When?

I heard other adoptive mothers talk about the difficult "wait". Technically, I have only been waiting for Kennedy for six weeks. But when I really think about it, I have been waiting for her my entire married life. Over the years the prayers have changed, but even now they still share a common theme...when? The questions I ask God always begin with "when". When will the call come that we can go get her? When will I hold her for the very first time? When will I be able to bring her home? When will I be able to introduce her to her anxious family?

When we were trying to conceive I would pray to God for a sign. "I can wait", I told him. "It doesn't have to be this month. Just send me a sign that it will happen some day." As I reflect back on those tear filled prayers, I can't help but think that God already had me in training. He was trying to teach me patience, because he knew "this wait" would be the hardest. If there was only a date to circle on the calendar. When you are pregnant, you have a date. When you adopt, you have a wait.

In many ways this process has been very fast for us. We knew about Kennedy two months before we originally thought we would receive a referral. The process has slowed for us slightly. I spoke with Carol on Wednesday evening. She thought Paco (our Attorney in Guatemala) would have DNA authorization this week. I have not heard back from her to confirm. She also thought we would get a medical update and more pictures.

One thing that helps with the wait, is getting ready for Kennedy. Tonight I am washing clothes (sizes 3-6 months) to send to her in the next care package. As I've said before, laundry has never been so fun! I will post pictures of her new outfits soon. And hopefully, new pictures of Kennedy will be posted soon too!