Minor Blog Changes

I just made a couple of changes on the blog:

1. I changed my age to 34. Thanks to my family and friends for the sweet cards, generous gifts and good wishes. Ryan and I had a fabulous dinner complete with flaming baked Alaska, we hung out with his family at the pumpkin patch (which is more than your average pumpkin patch), went shopping and watched football. 34 sounds like a pretty uneventful birthday, but for whatever reason, it was a pretty good one.

2. I changed the pictures. We really should make more efforts to take some photos. I tend only to like the ones where I hold out the camera and take them of ourselves. This one was from our vacation to Oregon/No. Cal. this past summer.

3. The to-do list. OK, I've not made any changes to that yet. But I looked at it. Man, we accomplished a lot! It is crazy to go from being so busy doing all of those tasks to just waiting. I wish there was something more in our control, but we are a bit helpless I suppose. I thought about revising it to include more to-dos that will eventually be necessary. There will be quite a bit more to add once we do get a referral. But how do could one possibly list out everything you do to prepare for a child?! Well, there will be some distinct tasks related to the adoption and once I figure out what those will be (procedure in Poland, U.S., immigration, etc.), then I will post that too. Perhaps I will have a separate list for Poland once the time comes.

Happy October!

Hello faithful readers, and Happy October! Isn't October the best? It is the beginning of autumn, the leaves are changing colors, Halloween is coming up and right around the corner are the holidays! To top it off, I have a birthday (my 34th) this month.

Know what would make this time even better? Some good news! But alas, none to report today!

We remain in contact with our agency who reports that there are no developments. I imagine (and I base this on nothing in reality) that there is a pile of families' dossiers sitting on a desk in Poland (remember this is completely imaginary), and the longer we wait, the more families are matched and the closer we get to the top of that pile! Our only problem is, we just don't know how big that stack was when we were put on the bottom.

Now, I am sure the truth is that there is no pile and no getting in "line" so-to-speak. There is probably no formula and no organization to it all. I have heard of some families get referrals after a couple of months, and some wait close to a year. I (being the optomistic person that I am) had hoped for the couple of months side of that equation. Ah well!

Hopefully the fact that we have been waiting for nine months (no pun intended here...just the facts) means that the chances are only increasing that it will come sooner than later.

An Introspective September

How wonderful is autumn!? I am so thrilled that it is around the corner. It has been a little chilly, football has started, Halloween candy is in the stores and the holidays are in the not-so-distant future.

This really is a fantastic time of year. I think I will make a resolution (a three-quarter's-year resolution, instead of a new year's one), to enjoy it. I have this tugging feeling that if the holidays come without a referral, it may be a bit difficult. I am pledging now to get through those tough moments by being excited about the present!

Through this whole journey, I have come to realize some things about myself. I am not sure if I have always been this introspective. Perhaps it is impending parenthood and the wondering about what I will be like as a mother. Or maybe it is having been married and in the same job for about five years and having a chance to stop and realize where I am.

Whatever the reason, I have come to learn that I am an optimist, I am happy, friendly, selectively outgoing, am happily married and am good at what I do. I suppose it is good to figure these things out about myself now. When kids come, it will no longer be about me!

So, obviously, there is no news on our front yet. I have been hearing some good news about others in progress with their adoptions. I know of one family who has a referral in Poland and things now seem to be on track and going well. I know of another family adopting from Poland who is busily getting their dossier in. And, another family (from Nebraska) just brought their son home last month! The good news is that Poland is stable and children are getting placed with their families.

Anticipation

OK, so that horoscope was optimistic, but not entirely true. Ah well!

Every post lately seems to be about waiting. Well, maybe because that is what we are doing! We are impatient, that is clear. We are hoping that the call comes today, and we have hoped that every day for the last four months or so.

While the call could come today, it could come next week, next month or next year. More likely than not, it is going to take more time and very potentially into 2009.

While we wait, we want to be sure we are not wishing away our time together. The preparation and anticipation need to be enjoyed as well! So, I think we need to continue to make concerted efforts to have things to look forward to, especially ones that we would not easily be able to do once having a child.

So, here is my preliminary list (posted without spousal collaboration so it is subject to amendment) of things we want to do this fall:

1. A getaway weekend in September or October,
2. Lots of fall football Saturdays and Sundays with friends and beer,
3. A movie or two in a real live movie theater,
4. A nice dinner at a great tapas restaurant we know,
5. Miniature golf on the real grass course in town,
6. Serious sleeping-in on the weekend,
7. A nice long bike ride, and
8. Lots of grilling out while the weather is still nice.

OK, that is a good start. I'm sure we will be adding to it.

I will admit that while just briefly brainstorming about things Ryan and I can do this fall, things popped into my head like "research daycares and schools" and "look for kid's room furniture." But the point is to have a lot that we want to that doesn't involve waiting. I think there is plenty to look forward to and enjoy while in this part of our lives.

I will leave you with this quote by Jonathan Swift:

"May you live all the days of your life."

Will the Stars Be Aligned?

I recently posted about a Catholic saint. Now I am posting about astrology!

My cousin recently pointed out an interesting horoscope for me this month. (Thanks fellow Libra Donna!). Believe me, I do not generally believe these, let alone do I look at them. But this one is a good one! Apparently there is a full lunar eclipse on August 16, 2008. The following is the August Libra page from Astrology Zone.

"Should this eclipse emphasize a child, you may find out that you're pregnant or if you or your partner is expecting a baby soon, the baby could easily arrive within five days of August 16. If you have put in an application for an adoption, you might hear that you are about to become a parent this month. Exciting! "

If it comes true I may start believing!

Saint Thomas More

Saint Thomas More (1478-1535) is the patron saint of both adoption and lawyers! He was a scholar and devoted husband and father. Apparently he believed women were just as intelligent as men. I'm going to have to read more about him. If you trust Wikipedia, here is the entry on St. Thomas More.

Hello?

Yes...a month has gone by and we have nothing to report. Sorry about that! Believe me, it pains me to keep repeating the "no news" response...but it is what it is.

It is now late July - I wonder when I should dust off our dossier and see when we would have to start having things updated? Some documents essentially expire or need updating if too much time passes. I believe our homestudy is good through November...hopefully we do not need that update (or anything else for that matter). But it is always a possibility, and we wouldn't be the first to have to do that.

We are still having a great summer. Our vacation was fantastic, although quick. Ryan went on a golf trip for a long weekend too. We are enjoying our time as grown-ups. I will miss our at home happy hours and frequent dates!

I'll post more soon...