No More No's (and our May number!)

First, the exciting reveal of our May number:




That's right, we are in the single digits!!!

While I am thrilled to have made it this far I am also being very realistic and preparing myself for a long wait. Things have slowed down in Ethiopia and our agency is not referring as many children as they have in the past. They are being very careful and making sure each child has all of the necessary documents before they match them with a family. This is a good thing. But knowing it is a good thing doesn't make it easy to see us reach, and then pass, the 11th month mark on the wait list.

We have now been waiting so long that our home study and approval paperwork starting to expire. That means the four of us go back to the doctor for physicals, back to the USCIS for fingerprinting and I go back to my desk with a pile of paperwork. Sigh.

Now about those no's.

For the last year the word "no" has been my constant companion. No, I can't plan a vacation because we might be in Ethiopia. No, I can't commit to that because the baby might arrive soon. No, this isn't a good time to make changes. No, we can't afford to do that right now.

But facing the very real possibility that we might not complete the adoption in 2011 I have decided to start saying yes. We are going on vacation this summer and I plan to go to the Created for Care adoption retreat in January. I have jumped in with both feet and accepted the job as PTA President for next year. I have committed to my kids that they can still go to summer camp and that we will have an awesome summer with our usual fun outings.

Gayle will come to us when the time is right. There is nothing I can do to predict it or to control it. I have realized that everyone knows our situation and if I have to scale back or back out of a commitment people will understand.

It feels so good to say yes!

Read more...