Goldfish Street Bike Vendor in China

"Call the loneliest person you know. Go flirt with the oldest person at the bookstore. Fill up a box with really cool clothes that you haven't worn in a year, and take it to a thrift shop. Take gray water outside and water whatever is growing on your deck. This is not a bad metaphor to live by. I think it is why we are here. Drink more fluids. And take very gentle care of yourself and the people you most love: We need you now more than ever. " From a Call to

Arms, Anne Lamott

On the Wings of Angels

Unbelieveably
the police clearance letters I put in
a Fedex box at 5pm
in North Carolina
arrived
in Oregon
15 hours later.
They were immediately
sent out again
to the Secretary of State
for Authentication.
The process can now continue!

China From The Sky

Update on the Delay

I think it is all good now! Yesterday I took the documents to the police department and they did everything they could think of to make them officially notarized in the way the Secretary of State requested.

I picked the papers up at 4:30 and dropped them in the Fed-ex box. Now they must go back to Oregon and then return to the Secretary of State in NC. This mistake will cost us a week's delay and getting our Dossier to China.

I suppose in the big scheme of things that is not alot of time. I could not have imagined meeting Cami at a better time, though if I had my choice I would have traveled sooner. But come to find out she probably had chicken pox earlier in the summer. That would have made our first meeting less pleasant for her.

These connections are so big. They have a way of working out exactly as they are intended. It is only me, in my limited earthly form, that grows anxious and discouraged, when really I know that time is moving exactly as it should for a series of events that could not be played out in any other way. By becoming a willing participate, I gave over control to the One who knows the story of all my days.

We said yes without knowing what all we were saying yes to. God knows our hearts. And the beauty of it is that all we really have to do is to be willing. The details will be provided! It's a perfect formula in my opinion.

So I try to handled the rough patches with grace. They are there for a reason. Today I am thankful for the cooperation of the local police department and the timing of the Fed Ex pickup and I will wait for news of progress.

Someone who has known Delilah since she was a month old wrote to me saying, "She is cute and very photogenic. She is a happy little girl. I can only imagine the attention you will receive when you go out with your two daughters".

I cling to these few words. They are a small connection to Delilah and a large comfort to me to know she is happy and being cared for. I am thankful for every person who has touched her life. So many angels along the way......

We have a Delay

I shouldn't be surprised. I knew going in that most adoptions have complications in the paperwork or some kind of slowdown somewhere along the way. Our paperchase was so smooth and simple. I thought we were finished when we sent the last document to our agency.

Then came the phone call.

You see, once all the documents have been filled out and approved by the agency, they must be authenticated at the State level, and then the National level. Our dossier got as far as the Secretary of State for authentication. Someone there didn't like the way our local police station had notarized our clearance letter saying we had no criminal record in the town where we live.

So this letter was returned to me, along with instructions on how it needed to be notarized. On Monday I will take these papers to the police department. I will smile and be really nice, and hope they won't mind taking time out of their busy day to correct this little problem for me.

Once that is done, the police clearance letters will be sent, fast as lightening, to re-join all our other documents on the desk of the Secretary of State. Even with this slight delay, I am hoping we can send our Dossier to China by mid-October!

Every call has a beginning
A quiet moment when God
whispers a promise to a mother’s heart
A holy place where a father bows and faithfully accepts
the journey set before him.
A miraculous morning that unexpectedly dawns…
Casting its first light on a chosen threshold.
A gentle knock..a closed door opens.
A sacred invitation sent by the Father..
Leads to the other side of the world.
Where lonely hearts stare out orphanage windows
Praying for someone to care..
And then one morning,
On an ordinary day
An orphan’s life changes...
God sends them a second chance...Through you..

--author unknown