WE ARE ON THE WAITING LIST!

Woohoo!! I just got an email from our agency yesterday that said our dossier was received in Ethiopia on November 21. That means it was actually sent a little earlier, so we've most likely been on the waiting list for about a couple of weeks and had no idea! Yay!

I called the agency this morning with a few questions about the list. She said that most families who submitted their dossiers in June have been receiving referrals for baby girls right now. That is significant in that baby girls are the most often requested, but the least often brought in to the orphanage(from what I've been told). So, I'm assuming that from June to November, most families have received their referrals, making the longest wait about 5 months.

There are so many variables in that though. Sometimes the list will remain stagnant for a while, sometimes it is fluidly moving right along. And that part is very unpredictable. The other things that make the list variable are all of the other families' preferences regarding age/gender preferences, and health preferences(I know that sentence is super grammatically lame but I'm too lazy to figure out how to fix it).

I did find out that there are only a couple of other families requesting twins, so that could make us get a referral sooner than some. However, twins aren't super common, so that might mean nothing at all!

So, basically what I'm trying to say is that - yes - we are on the waiting list, but I have no idea where, no idea how many people are ahead of us, no idea what they have requested, and NO idea how long it will take to get a referral! Regardless...I'm stoked!

November Update

Not much to say...which is why I haven't posted in a month! We sent our dossier and home study in, but our police clearance was the wrong kind. We redid it and sent the right kind in on Saturday, November 1st. I emailed her tonight to make sure she received that and I'm hoping she will tell me she did and that they sent all of our paperwork to DC. I'll let you know when it's on its way!

The only other news on the adoption front is that many families received referrals in the month of October, and more families are continuing to receive theirs. It's exciting for the families, but doesn't speak so well for the conditions in Ethiopia right now. It's also good news for us because by the time we are put on the wait list, less families will be ahead of us. So, as exciting as this news is, I can't help but feel sad for those mothers and families who are (for whatever reason) separated from their sweet babies. Please pray for these families.