Home Study Complete and Other News

Well our home study is officially complete after our meeting this morning. We are still waiting a sign off from the main office but we expect that on Monday and then we should get the home study on Tuesday via Fed Ex and then we will either certify and send off on Tuesday or Wednesday. That's our plan now, all subject to change.

After that everything is truly in God's hands. They recently changed the law in Ethiopia on what defines orphan status. It used to be that a baby would have to be abandoned for three months before they could be declared an orphan. The new law says the baby only has to be abandoned for two months. I think this is a great change because it will get babies to their new families even sooner and help with any attachment issues. One Holt family received word of their referral on March 28th, have a court date of May 16th, and then will travel shortly after that to pick up their baby. The baby will be approximately 5 months when they come home. That is about as young as you can get in the adoption world and we are praying for as young as possible for us.

I've also heard recently that Ethiopia is not certifiying any new agencies as of now. Holt just received their certification in January so we are thankful for this. We truly feel that Holt is the best agency out there.

A lot has been in the news the past day about the status of adoptions in Vietnam. A friend and co-worker of mine and her husband had just started the process and were planning on sending in their dossier documents today with the first part of the installment due for the adoption. Word came out today that the US is stopping any adoptions that don't have referrals by September 1st. As a result they are looking at other countries to go to. What is being reported as going on in Vietnam is truly heart breaking. There is a lot of baby selling going on and a lot of babies being taken from their mothers and sold to adoption agencies. It's probably a good thing the US is putting a hold on things right now but it's also heart breaking to think about the kids that won't have homes as a result of a few unethical agencies.

I'm about to roll out my new blog. I have tons of ideas to post so look for that to come out soon. We hope to make some progress this weekend on our to do list before the adoption. Hopefully Leah will cooperate!