Yikes! Now what?

Now that our agency has processed our acceptance paperwork, it will make its way through Ethiopian government offices and the court system. Once we pass court, we will be assigned an embassy appointment and travel dates. We do not attend court, but we do go to the embassy to get the girls' visas. The process from referral to travel typically takes two to five months...typically... There is a possibility of us traveling as early as June, but any point over the summer is realistic. Jim and I will go for a week, and Mark and Tessa will stay here. Tessa firmly reminded me that I would need to get them a babysitter if Daddy and I were going to Africa for a week.

When we do go to Ethiopia, we will go to the embassy and also to a birth family visit, in all likelihood. The birth family visit will take us out of Addis Ababa, the capital city, south into the Sidama region. This is said to be a phenomenal experience, and I am already researching motion sickness medication to ensure I make it :) While in Addis Ababa, we'll stay at the guest house adjacent to Horizon House, our agency's care center. The girls will have been moved to Horizon House from a private regional orphanage when we passed court. Typically, there is a two to three week window between passing court and travel. While we wait for travel, we have lots to keep us occupied from immunizations to preparing rooms to updating paperwork to creating photo albums to a whole bunch of other things that make me wonder what we've been doing during this wait!! And, of course, getting a babysitter for Mark and Tessa.