Well, we're almost officially "paper pregnant!" After a day that included a car that wouldn't start, two trips to the Secretary of State's office, and 30 minutes of copying at Staples, we have turned in our dossier to our agency! Wooo whoooo! I think that we're both feeling a little bit stunned that we're finally at this point in the process. Here's a taste of our day today ...
I was in my car to leave for work and I couldn't get it to start. Huh. It was parked in the garage and was running fine for me on Saturday. We didn't drive it on Sunday. But I couldn't get it to start for me. I could tell by the sounds that it was making that it wasn't the battery. So I went back inside and had Mark come down to listen to it. He thinks it sounds (and smells) like something with the fuel line. We had been planning to take my car to Indy today so we had to go to plan B.
Mark showered and got ready for the day and then drove me to work. I had to ask my supervisor to re-do my employment letter for our dossier because we saw an error on it yesterday. So Denise and I walked over to the Purdue Union building to have the letter notarized. Denise is also an adoptive parent and understands all the paperwork and how precise everything has to be ... I was especially glad for her good-humor and willingness to help.
Mark and I both worked until noon and then he picked me up at work to go to Indy. We went directly to the Secretary of State's office to get the last paperwork state sealed. Then we drove to our agency on the northeast side of the city. There, the assistant for the International programs went through our dossier to make sure that everything was correct. Wouldn't you know it? The first document was state sealed incorrectly! Ugh. The good news, however, was that that was the only error she found! Hooray!
So we jumped back in the car at 3:20 to get to the Secretary of State's office one last time (fingers crossed, please!) We arrived at 3:45 -- they close at 4 p.m. I dropped Mark off at the front of the building -- he made a mad dash into the building and returned at 4:00 with the corrected document. Double hooray! My Mario Andretti driving skills were put to the test today!
We drove back to the northeast side to a Staples near our agency and made the final copies we needed. We then walked to the Panera across the parking lot to grab some dinner before returning to our agency with our dossier and four copies. Here are two photos:
See all the gold seals? That's what the State Seals looks like. We learned that if we do this again, we will definitely make most of the copies before we take them to be state sealed!
We also attended our first adoption class tonight. This one was specifically about Ethiopia. It was very informative. There were about a dozen families there but only one with their referral and court date. Mark and I were pleasantly surprised to find that we're ahead of nearly all the other families in terms of our paperwork. (This isn't said competitively ... we've just gotten used to being behind!) We were also glad to meet another couple from Lafayette who are actually adopting from Rwanda and another couple from Kouts who both grew up in West Lafayette. We hope that both couples might connect to our Lafayette group.
It was very interesting to hear from the pastor of the Ethiopian congregation in Indianapolis. He was very friendly and we enjoyed listening to him talk about how other Ethiopians view adoption. He invited all of us to worship with them and we hope to attend church there sometime.
All in all, I think that our heads are spinning -- it's been a whirlwind day! Now we just wait to hear from our agency's headquarters, hoping that they don't find any problems with our dossier. They will let us know when it's on its way to Ethiopia. Stay tuned!
Mark is shown serving Dora Wat to our friend Christina. Luckily, Christina likes spicey foods! Christina is one of my co-workers at Purdue. You may remember her from the chocolate fountain pictures back in November.
Here is another one of my co-workers, Debbie. She is studying the Ethiopian nativity that Mark gave me for my birthday back in December. Debbie likes trying new things, too. I have wonderful co-workers! I've been very fortunate to work with fabulous and fun people at both Manchester and Purdue.
Our friends Jenny and Maria made the snowy drive from North Manchester to attend on Saturday night. I think that they were glad for a 'girl's night out' and we were glad for their company! Our new friends Ben and Janet are on the other couch. We met them through the Lafayette Ethiopia adoption group and have really enjoyed getting to know them better. 
This is my friend Laura Sloop. We have worked together at both Manchester College and at Purdue. She was also in Naples for the Purdue events and we were able to sit by the pool together and catch-up over dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Laura definitely got more sun than I did! 
I could have watched the pelicans for hours. I walked down the beach from Loudermilk Park to the north when I reached a canal and couldn't go any further. This flock of pelicans were hanging out and fishing for breakfast. They are so cool to watch because they literally nose-dive beak first into the water. Don't they look kind of prehistoric?
This is Teri and Steve. Steve is Nelda's oldest son. They moved to Bonita Springs about five years ago from Massachusetts and really love being in the warmth and sunshine of Florida. Thank you for a great lunch!
