The start

It is with happy hearts that we have started the adventure of adopting from Ethiopia. Since we have family and friends across the country and a few sprinkled around the world, we thought this might be a handy way to keep you posted on our steps to Baby Barto.



Here is a break-down of the next year or so...

1. Decided to adopt (completed)

2. Fill out loads of paperwork (in progress)

3. Have homestudy - a social worker comes to our house to chat with us and make sure we seem like we'd be okay parents (scheduled - April 4th)

4. Send in loads of paperwork to various places to get checked and stamped and checked some more.

5. Paperwork is sent to Ethiopia.

6. We wait 3-5 months and receive a referral for a baby

7. Once we accept the referral, we wait 1-2 months for a court date and the baby is officially a Bartolomei

8. Travel about 1 month after the court date

9. Come home and figure out how to be parents.



Based on my rough calculations, we'll likely be a family by the start of 2009.