Looks like November for now

So it looks like this little girl (still afraid to call her "our" little girl). Will be coming off of the registry in November instead of October. We won't get any medical info on her for awhile (still want to know what "awhile" is) but we will get it before we are given travel dates. We are hoping the medical looks good and we will be in Vologda at the end of November.

Should I be excited?

So it looks like we are going to get a referral for one of the little girls that was a possibility in early September! After we said we were open to a 2 1/2 year old I just had a funny feeling that was the path we would be going down.
After two weeks of waiting to see what would happen I couldn't wait anymore and called our agency. Our director said they were able to "get us in line." I asked, "what does that mean?" and she said they were able to "get us registered in order to pursue the referral of the 2 1/2 year old." It was very surreal because she didn't seem excited and stated this very matter of factly. I finally asked, "should I be excited?" and she said, "don't get too excited!" Don't you just love international adoption! I explained to her again that we had adopted once before and gone through losing a referral so we understood that the floor could be pulled out from under us at anytime. I then asked again, "now should I be excited?" She laughed and said okay, yes, you should be excited. At this time all we have is a picture and birth month and year. We will be getting medical info any day. She is so adorable and looks so much like Joe. She comes off of the registry in mid-October so we could be traveling as soon as the end of October.
I am definitely freaking out! We really believed we wouldn't be going anywhere until next summer. We recognize we are so incredibly lucky and have soooo much to do. Now we just hope that 1. we get to travel soon 2. the US-Russia agreement is signed SOON and 3. our process ends quickly. After seeing the gut wrenching waits that so many bloggers are going through and going through our six month wait for a court date with Oscar I just hope that we are lucky!

Approved

We got our I600A approval letter on Saturday. Now we are officially in the "waiting with nothing to do" stage. I figure we should enjoy it while it lasts because once December hits we will be redoing medicals, clearances, and lots of other documents I'm sure.

Maybe, But Probably Not

Our agency is working to try to let us move forward with these referrals but it looks like it won't happen. Honestly, since we were planning on next May or June I'm totally fine with this. We could use more time to save money! Also we have a wedding in Colorado this fall and a family trip to Disney planned for December. Adding Russia into all of this would be great of course, but we don't mind waiting. With Oscar's adoption I never would have said we don't mind waiting and I'm sure I won't be saying that once the long, cold winter sets in! But for now, we wait and we enjoy our plans for the fall and December and hope for referrals for those that have been waiting much longer than us!

Hold that thought!

It looks like these referrals may be a false alarm. Lots of miscommunication and/or misunderstandings between Russia and our agency. Our agency got a hold of some people today but not everybody to try to figure out our registration in the region and where we stand with these potential referrals. Of course it is a three day weekend so we get to sit and wait and wonder. Thank god I did not have the pictures sent to us!!!! I will update next week.

What? What? What?

So I planned to post tonight just to report that Joe and I got our USCIS fingerprints done which marks the end of the first round of paperwork.
Then as I was leaving work I saw I had a voicemail. It was our agency. I called them back to find out we have two, yes two, potential referrals. What? What? What? It is September 2nd and we were told we should not expect a referral before next summer.
Nothing is really happening yet because they have to check our registration in the region because it doesn't look like it was not completed in June as they thought. They can't give us any medical info until we are officially registered. Our director said she has pictures and can send them but I said absolutely not!!! I am the type of person that can't walk into an animal shelter without bringing a puppy home. How on earth would I be able to say no to children if I can't say no to a dog!
Joe and I decided that if our registration is going okay then we want to get medical information about the girls before they send pictures. We don't think it would be smart to have a picture of these children for several weeks before we can get any medical info. Why get attached to a picture that may not come home with us if we can avoid it?
My biggest concern is that there are two. We do not have the funds to adopt 2 children so I think this will be difficult. I'm trying not to think about it too much because a lot of things could happen and this could all fall apart. At this point I'll just wait by the phone and go with my gut, just like we did with Oscar.
I still can't believe it is September 2nd and I got the call today. Crazy!!!

Poor Bubba

So we found out today that our Bubba most likely has cancer. They can't diagnose it for sure unless we do a surgery to remove the mass in his lung. The doctor said at his age (11) the surgery would only give him a few more months so we are not going to do it. We are looking at 3-4 more months with our Bubba.
Just to say a few things about this dog is very difficult. He represents nearly everything that Joe and I have done together. He was our very first baby and the best dog ever. Of course he was a little psychotic here and there, but that just made us love him more! It is strange how being posed with such a horrible loss I realized last night how incredibly blessed I have been! I have an amazing husband and an incredible son and we have been able to love 3 great dogs too! We may have gone through tough times with infertility but that just seems so insignificant now. Here we wait for our poor Bubba to leave us yet also for our beautiful daughter to join us. I guess that is why they say life works in mysterious ways. I would have loved to have had a picture with Bubba and all of our children, but we just don't always get what we hope for and I know I need to be thankful for all the amazing things I have right now.
Sorry this post rambled, but it has been a very tough week and focus is not my best skill these days.