Waiting...

Our journey actually started soon after we brought Luke home from China. We'd decided early on that we wanted him to have a sibling. After waiting the requisite time, we started the paper chase. After close to a year, we submitted our dossier to China in December 2006. When we got Luke, it took about 3 1/2 months to get the referral. That time quickly passed. So we waited...and waited...and waited... We found out that referral times had greatly increased. Still, we were sure that we'd have her home in 2007. The year quickly passed.

At the beginning of each month (when referrals usually come out), we wondered, "Is this the month?" After a while, we learned to curb our expectations. Although our wait has been painfully long, we realize that we're one of the fortunate ones -- because Rick is Chinese, our application will be expedited. Expedited applications receive referrals ~1 year faster than non-expedites. While we've anguished, we also realized that others suffer more. As each month passed, our unspoken doubts loomed: what if we weren't expedited after all? what if something happened to our application? what if they found some reason to not accept our application?

Many people choose to adopt from China because it's well structured well relatively clear expectations. This unexpected wait has been especially difficult. We take comfort in believing that Isabella is out there and will be given to us at His perfect time.