Thursday, November 18, 2010
Dossier is in Ethiopia!
We got great news today. Our dossier has been received, authenticated, and translated in Ethiopia! YEAH!!! We are now officially on the waiting list for a referral, which could be somewhere between 4-6 months. There are a lot of variables that come into play, so it could possibly take longer than 6 months. We just have to wait. But we are so excited to be at this point. :)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Into the Wild!
Months and months of hard work and stress, aka dossier preparation, is over. Yesterday, Allison and I dropped our dossier off at the Fond du Lac Bethany office!
From here, our dossier makes a whirlwind tour as it leaves Wisconsin for additional review and authentication. It will travel from Wisconsin to Michigan, Michigan to Washington D.C., Washington D.C. to Michigan, then Michigan to Ethiopia. We are praying that the documentation travels safely and in one piece.
If all goes well, our dossier should arrive in Ethiopia before Thanksgiving. Once it arrives, we officially get placed on a waiting list, which is currently 4-6 months before we get a referral.
From here, our dossier makes a whirlwind tour as it leaves Wisconsin for additional review and authentication. It will travel from Wisconsin to Michigan, Michigan to Washington D.C., Washington D.C. to Michigan, then Michigan to Ethiopia. We are praying that the documentation travels safely and in one piece.
If all goes well, our dossier should arrive in Ethiopia before Thanksgiving. Once it arrives, we officially get placed on a waiting list, which is currently 4-6 months before we get a referral.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Sesame Street Writer/Adoptive Parent Writes Song for Ethiopian Daughter
So this Seasame Street video has been spreading around Facebook and on the Bethany Forum for the past week. When I first watched it I thought the tune was kind of silly and a bit monotonous. Now that I have seen the video a few times and watched the CNN interview with the Seasame Street writer that was responsible for the song (who also has adopted from Ethiopia) I have come to really like it. In fact I sometimes sing the chorus as I am walking around work. Although the message to the song is fairly simple, I hope it educates children and parents of all nationalities and hair types to enjoy the unique characteristics their particular hair offers.
CNN Interview
Full Music Video
CNN Interview
Full Music Video
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Blake's Adventures of Adoption
Allison and I have been talking, and we've decided to start blogging about our latest adventure of adopting a child from Ethiopia!
To bring everybody up to speed, our adoption basically is a 3 phase process:
Phase 1: Review and Approval by the Adoption Agency
Phase 2: Review and Approval by US Immigration
Phase 3: Review and Approval by the Government of Ethiopia + Waiting Period
Earlier this summer, we completed Phase I of the adoption, and we have already submitted our paperwork to US Immigration. We are told that US Immigration has up to 3 months to approve our paperwork, so we are expecting to hear back from them by the end of November 2010.
Meanwhile, we are preparing our paperwork to submit to Ethiopia for phase 3. I never fathomed all of the paperwork that would be needed for an adoption! Everything from medical histories, drug screening, personal references, notarized bank statements, tax records, professional references, home evaluation, criminal history, work history, family history, and the list goes on and on! So in preparation for phase 3, we are getting the final documents pulled together so that they are all ready by the end of November.
Another step in preparation for phase 3 is visiting the US Immigration office in Milwaukee to be fingerprinted, which is scheduled for the first week of October. I never thought fingerprinting would be exciting, but we are excited because it is another important step that we get to take before bringing our new baby boy or girl home! While we are down in Milwaukee, we'll likely go to an Ethiopian restaurant to celebrate and try some new cuisine.
So this is where we are at. Everybody asks about a timeline, which at this time is largely unknown - which can be frustrating to these two engineers! Essentially, we are anticipating taking our two trips to Ethiopia next summer. We have to go once for court, and then again a second time a couple weeks later to bring our baby home. Chances are it will be longer, but probably not any faster.
If you could please keep us, our future child, and his or her birth mom in your prayers, we would greatly appreciate it. Please pray for our patience and wisdom and we continue on this exciting journey.
-Joe & Allison
To bring everybody up to speed, our adoption basically is a 3 phase process:
Phase 1: Review and Approval by the Adoption Agency
Phase 2: Review and Approval by US Immigration
Phase 3: Review and Approval by the Government of Ethiopia + Waiting Period
Earlier this summer, we completed Phase I of the adoption, and we have already submitted our paperwork to US Immigration. We are told that US Immigration has up to 3 months to approve our paperwork, so we are expecting to hear back from them by the end of November 2010.
Meanwhile, we are preparing our paperwork to submit to Ethiopia for phase 3. I never fathomed all of the paperwork that would be needed for an adoption! Everything from medical histories, drug screening, personal references, notarized bank statements, tax records, professional references, home evaluation, criminal history, work history, family history, and the list goes on and on! So in preparation for phase 3, we are getting the final documents pulled together so that they are all ready by the end of November.
Another step in preparation for phase 3 is visiting the US Immigration office in Milwaukee to be fingerprinted, which is scheduled for the first week of October. I never thought fingerprinting would be exciting, but we are excited because it is another important step that we get to take before bringing our new baby boy or girl home! While we are down in Milwaukee, we'll likely go to an Ethiopian restaurant to celebrate and try some new cuisine.
So this is where we are at. Everybody asks about a timeline, which at this time is largely unknown - which can be frustrating to these two engineers! Essentially, we are anticipating taking our two trips to Ethiopia next summer. We have to go once for court, and then again a second time a couple weeks later to bring our baby home. Chances are it will be longer, but probably not any faster.
If you could please keep us, our future child, and his or her birth mom in your prayers, we would greatly appreciate it. Please pray for our patience and wisdom and we continue on this exciting journey.
-Joe & Allison
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Joseph Samuel Photography
I have been hard at work at establishing my portfolio for my photography business. Hopefully this leads somewhere, but even if it does not - I am having fun.
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