"Wandering Mind"

I know this is a bit late, but didn't have time to post during my class - had to take a final!! 8)

Our pick-up trip has finally arrived and, as expected, we are “scrambling.” Last minute shopping, last minute securing the house, and last minute packing! I’m hoping this is how everyone functions at this point of the adoption process. I’m sitting in a Master’s class thinking about other things, things such as my two-hour drive home, then our two-hour drive to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to drop off Amaya. From there it is on to St. Louis for the night (short night), and our early morning wake-up for a 5:45 am flight. There is no doubt we will forget something!!

I can say there is much more “calmness” with this trip. I don’t consider it the “second-child” syndrome where one isn’t as excited as the first, but more a confidence that everything has been done correctly and everything will run smoothly for our trip. The second time through is definitely less stressful due to understanding the entire process somewhat better. Many have told us that one cannot prepare for a second addition to the family, and I have to admit we are not prepared. Yes, we have the crib ready to go, bottles sitting to be filled, and plenty of wet-ones!! But, I don’t believe reality has set in at this point. We are bringing a seven-month old baby into our lives and Amaya’s. It is back to the “waking up in the middle of the night,” “diapers galore”, and “the teething experience!” Yikes!!

I find my mind “flickering” from one idea to another without coming to any solid conclusion or plan for anything. I guess I’m more comfortable just “winging-it.” Not a great trait to rely on in every situation, however.

One of those “flickering” thoughts is in regards to whether we have come to any conclusion on our daughter’s name! Strange thought, I know – but something we have tossed around for months. We have definitely decided on “Alia” as a first name, and we’re pretty sure “Gabrielle” will become her middle name. Now, this poses a future dilemma with Alexia. Since Amaya Grace and Alia Gabrielle are “A.G.” initials, it is only fair to do the same for Alexia!! So, we are trying to come up with a third “G” name for Alexia’s middle name. With everything going on at this moment, it is humorous that thoughts such as “what the heck G-name can we find for Alexia” even enters my thoughts.

Speaking of Alexia, we will be spending time with her as well as finishing up Alia’s process. We opted out of taking her with us on our visit in April, due to uncertainty about the outcome of her abandonment. So, we are looking forward to the opportunity to have her with us. Her case is “in process,” but to be honest, we are not sure where it is at this point. We knew we were in family court a couple weeks back, so assuming her case is following a similar timeline, she should be in PGN, or nearing PGN, without pre-approval. Since DNA is not a factor in determining pre-approval in an abandonment case, we are somewhat removed from that stage. With pre-approval taking an eternity, there hasn’t been any reason for us to get too excited.