left our dossier....thank you God for answered prayers about a safe and fast delivery!

Jul 31, 2008
11:30 AM
Delivered
BOLE SUB-CITY, ADDIS ABABA ET

Jul 29, 2008
7:30 AM
Int'l shipment release
ADDIS ABABA ET

12:45 AM
In transit
ADDIS ABABA ET
Package available for clearance

Our Dossier has landed in Ethiopia

Jul 29, 2008
7:30 AM
Int'l shipment release
ADDIS ABABA ET

12:45 AM
In transit
ADDIS ABABA ET
Package available for clearance

Jul 27, 2008
2:04 AM
Arrived at FedEx location
FRANKFURT DE

2:04 AM
In transit
FRANKFURT DE

Jul 26, 2008
5:22 AM
Departed FedEx location
MEMPHIS, TN

1:43 AM
Departed FedEx location
MEMPHIS, TN

Jul 25, 2008
11:38 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
MEMPHIS, TN

9:23 PM
Left FedEx origin facility
HERNDON, VA

5:51 PM
Picked up
MCLEAN, VA

2:11 PM
Package data transmitted to FedEx

Invite to Our 1st Conference Call

I'm so excited, we just received an e-mail inviting us to participate in the monthly conference call held specifically for families waiting for referrals! I know, it doesn't take much to excite me these days, but you have to understand that when we were waiting in the Ukraine program, we never had anything like this. In the Ukraine program, we just waited and waited until we received a phone call out of the blue telling us when we were supposed to report to Ukraine to be shown a very limited selection of files. It is wonderful to know that at least once each month, we will receive updates on how the program is running, expected wait times, etc. Hopefully nothing will come-up and I'll be free on August 5th! Now, if you will excuse me, I have to refresh my memory on the difference between EST and Central - I don't want to miss the call!

Here's the tracking info for our dossier!

Jul 27, 2008
2:04 AM
Arrived at FedEx location
FRANKFURT DE

2:04 AM
In transit
FRANKFURT DE


Jul 26, 2008
5:22 AM
Departed FedEx location
MEMPHIS, TN

1:43 AM
Departed FedEx location
MEMPHIS, TN


Jul 25, 2008
11:38 PM
Arrived at FedEx location
MEMPHIS, TN

9:23 PM
Left FedEx origin facility
HERNDON, VA

5:51 PM
Picked up
MCLEAN, VA

2:11 PM
Package data transmitted to FedEx

We're Officially DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia)

We just received a long-awaited e-mail from our family coordinator - our dossier is on its way to Ethiopia! Here's a copy of the e-mail that explains more where we're at now.

Dear Families,

Your authenticated dossier has been mailed to Ethiopia today!

As you track your dossier, please keep a couple of things in mind. First of all, do not be worried if the package makes stops in European or other countries for long periods of time. This is normal, and I've seen this happen often. Also, when the FedEx office in Ethiopia receives packages for our in-country staff representative, they call him to pick up the package rather than deliver it to his office. Often times the FedEx report will say “wrong address”, we are not sure why this happens, because the package has yet to be shipped to a wrong address when it says this, so please do not be alarmed by this, it is something that we have spoken to FedEx about multiple times. Because the FedEx office is not in close proximity to our staff member's office, it often takes him a few days to pick up the package. If you see notes that the package has arrived in Ethiopia but not been picked up, this is why.

Congratulations on the completion of this portion of your adoption process!

Let's start tracking!

Ship Date: July 25, 2008

Destination: Bole Sub-City, Addis Ababa ET

Service type: Priority Box

Weight: 19.0 lbs.

Don't forget to pray for our new DTE buddies! Their dossier is traveling across the "big pool" (in Ashton's terms) with ours. They are the Sapp Family and Van Druff Family. I would add a link directly but I can't seem to figure out how! Any help would be appreciated. Their blog links are currently located to the right under AWAA blogs. Congratulations DTE buddies!

A Great Day at AWAA - 3 Families Passed Court

Court was held in Ethiopia today for 3 America World families and they all passed! We are rejoicing with them in their excitement. Be sure to check-out their pictures and videos - have tissues handy!

Cox Family (http://www.stadoption.blogspot.com/)

Ducommuns Family (http://ducommunfamily.blogspot.com/)
Moles Family (http://www.molesfamilywv.blogspot.com/)

Our Dossier Arrived in Virginia

Our dossier has arrived at our agency's main office in McLean, Virginia. Here's the latest e-mail from our family coordinator:

Hello Erica,

I received your dossier today! So you can breath a sigh of relief that it is safe and sound here at America World. I will be reviewing it today and taking it to be authenticated and approved at the U.S. Dept. of State and the Ethiopian Embassy during the week. If all goes as planed it will be mailed out to Ethiopia this Friday. If I run across any issues or see any adjustments that need to be made you will hear from me this afternoon, otherwise expect to receive a confirmation email on Friday July 25th with a tracking number. Thanks for all of your hard work!

