Waiting and waiting and waiting...It's not over yet.

We have been on this adoption journey for nearly 18 months, twice as long as most mothers wait to have a baby and there is no end in sight.  We are quickly approaching the 1 year since our Home Study was completed.  This is the date that most of the wait time is gauged on, our Home Study to Korea date is May, 11th 2009.  As this anniversary of sorts quickly approaches it is difficult to believe it has already been a year.  It is equally difficult to believe that one year from now chances are good that our empty room will be occupied, that there will be another place set at the table and we will be a family of three. 

As much as we know we are not alone it is still becoming increasingly more difficult to wait.  We try to look at the big picture and see that we could get "the call" any time now telling us we have been matched. That is when the wait get's even harder....knowing that YOUR baby that you have waited so long for is half way around the world and you have to wait for all the red tape to be cleared away before you are able to hold them for the first time.  Adopting from South Korea is not near as frightening as some other countries have become recently. 

CHINA- The wait time skyrocketed from 9 months to likely 4-7 years, it is estimated that 80% of families that sent their paperwork to China have backed out of the program and have chosen other countries, which also means additional fees for these families and starting the paperwork all over again.  We started in the China program and switched when we got an email that the South Korea program was looking for families, this was definitely our sign from God.

HAITI- A devistating earthquake in January left a country with an already high number of orphans with many more additional orphans and no government to process adoptions, because all of the government agencies were reduced to a pile of rubble.  The program is now CLOSED.

RUSSIA- One womans hasty, selfish, decision caused immeasurable pain to thousands of families in the process of adopting children from Russia.    The Russian Government immediately ceased all intercountry adoptions, with the hopes that they can come to some sort of agreement with the US.  At this time the program is now CLOSED.

There are statistics that show there are 147 MILLION orphans around the world.  Yet the number of hoops you must jump through and fees associated with adopting are beyond comprehension.  Medical and financial information must be surrendered, your home must be visited, you must have witnesses (not 1 but 3) vouch for you and indicate that you will be fit parents; (they must also indicate where you might be lacking in the parenting department), we sincerely thank the friends and family that were assigned the laborious task.  If all parents had to be put through the ringer in this manner before getting pregnant there would not be 147 Million orphans on this planet.

As we wait there are good days and bad, we have tried to not put our life on hold while we wait. However, some days are just tougher than others and we have to find a way to cope with them...one of the ways is blogging; We hope to have some good news to post soon.  Until then the wait continues.