seven

Yup. We are seven months into our wait to learn about the little girl who will one day (hopefully, in the not too distant future) join our family.

In my heart I would like to write a longer, more meaningful blog post, but frankly, I'm exhausted!! As is always the case, life is chaotic and fun and busy and challenging, and we are balancing 101 things at a time!!

But seven months into the wait - and more than eleven months into the adoption process - is a pretty big milestone, and one that could not go unrecognized, so here I am to write a not-so-long, but hopefully still meaningful, post.

And here we are. Almost a year since we started the process. Seven months since our names were added to Gladney's waitlist. And still with such a long road ahead.

As of the end of 2010, it was taking about nine months for most families to receive a referral from our agency, which would put us only about two months or so away from that life-changing call (a thought that does make my heart beat just a bit faster). Then it is taking approximately another 2-3 months before families are given a court date - a date that could be another 2-3 months out.

But we are aware that things are not moving as quickly at the moment (something we are all too familiar with), so we are trying to manage our own expectations. And did I mention the annual court closure? Unfortunately, these "average" timeframes suggest that we have a pretty good chance of not getting a court date before the courts close for the rainy season (usually August-September), in which case we would not have a court date before October or November. In other words, eleven months into the process and a good possibility that we still have another 10 or more to go.

Wow.

Simon's entire adoption process only took about eleven months - meaning we have already spent more time working on this adoption than it took from the day we mailed our first application to Gladney until the day we returned home to NYC with Simon. That is hard to believe sometimes. In the grand scheme of things, our current expected timeframes are still pretty good by international adoption standards. And I really do have to say that I am finding the wait a lot easier the second time around. The ups and downs and bumps in the road not jolting us quite so much.... But still... seven months. Seven months when the "average" wait has been around nine months for most of the past year.... Well, it definitely changes things. I mean - we should be bringing our little girl home this year! Seeing her face in the next few months!! Buying little girl clothes... Setting up her room... Watching Simon transition into his role as a big brother... (praying EJ can handle yet another family member who needs our attention!)... Learning that our crazy and chaotic life is nothing compared to what's to come!

Yes, seven months is pretty cool. Even if we still have another seven (or more to go).