I was thinking about our adoption journey and all the hurdles we have overcome so far. Listing them makes what we have accomplished "real".

7/04 - Decide to adopt
9/04 - Pick an Agency
10/04 - Start Home Study
2/05 - Homestudy Completed (Yes, I am not lying!!! I think we win the longest HS award)
2/05 - I-171 received (I guess INS felt sorry for us because our HS took so long!)
3/05 - Receive referral
4/05 - Travel to Far Eastern Russia. Meet referral. Decline Referral. Meet new referral. Accept new Referral.
5/05 - Dossier completed and submitted for court date
6/05 - Dossier rejected because agency is not accredited
7/05 - 3/06 - Wait, Read FRUA, Chat, Wait, Wait, Wait
3/06 - Agency reaccredited! Rules in Region changed.
3/06 - 4/06 - With a tear in our heart, decide not to continue with adoption in Far East. The new ruling is too risky for our happy family :-( Mourn the loss of our child.
5/06 - On a whim, read a post about hosting
6/06 - Confirm that we can participate!!

So here we are, almost 2 years after we started our journey. We get to meet our visitor on Wednesday!!! I am excited, nervous, scared, overjoyed, and all sorts of emotions. Our Happy Beginning is less than 1 week away.