And now, a fun story that will be written down in our adoption journal…
While we were in Washington, D.C for the 2:1 Conference, our Dossier paperwork was in the same city. I knew it was there and joked about wondering if they needed me to hand-deliver it somewhere to speed up the process. A day or two later, our GPS got us turned around due to an unexpected detour. We found ourselves driving on some random roads while the GPS recalculated very slowly. I was admiring the gorgeous houses and then I started noticing flags. Country flags. It dawned on me that we were driving through the embassies.
And because I’m sentimental, I typed in “Ethiopian Embassy” into the GPS.
Not only did we drive past it, but I got out and took a few photos. Because really, when am I ever going to be standing in front of the Ethiopian Embassy knowing that my paperwork is sitting inside at that very moment? Never. Once in a lifetime thing.
So, yeah, I’m the weird lady that got out and took pictures of the Ethiopian Embassy and the flag.
Also, the Lord made the flag unfurl in the wind just for me.
Oh, sweet child of mine, we are coming. Momma and Daddy are coming just as fast as we can. We love you.
I am beyond giddy to be able to announce that we are finally DTE status.
What is DTE?
Dossier to Ethiopia!
Our paperwork process has been a rather long one compared to some, but we are confident that God’s timing is perfect. We’ve had bumps in the road with our paperwork~sometimes it was our fault, other times we were at the mercy of the process and government entities.
This is a very big step for us. It means we are finally on the “waiting list”…even though we’ve already been waiting for a while in our minds. The dossier is a big stack of papers gathered from all over. It is basically our life on paper. Financial statements, birth certificates, medical letters, and pictures are just a few things that are included in a dossier. We turned it in a while ago, but it still had several stops in the United States before it got to travel over the ocean. We finally heard that it is on it’s final leg of the journey!
So, now…we wait.
Waiting is something that we’ve grown used to. Ok, I lied. Nobody gets used to it, but it is part of the process, so I wait. While I feel like our family is incomplete at this moment, I am comforted by the fact that God’s timing is perfect. He is in the details. And honestly, Asher is keeping me so busy these days that I am ok with waiting a little longer. Neither of us are ready for me to take two trips out of the country. So really, it is ok…talk to me in a few months and my tone might change.
Jonah came home with a Mother’s Day card from church yesterday. Besides the expected fun answers like my age (1 years old) or my desired occupation when I grow up (Ballet Dancer), these sort of questionnaires can be so revealing. For example, Jonah’s answer to the second question “My favorite thing to do with my mom is….” brought tears to my eye and gave me the pat on the back that I need some days.
His answer: “work in my homeschool room”
You’d better believe I’m framing it!
Wow. I knew that he liked learning and the things that I plan for our Mommy & Me time, but really? His favorite thing?!
I think the proof is in the pudding.
And I’m so glad…I think it is one of my greatest joys as a mother to teach my boys and watch them learn. Out of all the students I’ve had through the years, my boys are my favorite. While we’ve only been doing preschool things so far, we’ve seen a glimpse of the glorious life that homeschooling can be for our family and found that it works for us. Apparently, it’s working for Jonah, too. 
I’m so glad I walked out of that classroom four years ago.
