Waiting for Godot

Me in a tree! It was actually pretty far up.

Who is Godot? I'm not talking about the play by Samuel Beckett, in which two people wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive--who, in fact, never does because he doesn't exist. No, I'm talking about the IRS. After waiting months for our refund we finally got a letter from the Taxpayer Advocate Office requesting all the same info that the review board requested. After reading the 10-page letter I realized that this "office" really just exists to make me feel like I am doing something productive. Nothing will actually speed up the process. Not Senators, advocates, or us.

Now on to happy news:

We've officially been waiting for TA for one week! Wahoo! I know the waiting will get harder with each passing day, but this is the last thing we wait for. After we receive our TA our agency schedules our consulate appointment and we book our plane tickets.

While we were in New York, I sold a painting! That money will go directly to LilyBeth's adoption fund. If you want to see my paintings, hop over to my facebook page, Sharon Ward Acrylics, and take a look. I really love painting people, mostly African. I find a peace in their stoic faces that is so beautiful. I am participating in an art festival on August 27th here in Portland, Maine, and am working, my tail off to get enough paintings for the show.

Something else happened in New York: Josh was able to meet his biological sister. She was born this past February and is adorable. Here they are at that very first meeting:

Off to New York!

I can take a break from worrying about our TA for a few days because we will be in New York for the long weekend. Going to Grandma and Grandpa's house is loads of fun for the kids. Eight acres of fun farmland with trees to climb, ponds to play in, and horses to feed makes for a fun weekend. The drive out is a little crazy but we have fun once we get there.

I was sad to read a blog about a family who has been waiting for their TA for 6 weeks! Bummer, I'm really praying ours comes fast! Our agency said they would request an expedited TA because of Lily's medical needs, but because it's not an "urgent" medical need we will probably end up waiting the normal time.

What is the normal wait time for a TA? I have no idea! I have read blogs where the TA is taking 3 weeks, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks, now six weeks, and one that was issued the same day as the Article 5! While the Chinese adoption process is very predictable, there are things that are unpredictable--like the TA. Ugh! I will simply go crazy if I have to wait 6 weeks! That would mean we don't travel until July or August! I know it's not in my hands, cuz if it was Lily would have been home 9 months ago!, but I still my TA in June, by the 13th would be great (for all you CCCWA people who happen to be reading this.)

Pray for us this weekend as we make the decision about whether or not to apply for a loan to complete the adoption. (*Thank you very much IRS for holding our refund--mucho sarcasm here.)

Anyway, have a great weekend and don't think adoption.

I'm done--that's it--I have no energy left

Article 5 Day!!

The first draft of this post was long and whiny, but today is a day to rejoice--because:

By the time I post this, our Article 5 will be on its way to Beijing!! Next up is our TA. I can't believe I am even writing this. This journey has been so long--they all are. We have been looking at LilyBeth's photo for six months now and in just a couple more months (maybe even one) I will be holding this little girl in my arms.

Tomorrow

In less than 24 hours our Article 5 is scheduled to be picked up and delivered to CCCWA! Then we receive the last document that will put me on a plane to Beijing. I'm excited, and nervous, and a little crazy. I have no idea how long it will take for the TA to be issued, and no idea when our consulate appointment will be scheduled, and no idea where the money will come from, but I know that God is in control and I am not.

Until then I have requested some updated photos of LilyBeth from our agency. I have been requesting photos from them and from the care package people, but have had no luck so far. It's really disheartening since our only photos are from March 2010! I know I will get to see her in person in a month or two, but it would be nice if I could pick her out of a lineup! Oh well, maybe we will be the only family getting their baby that day.

It's lonely in the blog world this time

One of the hardest parts of this adoption has been the lack of blogging buddies. When we adopted Thomas there were no blogs to be read. Oh, I'm sure there were some out there, but I didn't know that. It was our first time adopting and there was so much to do! His adoption took only eight months from the very beginning until the day he came home. I didn't have time to search the internet and had no idea that there were blogs.

When we adopted Grace, our agency had a listserv for families to stay in touch. Through that we were able to find blogs. Many, many, MANY blogs by families who were in the Ethiopian adoption process. I found it so helpful to follow others' journeys and was able to email people who were traveling to get their children. Many people were able to take pictures of Grace for us so we could get regular updates. Then there was a glitch! Our adoption was put on hold (along with many others) because of some falsified documents regarding another child--not ours. I can't tell you how helpful it was to have people praying for us, to have a place to beg for those prayers, and to read encouraging comments from people I still hadn't met yet. Then, two months later it was our turn to travel. I loved being able to pack precious gifts sent by families waiting to go get their children. I took photos of all the children who were matched with families--even took a few videos. Those photos meant so much to the families waiting to travel. But this time it's so different.

I've only found a couple of blogs for families waiting to adopt from China. It's a totally different (electronic) world. I don't know if the families are just not interested in keeping up a blog, or if there's some other listserv out there that I haven't heard of. All I know is that it feels so lonely in this waiting. Soon enough we will be on a plane with anticipation growing every mile, to meet our youngest daughter. I will be excited to meet other families in Beijing and Guangzhou--Guangzhou especially! But, I am still sad that I haven't been able to make those lasting adoption-momma friendships that I made during Grace's adoption. P.S. I love you guys! I love learning about how God has called you all to continue adoption, to advocate for the fatherless, to help mothers be able to keep their children, and to spread the Gospel into areas of the world that haven't heard it yet. Keep up the good work and know that I cherish your friendships.

It's looking like July

Our agency updated me with some dates: Our Article 5 is scheduled to be picked up on May 24th. Then it's a few days to get it to CCCWA (formerly CCAA). Once there it takes about 4 weeks for TA. That puts our estimated TA at June 24th. That's too late for the June travel group, but so early for the July travel group. We would wait 5 weeks to travel for July.

Now, there's a slim chance (very slim) that our TA could come in before June 13th. That would mean the CCCWA would have to process it in 2 1/2 weeks. If that happens, we would travel at the end of June. (* I can't believe I'm even talking about our TA! It's been such a crazy journey and now we're almost there!)

I'm still freaking out about how we will manage child care for our other children while I'm in China, but I know God is SO good and everything will be in place by the time I travel. Until then we have a very busy month. Thomas and Grace have a dance recital this weekend, we go to New York to visit Mike's family next weekend, the following weekend I go up north for a legal seminar, and then I have a few weekends off to pack and get LilyBeth's room organized.

And I just "met" another mom who is traveling in July to adopt TWO boys from China!

Please keep praying that the IRS will come through with our refund soon so we can purchase our tickets to China when the time is right.