Paperwork That Won't Stop

Thought I would post an update about the adoption, since I haven't mentioned it in a while. I don't have much to write, and I have actually been trying not to think too much about it. We finished up the second set of paperwork that they call Dossier Two. Now it sits with the Secretary of State, awaiting a seal called an Apostille. They (Secty of State) received the package at 9:32am on Monday. Not that I'm counting, or anything. I was going to complain because I keep checking the Fedex site and they still haven't put it in the mail back to me, but lo and behold, I just checked and it is expected to arrive here by 3pm tomorrow. Then I will Fedex it overnight to the agency, and hopefully, the paperwork will be done. THEN (and only then) we will officially wait for a court date. If it seems like this takes a while, it does. We weren't even supposed to get the Medical Forms done until 30-45 days after returning from Trip 1, because it takes 3 or 4 months to get a court date, and yet the Medicals are only valid for 3 months. Go figure. Yet, they won't set a court date until they receive all the paperwork. Makes perfect sense, I know.

This round of paperwork has seemed particularly excruciating. Not in volume - it wasn't as much as Dossier One, for sure. But the first round of paperwork was done long before actually receiving, or meeting in person, a baby. Now I feel like every single minute that anything is delayed is a minute older that Owen grows without me. As much as I try to separate the two, I can't.

At this point, I am just holding my breath, hoping that nothing throws a wrench into this last leg of the journey. Our agency this week announced that they will only be working Monday thru Thursday now, due to the decreasing number of adoptions (economy related, as well as all the changes in int'l adoption that have made wait times increased, etc.). I feel bad for the employees at the agency, but underlying it all is an intense fear that something will happen and we will never get Owen. So I try to distract myself with other things. That usually isn't too hard, with the kids around.

The wait continues... I looked at vacation pictures from last summer and remembered how I fretted about taking a vacation because I was afraid we would get a call about traveling. Ha. That seems absurd now. Of course, I also remember the days when we "knew" that we would be home from China with our baby before the Olympics in Beijing. Crazy.