DTE- Dossier To Ethiopia!

We were so blessed to find our Immigration Approval in the mailbox on December 23rd!!! Merry Christmas to the Fulmer's!!! After stalking the mailman for 3 weeks we finally have the form that will allow us to complete our paperwork chase. The 23rd was exactly 5 months from when we made the decision to adopt from Ethiopia!!!
What this means:
1. All of our dossier (paperwork) will be reviewed by our agency.
2. The dossier will be taken to the Ethiopian Embassy in DC (the one Ryan and I visited this summer)
3. Certain documents will be translated into Amharic, the Ethiopian Language.
4. The dossier will be on it's way to Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa!!

Then what??? Now we are considered a "Waiting Family" as we wait for our referral. Our family coordinator will notify us when we have been matched with a baby. This could happen anytime but the trend with our agency has been 4-6 months for a baby boy and 9-11 months for a baby girl. When we receive our referral we will be emailed a picture and medical history. Hopefully, the next 4 months fly by as we wait to see our baby's face.

Most families have shared that this is the hardest part of the adoption process. Now that we have completed the dossier there isn't anything left for us to work on...well, actually, I take that back, we are going to start preparing a NURSERY!! =)


Tears of happiness!!!!

Thank you for our love and support! We cannot wait to share our baby's picture with you!!!
Have a very Merry Christmas!
Love, Ryan and Ashlie