And Now that We Have Our Referral, What's Next?

We spoke with our agency last Wednesday and discussed what comes next. In Ethiopia our dossier is being translated and placed with Oliver's file to be presented to the Ethiopian government along with medical tests that must be completed in order to bring Oliver home.

For us, we do little on the adoption front but wait for our court date. In Ethiopian adoption, a court date will be scheduled where our file and Oliver's file will be presented by an attorney, hired by our agency, who will represent us. The court declares the adoption legal and in Ethiopia we will officially be Oliver's parents. When we travel to Ethiopia to pick up Oliver we must complete the U.S. portion of the international adoption in order to have the U.S. allow Oliver admittance and recognize the adoption.

Life seems to be full ahead as we wait for our court date (we should know the date it is scheduled in a couple of weeks if not sooner). It seems unlikely we will have a November court date so I am hoping for a early December court date. In the meantime, Chloe and I went to Build-A-Bear* and Chloe picked out a bear, put in Brahm's lullaby and gave it life for her little brother to enjoy when he arrives home. I thought it was something she could do to make the adoption real for her.