Tick.. Tick...

Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking.. into the future...
Another blog entry so soon? Well.. I just realized that I forgot to update on the adoption process. I received an update yesterday.
I can't believe this, but it looks like we are heading into the same time frame that we were headed into 2 years ago. Sigh sigh sigh. I was hoping so much that it would not work out this way, but I guess I'm not in charge of this plan am I? So difficult for a control freak to sit back and have no control. Thank god for Maya, or I would be completely obsessed and a bit depressed like I was in September of 2005.
We completed our dossier a couple of weeks ago, but our agency needed to get some final authentications completed on their end before it was officially complete. These final steps are being completed right now, and the dossier will end up being finished just in time for the courts in Kolkata to be shut down for a month in celebration of Durga Puja and Diwala (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga_Puja, http://www.diwalifestival.org).
ARGH! This means no referral for us during this time.
There are also some good things and not-so-good things going on with the process. First, we found out that {not so good} the Kolkata judge was not replaced in August, so he will most likely be the judge who reviews and hopefully approves our case. This judge has been a nightmare (if you have been following my posts regarding other families stuck in loooooong delays due to his not-showing-up-to-work and not-reviewing-adoption-cases-for-no-known-reason and nit-picking-tiny-details-causing-months-of-delay) since being put in place just after we brought Maya home. We are trying to prepare ourselves for a long wait for legals, but we will surely be completely crazed when the time comes. Legals, btw, are the 2nd-to-last step before traveling. This is after you have accepted your referral, so you are insanely anxious to meet your baby.
We also found out that {good!!} the visa process within India has changed a little. When we traveled last time, we had to go to Kolkata to pick up Maya, fly to Delhi to file for her Visa, and then fly home. This req'd a flight within a couple of days of picking up our baby - I'm sure a traumatic, terrifying experience for her.
The new process dictates that we file for the visa in Delhi and THEN go to Kolkata to pick up the baby.. and complete the visa process in Kolkata. This means that we can stay longer in Kolkata getting to know our new baby before subjecting the poor thing to a complete change of environment, an airport, and airplane flights.
This is also very cool for us as we are planning to incorporate a bit of site-seeing in India prior to picking up our child. No, we don't want to wait to bring our child home.. but we do have family in India that we would like to see (in my case, meet for the first time).. and I would LUV to visit Kerala or Goa for a couple of days. It will also be nice for Maya to visit the family and her home country - even though she will be too young to fully appreciate it.
Yes, we are taking Maya with us. I know this is a highly-debated topic, but there is just no question for us. We want to travel as a family to bring our new child home. I know it will be difficult to travel with a toddler.. but hey - what doesn't kill us will only make us stronger!! :)


In other news.. I cancelled/am rescheduling my party tomorrow night b/c Maya is still sickly. :(( No fever, but VERY irritable and groggy. Hoping the meds start working soon.. poor little thing.

Here are some cute photos of her hanging out with her cousin, Andrew (who, btw, is my 5-yr old Godson that I referred to in previous post)..