Dossier is done!

Well the title says it all- our dossier has been turned into IAN!!! It's not officially complete yet because our home study still has to be approved by the state which takes about a week. Hopefully that will all get finalized in the next 1-2 weeks. But my part of the paperwork is done- ahhhh..... The only thing I have left is the immigration papers and those are very easy to fill out- I just have to send a brief form, along with our home study and some money and they'll start that procedure. That could be the part that takes the longest- it can take 2-3 months for immigration to process everything. So we want to get on that ASAP!! But we can't send it until our home study gets approved and sent to us. In the meantime, we're just waiting for our referral. We've been praying so much for K and all the kids at the orphanage. Even if he ends up with another family, he'll at least be prayed for lots! I've been thinking that maybe the thought of siblings is God's way of opening our hearts to having 4 kids- maybe just 3 to start and then adding another one later. Our dossier stays in Ethiopia for 2 years so there would be some benefit to trying again a year or so after we get home. Yes, it's expensive. Really expensive. But, thankfully, we've lived a frugal life for a long time, have super cheap cars, a house that doesn't make us house poor, and don't travel anywhere besides Ohio for the most part. We know that our money can be used in other ways, and one of those ways is to bring home children who otherwise wouldn't have parents to love them and care for them. We also think back to our sweet little Landon, who we paid $16,000 out of pocket the year he was born for all of his care and helicopter rides and such. We didn't hesitate, obviously, to pay that. Here is a child who needs a home- we're not hesitating and trusting God in this process. Can't wait for a referral- love that little K already!!! :)