DTE

Today is the day our dossier is being sent to Ethiopia. In the bloggy, chat-group, adoption world: we are DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia). This is a major accomplishment as it takes months to get to this point. For those of you wondering, the dictionary definition of a dossier (dos-ee-ey) is: a collection or file of documents on the same subject containing detailed information about a person or topic. In my words, it’s a big bunch of papers that takes forever to collect and will make you nuts if you let it.




I took a picture to share with you. Please try to be impressed as a big chunk of our past 6 months or so has been spent pulling it together. It includes: a state certified cover sheet, an application letter to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, new and original birth and marriage certificates, physical exam reports, proof of medical and life insurance, a financial statement, employment verification letters, a copy of our home study, 3 letters of reference, police reports, the much anticipated I-171H form, a state certified power of attorney, an agency recommendation and post placement commitment, family photo pages, and copies of our passports. Each form was completed according to specific instructions and many were notarized.

Many people refer to this stage of adoption as the “paper pregnancy” because it is such a long process. However, I’ve been pregnant and although it is a ridiculous amount of work, I’ll take paperwork any day.

So now…we wait some more. Only now, rather than waiting for an appointment or a piece of paper to come in the mail, we are waiting for a child - our child. We are waiting for a phone call informing us that God has chosen one of his beautiful children to be a part of our family. I don’t know how long this waiting will last, but I do know that I will be taking my phone with me everywhere I go.