Update & Timeline

So for the first time in this adoption process, it actually feels like things are moving! Granted, it will still be months before I bring the girls home, but that day is actually getting closer. Hooray! As of today, there has been a tribunal hearing for both girls and court orders given that their birth certificates be issued. There is a mandatory 30 day waiting period before they can actually be issued, but that seems pretty short in the grand scheme of things. Here's what the timeline may look like from here (give or take a few days, weeks, or even months): 

- Around May 27th, M.J.'s birth certificate should be issued (could actually take an additional week or more). 

- Around June 9th, A.S.'s birth certificate should be issued (see above).

- Approximately 2 weeks after both birth certificates are issued, I can hope to pass Stage 1 of Court. (Maybe around the week of June 25?)

- Approximately 2-3 weeks later, I can hope to pass State 2 of Adoption Court, tentatively making me the legal parent of both girls. (Perhaps around July 18?)

- 30 day waiting period to allow any living relatives opportunity to claim either girl and contest the adoption. This should only be a legal formality, as neither girl has any known living relatives. 

- Adoption deed and new birth certificate (with the girls new names and me listed as parent) are able to be issued. However, it seems to be taking an additional month or so before these precious documents are actually arriving in the hands of our lawyer. (So anywhere from mid-August to mid-September)

- Submit all the legal paperwork to USCIS (U.S. Customs and Immigration Services), requesting they issue approval for the girls' US visas. (Their website says it takes about 2.5 months, but I've heard that it may be closer to 6-8 weeks; so maybe around mid-November?)

- Our DRC lawyer goes to the girls' visa interview at the US Embassy in Kinshasa, DRC. 

- I hop on a plane (maybe sometime in December?) and fly to pick up my newest daughters! 

I believe that's a semi-reasonable estimate of things. Keep in mind that almost nothing in this adoption process has complied with reasonable estimates, so I still really have no idea of when they'll be home. But continue to hope and pray that it is sooner and not later. I would love for it to be more like October or November when I go get them. But I'm glad that the Lord is ultimately in control and that His timing is perfect! 

In the meantime, I continue to enjoy my time with my precious little 2 year old. She is a joy (and a challenge!) and blesses my life daily. I love seeing the little lady she's becoming. The little loud, opinionated, energizer bunny, hysterical, remarkably articulate, stubborn, musically talented, compassionate, fun-loving lady she's becoming. There are many other adjectives I could find to describe Matani. As her name suggests, she was "stolen from death to bring forth life." And I'm not sure I know anyone on the planet who is more full of life than she.