Editor’s Note: Blake Adam and Matthew Coelho are chronicling their adoption journey for Gays With Kids. Check out previous posts here. 

Well, we knew that there would be bumps in the road on our adoption journey…

After submitting our file to the local court in the fall, we were expecting a decision from the judge on our home study approval by the end of the year, or shortly thereafter. After January became February and we still had no word, we decided to reach out.

Our social worker was also surprised to have not heard back, and had already put a call into the courthouse to see what was going on.

After a bit of telephone tag and being transferred from department to department, we finally heard back.

Apparently, at some point over the past few months, the team that was handling adoption home study cases in our county was dismantled and their case files were redistributed. At that time, our file disappeared.

Who knows what happened to it? The courthouse sure doesn’t!

So, unfortunately, we were forced to resubmit our file to the court. The court clerk assured us that upon receipt our file would be expedited and pushed to the top of the pile, but obviously, at this point, we aren’t banking on it.

We are prepared to wait the full 60 days again, as that is likely what will end up happening, but we are hopeful that maybe – just maybe! – we might hear back sooner.

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Timing is a funny thing and we know that when our adoption happens it will be at the exact right moment. But that doesn’t mean that hiccups like these aren’t frustrating.

We have had our nursery completed for months and every day that I walk past the room with an empty, unused crib, I get an anxious pang in my chest. I am ready to be a dad NOW!

But… they say patience is a virtue, and it’s something that I should probably learn sooner rather than later. I’m gonna need a lot of it.

Follow dads to be Matt and Blake on Instagram.