Sweet Sixteen!

Today they announced that couple #1 has accepted a little baby girl and everybody on the list moves up! I read on my yahoo blog that the baby is only 3 weeks old. The young couple is so excited.

Here's how it works. When we get to number one, we wait patiently (NOT) for our phone call from the agency. They call and say you have a baby! They send you at least one picture and sometimes two or three and try to give you as much information as they can. There will be a doctor's report and the test results for the major diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. They also give an evaluation on the developmental milestones of the child and how that compares to other children. This would be if she's rolling over, sitting up, crawling, and things like that. Then there is any history of the child. Sometimes they know the parents have passed away and the family could not afford to feed them. Sometimes the child is abandoned at the orphanage and they don't even know a name or birth date.

After your receive all the information (and do the happy dance) then you have two weeks to have a doctor look over the data. It is possible to say no and the child will be offered to the next couple on the list. When you say yes, they schedule your court date. You don't even have to be there for your court date for them to declare the child is yours! They have a man named Abebe that takes care of everything. Once you pass, it takes 2-3 months for all the birth certificates, visas, and embassy appointments to be arranged and you can go travel to pick up your little darling. We will spend about a week in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia visiting her orphanages and talking to the ladies that take care of her.

So, that is what we are looking forward to. We are celebrating our first move up the list, but already checking the website daily waiting for another jump.