On November 28 we will go before an Ethiopian judge in
one of the many steps to bring our children into our family.
Let me just give you a brief overview of the adoption
timeline, at least for Ethiopia.
Step 1: Gather A LOT of paperwork (this can be drawn out
over several months but is also possible to complete within two months)
Step 2: Submit
Dossier
WAIT
Step 3: Receive and accept referral (depending on the
agency this can take anywhere from one month to several years)
WAIT
Step 4: Court submission (for our agency they estimate after referral for this to
take 2-4 months)
WAIT
Step 5: Receive court date (a court date is typically issued within a week or two of court submission)
WAIT
Step 6: Go to court (in Ethiopia)
WAIT
Step 7: Receive court decree (approximately 2-3 weeks
after court)
WAIT
Step 8: Children’s
birth certificates issued (2-4 weeks)
WAIT
Step 9: Children’s passports issued (2 weeks)
WAIT
Step 10: Children’s medical exam (at least one month)
WAIT
Step 11: Embassy submission (Steps 7-10 must be complete
for this to happen so no less than 2 months)
WAIT
Step 12: Be notified of pick up date (at least one month)
Step 12: Be notified of pick up date (at least one month)
WAIT
Step 13: Bring our babies home!!!
There are several more detailed steps in addition to
these but these are the big mile markers.
Also, we have learned first-hand the time amounts for each step are
estimates and each case is different.
Sometimes the time is shorter but often times it can be longer.
As you can see, this court date is a huge step for the
adoption journey but we still have a long road ahead. We are taking it one step at a time and
praying that God will allow us to eventually bring our children home.
Just to answer a few questions that we’ve been asked, we
will get to see our children while we are in Ethiopia. They will actually get to stay with us for
the time we are there. We will be there
for about a week and a half and then have to come back to the U.S.A. to wait until notification to pick them
up.
