#23

Less than 24 hours ago, I believed. And, today we got the news... we are OFFICIALLY #23 on the infant boy waiting list. Amazing that after 8 months of starts, stops, zigs and zags we are finally waiting. In adoption lingo... we are now "adoption pregnant".

Thank you for all the support we have gotten from so many of you up to this point. We will need it now more than ever. It might sound like this has been the hard part, but honestly I think the hard parts are just starting. At least up until now we had lots to do that kept us focused. Now all we have is waiting, waiting and more waiting.

So, here's what comes next. Sometime in the next 9 to 12 (or, as long as 18? 24?) months we will get a referral for an infant boy less than 24 months old. Shortly afterwards we will receive a court date in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and need to make travel arrangements for at least a 7-10 day journey. At this first court appearance we will show up to confirm our desire to adopt our son, and on the same day his birth family members will validate their need to give up rights to this child. Wow, that'll be emotional. Depending on the circumstances, we hope to have a chance to meet with and talk to members of the birth family. It could be our only chance to get information to give our son about his history. We will then have to return to the USA without our son... and then wait some more. A couple of months later we will return to Addis Ababa for another 7-10 days for a US Embassy date and pick up our son officially.

Let the unofficial betting begin. You thought picking a date of birth for a biological child was hard, try picking the date we bring our son home from Ethiopia!

/ fredrik