The many stages of adoption

I have tried to document this whole adoption process through this blog and also in a journal that I am keeping for Isaac. It has been a crazy kind of ride so far and we are not really near the end of the tunnel. I have had a few people ask me about the process and so I am gonna break it down. There is a whole experience that we have not went through yet. Adoption, to Ethiopia at least is broken down into these stages:

The Paperchase: This is where we are. gathering documents, getting a home study complete, filing government forms. This takes about 4 months. We began chasing on Nov 19 so we are around 3 months into it and I PRAY we will be finished by the end of Feb.

The Wait and the Referral: Once your paperwork is sent to Ethiopia (DTE), then you wait. If you are adopting a baby boy it is anywhere from 12-24 weeks. ( I like using weeks, it doesn't sound as long) or a girl (8 -12 months). Then you get the Referral call. This is when they call and tell you that you have been matched with a baby and the agency will send you a picture and medical information. You either choose to accept or deny the referral. I have never read about anyone that has denied a referral, but I guess if there is medical unknowns it is possible.

The Wait and Court: Once you accept a referral , they will give you a court date. This is generally about 4 to 6 weeks after a referral. You can actually send care packages with other families picking up their children and if your lucky, they will snap a few pics or a video and send it to ya. On your court date, if every paper is present and the case seems on the up and up to the judge you will have passed court. I think about 25% of families fail court the first time. This is not because they have done anything wrong or that AWAA has done anything wrong, its just a document might be missing or a family member doesn't show up. There are many reasons you may fail and if so they give you a second court date,in about 4 weeks... more of Wait time.

Wait and Travel Time: Are you picking up on my wait theme here? After you pass court, you must wait for AWAA to arrange travel times for a group of families coming to pick up there children. The Ministry of Women and Children are now only issuing a limited number of Visa's every other week, so this may increase the wait time to travel (BOO!) Eventually you get your travel dates, book your flights, and pack your bags! This is around 4-6 weeks after you pass court.

Travel Time: No more waiting!! You are in the country of Ethiopia around 5 days. The whole trip is around 7 or 8 days. Some families choose to go through London or Paris or Egypt to get there and take 2 weeks. Our plan is to fly up to NYC one day early and see Greg's sister Kimberly, fly to Dubai for a layover and then on to Addis Ababa , Ethiopia. Right now, families usually arrive on Sat or Sun, check in, meet the children on Monday, Get the children on Tuesday, have their Embassy appointment on Wednesday for the child's Visa and Have a free day and travel home on Friday. I am so excited about this part! I already have a handy dandy packing list spread sheet!

So there you have it! The stages of Ethiopian adoption. It usually takes 10-12 months to complete. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to travel in August or Sept 2010. My kids are staying with my mom and dad and they want to be able to swim in their pool that whole week and I can wait and start my school year when we get back, but we will just have to see what Gods timing is for us.