Steve, Hunter and I are happy to announce that we received our referral. She is 2 years old, has big brown eyes and cute little lips. In all the pictures we have seen, she is cute and full of personality. Sadly, I cannot share pictures of her until we pass court in Ethiopia.
Her name will be Ella Carlyn Hagelin. We chose Ella since it is part of her Ethiopian name and we hope this honors the name her birthmother gave her. If as an adult she would like to change her name back to her full Ethiopian name, we will be happy to support that. Carlyn is a combination of Carl (Steve's father) and Lynn (Michelle's mother).
So what are the next steps? Steve and I will attend a court hearing in Ethiopia on 6/6/11. Please be praying for us that day. We are hopeful that all paperwork will be in order. If we pass court, according to Ethiopian law we will be her legal parents. If we do not pass court, there will be another court hearing but Steve and I will not be required to be present. If we do pass court, we will need to wait for an appointment at the US Embassy. That appt is generally 7-12 weeks after the court hearing. However, if the Embassy decides to investigate her case it could be longer.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
May Update from Agency
News from Ethiopia seems generally encouraging at the present time. Last week 7 cases were approved in court and 4 cases received new court dates. In addition, four families successfully completed the visa process.
The court hearings will be late May for the first hearing and the first week in June for the second. Four families are considering referrals of babies but we haven’t heard their decisions yet.
We have several babies in the nursery who are paper-ready or nearly so, but we are waiting for the results of the PCR tests for HIV.
There are a number of families “on hold” on the waiting list for one reason or another. If those families come off “hold” it will affect families behind them on the list. But at this point, if nothing changes, the next referral of a baby boy will go to a family whose dossier went to Ethiopia in January of 2010. The next family to receive a baby girl referral has a dossier sent in July of 2009. There are actually only a few 2009 families left on the list.
We are happy to share this encouraging news with you.
Merrily and Susan H.
The court hearings will be late May for the first hearing and the first week in June for the second. Four families are considering referrals of babies but we haven’t heard their decisions yet.
We have several babies in the nursery who are paper-ready or nearly so, but we are waiting for the results of the PCR tests for HIV.
There are a number of families “on hold” on the waiting list for one reason or another. If those families come off “hold” it will affect families behind them on the list. But at this point, if nothing changes, the next referral of a baby boy will go to a family whose dossier went to Ethiopia in January of 2010. The next family to receive a baby girl referral has a dossier sent in July of 2009. There are actually only a few 2009 families left on the list.
We are happy to share this encouraging news with you.
Merrily and Susan H.
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