Waiting, changes in the Chen home and visiting Bama!!!

This week, I had the awesome opportunity to come down to Alabama and visit my family.  It will most likely be the last time I get to see them before we get Katie.  Then, it depends on her adjustment and how well she acclimates to Aaron and I as her parents--how or when we will make a long trip with her.  The great test of her patience and how she will deal with traveling will be when we bring her back to the U.S. from Russia.  That is a 30-hour plane flight when you add up the three to four flights we have to take (Vladivostok to Moscow-about 9-10 hours); (Moscow to New York's JFK is another 9 hours), then with lay overs and such, we would fly from JFK and I HOPE this next time we can get a DIRECT flight from JFK to Dayton (preferably) or Cincinnati. Anyway, because Aaron needs to save up enough leave for us to do some house hunting if we do move after Katie comes home, he will not be able to stay over in Russia the entire time since it will be almost a month--with the court hearing and mandatory ten day waiting period.  Then, usually do not waive this requirement unless the child needs immediate medical attention.  So, not only will I have to take care of Katie alone for two weeks or so in the hotel in Vladivostok (which, there were a lot of women alone waiting out their waiting period, so I feel safe in that arena).  I think the most challenging part of Aaron having to come home before Katie and I is the long plane rides and keeping her entertained on the way home.  I hope she is able to SLEEP some of the time and that she does not scream the entire time because of being afraid of flying.  This quote keeps coming back to mind that God does not do things according to OUR time (though sometimes we wish His majesty did).  The Lord has his own time table for when he wants Aaron and I to be come Katie's parents, we will.  But we are trusting in Him that he will provide for us and Aaron will be granted his extension and please allow him to stay in the Air Force so we do not have to go back and change ANY of the paperwork or amend our homestudy, which WILL cost TIME and MONEY.......two things we are short of right now.   But, we have done all we can and we must put this in the hands of the Lord.  I personally and Granny Rose concurs, that the Lord knows the desires of our heart and he would not have brought us this far and have let us get attached to Katie without letting things move forward.  I pray daily that we will hear something SOON!!!  So, I'm in Alabama to see family and let Aaron work on a final paper for one of his grad school classes.  After this course, he has two remaining.  Thank GOD for small miracles!!!!   Seeing and making sure my grandmother was okay was not my whole reason for coming, but it had a lot to do with it because she was in the hospital about two weeks ago with abnormal arrhythmias.  It started with a kidney infection and she got dehydrated and didn't seek medical attention soon enough that once she finally did, she required a hospital stay for about a week and a half.  She has to be put under anesthesia and have an atrial fibrillation (where they shocked her heart back into normal rhythm),  They say her "Nuclear Stress Test," tomorrow that she is having is just a precaution to make sure there are not blocked arteries in her heart that caused it.  If there were none, it is highly likely that this episode was related to her being dehydrated so severely and that when dehydrated the body loses essential nutrients needed for a regular and normal heart rhythm.   It's nice to be in the South again (if only for a visit) and I hope mine, Aaron and Katie's next move with our cats Nala and Skye is further South.   I am really, really tired of snow and this season's snow hasn't really even gotten going.  The first "flurries" are expected in Dayton on Thursday.  So, Aaron says he will order in and not leave the house to stay warm.  Neither one of us really like the snow.  Although, Summer and Fall are generally REALLY REALLY in Ohio.   But, we have been in the Ohio area (Beavercreek) for about three years and are READY for a change.  I know for sure that when we get Katie, I am ready to rent or buy a house that is on one floor so I don't have to carry her up and down three flights of stairs plus groceries and everything else.  Let's just say if I continue having to do that, my Chiropractor will be very happy because I will be in as often I can go if I have to continue going up and down stairs carrying a 20+ pound child....our beautiful Katie.   One piece of news that we haven't shared with many is that Aaron was "hit by the RIF," (stands for reduction in force).  So, he was cut from the Air Force, but has many opportunities and now has to just decide what is the right career path to take.  If he goes in as a government civilian, there are nice opportunities in the Baltimore area, Augusta, and San Antonio.  Then, there is the route he could take and work for a contracting company and we could end up as close to family as Huntsville, AL.  That would be pretty cool if we were a day's drive away from our family and we could see them more often....and the best part is, they could play a more active Aunt Kristina, Aunt Rene', Uncle Michael, Grammy Deb, Pa Bryant, Great granny & great grandpa Sanders....then there's Granny Rose, Pa Stephen, Gee Gee (As Aaron's step mother, Judy, wants to be called), Grandpa George (hope I have not forgotten anyone).   Anyway, so back to the exiting the Air Force....Aaron wasn't happy when he first got the news, but he has since come to understand that God does not close one door without opening another.  Our feelings are also that this is good for Katie and our family because he will not deploy or do a 365 day remote assignment.  His career field is being deployed every year and for six to nine months with all the combat skills training they receive.  The Air Force is having to fill some of the Army deployment billets.  So, yes, the AOR *Area of Responsibility, war zone...etc. can be very dangerous (MUCH moreso than in Aaron's other deployments).  In Aaron's three deployments he went on, he pretty much stayed "behind the wire," on a base and was more or less protected.   These newer deployments have Airmen in with Army troops are they are far more dangerous than past ones so it is a good time to get out. Nonetheless, we do need prayer and the ability to discern (especially Aaron) what is best for our growing family.  Thank you to all who have been praying.  Please continue to pray that we get that court date before the Russian Christmas, which is January 7th!!!  Generally, the second dossier which they received in Vladivostok on November 4th takes about eight to ten weeks before the family travels again for their court hearing.  Well, eight weeks is January 4th and our medicals for this dossier expire on January 15th so if we don't get our hearing before then, we have to re do all that blood work and have our doctors fill our the paperwork again.  I'm trying to be optimistic because it was SUCH a pain to get them to even run the blood work and do the correct tests plus getting them to fill out the forms correctly was like pulling teeth, literally. (If you read my earlier posts, you can see how difficult that was to get them to do it exactly as Russia requires without making mistakes)!!!   I absolutely HATE not knowing when we will get to go back and bring Katie home because we're ready for her so we can figure out what's next for our little family.   Please continue to pray with us, that God continues to give us that peace that passes all human understanding.  We have learned to be a little more patient when it comes to matters of waiting for our Baby Katie to come home.  We just can't wait until we can truly say we are Katie's Mommy & Daddy!