Sunday, February 27, 2011

Dossier Turned In!! Paperwork finished!!




I am very proud to announce to you that we are officially done with the paper chase part of this adoption, we have fed exed our dossier. (dos- e- a for my non adoption friends) As soon as Holt approves it we will be officially waiting. Waiting for that phone call and email to see the beautiful face fo the child God has prepared us for also known as a referral. We really have no idea how long that might be. They are saying 7-9 months but some of the people who just received their referral in about 4-5 months. So your guess is as good as mine. I am praying for patience during this wait and to just enjoy family because I have been told that the wait between seeing the picture and going to court to hold them is very difficult and that the wait once we have seen them and had to leave them is even more difficult. So this is suppose to be the easy wait!!


Ok so I have had many questions about what is a dossier so I am going to list all of the things we have done so far. I know it is overwhelming but I would do it a 1000 times over if necessary!

First we had to do our home study. Here is what that involved.
- application
directions to our home
medical tests for Bryan and I (HIV, HEB B, TB and drugs)
medical exams for Cole and Averie
autobiographys (that was interesting)
family pictures, pictures of our house, and play area with swing set
monthly budget
marriage certificate and birth certificates
photos of passports
4 references who had to fill out questionare about us (4 pages)
CPA letter about finances since we are self employed
last year income tax papers
copy of drivers licenses and social security cards
floor plan of our home
fire arms safety sheet
child proof our house (needed to be done with Cole anyway)
fire extinguisher
practice fire drills
8 hours of questioning Bryan and I on EVERYTHING
30 min. of questioning Averie (our Social worker was in for a treat, if you know Averie you
understand)
Proof of will, life insurance, and health insurance
forms about our marriage (we each had to do one) and each others parenting abilities

Once we received our approved home study we were able to mail our papers for immigration. That involved our homestudy, birth certificates and marriage certificates. We then received fingerprint appointments and had that done in Dallas. We needed that approval to add to our dossier.

Our dossier included:
family summary form
a notarized letter from us to the Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs in Eth. telling
why we wanted to adopt
2 passport sized photos of each of us
our home study report that had to be certified in Austin at the Sec of States office
a power of attorney allowing a man in Ethiopia to act on our behalf (a little scary) certified also
Certified Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificates
Color copies of our passport notarized
2 more letters of recommedation notarized
Police clearance from our local law enforcement notarized
Medical Certificates on Bryan and I notarized
CPA letter notarized
Copy of income taxes notarized
Personal condition forms (4 yrs. of income taxes) notarized
Letter from our bank that we are in good standing notarized
Post Placement agreement notarized
copy of my immigration approval

Now you know why I am so relieved for this part to be over. Thanks for your prayers and support but keep it coming. We are going to need all we can get over this time. Please also pray for our Ethiopian angel and their birth family.
Photobucket

5 comments:

Susan Bledsoe said...

That is a lot of work! I'm so excited for yall and happy yall are letting me a part of this process through this blog.

Karen said...

Oh, Mandie, I am so excited that you are at this point! I know the waiting will be hard, but God will be at work even in the wait. Praying, praying, praying....love you!

Brian and Jennifer said...

I love this detailed list! Gives me a few more ideas of what I need to get done before we do our home study ;-) Congratulations!!!

Jennifer Kindle said...

Wow! what a load....so glad to hear you are now entering upon the just waiting period! blessings to you this week...may the God of hope brings you all joy and peace and you trust in him.

SaraLyons said...

Yay! Doesn't it feel great to be done with the paper chase!