Update to court date & Merry Christmas

One of the things Aaron and I have learned to do through this journey is to trust God, no matter what!  He has put this amazing little girl (who looks like both of us) in our lives and we are so grateful!  However, we thought we'd be going over to Vladivostok to have our court date the last week of December of the first week of January 2011 and it turns out that our court date will not be until after the Russian Christmas holidays which are January 7-11th, 2011.  


The main reason for this delay is that Vladivostok is the region where the little six year old boy was returned alone on a plane last April to Russia and things were at a standstill in that region, and really all regions for a number of months.  Now, the judges are just more cautious and going over everything with a "fine tooth comb."  This means we have to have our blood work and medical paperwork re-completed, but I did not get any grief from my physician today when I explained the situation (letter in hand from our agency, of course).  While we are certainly disappointed and sad, we have no control over these things.  The only thing we have control over is our attitude and we have decided to be positive about it!  It reminds us of the serenity prayer:


God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.


We have learned to trust in Him because he is our creator and knows alpha to omega.  If anything can be said about this adoption journey, it is that it has strengthened mine and Aaron's faith as well as our family's faith.  You have two choices when you reach "bumps in the road..." and you can either collapse with grief and depression or choose to live each day to the fullest and we choose the latter.  Because none of us our granted each day and life can change in a second!  One thing is definitely for sure and that is that we will and are all completely ready for this little girl to become apart of our family.  She will be the most loved and celebrated part of our family as we grow to a family of three next year.  We will keep updates coming as we know anything more, but Merry Christmas to all!  

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