FINALLY! 2 years, 3 months and 6 days from the time we began this journey, our paperwork is on a plane to Ethiopia! In adoption terms, we are officially "DTE" (Dossier to Ethiopia.) Or as we like to call it "OEB" (Off Emily's (our caseworker) Back! After receiving our I-171 super duper fast we began to put the final touches on our adoption paperwork! We quickly learned that we had left those items sitting for so long that we needed up to update a few things! Most families have everything ready and when they get their I-171 they are ready to send their dossier ASAP! Not the case for the Toones. :) In typical Toone fashion, we procrastinated thinking we had a bit more time! Admittedly, I was intimidated by the vast amount of preparing and organizing that would be required of these documents we had collected over these past 2+ years! So, after updating a few forms and visiting the notary 3 times in one day, we FINALLY were ready to make the 4 copies necessary to send to our agency! Lee took on the tedious task of photocopying EACH document by hand, 4 times each! We also made a quick trip to Walgreens to get passport photos made and everything was ready! Lee's attention to detail was VITAL in getting our dossier finalized. :) I just wasn't graced with that gene and luckily since my husband was, everything was PERFECT! Finally, we wrote the BIG (I'm not kidding when I say BIG!) check to include! Here are some pictures we took of this journey. 
Us at the Fed Ex store. We created quite a ruckus on the store, as when we asked the young gal if she'd take our picture, everyone wanted to know why. When we explained that this batch of papers was literally our "baby" and ecompassed 2 years of hard work, the customers insisted we go first in line and volunteered to take these photos. Even better, we met a young guy who was adopted and grew up in Texas (Hook 'em Horns!) Lee and this man instantly bonded. After we were done shipping and taking pics, the man said "Thank you for what you are doing. My adopted parents saved my life. My mom was a crack addict and tried to kill me when I was a baby. Thank you for saving a child." Of course, I teared up. God never ceases to amaze me by the people he puts in our lives to reinforce what we are doing. Sniff Sniff 
Lee thought it would be cute to make this sign. My "bump" is one copy of our dossier. My shirt says "I may not be showing but I sure am glowing! (Ethiopian Adoption in Progress). I love it! Cheesy but c'mon! This is our first pregnancy! I also got one with a map of Ethiopia that says "Mama in Waiting..."
Us at the Fed Ex store. We created quite a ruckus on the store, as when we asked the young gal if she'd take our picture, everyone wanted to know why. When we explained that this batch of papers was literally our "baby" and ecompassed 2 years of hard work, the customers insisted we go first in line and volunteered to take these photos. Even better, we met a young guy who was adopted and grew up in Texas (Hook 'em Horns!) Lee and this man instantly bonded. After we were done shipping and taking pics, the man said "Thank you for what you are doing. My adopted parents saved my life. My mom was a crack addict and tried to kill me when I was a baby. Thank you for saving a child." Of course, I teared up. God never ceases to amaze me by the people he puts in our lives to reinforce what we are doing. Sniff Sniff 
Lee thought it would be cute to make this sign. My "bump" is one copy of our dossier. My shirt says "I may not be showing but I sure am glowing! (Ethiopian Adoption in Progress). I love it! Cheesy but c'mon! This is our first pregnancy! I also got one with a map of Ethiopia that says "Mama in Waiting..." 
Daisie Lou is ready for her little brother or sister (or both!) Her doggie T says "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. James 3:18). 
A photo that Tommy and Jane took on their visit. We used it as one of our dossier photos (we had to include two posed pics, four pics of things we like to do, and two pics of our house (inside and out). 
The BIG. BIG. BIG. Check!!! 
Lee addressing the FED EX order form. 
Another picture of our "baby" :)
PAPER. PREGGERS. 
The door to the Secretary of State's office at the capital where I picked up our authenticated forms.
The Dossier all copied and ready!
The Dossier and its copies behind. (Top 4 pages are the photo pages).
Lee meticulously putting the papers together for shipping.
Writing the BIG check! Thanks Be To God for providing the resources through our jobs! 
The Dossier had to be assembled according to PRECISE specifications.
ETHIOPIA OR BUST!!!!! We prayed together over our paperwork so God would bless its journey and bring it to the right hands at the ET government!Join us in checking our blog for the Journey our "baby" takes to Ethiopia! It will travel through Europe on its trek to ET!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We have 5-8 months of waiting for a match. We debuted as 45 on the Infant Boy list, 49 on the Infant Girl list and 28 on the Sibling 0-3 list. We only anticipating getting one child, as the sibs list goes SLOW. Please pray that the issues in Ethiopia do not prevent us from bringing home our baby in the next year!
Please join us in praying for this journey! We have a long day to go! And of course, once we get baby home the journey will only have just begun! :)
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