Checking things off the list

I made the last of three apostilling trips (I hope!) to Springfield this morning. They couldn't do one document because it was a federal document, and they can only do our state. So I will have to send this document away. Where to and how long it will take, I'm not sure yet.

At first I thought our adoption was crazy, but it sounds like everyone who adopts internationally has many challenges. Different countries have such different requirements, things get lost in translation, etc. Even in the same country, different states (or judges or prosecutors) have different interpretations on what should be done. 

What I mean to say is that this journey has required huge amounts of flexibility and patience (and I don't have a lot of either). I've been very frustrated at times, sometimes to the point of tears (though I always tried to wait until I was in my car :), or office, or something). And it definitely isn't over. I hope we can be patient, flexible examples of Americans when we're waiting on embassy appointments and passports and visas when we're just ready to come home already. 

But if you're called to adopt, don't be scared. If we can do it, you can, too!

We have our apartment (much nicer than we expected!). It has a washer and dryer and wi-fi, so we should be able to keep everyone updated (though we can't share pictures of the kids until our May 14 court date). It's also decorated in pink and purple. Bryan is excited ;).

We're waiting on our airline quote to come back so we can buy some tickets. We actually may leave a couple of days early to stop off in France to see my uncle. So we could be leaving the US in 22 days.

And we're not sure if the kids know yet or not. I have asked, but sometimes it takes some time to get an answer.