Our Adoption Time Line

• 2006 - 2007: We first begin discussing international adoption. At the time, I was most interested in adopting from Guatemala, but as that program closed and the Ethiopia program began to grow, I started heavily researching African adoption.
• Mid-2009: We begin to pursue the adoption of a waiting child in Ghana with a small agency.
• July of 2009: Program in Ghana through our agency is suspended and we lose our referral. Put our adoption plans on hold.
• August 2010: Contact Forever Families of Virginia to begin a new home study for an Ethiopian adoption.
• August 2010: Apply to Gladney's Ethiopia program.
• August 28, 2010: First home study meeting.
• September 15, 2010: Second home study meeting.
• September 29, 2010: Third home study meeting.
• October 14, 2010: Submitted completed Gladney application.
• November 17, 2010: Gladney approved.
• November 30, 2010: Begin dossier for Ethiopia
• December 2010: Referrals are suspended for Gladney's Ethiopia program for three months.
• February 14, 2011: Receive USCIS approval for a male child 0-3 from Ethiopia. 
• April 2011: We do not send in our dossier, due to Gladney's investigation and uncertainty with ET program. We briefly consider Honduras as an alternate adoption option.
• May 2011: Decide to continue with Ethiopia as the investigation is concluded with Gladney.
• June 15, 2011: We are on the wait list for Gladney's Ethiopian Program.
• June 2011 through January 2012:  Very little movement within the Gladney Ethiopia Program due to slowdown with referrals.
• January 11, 2012: Contact A Love Beyond Borders about their very new Democratic Republic of Congo adoption program. Receive information on their current waiting toddlers and preschoolers.
• January 20, 2012: Receive official referral of three year old boy from Lubumbashi, DRC!
• February 18, 2012: Sent completed dossier to ALBB for JN's adoption.
• March 27, 2012: Translated dossier is received in Lubumbashi.
• May 11, 2012: Receive notice that our case will be submitted to court in Lubumbashi on May 21.
• May 15, 2012: Go to Alexandria to be re-fingerprinted for our USCIS I-600A update.
• May 21, 2012: Our case is submitted to the court system in Lubumbashi.
• July 9, 2012: Receive personality update, pictures and news about Jonathan from Stephanie, who traveled to meet the waiting kids. Found out our case had not yet been approved.
• August 1, 2012: Receive notice that our case has been verbally approved by the judge, but we must await final official judgement before beginning our 30 day wait.
• August 13, 2012: OFFICIALLY PASSED COURT!
• August 25, 2012: Our final and official court decree is received! We are now in our 30 day, non-appeal period.
• September 12, 2012: Hear from Stephanie that Jonathan is to be moved to the transition home within the next two weeks or so.
• October 6, 2012: Jonathan arrives in Kinshasa to begin his stay at the ALBB Transition Home.
• November 8, 2012: All of our paperwork has finally been received to file our I600!
• November 14, 2012: Find out that Jonathan's birth certificate has an error. His birthday is listed as 1/6/2009 on some paperwork and 1/6/2010 on other paperwork.
• December 5, 2012: We decide to send in our I600 packet with the incorrect birth certificate, while we wait for the corrected one.
• December 7, 2012: Our paperwork is received at the USCIS office in Missouri.
• December 21, 2012: We find out our paperwork has been received and assigned to Officer Rivera for review.
• January 4, 2013: We are faxed our I600 approval!!
• January 10, 2013: We call the US Embassy in DRC to get our final visa appointment.
• January 24, 2013: Jonathan's drop-off for Embassy paperwork.
• January 28, 2013: Jonathan's Embassy appointment!
• February 25, 2013: Visa is issued!
• February 28, 2013: Kristy leaves for DRC
• March 2, 2013: Jonathan is in Kristy's arms!
• March 12, 2013: DGM issues exit letter and Kristy and Jonathan depart DRC
• March 13, 2013: FAMILY DAY! We are all together for the first time.