Hop On Baby, It's Gonna Be a Bumpy Ride!

We have been on quite a roller coaster ride for the past few weeks. I absolutely LOVE roller coasters, but I am not sure about this one. I think it equals the Ninja at Six Flags. My neck hurts and I think I may throw up now. Oh, just kidding!! I have to find humor in every situation. If I don't, I will totally go stark raving crazy. I slightly am anyway, I think. Well, the ride began a few weeks ago on October 31st, when we broke the news to our oldest daughter, Annabeth, that we wanted her to go to China with us. She was so excited and couldn't believe we were asking her to go. I worked it out with her school principal who was so sweet to give us her blessing on this. We know this will be a trip of a lifetime for Annabeth and something she will NEVER forget. On that Monday, November 1st, we received an email informing us that our Article 5 had been issued. I am not sure exactly what that means, honestly. I just know it is the final step before we receive our Travel Approval. It is a BIG deal. From that point, we should have 2-3 weeks before we receive the call about our Travel Approval. It was a VERY exciting day, UNTIL......
    The very same day, I started thinking about the fact that our precious firstborn, Annabeth, would be turning 18 on November 3rd. She would now be considered an adult in China. It is hard for me to even conceive of the fact of her being an adult. I am too young to have a child that "grown up"(haha), so I don't even want to think about it. So...., I called our agency and asked if we needed to do anything extra since she was now 18. GOOD THING!! To my unbelievable dismay, they told me we would need to have her fingerprinted in our city, then have her Child Abuse and Neglect clearances done as well as having her fingerprints cleared through the FBI and Immigration. We would also have to add an Addendum to our Home Study. OH baby!! Literally, all I could think about was OUR baby, in China. As it is at this point, we were probably traveling the first few weeks of December, returning right before Christmas. Our little one would be able to spend her very first Christmas with her new family...with her real forever Mommy and Daddy and brothers and sisters. Well, that may not happen, but maybe it will. I have seriously become (through all of this) a "get-it-done" kind of person. By Nov. 2nd, I had Annabeth's fingerprints done and sent off to our agency along with forms for clearances. These were supposed to take up to 3 months to be cleared. We have bathed this in prayer, and to our excitement, we received word yesterday that they have already cleared. We have a few more obstacles to go, but there is a possibility that we may stay on course to go before Christmas. I am trying to hang on to the fact that GOD knows best. Goodness knows I don't. Maybe, I will eventually know the reasons why He wants us to wait longer. I sure wish I could ask Him. I know there are just some things in life we will never know the answers to. We just have to trust that HE is sovereign and has a much bigger plan. It's still tough though! I do know I am still building some serious patience and some real character through this. He is preparing us for something big! Have a great week. Love in Him!