Avis, I'm just speculating here, in defense of the review teams' possible situation; I don't really know anything about it, have never paid any attention to it myself, and, yes, it is true we've been told that cards are reviewed in numerical order. However, I can imagine a scenario in which the lists of cards coming in as "pending" are broken up into groups, divided up among several review teams, and consequently not finished at the same rate of speed. The "approved" numbers could be much higher because one block of many cards in a series by one contributor has gone through one review team quickly while other cards submitted simultaneously are still being (or have yet to be) looked at by another review team.
 
You're right that it should happen in order as promised but perhaps is not strictly feasible due to having to parcel out the cards in manageable blocks. Again, just speculating. Although it can be argued that it's the reviewers' job and that it should simply be carried out "by the book", I can't help sympathizing with their surely somewhat overwhelming plight and imagining possible reasons for the discrepancy.
 
I do sympathize with everyone waiting for his/her designs to be approved, of course. For my own sanity, I try to forget about my submissions until they are mentioned in an approval e-mail, like a happy surprise. Please don't think my little fantasy here means that I don't understand how you feel.
 
Regards from
 
Joan