What a weekend!!!

I have to start by sharing some very positive and happy news.  A woman on Vancouver Island who is adopting from one of the countries I am considering, travelled to her country last week to spend a month picking up her child.  Needless to say, I was thrilled for her and even more delighted that she was going to blog the journey so we, her followers, could live it vicariously.  It has been a long road for her and how exciting to finally be in that position!!!!  Her last blog on Thursday indicated there were some difficulties with the process that she wasn't allowed to explain.  My heart sank and I started to worry for her.  I tried to Google search for an answer and by sheer luck late Friday night found a family in the USA adopting from the same country who shared on their blog what the problem was.  My heart sank even further and now I felt sick.  OMG !  Is she going to be OK?  What would I do if this were me?  There was no news Saturday and I thought yikes!  A friend here asked me this afternoon, "Do you think she is ok?'"   "Yes," I replied confidently but with some inner scepticism, "her agency will take care of her."  This friend has first hand experience with international adoption from 17 years ago and thus knows all about the 'bumps in the road" that can happen.  After I got off the phone with my friend, I decided to check the woman's blog and see if she'd posted.  I was desperate for some news.   Low and behold she posted today that she has her son in her custody and just has to finalize a few papers and then begin the wait for his passport.  Ohhh, what a relief!     
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I am also following the blog of a couple adopting from China's Waiting Child program.  They return home to Chicago on Thursday.  They have two 18 month olds, one of which is adopted, so  they will have their hands full but what beautiful girls they are!   I met my dad at the airport this morning, he came in at the international arrivals and I walked him up to the domestic departures as he was going on to the island.  One group of people waiting had balloons and party horns to greet their arrival.  I couldn't help but think as I waited for him that hopefully one day I would be walking out through those doors with my child and that we would have family and friends waiting to welcome us.  I have already promised my grandma in California, 90 next March, that the first trip my child and I take after coming home will be to fly down and see her!!!!!!

Another blog I read, and don't ask me which one as I read so many, wrote about how a journey is usually a happy or exciting time but that the journey to adopt is more like a roller coaster ride with highs and lows.  I have already discovered this and despite the roadblocks with my age and being single am working hard to see the glass half-full  or the world with rose coloured glasses.  Another neat experience from this weekend was that the couple behind me in line at IKEA on Saturday were one of the couple's that had shared their journey at the first weekend of my adoption education course this summer.  This couple have the most adorable 14 month old and had success overnight on Canada Adopts with the most basic package.  If you haven't checked out this website please see the link to it on the right.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  It was neat to see this couple again and to receive words of encouragement from them.  Their little girl is really lucky to have two great dads!  My clip art images are from free sites that just require you to put a link to their website.  Thought I'd try to jazz things up.  Have a wonderful week, not long now until Thanksgiving!  Please keep your fingers crossed that my homestudy gets final approval this week.  I would love to be able to stop the ticker!

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