Dossier is DONE!

We are officially done with the dossier as of today! What does this mean? We have ONE more thing to do before receiving a referral and that is a last set of fingerprints for immigration. We have to do that before we can send the dossier to Ethiopia. The approval will come after the fingerprints are done which takes a few weeks....It will have to be  authenticated, etc. by the agency which takes a few weeks and then translated, etc.. which takes a few weeks, etc....SO our goal is to hopefully be on the official waiting list for a referral by Christmas! Then, the wait could be 6-12 months from there until we receive a referral.  I am thinking realistically and hoping to have a referral by NEXT Christmas but we could very well be in Ethiopia by then too!  Most of the time if you hear someone waited a few months, it is from the official wait list month, not the beginning of the process....all of the process just takes time and a lot of patience...and no 2 people are alike, much like pregnancies...one person's experience horrible and then other's is relatively easy. Please continue to pray for us and our child. And thank you to anyone who has put me in contact with other Ethiopian adoptive parents and your sweet emails and encouraging words here and there. Means so much!