(We've got the) Golden ticket!

That's right - our 171-H arrived today!

For those not embedded in adoption lingo: this is the letter from the US gov't giving us approval to adopt from another country. This is the 1 thing we've been waiting for (for 5 1/2 weeks) before our paperwork could be sent to Ethiopia so we can get on the waiting list.

So, we faxed a copy to our agency today and now we wait.

The last we heard they were predicting a 1-6 month wait for referrals like ours. The last family from our agency to accept a referral within our specifications (0-6 yrs,
sibs, either gender) waited 1 month. The family before them with the same specs waited 6 months. So, we'll see what is in store for us.

This is exciting! We could see pictures of our future children soon! Any day!

This makes my knees knock together in holy-crap-you've-got-to-be-kidding-me-ness! I need to learn Amharic, get the house in order, get the bills organized, make mental travel plans (where do we want to sightsee while in ET?), get our vaccinations, apply for Eliana's passport.........augh!

Our future children could be/are probably going through some really tough times right now. Please keep them in your prayers as they are about to undergo some major life changes in the next year.

Today I am grateful for little girls in pigtails!
I bet you wish I would have taken a picture of Eliana today, huh? She looked SO cute in her little pig tails! The camera? Nowhere nearby. Sorry. I'll try again tomorrow.