The calm...

It’s been a week since our file was sent to the Embassy in Ethiopia. And man, am I itching for some news. We should be notified when the birth parent/guardian interview is set up.  So since we haven’t heard anything, I’m assuming it hasn’t happened yet. And it’s driving me crazy! Hahaha!

 

We’re so sooooooooo close! I’m praying that we get a speedy answer. There are rare cases that are approved and sent back within 2 weeks. Since we’ve been the rare delay throughout this entire process, I’m hoping we’re the rare acceptance here at the end.   :-)

We’re praying we get USCIS clearance soon so that we still make the cut off before the courts close at the beginning of August (normally around the 10th-12th).  

 

ALSO, we found out that as soon as we are issued our PAIR letter, Ethiopia will issue a birth parent court date, or in Bertie’s case, a guardian court date first. This is normally 3-4 weeks out.

Here's the kicker. Since this new PAIR process has begun, we WON'T know we're traveling for court until 1-2 weeks before our court date. 

Yikes. 

This means ticket prices will likely be much, much higher since we won't have much of a heads up. The best time to buy the cheapest tickets is about 6 weeks out. 

It will be similar when we go for our embassy trip. Not much notice anymore. 

BUT, on the flip side, our agency is exploring the possibility of 1 longer trip. The time between our court date and embassy date is much shorter now too!

So there's good and bad to it. The mister and I are going to do our best to pump over even more to help offset those costs.

I'm trying my best not to freak out over finances and work. May is a crazy month with birthdays and end of year stuff at school, but June should be a better month for saving since we won't have pre-k costs. 

I know Gods got this, but it's easy to get caught up in all the big stuff. 

 

Please keep praying for us – for multiple reasons. We’re working overtime to add extra to our account and still make it day to day.

 

Please pray for me as well. I’m in this last-phase-burnout-mode, and my brain feels like it’s taking a vacation. DEFINITELY got some serious mom-brain going on. 

 

I’ll update you as soon as we hear anything, but I didn’t want to leave you guys hanging for too long. I know many of you are just as excited and anxious for news as we are. You guys are the greatest.