Just another "bump in the road, we pray..."

So, we've all heard the saying that, "God is never late...he is always on time.."  This doesn't, however, mean he is on OUR time and this is becoming more evident as we wait for news on our adoption.  Friday, we were pretty upset because that morning our agency called and said it would be 2-3 months before the rep in Russia expected to get ANY referrals.  That time period was okay, because we knew with diligence and hard work on our end that we may be able to complete our adoption of our Katie Allison by Christmas this year.  That STILL MIGHT happen, but then that afternoon we got another call and our coordinator told us that because we are requesting a baby girl under age 2 (whom we will name Katie Allison Chen), that this could take 6-9 months before we receive a referral.  Taking what she said to heart was very difficult and sad as we had been dreaming of a Christmas as a family of three.  This isn't to say that won't happen, but it isn't as likely as it would have been before the woman in Tennessee sent the child back to Russia unaccompanied.  I guess that's the way it is in life sometimes....ONE person can affect hundreds (maybe even thousands) who've begun this journey.  

We even talked of changing our adoption and going domestic, but there are many issues with that which make us uncomfortable.  I think the biggest and scariest part of that is that we could be come attached to a birthfamily and the idea of their child becoming ours and how much of a heartbreak it would be if they changed their minds and decided to keep their child.  Then, we began to consider financially how much we have put into this program and decided the persevere and that we aren't ready to change the course of our adoption at this time.  However, if the timeline gets any longer, we might HAVE to because we're only supposed to be in Ohio until the end of 2011 unless Aaron gets into the Air Force Institute of Technology.  If that happens, it would extend our stay here for another 18 months.

Well, our nursery is done and all there is to do now is wait and pray!!!  Reading other families' blogs has helped me a lot and seeing how well these babies seem to catch up developmentally is encouraging, especially after their rough start in life and time spent in an institutionalized environment.  This is one of the reasons we asked for our baby girl to be as young as possible because all of the literature concurs that the younger they are when they are brought from the orphanage into a stable, loving home life...the better they do developmentally and that by age 3, most of the children have reached and surpassed expected developmental milestones.

I'm not sure we have addressed one issue since starting this blog and that is that we plan on never keeping Katie's heritage a secret and telling her that she is adopted as soon as she can understand that concept.  She needs to KNOW the kind of love we have for her and that we prayed for her from day one of starting this adoption.  This is the part where no one said it would be easy, but somehow I think the waiting is that hardest part....that and the unknown.  But if you think about it, there are many unknowns in pregnancy and childbirth also.  We ask that you continue to pray for us as we wait out this time.  One of the positives of having to wait is that Aaron will be closer to graduating with his Master's degree from Norwich University in Information Assurance and even if he does go to the Air Force Institute of Technology, his homework should not be nearly as time consuming as it is for him to be serving full-time in the Air Force AND doing this Master's program.  Though, I will give him much credit and say that he has done an excellent job in every class (making near perfect grades on every assignment).  I KNEW I married a smart hubby!!!  :-)

For now, I'll just continue to do the volunteer work I do on our Air Force base for deployed families where I serve as Key Spouse and babysit Grace (who will be 2 years old July 15th).  It's hard to believe I have been her part-time sitter now regularly for almost a year. August 29th will be a year since I started sitting for her and oddly enough, she was 13 months old when I started sitting for her.  I've become more confident in keeping a baby since then and watched her bond and grow right before my eyes!  Children are amazing!!!  What she has taught me will prove itself invaluable when we finally do bring our princess home from Russia.  

Last, but definitely not least...I am beginning to feel more positive about turning 30 next month!  At first, I felt so old because we don't have children yet and most of our friends who are younger than us already do.  But women are waiting longer and longer because of careers and such.  I know that Aaron and I just wanted some time to be just "the two of us," before starting a family and when it didn't happen biologically for us, we started the adoption process almost immediately.  We will celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary on August 12th, but Aaron will be in the midst of completing this course he's in and his break starts the last week of August.  So, we have planned a little getaway for a couple nights to a Bed and Breakfast not too far from here to Nashville, Indiana in late August (this will also serve as a celebration of my 30th birthday).  We were told by some friends that it was relaxing there and kind of like a mini-Gatlinburg.  Also, because Aaron needs to save up as much leave as possible we probably will be spending Christmas up here in the Midwest without seeing family (unless they can make it to see us).  If they don't, we are considering going somewhere within driving distance so that Aaron doesn't have to take leave and doing something fun for Christmas.  A lot of adoption literature encourages couples to take little trips alone before their baby comes because life is never the same after their arrival.  However, we couldn't be more ready!!!

We always ask, but please continue to pray for us and God Bless!!!  Here are some adoption quotations I found on another family's blog and I thought they were definitely worth sharing:

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him.
--I Samuel 1:27

God sets the lonely in families.
--Psalm 68:6

The Gift of Life
I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know,
The love I feel is deep and real
As if it had been so.

For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true.
No, I didn't give you the gift of life.
Life gave me the gift of you!
--Unknown

Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute...
You didn't grow under my heart--but in it.
--Fleur Conkling Heylinger