Who Knows What This Means??

"The Insanely Important Folder" this morning:


And that same folder this afternoon:


I'm thrilled to announce that our dossier is officially on its way to Washington DC for authentication at the State Department and the Ethiopian Embassy! In a few days, the courier service will return it to our adoption agency in North Carolina, and it will then be forwarded to Ethiopia. YIPPEE!!!

The second best part of that announcement is that we're officially done with this eight-month-long "paperchase" process. I can't begin to tell you the number of hours that have gone into collecting countless forms from around the country, visiting various agencies and facilities for numerous purposes, and asking our precious friend, Libby, "Could you notarize just one more form for us, please?" I'm glad to see that incredibly difficult part of this process go, but the very best part of this step today is that once our dossier is shipped to Ethiopia, we're officially on the waiting list for our baby's referral! :-)

Josh and I were talking earlier today that we have volumes of papers and forms that we've had to work through, and each step we've accomplished seemed to lead to 25 more. So now it's crazy-exciting to know that our next "step" is to see our son's picture. To know who our son is.

Amazing.

Our request is for a boy between zero and six months old, and our agency said the wait time on a referral in that age range is at least 3-4 months. So here's hoping for a big Christmas present!!

Please pray with us for patience during this wait time and for a smooth transition through the in-country portion of this process. There are many, many obstacles that can pop up at any moment, and we would love to have you praying with us for protection along every step of the way. We really want our little guy home soon!

As if the "Off-To-DC" step wasn't enough, Josh has orientation and registration for seminary tonight. This is another massive and exciting step for our family, and we're praying for God's provision on many levels. We feel a bit overwhelmed at times, but like I told a friend earlier today, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that if God asks us to take a step, he won't let the floor crumble beneath us when we do.

We just need to remind ourselves of that sometimes.