Potential Timeline

I received some more information from our Family Coordinator about what the progression of events might look like for A*'s adoption. Here's what she wrote me:

The time line will look like this:

·We can request court date once a family has completed all dossier documents but are just waiting for their 1-171h (1-4months depending on how fast they work).

·A* will start TB sputum testing (9 week process) once we have court date. We would receive court date anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks after initial dossier is submitted.

·Once you pass court and have received your I-171h you can travel to ET. This will probably be roughly 2 to 4 week after passing court.

·When you travel to Ethiopia, you will travel for two weeks. You will apply for a
different I 600A there, send your waiver to Kenya, and wait for your
recommendation from Kenya.


Okay people... did you read that!? If (Big IF) my calculations are correct we could be finished with our dossier by the end of October at the latest and be waiting our only our I-171h form. That means AWAA could potentially request a court date end of Oct for us which could land us having court sometime around end of January with potential travel being early spring sometime around March. And those dates are using the longest time estimates they gave us.

Of course so much has to happen other than paperwork in that time. I am praying that the Lord do a MAJOR work in the hearts/minds of everyone in our family to prepare us for A*'s arrival. We are asking the Lord to pave the way in A*'s heart for his new family and for grace poured over us to be sensitive to our little guy's needs. Having the images of how the stress wreaked havoc on Jonas so fresh on my mind turns my prayers toward A and all he will have to endure. I am already praying for God's miraculous touch on A and for peace for his soul.

I just had a chuckle with Dustin the other day because we kidded each other on the plane coming home from Ethiopia with Jonas (who slept basically the whole way) that we'd NEVER want to take a trip back home from Ethiopia with a toddler. We joked that dealing with that age range on a flight that long during all the emotional stress of transitioning a child into our care would be nightmarish (having previous experience with the girls at that age and their affinity for tantrums and high energy levels.)

HAHAHA Oh, doesn't the Lord have such a funny sense of humor!? Here we are going to get a three year old boy.... the exact age that we've always said was the most difficult to deal with in terms of meltdowns, etc. Needless to say I am already praying for our return flight. The good news is we'll be staying for two weeks in Addis Ababa again and will be afforded some extra time for A* to warm up to us.