It's Official

We got our call and are officially #I was told what to expect when we receive our referral and briefly walked through what paperwork will need to be completed. Christy explained that there has been little movement on the boy's list and that she was sorry it was taking so long. We first heard from Shannon that we were unofficially #1 almost exactly 2 months ago. Wow. Sometimes it feels like we have been on this wait list our whole lives; other times it feels like the last two months went fairly quickly all things (like backtracking) considered. I had a tough question for Christy. I asked her if we were going to get a referral in our 6 month time frame (Oct 8th). She explained that she had no idea and that the only person who really has any information as to the status of paperwork and referrals is Almaz. I was reminded that the timelines are guidelines not guarantees. Not what I wanted to hear. I did find out a little more about the referral process which helped. I feel like the more I know the more understanding of this process I am. In some cases AGCI has to wait for the courts to send paperwork before they can make referrals, in other cases they are waiting on things like a birthparent signature, or something else that could still come during the court closure. Each child's case and paperwork are a little bit different. I really pressed Christy hard about the 6 month thing. I explained that I was very disappointed in the level of communication and if you have good reason to believe it is going to be 7 months or 8 months please tell me. She again reiterated that Almaz was the only one who could answer this question. Christy said Almaz would be meeting with them on September 12th and she would add to the agenda my question about the status of referrals. Christy then agreed to call me early the week of the 15th to let me know what was said. I asked her to please e-mail me instead so I know the next time I see her name on my phone I can get excited because it is the call. So basically, we should hear the middle of September if we can expect a referral by the beginning of October or if it will be 7+ months waiting for our referral. I am VERY grateful Christy is going to ask Almaz specifically about our referral and try to get a better idea of a timeframe for us, but this "no guarantee, it's just a guideline" was still not what I was hoping to hear today. I know I was dreaming but I was really hoping for an "absolutely, I will call you for sure in the next month." Apparently Brian and I still need this wait list in our lives so we can work on our patience. Luckily God knows exactly how much we can take before bottoming out.