December 28 ...

That was OUR day ... we were submitted to Embassy on December 28!!!  I would have written sooner but our family was knee deep in snow and tearing the slopes.  The whole family was skiing for the holidays which was so much fun.  A first for my kids ... and well, back to a childhood love for this girl raised in the North.   On that Wednesday, as I stood in line for the chair lift, it dawned on me ... it is WEDNESDAY!  WEDNESDAY!  WEDNESDAY!!  Oh my gosh it was torture the rest of the day.  All I could think about was our boy and the possibility of being submitted that day.   As soon as we arrived back to our house I ran upstairs.  I scrolled through the e-mails on my phone to find the long awaited one ...  Yep, I'm all sappy ... I cried.  We are on the LAST step!

Congratulations, your embassy paperwork was submitted today! Copies of all documents submitted are attached to this email.

We are excited for your family as you enter into this final stage of your adoption process. Many families have commented this season of waiting is the hardest, and our prayer for your family is that you will have a peace that passes understanding as you wait through this final season.

Once the embassy receives your paperwork, the embassy will let us know within 10 business days whether you are cleared, whether they'd like to interview someone involved in the case (birth parent, police, etc.), or whether your case is "not clearly approvable" and is being forwarded to the USCIS office in Nairobi, Kenya.

Birth Relative interviews are currently being requested for all cases with a living relative who relinquished a child, so we encourage any family with that situation to be prepared for this possibility. If an appointment is requested, it may take as long as a week or more for the embassy to request this from the date of paperwork submission, and as the embassy only has limited interview slots, it may take a week or more for this individual to interview (if applicable and requested).

Once your paperwork is submitted, the embassy will copy your family on all correspondence with us. The Embassy could potentially notify us on any day of the week that you are cleared to travel and will notify you and us once you are cleared via email. As soon as they clear you to travel you will need to notify the embassy of your top 3 choices for embassy interview dates. We will then request these dates and should hear from the embassy on the following business day regarding your request.

Embassy interviews occur Monday-Thursday with the exception of embassy holidays. Visas are issued the second day after the interview (Monday interview=Wednesday visa pickup) with the exception of Thursday interviews for which visas are issued the following day (Friday). Families can leave Ethiopia any time after 7pm on the day the visa is issued. 

If you have any further questions on this, please let me know.

In Him,

So, there you have it ... we now WAIT again.  Each step brings a new place of trust.  We are pretty sure they will request that birth parent interview and that could take some time ... but guess what 2012 brings???  ZEBENE COMING HOME!  

Happy New Years friends!  It indeed is looking to be a glorious one FULL of transitions, hope, and promise sprinkled with heartache, trials and the process of redemption.  We are READY!