We Got Mail!!

"Dear Imants and Marcie,
Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you your home study has been approved and your name is on the list of approved families waiting for a match of a child from Korea. This decision was jointly made. We will notify you when you have been matched with a child...."

I'm pretty sure that is a HUGE run on sentence, but who am I to proofread? We have finally received the letter we've been waiting for.

Basically we are now "officially" waiting. Probably no different than what you knew before, but to us this is huge. To put it in perspective, it's like I just got a positive pregnancy test. It'll be an incredibly LONG pregnancy, but at least this one can be toasted with a glass of wine. We are told the wait for a match is another 11 to 12 months. And then wishing, hoping and praying to plan our big trip BEFORE Christmas 2009!!!!

What a way to kick off the holiday weekend! CHEERS!

OFFICIALLY WAITING TO WAIT

I said I wouldn't get anxious or frustrated until much later in the game. I said that I would be patient until we were matched (which won't be until next summer!!). As it turns out I am already anxious, frustrated and impatient. At the moment all our paper work is in to the agency... homestudy, fingerprints, criminal background clearances, physicals, references... and it is "sitting on the director's desk in the NJ office". That was what I was told. Why isn't it submitted already? We need this information to be submitted to the official office in order to be placed on the official waiting list. Every time I speak with my social worker she gives the impression that if it's not this week, it'll definitely be next week. This impression has been given for about a month now.
The longer this phase takes, the longer it takes to be matched with our baby. The longer it takes to be matched with our baby, the longer it takes for our baby to come home. So please, cross your fingers and cross your toes that we will hear something soon.
I'll keep you posted.

Our Little Nectarine

Somebody recently asked me if our baby "existed" yet. I did the math according to the current timeframe... and yes, our baby exists and is most likely in the first trimester. Maybe the size of an olive or a plum. Anyone else ever read My Pregnancy Week by Week? They always compare the size to fruit. My favorite was "this month she is the size of a banana... Is that in width, or just length?

Anyway, it's weird to think that our child "exists". It evokes just about every emotion you can imagine. Excitement, disbelief, awe, and even sadness.

I can't really fathom the reality that halfway across the world there is a woman carrying our baby. We prayed for a miracle and it has presented itself to us in a very unexpected way. Unexpected and yet perfect. This is the excitement, the disbelief and the awe.

The sadness is there because the reality is that halfway across the world there is a woman carrying a baby. She is probably praying for a miracle. She is probably praying she will be able to give her child a beautiful life. I can't possibly imagine having to make the decisions she is about to make. I can imagine though, that she does it with nothing but the love and hope she has for her unborn baby. I hope we are her unexpected miracle. Because I promise that we will give this child a beautiful life.
I am happy and excited for what lies ahead for us, but I am sad for her at the same time.