Tiny Update

This isn't really new or exciting information, but we found out yesterday we still do not have a court date. We know our paperwork has been to MOWA, and we know our lawyer thinks everything looks good, but we don't have a date and don't expect to pass court for at least a few weeks...if we're lucky. At this rate, it looks like we can't even hope to travel until May or even June. Xander is determined that we'll bring our kids home before they turn 1 year old. It's frustrating given that they were only 5 months at the time of our referral. We know they are being well cared for, but of course we would still rather be the ones doing the caring. They're getting bigger and bigger and are reaching the point when they will really start to notice and absorb language, so it's immensely frustrating to know it will still be months before we have them home. We're going to want to learn some more Amharic for sure. (Someone is about to dismiss these thoughts and say it doesn't matter because they won't be talking yet or won't "remember" anything, but you're wrong about that. Do some reading.)

We're also supposed to move back to the US in June, so, you know, there's some stress there. And Xander has a week-long conference he is organizing and cannot miss in May. Everything is probably going to happen all at once, and we haven't figured out how to manage it all yet. Do we go ahead and move? Do we wait? What about health insurance? What about immigration? Who is going to take care of the diabetic cat while we are gone? We can't afford to board them both, and we're worried that the stress of boarding would actually make things worse anyway, because stress elevates blood sugar. We're pretty sure Luna would freak out. (If she were a person, she would most definitely be on anti-anxiety meds.) Plus we are disappointed that now we will definitely be traveling during the rainy season, which will significantly alter some of our travel plans. Anyway, these are all issues we will manage, but when we planned all of this it didn't seem like there was any chance the adoption would take this long to complete. We figured we'd be done by now. We went from thinking maybe summer to hoping for fall to thinking winter to thinking spring and now hoping for summer again. We're so glad we didn't get a referral sooner, because we are beyond thrilled with our match and so crazy about the twins, but it's a weird thing to put your life on hold for so long with no end in sight.

Advice to anyone in the middle of this? Expect everything to take twice as long as they tell you it will. Especially if you are an expat. Also, don't do what we did and clear your calendar post referral. Now would be the perfect time for a vacation.