Making Progress

It has been almost 6 weeks since passing court.  I thought the wait was going to be easier especially with the holidays here but that is not the case.  More and more people are asking me when Lennox is coming home which is making my wait horrible.  I received an email the day before Thanksgiving stating that my paperwork finally made it to the embassy. A two week process took 5 weeks. I then received an email today directly from the embassy.  The embassy stated that they are requesting  5 days to review my file and then they will give me an update on what my file looks like.  They will be able to tell me if paperwork is missing or if they want clarification of certain paperwork.  This process is currently taking 2-12 weeks.  The cases where a child is found abandoned is taking the longest and that is not the situation in my case.  The birth mother of Lennox went through the court system and gave her rights away voluntarily.  This should shorten my wait time.  Once the embassy reviews my file and approves it they will give me an embassy date which is usually 1 week after approval.  I will travel to Ethiopia for this appointment.  They will ask me similar question to those that I answered at court.  They will ask if I met Lennox, if I agree with the adoption, and if I have received payment to take him, or paid the birth mother for him.  They will then apply for his visa/passport which will take 2 business days.  Once I have his passport in my hand we will  head home.  I will update the blog with any new information. I just pray and hope that the approval process by the US embassy does not take 12weeks.  I am going to contact the embassy next week to see if they can give me an idea of what my file looks like and an estimated timeline.

                                                                    UPDATED PHOTO
more later
Jessica

Video of Lennox

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waiting....

Well it has been 3 weeks since passing court to become Lennox's mother.  It is crazy to be home without him, but I need the time to get Kadin ready.  He insist that Lennox's name is Clinton (my super cute baby nephew).  He will go into Lennox's room and say "Clinton's room" "Clinton's bed" "Clinton's seat".  I correct him and tell him that it is Lennox's room, bed, and seat but now it is a game.  I just hope that once Lennox is home that he will realize that Clinton and Lennox are two separate babies. 

I was told 3 weeks ago that cases were being reviewed by the US Embassy within 3 months.  I have been told by many adoptive parents that contacting the US Embassy for updates is frowned upon by adoption agencies.  Well I am going to wait 8 weeks and then contact the US Embassy to see if they can give me an update on where Lennox's file is.  I would hate for his file to be collecting dust on a desk in Ethiopia. 

I hope that I get updated photos of Lennox but I am not sure if I will.  I can't imagine not getting any updates of him. He is going to grow up so much in the next few months.  I hope and pray that I will be able to go pick up Lennox before 12 weeks.  I will update the blog if I find out anything.

more later
Jessica