It's been a while since I have really blogged and the layout is so different. It took me a while to figure it out!

So for those of you who don't know a lot about adoption but may be curious, I'm going to blog about the steps of our adoption (and some random things every now and then). Feel free to follow us on our journey as we start our next adoption. Our oldest son is adopted from Ethiopia and we've wanted to adopt again since we brought him home. We fell in love with Ethiopia a long time ago due to a family member who adopted an older child from ET. She showed us blogs, pictures, and told us all about it. We were already serious about adoption and were looking for a place to adopt from. I'd been thinking an Asian child but when she told us about Ethiopia and showed us the blogs we knew then and there where we'd adopt from. We eagerly filled out piles of paperwork, waited, and after two years our son came home. He was 6 months old when he came home and our lives have been so blessed by him. Adoption is the biggest roller coaster ride in that there are so many ups and downs. The biggest lesson I've learned is nothing happens when you want it to, patience is key!

So here we are back at square A.So far we are in the beginning stages of our adoption. We started this journey over a year ago but one month into our applying, we found out we were expecting! Now that we have two boys, it's time for a little girl! So far we have filled out a ton of paperwork! Yes, the dreaded paper chase!  Paper work consists of things like per-qualification packet, bank letters, financial statements, requested referral letters (from friends, family, co-workers, etc.), FBI fingerprints, other fingerprints, doctors appointments for the whole family, notarizing (ie: having things notarized), etc. It's not hard just time consuming and trying to get everything scheduled and ready for the next stages. It's seemed a little easier overall, this time. I guess because we've done it once and kind of know what to expect.

As of right now we've been picking away at parts of the dossier (which comes after your big application packet) but it's better to complete after a home study as it's time sensitive. I'm not looking forward to the dossier because we payed to have it authenticated last time and this time there isn't anyone available to do that. That means WE do it which scares me because one mistake can leave your child's case in limbo in the Ethiopian court system for a long time. I'm sure it'll all turn out okay I'm a bit anxious about that part.

So for moving forward, right now we're stuck in the mud so to speak. We're excited as our second house AKA our "vacation home" (so termed because we'd tell people we had two houses and got lectures about selling and then buying, when you term a house that isn't selling a "vacation home" it takes on a whole new meaning to people and is looked on favorably) is under contract!!! It's a great home just in an area that is out away from everything. People typically only move to the area for specific reasons. ALL of the houses are slow to sell there. So until it sells we cannot have a home study scheduled as it would change our application too much and we'd end up needing another home study. Still we are excited for someone else to own the home and are glad it's happening now in our adoption instead of a later date!