Big Day!

Our dossier is on its way to Holt tonight! What a relief! I think I checked the packet 8 times before I could bring myself to seal it up. The three kids had a hand in turning it over to the FedEx lady today. I documented it with a photo of their hands on the paperwork that will bring us one step closer to our little one. Yes, it probably embarrassed eldest a little to have a photo shoot, but I just had to record this momentous occasion.

For those of you who haven't done a dossier for an adoption, it is a huge batch of paperwork that has to be printed on special papers then certified, notarized, stamped, sealed, and anything else official that can be done to papers. It includes documents from our bankers, doctors, friends, Vital Statistics, the Secretary of State, and on and on. Not all countries require a dossier, so this is our first. And I hear the Ethiopian dossier is not as taxing as what is required for some other countries~ well, hats off to those of you who've done those dossiers. Yikes. 

During the several weeks of gathering and processing these documents, letters, and statements things have been a little weird around here. I've holed up in our study while the kids entertained themselves for hours at a time. That's certainly not normal for our family. My usually pleasant dreams have been filled with strange beasts and natural disasters and thieves breaking in. And while my nightmares have always been murky and don't usually make a lot of sense once I'm awake, it has been clear that my dreamed-up catastrophes were always somehow threatening the precious dossier. Don't ask me how, but in one dream a snake made off with it. Without arms.

The notary at the bank is my new best friend. The kids have spent so much time entertaining themselves on the floor of Kinkos while I make copies that they absolutely cringe when we even drive by one. And our courier service and copy expenses are going to rival our grocery bill this month. 

Now it's finally done. And for that I am truly, truly thankful.