Finals Week

As many college students prepared for final tests this week our family prepared for our own week of "finals". On Monday, our social worker visited us for the last time. Our one year anniversary of having Abeba in our arms is coming quickly (Jan 12th). Since Gladney likes to have their post-placement assessments in their hands two weeks prior to milestone dates (3mos, 6mos and 12 mos) we decided that we better get a jump on getting Abeba's final post-placement done. It was bittersweet.....Abeba had a grand time with Paul and showed him a good picture of what she has accomplished this year. He was amazed at her vocabulary....this gal simply doesn't stop talking!!!Paul and Abeba

The other "final" that we accomplished this week was re-adoption. We had to go to Indianapolis (about 1 1/2 hour drive) to get this done. We decided that we would tackle the paperwork ourselves and save money. Thankfully, the lady in the probate court for adoptions is very helpful to families who wish to do the paperwork themselves. She was a fantastic help! Please contact us if you would like her contact information if you live in Indiana. The re-adoption will get Abeba an Indiana state issued birth certificate and will make her name change. In Ethiopia when an adoption is final, the child takes the father's first name as their middle name. So, now Abeba Justin is now officially Abeba Faith!! It was a great hurdle to cross and it felt good to finally have that under our belt. It was dirt cheap in comparison to many other processes ($30!!!). We do have one more form to fill out with the Fed's once we get her Birth Certificate. Unfortunately, that one isn't as cheap (about $450.00) !!!

We are getting excited about celebrating Abeba's one year anniversary of "Gottcha Day". We are planning something special...Stay tuned!

Playing Dress-up