Timing is EVERYTHING (or so they say)

Meet Saige..... she is our baby from Puerto Rico, yup that is right, Puerto Rico.  Saige was rescued by some wonderful people in Puerto Rico and brought to the Northeas Animal Shelter.  

Why?  Well the south and PR have no spay and neuter laws and they kill the animals in shelters that they do not find homes for so the rescuers fly them up to the Northeast where they do not kill and they find them forever families.  

After Chance died ( my dog of 13 years) I thought I never wanted another dog, the loss was so difficult.  Well 21 months later, 20 months paper pregnant and different news on our girls everyday, I was really feeling like I was needing some physical/tangible LOVE!  I came across this saying, There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Ben Williams and it jolted me to the days when I first had my Chancie girl.  I searched the internet, and then I sprung it on Ben...... 

Do you want a dog?  I have been saying no, no, no, never again, to not now, we have to travel.  His response, "what are you trying to do to me?"  My response, "I know what I have said, we will just have to deal with the consequences, I just need a dog, NOW!

Saige means wise and healthy.  She survived the streets for 11 months and she has already been a momma! A homeless man was trying his best to care for her and her babies when she was rescued.  She is lab mix.  She has such a great personality.  She was the perfect match for us and us for her.  She loves LOVE.  She is really enjoying having a home, she is slowly getting better at going outside.... she hates to go out and we are trying to housebreak her.... MMM

She is all of 27 pounds and she has claimed the couch as her thrown, not once has she laid on the floor, those days are gone. No barking, we are working on eating.... 

She spends lots of time on her hind legs and walks on them when she checks in with us multiple times a day.  She opens doors, including the bathroom.... I keep telling Ben, ahh she is preparing us for our girls, NO MORE PRIVACY!!!!

Nothing or Something

No updates.  This months consejo was scheduled for Thursday, August 26th and I went back to confirm the time and it had been changed.  It is Monday!  We will not be making this months, no referral, no recommendation to parent our two precious daughters= no match at a consejo meeting.

How does this make me fee?  Sad, Disappointed, Wondering, Unfair, Angry, LIKE STOMPING MY FEET!!!

What am I going to do with these feelings?  Oh, feel them, all of them!  Will I stomp my feet?  No, But I will not deny them, I feel them, STRONG, and POINTED, even as I write this post, I feel them knowing that I will/am giving these to God.  He knows my thoughts, He knew before I discovered the change how I would feel and respond.  I find this comforting and frustrating at the same time.

Why, why, why?  Oh OUR GIRLS have such an incredible story about their journey home already! They are truly AMAZING and this is why I can feel the emotions and give them to God and TRUST that HE is not wasting the steps orchestrated in joining our family. 

Is it EASY?  OH NO!!! ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Do I like it?  NOTONE BIT!

Why do I do it? FAITH, it is how I live my life and I must live it out consistently, not conveniently!

Do I fail!  OFTEN, Thank GOD for FORGIVENESS!

Reminded

The call we have been waiting for since Friday came this evening.  I received an email earlier that it would be coming this evening, so I answered on the first, Sweet Caroline!!!

You see it was Independence Day in Peru!  So, here in the USA, most state, federal, private, non-profit, you get the picture, have that day off, or if it falls on Saturday, the Friday before, or Sunday, that Monday.  Well in Peru, they take that day and a couple more and heck at their discretion the government just closes for the whole week.

So, that was last weeks waiting, in addition to our Peruvian contact was in the mountains leading a group, so no cell phone reception until he returned this morning.
 
I had a great conversation with Dave and he encouraged me.  He reminded me to stay focused on the PROMISE LAND (uniting with my girls and developing relationships with them, and the journey of parenthood.  Not to get bogged down, as hard as it may be, in the DESERT, (the adoption process, aka waiting for our girls).  That I am learning and growing and these very things are qualities and experiences and  understanding my girls will need from their mom.  Patience, understanding of fear and the unknown, what and where did I cast those fears as I waited for my princesses.  TIME, the Peruvian culture, as I so clearly demonstrated above, does not value timelines and hurriedness, I will need to be extra patient and willing to get one thing or nothing done in their initial days and weeks home as they transition, and we transition to being a family of 4. 

So tonight as I regroup, refocus, and remember that although this has been an ongoing process for 19 months, 6 days, and counting that NOTHING, NOTHING, has been lost!  My focus is on the PROMISE LAND and I WILL not get lost in the DESERT, that's just not who I am, and not what my girls need in a MOM!

LQQK OUT!!!! My heart is refreshed, the sand is gone from my eyes, and I am traveling to the PROMISE LAND......... p--a--c--e--d...

What To Say

So many thoughts, but nothing that is really complete.  I have opened my blog to post a number of times and what I figured out is that the reason I haven't posted is, well because I just can't seem to complete a thought!  Therefore, no POST.

We are waiting!  If you have been following our blog for anytime, or just catching up, you see that waiting is a ThEmE! 


What are we waiting for?  A referral!  What is a referral?  A picture(s) and details about our girls.  A little description, age, and brief history. 

Then what? We write a letter of intent. What is that?  We formally accept the referral and our psychologist writes a letter/statement that based on his evaluation of us that we are a good match.

AND

We send our I800- Our WHAT? Immigration paperwork, so that our Princesses will be approved for their VISAS before we travel to bring them home.

This is a change from when we began this journey.  We initially expected to travel within 10 days to 4 weeks, BUT thanks to HAGUE, ( I say this tongue and cheek, because they protect kids from being trafficked and this I APPRECIATE and VALUE) on the other hand, well it slows things down.

The USCIS has had a varying time of processing these applications over the time I have been "stocking" them.  Some have been processed as quick as 5 days while others have been closer to 6 weeks.  We obviously are praying for the 5 day timeline.  THIS DETERMINES how quickly we are UNITED as a FOREVER FAMILY!!!

BUT first, we need this referral.  We need the paperwork to be inline, yes that is it folks, it is paperwork that stands between us and our girls at the moment.   In theory, that has been it this whole process, with a whole lot of politics, state, federal and countries, and people, but now it really is Peru.  Peru needs the paperwork timelines to be just so to over simply a very complicated explanation. 

Stay tuned for an updated on Peruvian time.  In the meantime.  ALL PRAYERS are APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!