50 Days

Today we have been waiting for our LOA for 50 days.

Quick refresher - our LOA is China's official permission to adopt Hannah. We received our PA (Provisional Approval) to adopt her on 5/26. The PA means they know we want to adopt her and they intend to review our dossier for that purpose. The LOA is the biggie! It means they HAVE translated our dossier, reviewed it and approved us to adopt her! So, it is a huge milestone on this adoption road and it means we could travel to get her in 2-3 months!

Okay, so as I was saying, we have been waiting 50 days for our precious LOA. The average wait for LOA for families that are matched prior to their dossier being sent to China (us) is about 54 days, so this really could be our week! LOA wait times are so variable. Recently, some have gotten their LOAs in 25 days, 34 days, 42 days, 47 days, 49 days, so I've been thinking it could be our week for awhile now. *SIGH* Some have waited much longer than 54 days, and really there is no way to tell WHEN it is coming. This has led me to wake up everyday and wonder if TODAY will be THE day. This can wear you out after awhile. It's like when you are 39 weeks pregnant and you wake up everyday excited that you might go into labor that day. You think about it all day. No matter what you have going on, it's never far from your mind. As you head to bed, you can't help being ticked off that another day has come and gone without any action. I've tried to not be too obsessive about this, although it is totally my nature to obsess about things like this. I'm trying hard to not drive my friends and dear sweet husband nuts with comments like "A family got their LOA today and they were on day 49 of their wait. We are just 4 days behind them, so maybe ours is coming!!!" So, I'm trying, but I think if our LOA doesn't come soon, all bets are off and I will be in total "drive you crazy" and "overly analytical crazy girl obsessive mode". Beware - you have been warned!!! Pray for Chris!!!

Earlier when I was putting Hailey down for her nap, I missed a call from CA #. My agency is in CA and other than them, I'm not expecting ANY calls from CA! I anxiously listen to the voicemail, pretty convinced that this is THE CALL. The nice guy says, "This message is for Amy Halvorson..." YES YES YES...THAT'S ME!!! Then he starts babbling on and on about something related to one of my clients. UGH.... Not it. My heart was beating a mile a minute. What a let down!

I'm trying to stay calm by reminding myself that our LOA WILL actually come one day even if it sometimes seems like it will never happen. Ultimately, I want God's timing on this whole process, even it means that our fast moving train comes to a complete stop. I trust that God's plans are better than mine. He has proven it to me over and over again.

When our LOA DOES come, we will immediately mail off our I800 with US Customs and Immigration. This is our petition to allow us to bring Hannah home and for her to become a citizen upon arriving in the US. Then we will celebrate at P.F. Changs!!! Seems appropriate, right!

Until then, I'll be her counting the days, praying often and W A I T I N G....