OOT -- How Can This Be?

The adoption community has become a small one compared to our first time through the process. With Aiden, although I love my agency, I felt like an island. Holt answered my questions when I had them, but most of the time, I didn't even know what to ask. Throughout Ethan's adoption, God bless their souls, the staff was subjected to an endless (nearly continual) bombardment of queries. This is due in no small part to social media. Adoptive parents from all over have been united through message boards, Facebook, and blogs. We support each other, teach each other, inform each other. You get the idea. Well, because of this connection, I learned the other day that our dossier had ALREADY reached an important milestone. All of our paperwork has been translated; therefore, we are officially OOT, "out of translation." Our agency generally doesn't apprise their clients of this step, but another lady with whom I am friends on Facebook has an agency who does. Fortunately, we are on the same timeline (same DTC / LID), and after I posted a picture of Carter as my new profile pic on Thursday, July 3, she commented that they were OOT and we should be, too! I called. Holt checked. Lo and behold, we are! The reason this is so stunning to me is because with Ethan, we were still in translation at day 99! To be out of translation on day ten is almost inconceivable to me. Now, the big question. What does this mean in the overall, grand scheme of things? Who knows. We could be in review for 90 days. With Ethan, after we were OOT, we got our Letter of Acceptance a week after being translated even though my agency said to expect four weeks. Right now, because of another social media sight for adoptive families, I have learned the norm appears to be about seven weeks. What I'm trying to say is that we're still at the mercy of governmental agencies and really have no clue as to when we'll be traveling. If the seven-weeks-from-translation-through-review-to-acceptance holds true, we will probably travel around the middle of November. That is still hugely conjecture. It could be sooner or much later. Obviously we're praying for sooner and hoping against hope for no later. If we DO travel in November, it will have been just about nine months from the start of the actual process (ten months since we first saw his beautiful little face) to adoption. I guess I can't really complain; although, I'd like to! Every day is another day too long.... ;) Just hold on Carter; we're making our way to you, one step at a time!