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A week ago our social worker called to check-in with Dustin and I concerning our wait for our second child.  There really was nothing for her to communicate, but now that we are nearly five months into our wait it was nice to hear from our agency.  Five months.  We waited five months for Jaden’s referral, almost to the day.  International adoption has been all over the news the past week or so with the tragedy in Haiti.  Without delving into the details surrounding this heartbreaking situation, suffice it to say, regulations are different for each country.  Paperwork is extremely important.  And things change quickly.  So while we adopting through the same agency and the same country program, we are well prepared for a different experience.  We expect a referral sometime between July and September.  So far that timeframe has not changed since we entered the Korea program for the second time back in September. 

One thing is due now, though, and I’ve been working through some paperwork for it the last two afternoons.  It is the I-600a form required by the US immigration services.  This allows for processing of immigration papers to be expedited once our child is matched with us.  This particular form is only two pages long.  But my pen shook with every answer.  These are questions I do not want to get wrong.  The paperwork can be so tedious in this process, but it is the only thing that paves the way for our family to grow again.  I want to get it right. 

I’ll send in the forms and the money tonight.  And then Dustin and I will slip back into the quiet and peaceful wait that has defined this part of our lives since September.  And we hope that things go as expected, and we know that they probably won’t.  And that is okay, because it has to be.