Frustrated, exhausted, jealous, upset, you name it, I'm feeling it...

A couple of weeks ago we hit "The Zone" in our adoption process. We FINALLY got a hold of the right people in the County we live in to answer our questions on home studies, FBI fingerprint background checks and all other items remaining to be addressed in our adoption process. Our lawyer was available on the phone, responding in a timely manner and actually following through with what he said he would do. We received the wonderful news that we wouldn't have to complete a home study unless requested by the judge saving us lots of money and time. We sent off our fingerprints to the FBI and sent in our pertinent information to the Colorado Department of Human Services for another background check. To top it all off our lawyer indicated that he could submit our petition THAT WEEK because the results of the remaining background checks could be submitted separately. I was cautious yet ecstatic over the prospect of finally being able to get things moving.

Unfortunately, the following week "The Zone" kicked us back into that no mans land of adoption purgatory. Our lawyer never sent me the confirmation email indicating that he had filed the petition and he has not returned my phone calls in almost 2 weeks. Then, when I called to check on the status of our CDHS background checks I was told it would probably be 4 weeks before they would be completed. This after being told by our lawyer that the process should take a week at most.

Our guardianship expires on River's birthday and that only leaves us 4 business days to get the petition submitted. We have felt the pressure heavily this week. Our emotions are raw from the waiting and not knowing. Just this week our friend's finalized the adoption of their son who was born in February. Today they were able to have him blessed in church. We've been waiting for the day that we could officially call River our own since February 2, 2008 the day Angie asked us to adopt him. It seems now like we've been stuck in this no man's land forever waiting with our faces pressed up against the glass separating us from that wonderful land of green grass, bunnies, puppy dogs, and finalized adoptions.

As my friend Lori and I often say when exhibiting frustration in writing, "a;lskdjfalskdjflaskdjf laskdalksdjf alskdjf laskdjf asldkjfalskdjfalskdjf!"