One small step closer!!!

 Guess what came in the mail today??? Our AGCI (our adoption agency) 's orientation packet!! Yayy!!! This is one of the first small steps towards our daughter! Next step, following Orientation Call with AGCI next week, will be our Home Study! We have chosen an agency out of Raleigh and we hope to begin our homestudy by the first of the year! We are working on raising money right now for that, our home study fees. To kind of give you an idea of how the Ethiopian adoption process works, I will summarize the steps we will be taking:

1. Acceptance from AGCI (we have completed this.. yayy!!!)

2. Orientation call with AGCI (scheduled for next week)... this is done over the phone with the inquiry coordinator at AGCI.

3. Complete AGCI orientation packet.. a bunch of papers to fill out.

4. Begin Home Study.. this includes each of us writing autobiographies, submitting a bunch of Home Study paperwork, having everything notarized, 1-2 Home Study visits by social worker from Raleigh. She will then write up our official Home Study and submit it to AGCI for approval. 

5. Begin working on Dossier (pronounced Da-See-aye).. this is our international paperwork... ALOT of paperwork! We believe this process will take approximately 4 months... also includes FBI background cks and fingerprinting. 

6. Once our completed Dossier is submitted to AGCI, a copy will be sent to review by the Ethiopian government (other adopting Moms, please correct me, if this is wrong)..once our dossier has been accepted by both places, we are officially on the WAITING LIST!!!! This means we are called by AGCI and given a number as to where we are in the wait for a child...most families adopting 0-12 month girls, like us, are given a number somewhere in the 90's right now when they first get on the waiting list... the waitlist has recently been moving very quickly, meaning there have been about 10 referrals a month from Hannah's Hope (our agency's Ethiopian transitional home, where are daughter will come from). Each time a family is given a referral of a child, we will be moving up one place on the Waitlist. We were told we could be on the waitlist for 18-24 months, but HOPEFULLY it will be much quicker than that! Our goal is to have a referral (meaning a child matched with our family) by the end of next year. 

7. Our REFERRAL call!!! This is the BIGGEST step in the adoption process, this is the day you are matched with a child and are sent pictures online and all the info. that AGCI has on your child. Cannot wait until that day!!!! How exciting to get THE CALL and to see our precious daughter for the very first time! 

We plan to begin fundraising sometime after the first of the year. Right now we are trying to raise money for our home study fees. We are taking one step at a time and trusting the Lord completely to provide us with the funds for our adoption! We believe God funds what He favors, and we are certain that He favors adoption! (:

I want to thank each and every one of you who have emailed me on the blog or on Facebook or have seen me in person and given us your support.. it means so much to us to have the support of family and friends! Well, I better go check on the three little boys who are lying on a pallet (sp?) right now on our living room floor watching Toy Story 3! Jack made "Cubbie of the Month" this month for his class and today we attended a ceremony at his Elementary School where he was recognized for having good behavior, we are so proud of him! So he was rewarded by having his best buddy over for a sleepover tonight! We are looking forward to a "moderately" layed back weekend with not too many plans! Have a wonderful weekend y'all... I hear the weather is going to be beautiful!!!!  

And I wanted to leave you with a picture I took last night of my absolute Favorite tree in this beautiful town of Edenton, this is out at the cemetary at Hayes Plantation! I look forward to seeing it change to bright yellow every fall! Took this one at dusk on my way out to my parents' house last night, saw this same tree today and it is even more beautiful today... don't y'all just love fall!!!