Where we are at…

So I got a warm and enthusiastic email from a cousin who discovered our blog.  It totally made my evening, actually.   S took me to task, though, because she said I haven’t written any of the important information! ;-)  So, thank you so much for your email, and here are the answers for everyone:

So you are expecting! When are you due?
We have filled out the first round of paperwork (the easy stuff) and will be sending it off to the agencies as soon as we are moved and settled… which is in about a month or so.  Then, we’ll have about 3-4 months of the intense paperwork and visits from social workers.  After that, it could be anytime from a month or 8 months before we get a referral (this is when the agency proposes a match and we decide if we will accept the match or not.)  Then, it can be a month to 4 months before we travel and pick him/her/them up.  SO…. we are “due” in 6-18 months!  The courts shut down for a few months in Ethiopia each summer, so we’re looking at probably next spring or the fall.

Where are you registered so I can shower you with gifts?
We’ll hold out on that one until we get our referral, I think.  Right now, we don’t know how many kids we will be having, their ages or their genders! so it makes it hard to buy stuff.  But as soon as that referral comes in, let’s shop! Sofar, all I have been able to sensiblybuy is a few books (150+ …ok, so maybe I went a little overboard… but you always need more kids books!) and 3 diaper bags off ebay. 

And one S didn’t ask but is the most frequently asked question…

Why Ethiopia?
Well, many reasons.  Firstly, Ethiopia has a great program… there are children of all ages, including infants and siblings, available for adoption.  There is a real need - there are 34 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, including 11 million due to losing parents to AIDS.  The children are very well loved and cared for (3 kids to 1 adult in foster care.)  They are reasonably healthy, almost never have FAS, and have a very low rate of attachment disorder.  The children are lovely, (really, Ethiopian people in general are known for their beauty;) the culture is so interesting.  That’s important that we find the culture interesting, since it will become as much a part of our family’s make-up as the Italian or Polish or German etc. influences.  And in the end, that’s where our hearts led us.  And that’s where our kids are.

Thanks for asking! Selam (Peace!), Nicky & J