Top Three Questions

Since our exciting news, we have been overwhelmed with so much love and support by all the wonderful people who are connected to us. We know that so many of you have felt like you have been on this emotional journey with us every step of the way, and we are so very thankful for your constant support through it all. We know you are all almost just as excited as us. Sorry have to say almost! WE ARE PRETTY PROUD PARENTS! With your excitement many of you have asked us lots of questions, so I am going to answer the top three questions for you.

Question #3: What do you know about him? What is his name? Do you know why he is in an orphanage? How old is he?

Answer: We know he is an absolutely adorable two year old boy. His village is in Western Ethiopia very close to Sudan.  His name is Zane meaning "Gift of God". We are naming him that, but we will be using his Ethiopian name for his middle name. We do know how he came to the orphanage, but we feel like some of Zane's story is Zane's story. We want him to be able to find things about himself from us, and we want to respect him by allowing him to know things about his past before everyone else does. Zane is so very loved, and he has been loved from the beginning of his life and long before he was even born, so we want to be able to tell him about his story before he became a Woodson when he is ready to hear it, and if he wants to share it than he can definitely do that. We are hoping to travel to his village, but there is currently quite a bit of unrest there, so it is uncertain if we will be able to do so. We are also hoping to meet some of his biological family and take pictures of them and learn as much as we can about them.

Question #2: Can I see a picture of him?

Answer: YES! We would love to show you his sweet little face; however, we legally cannot share his photo online until we go to court and legally become his parents. So you will not be seeing any pictures of Zane on social media until we meet him. We will gladly show you the next time we see each other!

#1 Question asked: When will you bring him home?

Answer: We currently don't know. We are currently waiting on the Ethiopian government to find documents about Zane and his biological family that show he truly is an orphan. Once all of those documents are found (this can take months due to variety of reasons such as traveling problems in Ethiopia, locating people, and Ethiopian government not working due to holidays and rainy season), the US Embassy will review the documents. Both countries must agree that all the documentation is correct and verify that he is an orphan that is legally able to immigrate to the United States and be adopted. Once both countries agree, we will then wait for a court date. Once we are given a court date, we will travel and stay in Ethiopia for around a week. We will meet Zane, spend lots of time with him, and we will legally become his parents. We will then fly home without him, and we will wait for the US Embassy to get his passport and everything ready, so we can bring him home. We will then fly back to Ethiopia, and we will be there for just a quick trip to pick Zane up, go to the US Embassy, and bring him home. This timeline has varied for many families. This all depends on the accessibility of the paperwork. We want to bring him home ASAP of course, but we are praying that we will be able to celebrate his next birthday with him in America. His 3rd birthday is the end of May.

What you can pray for:
- Please pray that the PAIR process will go smoothly and quickly (this is the process with the US and Ethiopian government working together to approve him to come home)
- Please pray for Zane (his health, his heart, his mind, and for this huge transition that he is about to
   make)

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