We have received our fingerprinting appointment

We have received our fingerprint appointment for August 4th!  This is the last step necessary for the USCIS to process our application and give us our approval form which is the last document we need for our dossier.  I have finished the online class and Nathan is almost done.  We are getting very close to having all of the "work" done and the "wait" to begin.  Right now it is 9-11 months to wait for a referral for a baby girl, but this is always subject to change.  We are thankful for the Lord's grace to get each step of this process done, and we trust his timing--through the working of all the many factors that are out of our control.  We are getting all settled back into our home and life in Knoxville and are enjoying time with family and friends.

Our Home study has been finalized!

Hi everyone!  The kids and I have been spending a lot of quality time with family here in Reno.  We are so thankful for the special days with loved ones.  We are also grateful that Nathan is back here with us and are getting ready to head back home to Knoxville on Tuesday.  We are excited to see everyone there soon!  We have had our home study finalized and approved by everyone, and our I6OOa application has been mailed to the TN USCIS office.  This was a huge accomplishment and our social worker Debbie once again went and above and beyond her duty to help us get it mailed out before I return home!  We are so thankful and this process has had such favor thus far.  The cost for the application including FBI fingerprints was $830, and the Lord had provided for that amount right as we left for our trip.  He is so faithfully providing step by step!  

    We have been working on our online class and reading assignments while in Reno.  We are now able to start applying for some grants as we have our completed home study.  We do not know how long it will take to get approval from the US government--possibly several months.  As soon as we receive that approval form we will be able to certify our dossier at each level--county, state, and nationally.  It will then be ready to send to Ethiopia which is when we are officially on the "waiting list" for a referral for a baby girl 0-18 months.  Currently the wait at that point is 9-11 months for a referral but it is always subject to change.  We trust the Lord's timing and know he has our daughter already handpicked for our family.  Thank you for your prayers and gifts.  There is so much I am learning I will look forward to sharing on this blog once we get settled back home.