DTE!!!!!

Today comes word that our dossier is in Ethiopia (DTE as they say).  To the uninitiated, that is absolutely HUGE news!  That means, essentially, the number of steps between us and a face to face meeting with our new son now number just a handful:

1. translate our dossier (like 180 pages) into Amharic
2. Submit dossier to Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA)
3. Have court date schedule

Of course, there's just a few speed bumps along the way:

1. Conversion from Julian to Gregorian calendar is sometimes problematic.  Ethiopia has “13 months of sunshine” and just celebrated their calendar year 2002.
2. Electrical power and internet and telephone service suffers from frequent outages.
3. Because the country of Ethiopia relies on hydroelectric power, drought conditions throughout the country affect the availability of power. (see #2 above)
4. Family court dates are scheduled at the discretion of the High Court, not necessarily in the order in which documents are received.
5. it is common for adoption cases in Ethiopia to be re-scheduled one or more times.
6. The courts were closed in August and September.  It is not uncommon for cases to be rescheduled following the re-opening of the courts.
7. At court, MOWA must have provided a letter of support in favor of our adoption. If the letters are delayed, it could result in re-schedule.
8. Agency staff must procure a new birth certificate and passport for Tommy

See...piece of cake.  We'll be there in no time!