DTE!

For those of you not in the adoption world, you may not realize how extremely exciting these three letters are....D...T...E! It stands for "dossier to Ethiopia." Yep, that's right, our dossier has arrived in Ethiopia! This means that it will now be translated, a few more documents gathered, and then submitted to courts in Ethiopia, requesting a court date! We've been told the translation takes a couple of weeks and the gathering documents can take a little time as well. We're hoping to hear in the next 3 or 4 weeks that we have been submitted to court! Right now, court dates are being assigned for about a month out...so, we could be traveling to Ethiopia for our first trip in the next 2-3 months! In some ways, it feels like forever, but I know it will probably fly by! I have so much I want and need to get done before we meet our girls!

We've been starting to work on getting a room ready for the girls. I think we know where we can get a couple of twin beds and I have long shopping list for Ikea when we go the next time:) We've decided to resist the urge to buy them a ton of toys. For one, our budget will thank us! And, we really don't want to overwhelm them or give them the idea that toys grow on trees here in America. So, instead, we are going through a lot of the boys' stuff and stocking the girls' closet! So many of their toys are "gender neutral." We've picked out a few stuffed animals, puzzles, games, blocks, gears, a dollhouse, and the play kitchen! I think the only thing I will "splurge" for are a couple of baby dolls....probably the $9.99 doll from Ikea that Abram has. The thing that "worries" me a bit is thinking about the amount of clothing we need to acquire! And, I don't feel I can begin to stock up when I see super bargains, because I'm really unsure of sizes. So, I'm hoping to get measurements of the girls when we go for court:) And, my family has talked about having a "big girl shower" for us! I'm sure that by the time we bring them home, their closet will be spilling over with pink and purple!

Here's a picture of the girls' closet one day when the boys decided to go through their stuff and give it to the girls (they did this with no prompting from me). They are such loving, giving little boys and they really are excited about their sisters!