Patience - The will or ability to wait or endure without complaint!

    I want to apologize for not updating the blog in awhile.  As many of you know this is a very busy season.  We have been making ornaments, shopping, spending time with friends and family and trying to keep up with both the kids activities.  We are spending the day tomorrow baking cookies  (which is about a month later than usual.)  Well a lot has gone on and not a lot has gone on with the adoption.  Confused?  I will explain.

     We have completed all we can do for our part of the first process in the State Of Illinois.  We have been waiting for weeks for DCFS to process our paperwork.  We have called our social worker a ton of times.  The only response we can get is that the state is really backed up.  We finally called Bill Mitchell who is the State Representative for our area.  I have worked with him before a few years ago and he helped us out in a situation with Dawson and the school bus.  We knew that he would jump in to help out.  He called DCFS to see what the hold up was.  He was then told that when the state made all their cut backs that was one of the jobs effected.  There is only one lady who processes the paperwork for adoptions in Illinois. 

     We then explained our journey and how the law in Taiwan has passed to stop International adoption.  If we can get the paperwork finished and finish our journey before July we should still be OK.  I know it would just be easier to switch countries and be put on another waiting list but God has not released us from Taiwan.  We really feel as though he has laid this all out and that is the direction he told us to go.  We know that his timing and his plan are always perfect and no matter what happens that it was all his will.  He has had this planned from the very beginning and we have learned that trusting him is so much easier than fighting him and trying to go our own way.

     Bill Mitchells' office got a hold of the lady that does all of the adoption paperwork.  He asked her if she could put our file on the top of her stack due to our situation (the law passing in Taiwan.)  We are now just waiting to hear back and we are praying for a miracle that our paperwork gets found and finished.  There could not be a greater Christmas present. 

     About a month ago God put something on my heart and I feel it is very important to share.  We were having a conversation and he opened up my heart and eyes and said "If you can not trust me 100% in your life then how can you trust me to bring your little one home."  Wow, that is huge.  I go to church and pray everyday and thought that my relationship with him was going just great.  Surprise he loves to shock you back into reality sometimes and he did me that day.  Well, since that day I have been trusting him with all that I have and all that I am.  I am expecting him to do big miracles because I know that he is true to his word.  I have put all my trust in him and I know he will make sure our little one gets home.

Thanks for all of your continued support and I am so sorry it took me so long to update you all on our adoption!  We are just learning to be patient and watching God's plan unfold in his time.