Hurry up and wait

My mind swirls with tasks pertaining to work, home, and this adoption process.  Anyone else feeling overwhelmed these last couple weeks as back to school has hit?  For everything there is a season and right now I am trying to do everything to stay calm and not feel so hurried.  There is a specialty certification in my profession that I am pursuing right now.  You know, one of those pay $500 to sweat through a 4 hour test at sterile testing center that will in return show the world your competence.  I felt like I have needed this designation for several years, and apparently "now" felt like a good time.  "So hurry up and study for more letters behind your name," I begrudgingly tell myself.  If you know me... you know I will likely not study much and barely pass.  I do not like tests.  Hurry up, I hear a tiny voice whisper.  Our house is a disaster, Trav is gone this weekend and I am desperately trying to clean up in preparation for our home study next month!  Hurry up.  I was on the phone with the Pierce County (WA) auditor a couple days ago trying to save $100 by ordering a certified copy of our marriage license for our adoption Dossier.  (Which I did mind you, vital-records.com wanted $107 for one copy, going directly to the source I'm getting two for a whopping $6)  Glancing at my watch I realized I was 5 min late to meet the kiddos at the bus stop.  My flip flops nearly flew off as rushed out only to see the back of the bus continuing down the road.  Patting my pocket I realized that of course I left my phone at home in the bustle.  After all, isn't that what one does in such a hurry?  Eventually I called the transportation line to determine the best way to retrieve my lovelies.  Hurry Up.  I ponder,  'Is this what those pesky yellow jackets feel at the end of the summer season?'  Are we all just a bunch of neurotic beings buzzing about ready to take action?  Ok, so it's just me then? HA!

This past week was a difficult week in our adoption process.  Perhaps it is just the season.  I was feeling so excited that we finally nailed down our home study dates and it's only a month away.  Since we are all but officially matched, I figured once we finish our home study and then our Dossier (Thailands required documents) we could have Muaysai by this coming spring.  After a long conversation with a representative from Holt's Thailand program I realized that my timeline for traveling to get her was very different than what would be feasible.  It will be a minimum of 12-18 months from submission of our Dossier to Thailand before we will get our travel dates to take Muaysai home.  There are simply too many cases pending for review ahead of ours.  You guys!... this process will undoubtedly be the most complex I have ever known.  I am talking crazy lengthy!  After we finish our 30+ page Dossier it will need to be notarized that we are indeed the family submitting this information (understandable). Then we need a certification from the county that the notary is in fact valid, (fine) and THEN the state seal that that county validation is not falsified (say what?) and THEN  D.C must of course get involved at the national level also to in fact validate that the state is in fact also telling the truth (say wha?).  This is just one example of the complexity that is international adoption.  So I am working on our Dossier so that hopefully it is practically done as soon as our home study is so we can incorporate it all together and get this show on the road!  It of course needs to be translated into Thai and then we have to wait for them to review it which only happens twice a month.  I'll spare you the back and forth and numerous forms that then get set in motion.  Hurry Up! Please pray for patience for me as we wait.  Lilabeth Muaysai is 2 years old now and I just shudder to think that she might be 4 years old before we get her.   The social and emotional toll that living in an institution has on a little one is more complicated the longer they are there.  Many children waiting to be adopted are actually in foster homes which is far more preferential, but Lilabeth is not.  Please pray that somehow we are able to complete our Dossier quickly and that it is able to go before the Thai government miraculously quick.  Hurry up.  Saying those words to someone else feels different now, rude yet warranted. 

I want to thank you all for making it this far in my ramblings. :)  I also want to thank those of you who have so kindly given to help us bring our little girl home.  It is an incredible journey to step out in faith with something as financially massive as adopting internationally.  I truly know God has led us to this point and we are trusting that it will all work out.  You can Click here to go to our Go Fund Me account or if you'd rather just Venmo like some others, you can do that too.  (Trav's Venmo account:  tkroeger@gmail.com or 503-332-5156 please comment that it's for the adoption so we can transfer it to our separate adoption account) 

Thank you so much for all of your love, prayers and support!

Bangkok Traffic Photo courtesy "How to Catch a Taxi in Bangkok" by mikespassport.com

I'm sure we'll be reading this blog in depth in 18 months! :)  Hurry up and wait.