Nine months since ICAB approval!!

Yep, it's official...we've been waiting for nine months now!! Although the wait has actually gone pretty well so far and the time has flown by for the most part, I've been having a bit of a hard time the last few weeks. I could see the nine month mark looming, the equivalent of a full pregnancy, with nothing to show for it!! Since we received our ICAB approval, there hasn't really been any news to report on the adoption front. The realization that we will likely be waiting another nine months before we hear anything hit me kind of hard, and I find this thought pretty depressing. But, as Raph always reminds me when I talk like that, what does it help or change to worry and stress about the adoption?! It's not going to make the wait go faster, it's a waste of time and energy. It's much better to put that time and energy into something positive and useful. His attitude is to simply go with the flow, and trust that our turn will come. In the meantime, we should enjoy our time together as a couple, because everything will change soon enough. I know that he's right and that this is a healthy attitude to have towards the wait. I'm probably more emotional and open about showing my emotions and fears than Raph is, but I'm trying to take a page from his book. Now that we've reached the nine month mark, I'm feeling calmer and more at ease about waiting for another nine months. Last weekend, we were invited to breakfast with some local families in the process of adopting from the Philippines. It's always so nice to meet other people going through the same thing as us!! I feel very lucky to have that opportunity. We got a chance to catch up a little and exchange some information with Tangie and Michel as well, a couple whom we've already had the occasion to get togethet with a few times since this summer. It was super interesting and fun to hear about her adventures in Morocco :0) Also, we finally got to meet a family whom we've been in contact with through e-mail for the past few months. They're adopting their second child from the Philippines, and have a lot of experience and knowledge to share with us. It's so wonderful to get to know these different families, especially since they all live so close to us. It will be great for our children in the future :0) Who knows, our children might come from the same orphanage in the Philippines!! I really appreciate having been invited to this event.

Raph and I celebrated our nine month anniversary by getting our vaccination for hepatitis. It's a vaccination that's given in three parts 9or three shots!) to be protected for life, basically. So it looks like we'll be celebrating our ten month anniversary with a second shot :0) It's actually quite expensive to get the vaccine! I was quite surprised. We'll have to see if our health insurance will cover it, but I doubt it. Raph and I are flying to Cuba during the Christmas holidays, and we were told that we need to get vaccinated for hepatitis anyway when flying to the Philippines, so we decided to go ahead and get the first two shots before travelling. The vaccine is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended. We got a tetanus shot as well, which they also recommend for both Cuba and the Philippines. This shot is good for ten years, so I think we should be okay :0) Thank you Tangie, for telling us about the vaccine and giving us information on the travel clinic where you went!! The nurse was very kind and helpful, she was patient and understanding and took the time to explain all of the vaccines to us. We had good, rapid and efficient service!! We'll be going back in December for our second hepatitis shot, and then in May for the rest of the vaccines she recommends for the Philippines. It feels good to be doing something concrete towards the adoption process. I've been feeling like we have no control and that all we can do is sit by and wait patiently...so it's really nice to actually be doing something. Who knew I would feel happy about getting shots?!