We received our May update today and it looks like our new number is 49. We are under the 50 mark, what a great feeling. I know there has been alot of speculation as to the "LIST" and if it's a good or bad thing to know our number on the "LIST", but I think it's great. Everytime our number goes down everyone gets excited. It makes it real and the fact that we actually know it's going down is making it more real every day.
Although i'm excited about the numbers going down the update also mentioned the rules of our first court date visit to Ethiopia. It looks like our visit will be very casual with no one on one time with the child as they don't want us to start bonding with the him. If we pass court during our visit we will get to meet him again and be allowed to provide him with a gift and photos but it won't be a long visit, again because they don't want us bonding just yet. I'm still struggling on a daily basis with this first visit, I mean, how the heck am I going to get through it with some sanity left over? But I know I will somehow find the strenght and soon after we will get to hold him and never let him go.
They also mentioned in the update the rules if we want to stay in Ethiopia with our son between court and visa, which can be anywhere between 4-6 mths we can but we would have to be completely on our own with no help from our agency as we would have to waive all their responsibilities, which will mean that if something happens back home we would not be able to leave or is something happens there we would be in a foreign country alone. I think that would a very hard thing to do, and not knowing how long it will be would tough as well. That be said, trust me, if I could afford to live there for 6 months and not work I would, but there is no way it can be done.
There are many things in this journey that will bring us down, twist us around, make us think we can't take anymore and often make us feel like we want to give up. But everyday is a new day, a one day closer to being a family. We all have to remember why we took this journey, what the end result will be, what we've been through and most of all how lucky we are to still be counting the days. Cheers to 49 and counting....:)
