Still waiting...

We are going on 8 weeks now since our file was requested for prep...and we are still waiting to be submitted to the ministry for EP. The 4-6 week timeframe in which we'd hoped to be submitted has come and gone, and I am growing more and more anxious to get this next step out of the way. We have now celebrated the one year anniversary of our referral...yet we still wait. We sent Lennox his 2nd Christmas package this week...and we wait. We will still be waiting as our son turns 18 months old soon, and as we bring in the new year. 

We had really really hoped to have him home by this Christmas. I've known for a while that probably wasn't going to happen, but it still stinks. I wanted to see him toddling into the living room Christmas morning and see his little face light up. Not stuff his Christmas goodies in a box and ship them across the ocean. 

But I do find peace in knowing that we are nearing those final months of this journey. I'm hopeful that we will at least be submitted sometime next month. And on a positive note, the cases that are currently being processed are receiving EP approval rather quickly, and it seems they are receiving court dates a bit faster than normal as well. This means that if we are submitted in January, it's still possible for us to have a court date by May. Which means we still could travel before Lennox turns two! 

There are still a lot of ifs and maybes involved, but guessing is really the only thing I can go by right now. Seeing as how we didn't make the 4-6 week timeframe for submission, here's another guess at a timeline. 

If we get submitted by mid-January, we could get approval my mid-March (this is just based on an 8 week average we've been seeing). We could be submitted to court within 2 weeks after approval, so say end of March. After that, we will just wait for a court date. Families recently have waited an average of 3-4 weeks to be notified of a court date, so that would put us at mid-late April. The court dates have been set 4-6 weeks out, so possibly late May/early June?? At that point we would travel to South Korea for about a week to ten days to meet Lennox and appear in court. We would then return home for 3-4? weeks while the courts finalize everything, then fly back to Korea to receive custody (!!!) and obtain his Visa. Again, this is just a blind guess. We are praying we fall into the shorter time frame on those averages, but you just never know. Anything could happen at anytime still, so we just ask for your continued prayers for a smooth process from here on out. We are asking that The Lord prepare Lennox's little heart for all of the changes he will soon endure. His little life will be turned upside down for a while as he adjusts. As amazing and wonderful as adoption is, there is also great loss involved, and my heart aches as I think of everything Lennox has lost/will have to lose in order to have a family. 

We've received several new pictures lately, a video, and a written update. These help tremendously!! Our boy is growing and thriving, and I have no doubt his foster family is covering him with love! 

I will continue to keep you posted as we wait, and as we hear any news at all. We are so ready to meet and love on that little boy, as I know so many of you are as well.