Embassy...oh Embassy.....

Not much has been going on around here as far as our adoption is concerned. To bring you up to speed....

• We took our first trip to Ethiopia in July for a court date of JULY 31st!! (She is officially ours!)
• We came home and waited for paperwork to be completed in order to get submitted to Embassy. (paperwork took 5 weeks to be completed...one week added for passport mistake)
• We were "Submitted to Embassy" on September 4th (the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has our file and after they review it, we will "clear" Embassy and be allowed to bring Jordyn home.
• The U.S. Embassy is pretty backed up right now with files as well as training a new staff, so we have been waiting for almost 4 weeks at this point for them to review our case. (In the past, this process took 1 week. UGH!!! Embassy.)   :(  

We are REALLY missing our little girl!!! This past 9 weeks has been longer than we expected, but I am thankful to have received a few pictures of our daughter along the way. She is in such good hands at the transition house, but it is time for her to come HOME.

There are several families that are in the "post court" waiting period. Pray with me that God would open doors for ALL of these kids to all come home quickly!!! We are HOPING and expecting for our file to be opened THIS week. Please pray that happens and that the last steps taken by the U.S. Embassy are uneventful. We would hope to bring her home in the next couple of weeks!!!

Also, please keep Jordyn in your prayers as coming home with us will be a very new and possibly fearful experience for her. She is close to 11 months old now and has only seen us a handful of times. I am praying that she feels our love and just knows that we are Mom, Dad, and big brothers right away. :)

Update....Venting....Praying

I'm not really in a "writing mood" right now. (so maybe I shouldn't even write...my grumpiness may shine through). It has been 5 weeks since we passed court and were in Ethiopia. Last week, I was hopeful that we were going to be "submitted to Embassy." In adoption talk, that is an awesome step that means you are SO CLOSE to "clearing" Embassy and getting the OK to travel and pick up your child. Confused?? :)

Once you are submitted, you are a few weeks away from traveling! We were asked to review some documents last Tuesday before submission (which only happens on Wednesdays) and we came across a mistake on Jordyn's passport. (so sad) So we weren't able to be submitted like they planned and like we hoped.

I was anticipating good news today...that the passport was corrected. But I also need to be realistic and know that things take time and creating a new passport may not happen in less than a week. As of right now, (3:30 am in Ethiopia on Wednesday morning), it doesn't look like we will be submitted again. I also just learned that next Wednesday is a holiday in Ethiopia, so the Embassy is closed. (Really hoping that they will let the agency submit files on a different day).

We could have been submitted at week 4, but now it looks like it may be week 7?? And then a few weeks (3-4) after that to clear embassy. Totally discouraged and just need to not be so focused on this timeline. :(

BUT I WANT HER HOME!! WE MISS HER!!!

If you think of us, pray that all of this would work out and that we would get to travel sooner than I am mapping out in my head. I had a dream the other night that we went to get her and she was the size of a 2 year old. I guess even as I sleep I am sad about how much we are missing each day. She is growing so fast and we aren't getting to experience it.