waiting for a social worker

I'm terribly frustrated with our social worker for our home study.  For reasons I don't know, she hasn't replied to our emails or my agency's emails.  She hasn't written our home study, even though we've given her everything she's asked.  This delay delays the submission of our I800A, a document I had hoped we could perhaps submit by the end of this week.  Now I'm unsure; and our future child waits.

Sometimes, I don't think people speak about the other disruptions that can occur in life as you wait for paperwork and wonder about traveling.  For instance, we take a yearly trip to Hilton Head Island.  It is already scheduled for the very end of August.  Will there be conflicts with travel or documents or something else?  Will there be any disruptions in my daughter's preschool schedule in the fall?  Will Jon be able to truly get the time off that he needs?  Will our future son be home for Christmas?  Will this be Chelsea's last birthday without her brother?

This is the difference between pregnancy and adoption, among several other differences.  Pregnancy typically has an end date.  It always has a date (a due date) by which the pregnancy will almost certainly not continue past.  Sometimes, like with me, pregnancy ends far too soon and the end date is never reached, or is artificially expedited.  There is so much I wonder and don't know.  Others wonder too (naturally) but I don't have clear answers.  I have a general idea, but just vague thoughts.

And then there's that little boy, our Little Dude who sits and waits.  We still have not managed to find a good way (or be able to fund) the added nutrition we want to send to him.  The delays means days, weeks, or even months of waiting in The Bad Place...growing thinner, suffering more with rickets, scurvy, and other ailments, without interaction, unable to walk, and not talking. 

It is hard.  I know our Lord is with him and can shield him if He chooses. I know the day will come when our future son is protected and able to get help.  I wish it could be more quickly, but sometimes things get slow.

This process will change you...it will change your family...it will change every facet of your life...

We'll go to church tomorrow and pray for the families who are choosing to rescue orphans, particularly those from The Bad Place.  We will pray for our future little son; for protection and care for him.  We will also pray for funding...our Reece's Rainbow account hasn't grown in the past few days, although we rejoice that others have.  The Mulligan Stew Giveaway is still going on! Have you enetered?  There are so many GOOD prizes in it.  On top of the Ipad, which is awesome, there are 2 Kindles and several gift cards...some of them are $250 each.  The odds of winning are so much better than in more traditional giveaways.  I never win anything, but when my friend was adopting, I won a Nook Color!  How cool is that?  Please think about entering with the button on our blog...and prayerfully consider our little boy "Ian" as the child to donate to to enter.  Thank you for believing in us, supporting us, and praying for us!