What's next??

Well, it has been a week since our referral. It has been a relief to finally have that picture and know some information about our future little girl. I’ve been asked by everyone, what will happen next? Also, when are you leaving? The next step in the process is to wait for a court date. When we accepted the referral last Friday, Natalie said she would inform the in country staff so that they can schedule a date. It is taking about a month to find out the date, which is usually a month from then. Doing the math, it will be about two months until a court date. This is a lot longer than we originally expected. Last spring, it was only about a month between referral and travel. How quickly things change in the world of adoption! I can only assume that this is because there are many more cases to hear as Ethiopian adoptions are growing in popularity. If the court date is successful the first time, we would leave about a month later. Many cases are postponed and rescheduled for a variety of reasons. Hopefully it will be about three months until we travel. I know that this will be the real wait. We are staying positive (so far) and trying to remain patient. I just hope everything works out and she stays happy and healthy at The Gladney Foster Home.