So far, we haven't received any phone calls, so hopefully all the paperwork is in order! Last week, when an AWAA representative went to Washington D.C. to pick-up some dossiers that had been left at the State Dept. for authentication, they were not ready. I say that to stress the importance of praying specifically for the dossier to be processed quickly so it can head to Ethiopia with the others. It is our prayer that God's hand never leaves our paperwork and that the dossier can have a safe and quick journey to Ethiopia!

We're Paper Pregnant....AGAIN

And it's off! We ran into several little last minute glitches with our dossier, but everything worked-out fine. Nissan messed-up Jason's employment information but fortunately, I caught it when comparing all our financial info in the dossier, employment letter, and financial statement. It wasn't a big deal but it definitely would have caused us problems down the road, so we're glad to get it straightened out on the front end! Also, America World forgot to send us a document that had to be signed and dated by someone in the Virginia office, so we had to wait on that as well, but it arrived yesterday!

I finished certifying all the documents this morning and headed to Davidson County for our Tennessee Bureau of Investigation background checks. Fortunately, Davidson County only charged $3.00 per document and the Secretary of State only charged $2.00! What a relief to have all this behind us.

After 30 minutes in line at the post office, we're officially paper pregnant again - hopefully this time we will be blessed with a child (especially considering that I have ordered the bedding and the rocking chair pads arrived today)! Now, we have to wait for America World to courier our documents to the State Department in Washington D.C. and then our dossier is off to Ethiopia!

I told Ashton that I had finally mailed all of Sissy's paperwork, and he responded, "So Jesus is finally ready for Sissy to come home?" I certainly hope so!

Thank you for all your prayers and support - please don't stop now!

Certifying Documents

For those of you who aren't real familiar with the paperwork process, here's a run-down:

After your documents are collected and notarized, in Tennessee you must take each notarized document to the County Clerk's office in which the notary is bonded. The County Clerk then certifies the document. All this means is that they sign and stamp a letter which states that the notary is in fact a notary. After each document is certified, then you take the entire stack to the Secretary of State and have them authenticated which is a fancy name for certifying that the notary is certified. Overall, it's a really simple process but can be time-consuming if you use a lot of different notaries.

What is shocking is that when started on our first dossier in January of 2007, the County Clerk's fee was $2.00 per document. For our 2nd dossier, Rutherford County had raised the fee to $4.00 per document (this was in February 2008). Now, for our 3rd dossier, Rutherford County has increased the fees to a whopping $7.00 per page! Now, for what I would have originally paid $20.00, I am now going to have to pay $70.00!!!

Dossier Faxed to America World

Well, our dossier is complete! Tonight I faxed it to our family coordinator at America World so she can review everything before we make a trip to the Secretary of State for authentication. I certainly hope that everything is done correctly so we can move forward in this journey!

Bedding for Julianna's Nursery

Glenna Jean "Chloe"

Last Wednesday, I spoke with our family coordinator for about 30 minutes. Jason and I want so badly to allow ourselves to get excited and start dreaming of our baby, however we are afraid of getting our hearts broken...again. It wasn't until I spoke with our coordinator, Terra, until I fully realized why we were holding back. Terra is well aware of what happened with our attempt at a Ukrainian adoption and she was the one who outright stated that we were afraid to let go because we didn't want to experience another heartbreak - this was a light bulb moment for me. As much as I have prayed and told myself that I was moving past Ukraine, I have been afraid to completely open my mind and heart to the Ethiopian journey for fear that things will not work-out. It's no coincidence that my daily devotions have been about faith and trust - I think I need to work on those areas and learn to let go.

Jason and I have talked a lot about our feelings since last week and have come to realize that we need to trust God and allow ourselves to get excited. Terra even recommended to us that we start thinking about our nursery and when we feel comfortable, to get started. We have pretty much decided on the bedding set pictured above. The photo truly doesn't do it justice. The set is very feminine - which is exactly what I've always dreamed of for my little girl.

In selecting bedding, God used this decision to further help mend our broken hearts. When we first casually looked at bedding about a month or so ago, we started thinking about safari adventure and jungle animals. It seemed logical that since our child was coming from Africa that we decorate her nursery accordingly. Well, God began to convict my heart about that mindset. God began to lead me to consider this question - if Julianna was growing in my belly instead of in my heart, how would her room be decorated? The answer was simple - with beautiful rosebuds and very feminine. It was at that moment that the adoption began to seem real to me and the ice around my heart started to melt. God is preparing me for a beautiful daughter and I need to get ready. It doesn't matter where she is born. All that matters is that she is loved and adored. Who would have ever thought that bedding could be so therapeutic?!

Received Amended I-171H

Well, it finally came - our amended I-171H. We are so excited! The only thing that we have left to do is our passport photos. Now, we already have our passport but we must include 2 passport photos with our dossier. I plan on faxing our dossier to Terra on Wednesday (I have to wait because my schedule is packed and Terra is on vacation until Tuesday) for review and then it's off to the Secretary of State. We are so excited!