Well, it is official. We are going to Ethiopia! We have booked our travel. We leave Portland, OR on Thursday April 17 at 8:30 pm. We fly to Seattle then Washington DC then to Rome and finally arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday April 19 at 8:35 am (of course this is Ethiopia time- PST would be Friday @ 10:35 pm). We will be staying at the Cozy Place (there is a link with pics on the Favorite Links page.) *We receive the boys on Sunday April 20 and will plan to spend the day at the orphanage in order for them to get used to us a little bit before we take them with us. *Wednesday April 23, we spend the day at the Embassy. We will be interviewed and then have to take an oath to love and care for these boys (no problem there!!!) *Friday April 25, we will be back at the Embassy to pick up the boys passports and their Visas into the USA. *We leave Sunday April 27 at 10:15 pm. We will finally land in Portland Or on Monday April 28 at 5:41 pm. Between our appts we are hoping to visit the orphanage a couple of times (although we'll have to see how the boys do going back) and to visit the other orphanage that our agency sponsors. We plan to take all the kids swimming at the Hilton pool, we will try to visit the largest outdoor market, take a day trip, and absorb as much Ethiopian culture as possible. Please keep us in your prayers.

Habakkuk 2:3 February 29, 2008 edit remove Here is a verse that I have come across a lot recently- I don't think it is coincidence... We now have it posted next to the boys pictures on our fridge. "But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day." Habakkuk 2:3

countdown to Court February 21, 2008 edit remove We know that our dossier made it to Ethiopia and was picked up on January 28, 2008. 7-10 days to translate and then apply for a court date. Any day now...

updated timeline January 14, 2008 edit remove January 14, 2008- updated timeline *Our dossier is in Washington DC where it goes to the US Department of State and then the Embassy of Ethiopia. Our dossier should be all authenticated and on its way to Ethiopia by the end of the week. 1 week to translate 4-6 weeks until court date (this is where the boys legally become ours) 6 weeks from Court until travel Looking like travel in April is a little more realistic with the slow downs...

Timeline December 11, 2007 edit remove " Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." Prov 25:25 Although we are on God's time, this is the current timeline stats: Dossier to Ethiopia by Christmas 1 week to translate 3-5 weeks for inspection by MOWA and assignment of court date Court Date 3 weeks for Embassy appt Travel This all means that if the timeline continues to be stable we will be looking at traveling in March. Travel to Ethiopia is over 24 hours and requires an incountry stay of 5 days. Originally when we started looking into Ethiopia we were estimating 9-12 months .