FAQs - Dossier Preparation

We are currently in the dossier [pronounced: doss-ee-eh - like the Canadians say] preparation phase. For the past 2 months we've been working on the home study, and we've officially complete our part of that step!!! It's currently being written by our home study provider, Dillon. The home study becomes one part of the dossier. We are also preparing our USCIS, which allows us to adopt Baby Ethiopia in the U.S.

So what kind of paperwork does the dossier contain? Note that every document has to be notarized and we keep 2 photocopies just in case. Enjoy...

1. Dossier Cover Letter
   
2. Power of Attorney
3. Home Study
4. Home Study Agency License
5. Social Worker License
6. Home Study Provider Approval Letter
7. Police Clearance Letter - both of us
8. Passport Size Photos - both of us
9. Birth Certificates - both of us. This is a fun one because Brian was born in the Dominican Republic. Pray this goes through quickly!
10. Marriage certificate
11. Medical Report - both of us
12. Family Photos
13. Employment Letter
14. Bank Statement
15. Tax Form [page 1 only] from the last 3 years
16. Patter Letter requesting Adoption from Ethiopia
17. 3 Reference Letters
18. Parent Commitment to Provide Post-Adoption Reports
19. Adoptive Parent Form - both of us
20. Obligation of Social Welfare Agency

After I first read through the 23-page document detailing the dossier requirements, I cried. Just a couple tears, but I thought the home study was a lot of work! My not-so-favorite part of the dossier process is that several of these items are also in the home study, but they're a little different so you have to do it all over again.

Our prayer is that we'll be able to send our dossier to Ethiopia by the end of August. Please join us in this prayer:

• that we'll get it finished swifly
• that it wouldn't overwhelm or stress us out
• that the different government agencies that we have to work with would be able to get us the documents quickly
• that documents wouldn't be lost or slip through the cracks
• that we'd even find joy in this process!

Thanks for walking through this with us. We love you.

Is 2 better than 1?

We need to make a BIG DECISION in the next couple months. Should we adopt 2 little Ethiopian kiddos or just 1? There's a ton of pros and cons to each decision that can only bring more crazy making in our minds. So, I thought I'd just ask our blog community (or in the words of Rachel, "your blog stalker") to pray for us. Would you pray that Brian and I would...

• come to the same decision separately
• process the decision along the way well together and separately
• peace
• make a decision with the best interest of the child in mind
• not make the decision out of fear but out of love

We're not asking for everyone's opinions on this, which would probably only add to crazy thinking, but we DO want to hear God's voice. Therefore, if you think God tells you something that might impact our decision making, please share it with us.

We are so grateful for the nearly 1000 hits we've had to this blog. It's such a testimony to how loved our little one(s) will be!!! We love you.