Announcing. . . . .

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.