Guest Post from Taher (En Route to Ethiopia)

I've always loved traveling to Egypt. Every tme I've went I felt a strange sense of being home. I felt that same sense every time I heard the vuvezelas being blown during the World Cup. As most Westerners complained about them, I relished them. There is something very satisfying to me about the tournaments motto, "Ubuntu," which means "I am because we are." And what exactly are we? We are human.

Ethiopa, being one nation away from Egypt is going to provide me with my first taste of sub-saharan culture and the birthplace of my son. I don't perceive having any culture shock having traveled internationaly several times. I am apprehensive of Khalil though. I've seen videos online of parents meeting their child and the child screams bloody murder upon introduction. I of course know that is natural as we are strangers to them but I have enjoyed extreme success with children in my life thus far. On holidays I always have Leah's younger cousins literally crawling all over me. My newest niece sticks her arms out at me when I enter the room, and I've enjoyed my great relationship with my neices from my brothers side as well. I guess all I can do is hope that everything with respect to court passes well and I can fianlly share photos of our Khalili with you. I believe he is officially ours once the Judge says so. And after all of this, I must leave him.

My bond with Khalil has already started sometime ago. I'm not old fashioned but at this moment the thought of having a son is fabulous. It's not bias toward the gender, but there is an excitement that I can't exactly explain. Rather Henry VIII, except that I won't kill Leah for another women and then kill her too, and again and again and again.

Scarlett and I have a great bond now and that is something that will sting when I leave. I won't see my little monkey for one week. Seeing how she's only a month old, one week is a significant amount of time. I teased Leah the other day when TT was fussing. She gave her to me and she stopped crying on the spot. I told Leah that I needed to do something for a moment, so she said to me to hand TT back over. I told her that this would cause TT to cry and she replied that what I said was insulting. Soooo, I handed her back and TT instantly became unruly and started to cry. I'm going to really miss her, and not just because she looks just like me!

Another difficult task is leaving Leah. I haven't been away for a week since a trip to Egypt in 2002. Leah and I are suffering from a lack of time together. Little monkey is a full time job and we are both running lean on sleep. We went from having all the time in the world to do what ever we please to almost no time and having another child. I've always asserted to Leah that we can still do the things we like, we just have to involve these little turkeys. I still plan on catching every fixture of United's, it will most likely happen with my children and at someother time than "Live". What would I do with out DVR?

When most of you read this I will already be across the pond starting the final chapter of a long and emotional journey. From Leah and I to the four of us. Maybe we can get a reality TV show; I don't think we can hang with the Duggers.

The next time the World Cup comes around it will be held in the heartland of the beautiful game, Brazil. I'll also have two four year olds to share it with.

Ubuntu!

And in case anyone is wondering who Scarlett looks like, here is a picture of me when I was around her age. :)