Are we there yet?

Well it appears that week one in our wait to pick up Tariku has passed. Only 11ish more to go.

"When do you leave" seems to be the number one question followed closely by "How do you pronounce Tariku?" We have touched on this but I thought I would take a second to explain, as best as we know, how the process works.

We officially accepted our referral of Tariku on Friday. That means that our dossier has arrived in Ethiopia (or will shortly) and has been prepared and submitted to court for processing. Once the dossier has made it through the court process and the court approves our adoption of Tariku we should then be given a travel date. This is when we will go over to Ethiopia to pick him up and to go to the US Embassy and finalize all of the paperwork needed to take him home. Since the courts close by the end of July due to the rainy season, we assume we will know by then when we leave.

DONATIONS
Jen and I plan on filling one suitcase with donations for the care center as well as for AHOPE, an organization I think we have mentioned before. We have lists from both on the types of items they need. If any of you out there would like to help we can send you the list. We would be more than willing to pick any donations up as long as you are in the contiguous United States or in Iowa, which ever is a closer drive. Just send us a message by either clicking on the little envelop below this post or emailing us at krobzoo@mchsi.com. I am also including a link to AHOPE's website and a blog posting from the person here in the U.S. who handles donations. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Oh and we have heard from a family who was over there recently that Tariku is pronounced like Erik with a T.

AHOPE
http://transracial.adoptionblogs.com

*Almost forgot to mention that on Sunday we had a surprise visit. Our neighbor brought her sister-in-law, husband and baby Silas over. The Bottomlys went to Ethiopia in May to pick up baby Silas and were in Iowa visiting family. It was really neat to meet them and their son. The only downside was that it made me want to leave NOW and pick up Tariku. I know the wait will be worth it, but it still is going to seem like forever. That's it for now. I will have Jen post something beautiful and thought provoking next time. Her posts put mine to shame.