Adoption update: Not much to update

Our agency sends out emails once a month to update everyone who is waiting. Nothing has really changed. Referrals are still taking about 6 months. And if you're open to special needs (as we are) they are sometimes coming earlier. It still takes about 3 months to travel from acceptance. So, like I said, that's about the same they told us a month ago. That's a good thing. It would be hard to take if it looked like things were taking longer - which is not a rare occurrence in international adoption. Next week we'll be at 1 month waiting, so we're still trying to focus on 5 months - and if it comes earlier we'll be even more excited.

I finally called two IA doctors. Even though it might still be a while, at least we'll be ready. There are two Doctors in Dallas that specialize in IA. When you first get a referral you are encouraged to have them review everything beforehand so you understand all of the medical info. One Doctor is part of a pediatric practice and the other is at Children's Hospital. What surprised me was how expensive it is. Insurance doesn't cover it and it's about $300! You email the file, they review the info and a week later they give you their take. It's even more expensive if you want to go in and have a face-to-face. Phew. How long does it take to look at a file? That's like $300 for 30 minutes. I was hoping to have it reviewed by two Doctors (ya, know to have a second opinion) but that's not going to happen. I'm thinking about having it reviewed by the IA doctor and then the clinic here on the center. They'll only charge me $17. :-)

Speaking of adoption expenses, we got the kids passports today. They were so excited! Of course, they don't have any idea what they are for, but they just sat and looked through them. That's another thing that cost more than I realized. It's cute to see their little faces on a passport. Orin kept saying he wanted to take it to school to show his teacher.


I'll just throw in these two pictures because they are cute. This is how I find Micaiah almost every night. He is ALWAYS clutching Barney as he sleeps. I LOVE it! And for the past month or so he's been sleeping without pajamas. You'd think he'd get cold but he's a great sleeper so I think he's fine. And I'm enjoying having less laundry.

Orin said, "Mom, take a picture of Micaiah and me hugging!" So I did. :-)