Well.... for quite a while now there has really been NO adoption news to report. Our paperwork was hung up for quite a while.... just sitting on someone's desk waiting for a seal and a signature. BUT.... it's moving again! Soon our dossier (huge packet of paperwork) should be on its way to Washington and then to Ethiopia!
There has also been another HUGE development....
Ethiopia is now requiring adoptive families to travel to Ethiopia twice - once for a court appearance before an Ethiopian judge and then again to bring the child home (this will occur 10-12 weeks after court, when the US has issued the child a visa).
At first, all we could see was that this would add an additional $5,000 or so in travel expenses. BUT, there are many pluses... we'll get to meet, hold, and snuggle our baby sooner...(we'll try not to think about the fact that we'll have to leave him), once he steps off the plane and onto U.S. soil he'll be an American citizen (this is a result of us appearing in court in ET... I don't really get why, but it is), and this offers another layer of protection for the orphans of Ethiopia.
This change (and additional expense) has caused several adoptive parents that I've heard of to reconsider their choice to adopt from ET.... we'd go 15 times if we had to.
We've kicked up the our savings efforts and we're selling ceramic coasters as a fundraiser (in addition to the
coffee - check it out on the side bar). You can scope out the coasters
HERE. Who knows, we may be adding other products soon!
Oh, and just thought I'd share a pic I took in Ghana of this cutie pie hangin' out with her grandma...this is totally and completely unrelated to our adoption...this sweet baby has a fam!
