It's Kind Of Like Being Pregnant......Well, Sort Of........

I guess that's about the best analogy to apply here, the last of our documents arrived at Great Wall's offices in Austin, Texas this morning. Tomorrow, December 23, our dossier will be winging it's way to Beijing to the offices of the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs.

Upon arrival it will eventually be logged in, and the official "pregnancy" will begin. In a few months, it'll work it's way to the top of the pile and be translated into Chinese, then reviewed to see if all the documentation is correct and in order. Once it passes that step, it will move to the matching room where a group of dedicated people will match us with the daughter who has been waiting for us. Eventually we'll get a referral letter, kind of like a birth announcement with a picture and basic information about Miaya.

We knew this day was coming, especially since Michael had overnighted those papers yesterday, but it's still a thrill to get the official notification from our dossier caseworker. She's been wonderful, always answering our questions quickly and helping in many ways.

Once we get the referral letter and accept the referral, the next wait will begin, waiting for travel approval. Then we'll be waiting for the US Consulate appointment and the travel arrangements to come together. Then waiting for the departure date, then waiting on line for boarding passes, and customs, for the plane to get off the ground, so on ad infinitum. See, I told you the adoption process was mainly about waiting!! But on Gotcha Day the wait will be excruciating but the best! Finally being able to hold her in our arms and know she is truly and finally real.