We Are Officially On the Waiting List!

I received an email this morning that we are officially on the waiting list as #21. I'm not sure exactly what that means in terms of how long we'll have to wait to receive a referral (pick a child) but it doesn't sound like too big of a number. My understanding is that we may be able to move up the list some too since we are open to adopting a boy or a girl and are not specifically looking for an infant. We'll keep you posted.

I also recieved an email from our courier service. I was able to get our dossier authenticated at the county and state level here because we reside in Nashville where the TN Secretary of State's office is located but to receive the National authetication, the dossier has to be stamped at the US Department of State and is then approved at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC. By virtue of it being sealed by an authorized representative of the US Department of State, the Ethiopian Embassy is able to authenticate (seal) it which prepares it for exit from the US and readies it for registration once it enters Ethiopia. Our courier advised us today that everything was approved yesterday with flying colors at the US Department of State (Yes!)but when she went to the Ethiopian Embassy to pick our paperwork up today, the gates were locked. She believes that they may be closed for a staff meeting or an obscure Ethiopian holiday. She said that it was fairly common for them to close without notice. It's a little frustrating but she's going to try again on Monday. This is probably just the Lord trying to teach me another small lesson in patience - patience is not one of my strong suits :-) It is also yet another reminder that this whole process is out of our control. It is in God's Hands and His Alone. I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes "God always teaches us patience, when we do not have time for the lesson." ~Anonymous. I can SO identify with this :-)

Blessings,
Valerie