Bird's Words: September 2009

Friday, September 25, 2009

Daddies and Daughters...

One thing I love most about Jeff is how involved he is with our kids. He has never been a dad that sits on the sidelines.. no way! It's one of the things I admire most about him...Both Ellie and Bryan will always know that their Daddy loved them so much that he was always learning new things about them and for them. Here's just one example of that... ENJOY~

Friday, September 11, 2009

what happened???

September 11th is the day that Ethiopia celebrates New Year's Day. As of today, the people of Ethiopia entered the year 2002!

YES, I SAID THAT RIGHT. IT IS 2002 IN ETHIOPIA NOW!

hmmmm......

No wonder no one knows what date Ellie was born! We aren't even in the same year as they are!

Go celebrate in honor of Ethiopia!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Ellie's Singing Debut

Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Bringing Ellie Home: the video

Here's a great video Jeff put together of moments from our trip to Ethiopia. Get your Kleenex and enjoy the show....

ADOPTION TIMELINE (DESTINATION: ELLIE)

10/30/07- orientation meeting with home study agency
11-12/07- gathering documents for home study
1/28/08- home vist #1
2/1/08- immigration application and finger printing
2/5/08- home visit #2
2/22/08- accepted by placement agency (Adoppt, Inc)
2/27/08- received completed home study
2/28/08- home study received at USCIS office in Louisville
3/20/08- received I-171 H form!
3/26/08- KY state seals received for all dossier documents
4/4/08- dossier sent to Consulate General of Vietnam
in San Francisco for Vietnam Embassy authentication
4/8/08- dossier received in San Francisco
4/22/08- received confirmation from the Consulate General's office that our dossier was sent to Vietnam on 4/21!
4/28/08- dossier received in Vietnam; sent for translation
5/19/08- received word that our dossier was logged in sometime last week. WE ARE OFFICIALLY WAITING A REFERRAL NOW!
8/8/08- officially told we will NOT be getting Ellie from Vietnam
9/1/08- Deadline for referrals from Vietnam... none for us.
9/3/08- requested our dossier be sent back to us; researching other options for adoption; getting info on changing our home study and USCIS forms; LOTS of prayers on where God wants us to go next
9/8/08- Approved by Celebrate Children International to begin the process of adopting from Ethiopia!
9/15/08- Ethiopia contract and fees sent in. Our homestudy has been amended, and we are waiting for our amended 171H form as well.
9/30/08- received our amended 171H!
12/20/08- saw picture of a little girl; waiting for more info.
12/27/08- received video footage of little girl; waiting on medical info to make our decision.
12/30/08- received word that she is healthy
12/31/08- dossier returned to us with US Dept. and Ethiopian Embassy seals!
1/1/09- received complete medical evaluation on child; we will accept referral!! We have found her!
1/7/09- signed the papers to accept the referral of our Ellie.
4/9/09- re-fingerprinted for our 171H, as they are about to expire. STILL waiting on a court date...
6/5/09-Ellie has been moved to the Transition House in the city! Still no court date assigned
6/9/09- Court date assigned for 6/18/09!!
6/19/09- court date reassigned to 7/2/09
7/2/09- PASSED COURT!!! Awaiting travel dates!
7/29/09- Embassy date appointed for 8/11/09. Tickets purchased to travel on August 7th!!!!! WOO HOOO~~~
8/7/09- left for Ethiopia!
8/9/09- met Ellie face to face for the first time!
8/15/09- HOME at last!!