answering some questions

So, we have had many friends and family supporting us during our adoption journey.  And, as we do:), they have tons of questions about the process.  And I have not done a very good job of explaining things.  So I am going to try.  Let me start by saying that I love love love it when any of you ask what number we are, or ask us how our adoption is going.  It makes it feel real, like it is really going to happen one of these days.  Because after the paperwork and everything is done, the waiting is so so hard.  So, here is what we are going to go through.
Right now we are unofficially number 9 on the waitlist.  We have a "underground":) group that keeps a list of referrals, etc, and instead of waiting until the first of each month to hear our official number from our agency, we keep a list to kind of know where we are.  As we get closer, we "know" the people in front of us and their parameters, and they have become a family to us.  We cry with them when they are waiting and rejoice with them when they receive their bundle of joy.  Adoption is like nothing else, and those who have chosen this path with us know a part of our hearts in a way no one else can.
Okay, I digress.  So, we are really waiting for THE CALL.  The day, the minute when our caseworker calls and says - "I have a little girl to talk to you about".  That is the sentence that we have been waiting for for almost a year.  And then we receive all the paperwork that our agency has on our daughter, and pictures.  Did I really write that?  Our daughter.  And then we have more paperwork to do, and we have to contact an international pediatrician for a consult.  And we write a transition plan for our agency.  And then we turn in all our paperwork and officially accept our referral.  And then we wait again.  But we wait with a picture, and a name, and with our daughter in our hearts.  Our agency sends our paperwork in to the Ethiopian courts and a file is opened.  And then we are granted a court date.  We will travel to Ethiopia on a weekend and meet our daughter, and then during the following week we will go to court and stand before a judge and answer questions about adopting our daughter.  And then, Lord willing, the judge will say "She is yours":).  And then we come home.  Without her.  And we wait again, this time for the US embassy in Ethiopia to give us a visa appointment date.  And then we travel again.  And this time, on a Sunday, our daughter will be placed in our arms and never taken out again.  I write this with tears streaming down my face.  Because one day, in the coming months, it is going to happen!!!  And yes, there is a lot of waiting.  And it is not fair, with the 163 million orphans in the world.  But this is how long it takes.  And in the end, she is going to be in my arms.  And I may not ever put her down:).
Okay, one more thing while I am writing:).  For those of you in the adoption community - you already know this.  But for the rest of you who put up with my ramblings, this is new.  We are not going to be able to share a picture of our daughter on line until she is home.  It is for her protection, and for ours.  Some agencies allow you to post pictures after you pass court, but ours has asked us to wait until we are home.  So, if I see you in person - please ask to see her picture (if I have not already shoved it in your face:).  And as soon as we can, we will share her with the world!!!!  Again, thank you all for your prayers, support and love that you have given us through our journey....we cannot wait to the next step!