A Better Week

What a difference a week makes! We heard from our agency yesterday afternoon, and with great relief I report to you all that it looks like we will be ok to move forward with the adoption plans. While there are many families who will sadly be affected by the coming changes, for the moment it looks like we will be fine and are moving full-steam ahead. For the first time our agency even gave us a tentative time frame, if we get our dossier in to them by October we will hopefully travel in April. That seems like a long time but it really isn't overall, and it works better for us as well as then ski season will be over and I will be back to being home full-time.

So we are off to Denver on Monday to file our immigration paperwork and get fingerprinted yet ANOTHER time. Gee, the FBI must get tired of seeing "LaJoy" in their adoption fingerprint files :-) Today Dominick is remaining home to help me with some adoption paperwork as we will try and blast a lot of it out as well as work on some passport issues. We were both so totally energized over the call we received yesterday, and I can see for Dominick he now has turned a corner with it all suddenly. I think having someone say "your daughters may be home by April" has made it more concrete for him, as he now has a possible end goal.

Another thing which has made this week much better than last is that a reconciliation has taken place in my extended family which is so wonderful to hear after 20+ years of estrangement. I hope for all involved that this turns out to be a very rewarding and loving time in your lives as you reconnect and rediscover one another.

I have more to write but need to get some grumbly little boys up for school, so it will have to wait for another post. I just want to thank each and every one of you for taking this journey with us, for your continued prayers for two little girls to finally find their true home. This has actually been harder emotionally than all 3 other adoptions combined, but I have no doubt that in a few short months it will all be worthwhile when we finally complete a family which has taken 9 years to build and taken some unexpected twists and turns...and required more seats around the dinner table than we ever could have imagined. There are those images that creep in that almost don't want to gain a foothold in case it all falls apart. I think of 5 bodies sprawled on the floor watching TV together, of looking in the rearview mirror and having not a single empty seat in the van, of hearing 5 "Night Mom"'s calling out after everyone is tucked in bed. Somewhere along the line I conquered the fear of parenting 5 kids which had never been on my radar at all, and now am looking forward to the logistical challenges...and yes, even the laundry. After all, I have yet to wash any pink or purple in all the thousands of loads I have already done!

But I think the one picture that keeps flitting through my mind is the first moment we see them, where my arms will finally feel full as I hug them along with our sons and my heart will rest easy for the first time in years knowing that all of my children are now safe, and loved, and nourished in all the ways they need to be to grow to be the incredible people they will no doubt become. And it will be that evening when I lay my head down to sleep that I will no longer worry about a son or daughter that is not yet home. And maybe, just maybe, I will sleep better than I have in years as it will not be just my heart carrying around certain children, but my arms wrapped round them permanently.