Got It!

After hearing many frustrating stories of delays, rejections, and requests for home study re-writes we were prepared to wait five to six months for the wonderful piece of paper that arrived in Friday's mail. So you can imagine our excitement to find our immigration approval in the mail after less than two months of waiting! It appears that the kinks are finally being worked out in the new system for those of us adopting from "Hague" countries.

So what's next? We will wait for the word that our dossier has been translated and submitted to the Albanian Adoption Committee (AAC). From there we wait some more. While we already have plenty to keep us occupied during the next several months, we have been told that the wait could be as long as two to three years. The number of adoptable children in Albania has dropped dramatically since Ellie's adoption two years ago (something we just became aware of in the last month or so). My bloggy friend, Melissa, visited Ellie's orphanage last month and reported that only about ten or so children currently occupy the facility in Vlore (there were close to thirty there in 2006).

In our conversations with others about this second adoption, certain questions are pretty common. Since you may be wondering the same things, I'll share the answers to those frequently asked questions...

1.) We have requested a child 36 months of age or younger, so Ellie will retain her 'birth order.'

2.) We have not specified a desire for a boy or a girl -- one can't request that when having biological children so we will happily accept what God gives us. It will also add to the fun and surprise when our referral comes!

3.) We have no idea which orphanage our child will come from. There are a number of different orphanages throughout the country -- it just depends on what child becomes available and where he or she is living.

4.) We plan to take Ellie with us. We feel strongly about this being a family experience. In addition to taking Ellie back to visit the ladies who cared for her in Vlore, there are also a number of friends in Albania that we want to re-introduce Ellie to so as she grows up, she will be able to count many Albanian 'aunts' and 'uncles' amongst her extended "family."

In other news, we were pleased to bump into the Kinnells at Fiesta Mexico Friday night and meet Chloe and Essie in person! Ellie has enjoyed looking at their pictures on their blog and we hope to have a play date some time this week. It's Ellie's spring break and we're going to try to plan some fun activities to keep her from getting too bored. ;-)

Thanks for checking in!