Fall follies

We've been enjoying some beautiful weather and many good times with friends so far this fall. The boys really got into Halloween this year (and how could they not get into it--with a Halloween party in the neighborhood, parades and parties at both schools, trick-or-treat night, Halloween parade when we camped in mid-October, etc.). They also ran in the Goblin Gallop 1K race again for the third year straight. Keller decided to wear last year's Venom costume for the race rather than his zombie get-up because he felt that Venom suit would give him more flexibility on the race course. Too cute. Casey ran the whole thing without even slowing down for a second. When we were in the car on the way home, he asked if we were going to go "do the gallop now." Poor guy thought that he'd be galloping a race at some point that day.

We have received a piece of good news about Marley, which is that our file has finally been moved to the office which will issue our "Letter Seeking Confirmation." This is the letter China sends to us to confirm that we are planning to come get Marley. It is the last major hurdle in the process, other than booking our travel. The letter has been held up since the end of September due to a clerical error, which blows my mind. Here we are, ready, willing and able to bring her home and meet all of her needs---there she is waiting in an orphanage half a world away---and the thing keeping us apart is a data entry error that led the registration office to believe we had OVER paid our fees. This has been a trying wait to say the least, but once we have that letter, we'll be cleared to travel about 3 weeks after that. We hope to receive our letter next week. I've started working on packing a suitcase for her (at the recommendation of my wise friend Amy who was quick to notice that I was driving myself insane worrying over tiny details like how many pairs of socks to pack for Marley!).

I find comfort in the belief that the trials and tribulations of the adoption process have laid a really strong base for our relationship with Marley. It is a leap of faith to let your heart love a child you've never met, who is so very far away. I am sure my bond with her will be different than my bonds with the boys, just as my bond with each of them continues to evolve uniquely as they grow.

That same wise friend who suggested I start packing Marley's suitcase also predicted that I was heading for a major meltdown about three weeks ago, and she was right. The meltdown happened Thursday morning and I'm not going to lie, it was downright ugly. But, it felt good to let out a bunch of flat out sorrow and I'm doing fine now.