Congrats! and paperwork update

I'm so happy for my NBM/PF (new baby mamma/pappa friends)!!! Today they are officially on the wait list. This means that all of their paperwork is finished and they will be waiting for a child. This is an extraordinarily big moment because all of you who understand, the level of paperwork coordination and what it takes to get everything done perfectly--understand that it's a minor miracle to complete. There's also the factor of feeling like you are releasing it from your control and now surrendering to the universe.

Today was a smaller paperwork milestone for me, I dropped off my homestudy report at CIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) for approval. Thanks to KC for going with me. This can take a week or eight weeks, as the secretary reminded me. Once I receive approval, I will then take my homestudy documents to be authenticated by the state department and then my dossier is assembled together and sent to the Ethiopian Government. This is when I will join them on the wait list. I guess that while timing can be so open-ended I really believe that everything will unfold exactly as it should.

When I reflect about the amount of forms I filled out and the level of what I'll call an "inventory check" in every part of my life - I feel both grateful as well as "inside-out". I'm absolutely willing and supportive of the level of checks and balances that occur during the adoption process but to be truthful, it was more than I ever thought. I read a blog where a woman said she averaged "20 hrs/wk for 6 months" on paperwork and I thought wow - it's can't be that much and now the jokes on me. The good news is............................I'm almost done :)

Info on ADDIS ABABA - capital of Ethiopia (pic above)

With over 4 million people, the city is located in the geographic center of the country. It is a diverse and riotous capital city of nearly three million souls, with roughly 80 different nationalities, and a multitude of religious and language groups making up its colorful population. Nestled at the foot of Mount Entoto, the city was founded in the late 1800s by Ethiopian emperor Menelik II and was later occupied by the Italians during the second Italo-Abyssinian War. When Ethiopians regained control, Emperor Haile Selassie immediately set about rebuilding the capital and formed the Organization of African Unity, replaced by today's African Union, which has its headquarters in the city. Addis Ababa is also home to the world-renown early hominid Lucy - her fossilised skeleton, as well as a replica, are housed in the Ethiopian National Museum. The city also boasts the largest open market in Africa (in the Merkato district), several interesting mosques and cathedrals, as well as the world's largest prefabricated building, Shengo Hall, and Menelik's old Imperial Palace, which is the official seat of the Ethiopian government.