Most frequently asked adoption question...

The most frequently asked adoption question we receive now is... "So where are you in the process now, when do you get to bring her home?" 
Well... our paperwork has been in Ethiopia for 3 months, and 2 weeks as of today.  We have been at #13, then back to #14, then back to #13 again on the baby girl list for almost 1 month.  When adopting from Ethiopia you can choose an age range and gender of your child/children, so this is what determines which "list"you are placed on.  Once the adoption paperwork is sent to Ethiopia (ours was sent 08/19/10) then that particular families wait begins.  When our paperwork arrived in Ethiopia over 3 + months ago we were placed in line (unofficially) at #27 for a baby girl.  So your guess is as good as ours as to WHEN we will receive a referral, but if time passes as it has the last 3+ months it makes us hopeful that we might receive a referral in another 3 months?!  Referrals speed-up and slow-down during the waiting process for several different reasons- none we can control.  So will continue to wait upon the Lord.  We know He has the plan.

This question soon follows "So what does 'a referral' mean?"
When we receive a referral we will receive many things about the child our agency has matched with us.  Among the information we will receive is her picture, her medical and social history, her age, and her health report.  If she matches our age and health request we will accept her referral.  :)

"What happens next?" 
 MEETCHA DAY will be scheduled.  Our adoption agency will make an appointment with the Ethiopian Court and arrange travel for us to go to Ethiopia.  This trip usually happens 4-14 weeks after referral acceptance.  The day we get to MEET Aerie will be our family "Meetcha Day".  The Ethiopian Judge will review our case, along with Aerie's background and paperwork.  The judge will make sure everything is in order.  The judge will have the biological family present their relinquishment in person, and then have us appear to request to be Aerie's new parents.  (Yes... sometimes the adoptive parents get to meet the biological family.)  This trip will last 5-7 days, we will then have to travel home and leave Aerie in the Transition Home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

"What happens next?"
We will wait for the Embassy to grant us our Embassy appointment(usually 4-?weeks apart).  Once we receive our appointment we will travel back to Ethiopia.  At this point we are not sure how long we will be in Ethiopia, maybe only a few days, or we may choose to go back early, get an apartment/hotel and take Aerie out of the Transition Home to live with us in Ethiopia.  The longer time frame would mean we would need to rely on family and friends to house-sit for us.  Time will tell if we get this luxury (this would mean we could make room in the Transition Home for another orphaned baby, and get to bond with Aerie there).  At the Embassy appointment the U.S. Embassy reviews our case, all paperwork, verifies everything is correct, then grants us Aerie's Visa to become an American Citizen. This will be Aerie's GOTCHA DAY!   Then we will fly home with our sweet gift from God!