Rainy days and Mondays....

So it's not raining (it's January in Northern Alberta), but it is Monday. I thought for sure I would have some great news to share by this time but unfortunately I don't. I suppose it was wishful thinking on our part to think that we would have our Jenna home for Christmas, but I thought we would at least have a referral by now. We're still waiting, very impatiently I might add, for that glorious phone call. Okay....maybe I'm the only one impatiently waiting...Gary is my tower of strength!! The beginning of December brought news of extended wait times for referrals increasing from 6-7 months to 9 months. Here is what the CCAA printed on their website:

"Recently, there are many speculations on the waiting time period for adoption process for inter-country adoption coming to China to adopt children. The following will help clarify such concerns: CCAA highly emphasizes on efficiency, effectiveness and quality, we have put unremitting effort to achieve this. But the length of processing time after adoptive family apply for their application is correlated with the number of inter-country adopting families and the number with the adopting children waiting to be adopted. If the number of adoptive families is higher than the number of children to be adopted, the waiting period will be extended, on the other hand, if the number of children waiting for adoption out numbers the number of adoptive families, then the waiting period will be shortened. Therefore, the waiting period for adoptive families will vary according to this and not due to inefficiency or other controlling factors."

Simple enough right? This would mean that we should expect our referral in February/March. The only good news I have to report is that, according to the CCAA website, they have now finished the review of all adoption applications registered with their office in May 2005. (Ours was registered May 31st, whew...that was close!) So now our application will go to the "matching room" where they will make our family. Around this time last year when we were beginning our homestudy, I just thought that the making of "our family" was so far away that I couldn't even grasp the concept of it. But I suppose having been through all we'd been through at that point, it was natural to be a bit pessimistic. I remember our social worker saying "just remember that no matter how long and frustrating the wait, know that at the exact moment that your daughter is chosen for you, she's the one you're meant to have". I've been thinking about that alot in the last little while, because it just seems that the closer I think we are, we're faced with yet another hurdle. But I guess I thought we'd never get to this point and we have so I suppose I should just be happy about that! (Can you hear my "Glass 1/2 full" chant right now!!) Only a few more months away...