Who says God doesn't speak to you?

So last night I wrote my post titled "Let go and Let God",I was missing Abby and feeling a little discouraged.I went to bed and prayed,got up this morning, checked my email and then on to daily word.com and this is what I found ....
Daily Word — Saturday, October 18, 2008

Let Go, Let God
I let go of all concern and trust God for the perfect outcome.
Awaiting the outcome of a situation can challenge my peace of mind, but only if I let it. I choose not to let it.
Looking to God in prayer, I call upon my vital source of inner strength. I deepen my spiritual understanding and gain greater insight and patience. During my prayer time, I release any concerns and preconceived ideas about how the situation will unfold. I am ready for great results.
My faith in God helps me replace any negative perception with a positive outlook. With renewed strength, I relax into a realization of God's presence and let events develop according to divine timing.
Through greater strength and deeper faith, I trust God for the right resolution and the perfect outcome.
"What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?"--Job 6:11
I feel like he is speaking to me and letting me know to trust him, not to worry. I have a little more peace of mind and heart.

Let Go and Let God

I received an email from our SW who said she turned the homestudy in to DCFS when it was completed. I think that was late August.She supposedly was contacting them to find out the status but ahven't heard anymore. I suppose it is possible for it to sit in a pile for 6 weeks. The hardest part of this whole mess is that I have very little if any control over this. These government run agencies are on their own schedule. They see paper work not a child.I am really trying to be faithful and not fearful but I have to be honest,it is a daily struggle for me. Hopefully Brandon's fingerprint appt will come soon and I will at least feel like I am moving in the right direction.Until then all I can do is let go and let God.

HELP

Today I went to the mailbox and saw 2 envelopes from immigration. I was excited, thinking one had to be Brandon's fingerprinting appt.-NOPE! One was a check they were returning because they found our first set of paperwork, the second was like a punch in the stomach. It seems our SW was suppose to have our home study approved by DCFS before it can be sent to immigration and it was not, so they can not process out request until be have DCFS approval. I am really MAD at her for dropping the ball and really scared about further delays causing us to not get our paperwork into China on time. I am about at my wits end with all of this. Please keep the adoption and my sanity in your prayers

Thank you God!!

I heard from both immigration and the adoption agency. Immigration has no record of receiving the paper work so that was a bit of a bummer. I gathered it all up again and sent it UPS next day air. Hopefully,they will QUICKLY begin processing all of that. Now for the great news,the attestation the agency added to our documents worked! They have been certified through Washington Secretary of State! Yeah:)
I really don't know if I would have been able to keep my wits about me if I would have had to redo it. I am just praying Immigration moves quickly, that is the last piece to the puzzle. I want so badly to get our dossier over to China so I can feel one step closer to bringing our little girl home!!

Lori and the terrible,horrible, no good, very bad day

I am ready to end one of the worst days I have had in a LONG time. It started out bad and got worse- I won't bore you with all the details but I will share with you some adoption news that is causing me to worry. I contacted our agency because I thought it had been a long time since I mailed immigration the request for Brandon's finger printing,change of country etc. I mailed it on Sept.9 and they have not even cashed my check. When she learned of this she suggested I contact them to make sure it is not lost..WHAT!!! If it's lost that is a BIG deal!!! I had Chuck buy delivery confirmation but he threw out the paper because he thought they had received it. If that alone isn't enough. Half our paperwork is being returned because of a problem with the notary. Which means it will all have to be done over again. I feel like I am taking one step forward and ten steps back.There is a possibility that our adoption case worker can provide a "footnote" on each document that "this is a genuine and true document" sign it and have it notarized there and then have the Washington(that the state they're in)Sect. of State certify it. Please pray that God will put his hand in this and lead us through all these problems and red tape. I am starting to get nervous about not making our pre-approval date. I don't think I could bear it if I somehow lost her after seeing her sweet face. I am trying to focus on tomorrow and this day from the time I got up , through work with all its problems, until 10 minutes ago when I was cleaning up dog XXXX for the third time, is almost over and tomorrow is a new day full of hope.

The waiting is the hardest part

We are in a holding pattern right now of waiting. Waiting for immigration to contact Brandon for his fingerprinting so we can wait for FBI clearance,waiting for immigration to switch our adopting country from Vietnam to China,waiting for immigration to grant us permission to adopt an orphan from overseas. All this is what is holding up our paperwork from being sent to China. Where we will WAIT to be logged in,then we will WAIT for our acceptance letter then we will WAIT for permission to travel. I have been waiting for this a long time. Five years of waiting just to get to this exciting point of waiting. Now that I have a picture and a face of a little girl who is WAITING for me, it is much harder to wait. Don't these people know I am NOT a good "waiter". Which is why I celebrate "Family Christmas" on the 23rd of December and why anyone close to me knows not to send me a gift unless you want me to open it then and not wait. I know God's timing is perfect and there must be some reason for all this waiting but When I see how much she has grown,when I look at that little face and I imagine her here playing with all the things that are waiting for her... the waiting is truly the hardest part!

An Unexpected Surprise!!!!

Today I checked my email on my lunch and found a wonderful surprise,new pictures of Lianqing(Abby)and measurements too.She is MUCH smaller than she appears.
She is 3ft 6inches tall and 35lbs.(Not the average size of a five year old) Obviously malnutrition is playing into this. As exciting as it was to get new photos,it also broke my heart at the same time. We don't even have our paper work over there and after it is, there may be a 5 month wait. She looks so sad to me and I don't know if you can tell but she has bug bites on her legs. I just want to GO GET HER and BRING HER HOME. Please say a prayer for her and that God will put his hand in this and move things along quickly and smoothly. Although,I know it is going to be an incrediably big adjustment when we are finally together,I just want her to know love and happiness. Prayers please :)