PAPER WORK!!!

I’ve heard people refer to their international adoption as “birth by paperwork” and have never really understood it until today.  We received our Dossier Packet today.  I can’t imagine how long it is going to take us to complete it.  I am going to have to learn how to be patient throughout this process.  It’s really hard to be patient when I look at our sweet little girl’s picture and I want her here with  us right now.  I want to be there to say her prayers and tuck her in to bed tonight. I want to fly there right now and bring her home to her family.  I wish it were that easy.  But it’s not, and that is just the way it is.  We are going to work on the paperwork as quickly as we can and leave the rest up to God.  Even thought we are just starting to handle all of these little details it is so easy to get caught up in them.  I start to have tunnel vision and forget about the big picture and Who is in control.  I start worrying about how long it will take to get our passports, or how we will pay for all of these immediate expenses.  What if someone gets there before we do and adopts her?  I worry about how I can handle a child that doesn’t speak English while still being the mom I want to be to my other 4 kids. What if she has more serious special needs than what we know?  What if we find out that she has siblings?  What if she doesn’t want to be adopted by us?  What if Ukraine decides to close for adoptions?  I could go on and on about all of the scary things and possibilities but in the end I know that God is in complete control of this.  The Creator of the Universe is orchestrating this adoption!!! He knows what He is doing!  I wish I could just tell myself that once and be completely transformed, but I feel like I am going to need a lot or reminding!
Jody is going to be gone all week this week.  Yikes!  He’s going to the home office in Louisiana.  He actually left around noon today.  He just happened to call the office when he was in Seguin to see what time his meeting started on Tuesday.  They told him that it didn’t start until Wednesday so he turned around and came home. Good thing he was only 15 minutes away!  We were excited to be able to spend one more day with him! 
It’s so cold outside.  We put the dog’s crates inside and are letting them sleep there while it’s freezing.  Tonight Jody took Bebe up to Ryans room and she is sound asleep right beside him.  Jody thinks she will be fine but he’s not the one who would have to clean dog pee out of the carpet!  It is pretty sweet though.  Ryan loves her and she follows him around everywhere he goes!  Jody made me go upstairs to see how cute it was with the dog cuddled up with Ryan.  When I went up, I checked on Cole and he was sound asleep in his Mr. Incredibles costume!  He is really hilarious!  Always in costume.  Last week he was Davey Crockett, today Mr. Incredible.  Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!  Here he is, asleep once again!