UGHHHHH!!!!!!

Seriously, I am screaming right now and on the verge of tears. I know there is a reason for everything, but come on! So much for being DTC next week.

Yesterday I found out through e-mail that there is another problem with one of our documents, actually the same document from before. I got an e-mail from the courier in Chicago which I thought was a status update letting us know that she had dropped our papers off at the Consulate and would pick them up on Monday. Uh, no! This is what I got instead...

"I'm sorry to tell you that the date listed on the Sec of State document says it
was signed on April 15, 2011 by the notary, and the was actually signed on 4/18/2011...
The Consulate will reject this, so it will have to be redone, notarized and State Sealed."

Once again and I was on the phone trying to figure out how to get it there tomorrow. I called the bank to see if they are open today since it is Good Friday and YES, they are. So, my next call was to the Secretary of State's office to see if they were open. Nope, they are NOT open. Imagine that! So, it will be Monday before I can get it done again for the THIRD time assuming Matt or I can get off work Monday (especially since I just took off on Tuesday last minute).

Not only that, but I can't help but think of the extra money this is going to cost, again as well. With gas prices at $4.00 a gallon, it is costing quite a bit to make these trips to Indy plus the added postal expenses.

So, instead of being DTC next week, we are now looking at being DTC the following week which means we won't be DTC now until May!!!!! I am seriously irritated. I know there is nothing I can do about it. I just keep repeating to myself "there is a reason for everything, there is a reason for everything, there IS a reason for everything."

I know there are lessons in everything we do and I am really, really trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I am going to be honest, it is not so easy. I think my first reaction to this latest news was "okay, are we really supposed to be doing this?" With all the roller coaster ride this has been, it has really been hard at times to not wonder this. Once I was able to think clearly, I KNOW without a doubt Keliah is our daughter, and I WILL continue to do everything to bring her home. I also started thinking of all the lessons we are learning and testes we are being given through our journey to Keliah. Our patience is definitely being tested. Our faith is being tested. Our perseverance is being tested. We only see part of the picture, bits and pieces. We see the hurdles that need to be jumped and the mountains that need to be climbed. We wonder if there is light at the end of the tunnel, we question if we are doing the right thing. God sees the whole picture, he knows how this is going to end. He knows the exactly when we will be united with our daughter. He has known since the beginning of time.

I just got off the phone with our agency to let them know what was going on and to make sure that since we already had to ask for one extension that we were still within those dates. They have assured me that we are "good." I also asked about time frames again because we were really hoping to travel by the end of the summer and since we are re-using our dossier, we were told that that may be a possibility. After talking to them today, it seems like the time frames are 30-45 for LOA (letter of approval, China's final approval), then another 2-4 months form immigration. So, from DTC we are still looking at 4-6 months to actually travel which means IF we are able to get our dossier to China May 3rd or 4th, we won't travel before September and maybe even as late as November.

So, after yet another setback I am asking you all to pray that this will be the LAST setback. If everything works out, I will make another trip to Indy on Monday and with the turnaround from the courier, our dossier will go to China either May 3rd or 4th.

So, we will continue to jump these...


We will continue to knock these down...


And we will continue to climb these...


We are going to ride this til the end. We may not welcome the ups and downs, or the twists and turns, but they will definitely be worth it in the end.



We are moving forward with a determination like no other. We will not cower to the enemy, we will not let the detours stop us. Instead, we will take on whatever is thrown at us because Keliah IS our daughter and we WILL bring her home.



"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty..." ~ Theodore Roosevelt