Update!

We got our much anticipated update on Oliver this afternoon. We received two photos of Oliver and a health update. He's doing well. He looks so different in his photo and he is smiling! He's 13 lbs. 10 oz. at 4 months old.

1 Month Ago Today

we got our referral for Oliver! We only received one photo with our referral so I am hoping that we get 3 more photos this week!! Can't wait to see more pictures of our little guy!

Today also marks 3 weeks until our court date (November 30).

Ethiopian Culture #2

I found a great article on-line on the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, which we hope to participate in while we are there.

I also learned that the popcorn that everyone refers to in the ceremony is not the popcorn we know but sorghum.

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!!

Happy Halloween everyone! We have a court date---November 30, 2009!! I just checked my email and there was the message from Tami, sent today! So excited.

Ethiopian Culture

I love to travel and I love to learn about different cultures. I am very much looking forward to our journey to Ethiopia and especially meeting our son.

I have read all the obligatory books on adopting from Africa and Ethiopia. I am now focusing my attention on books and media on Ethiopian culture. We have TiVO* and while still in the paperchasing phase of the adoption I entered the keyword "Ethiopia" into TiVO* to have it search for shows on tv relating to the keyword topic. TiVO* found several shows but two were useful.

• As strange as it sounds, Biz*arre* Fo*ods* with A*ndrew* Zi*mmern* was very informative. Of course, you get to see some of the wilder food choices in Ethiopia but the footage of the Mercato in Addis Ababa, Harar and other areas was great. They also showed a coffee ceremony and explained the process and the purpose of some of the foods involved.


• Our favorite was the Globe* Trekk*er TV show on Ethiopia. We enjoyed it so much, I went to our local library to check out the DVD series on Eastern Africa, which includes the Ethiopia show.

I am also reading a fiction book set in Ethiopia--

I haven't finished the book yet but I am enjoying it. Through the fictional story of two brothers, both surgeons, the book tells the historical and cultural story of Ethiopia.

Weighing Our Options

Matt and I have been looking at our options for traveling to Ethiopia. We have decided on two options (and possibly a third):

• British* Airways from JFK to London, overnight in London and then on to Addis Ababa. Matt is English, so this is an easy option. The only problem with BA is that their flights into Addis Ababa arrive around 2 a.m.


• Emirates*from JFK to Dubai, overnight in Dubai and then on to Addis Ababa. We like the fact that it breaks the long flight up and we have always wanted to visit Dubai.
  

We haven't really looked at the KLM* flights through Amsterdam, but I think that option is a distant third. All options are great airlines, it will probably come down to scheduling and pricing (which means Emirates* will win out).

Cyber-Stalking Court Dates

I thought completing all these house projects would keep me busy and my mind off the constant wait that accompanies international adoption. Instead, the carpenter, the carpet installers and others seem to have taken over my house and I am relegated to one room in my house whiling away the day herding dogs out of the way of the workers and spending time on my laptop reading news and adoption blogs in between taking Chloe to her activities. I just want the work to be done now so I can do laundry and clean up the mess of boxes and books dispossessed during the work (never thought I would say I wanted to do either of those things).

So, while I sit here watching the carpenter come in and out, saw and hammer, I search for court dates. I just read that a family that received their referral one month before us received their court date in early November today. Another family, who received their referral two weeks before us got a court date this week of the 2nd of November (that's earlier than the other family who got their referral before them). Point is, November court dates are being scheduled for people who received their referrals in September. That's good news.