How do you hold good news lightly?

We have been enjoying the afterglow of NOC, and just feeling really excited about preparing to travel. My emails to fellow adoptive moms are getting very loooong, as we contemplate what kind of shoes to bring, how we'll heat up bottles while in India, what kind of water purifier to buy, and if we should travel before picking up our babes. This is the fun part, and I am so grateful to be embarking on this journey with my new friends. Kirk really likes the whole organizing, arranging, planning out part of travel, so he's been doing a great deal of online research and imagining of how it will all unfold.

I've been trying not think about how long the guardianship process will take, which of course, isn't really working! It's hard when your paperwork is out there, somewhere in India, and you have no idea if it's just sitting on someone's desk, or being moved through a process, or what. Two days ago we received a very uplifting email from our caseworker, stating that tentatively, we all have court dates for guardianship in mid February! We were told to hold this news lightly and gently, because court dates are often moved back, and we may not all receive guardianship at the same time. Kirk immediately became very practical, and I immediately became very impractical and whooped and cheered and could not sleep at all that night. At least this means someone has taken a look at our case!! And it could mean we get guardianship soon! This is a time when we need a lot of prayer and energy sent toward the court process, for all of us families who are waiting and longing, so close to actually holding our children. Please think of us, and send wishes for guardianship to be granted in mid February!

After guardianship is granted, Asha's paperwork will be taken to the passport office in Kolkata where she will be issued an Indian passport. This could take an estimated 2 to 4 weeks. During this time frame that we wait for her passport, we will apply for our Indian visas to travel, begin setting times frames for missing work, and generally get ourselves ready. Once the passport is issued, we email the US Embassy in Delhi to set an appointment, and then we fly! So really, guardianship is the last big hurdle, and once we have it, we prepare to travel asap.

I am thinking of Asha nonstop now, and beginning to worry a little bit. I hope she likes us. I hope this giant transition is as smooth and non-traumatic as possible. I hope she is able to feel soothed by us. I wonder what she'll look like, as it's been three months since the last pictures. I wonder what we'll be like as parents. It's a foggy Wednesday here in California, but my mind is thousands of miles away, in sunny India, with a little girl who has big brown eyes, wavy hair, and a smile that melts my heart.