The whirlwind of March

This month has disappeared. I have blinked and found myself in the final week. We have had ups and downs this month-- the ups were some wonderful highs and the downs were terrible lows. I am sure I am going to forget something throughout the month but I will get this post started...

We are progressing well with our adoption process. On the high end we are so close to submitting our dossier. We are awaiting our appointment for our CIS fingerprinting and clearance. I wish I could say that is the only document left. But, on the low side-- it has been the three months that the South African Home Affairs Department said it would take to get the documents we need and still nothing. We are at the mercy of paper processing. Time frames mean a lot to me in this process and they are not meaning a lot to those that we wait on. A low that I am looking forward to saying good-bye to.

We had a car accident on our way to church one Sunday. As you can imagine, I classified this as a low. We were stopped behind another vehicle and a truck came behind us and hit us, pushing us into the SUV in front of us causing significant damage to our car. Fortunately, no one was injured. Our kiddos faced some unrest. Jenna especially was plagued with nightmares. Josiah was just upset every time we got in the car-- he was on the lookout to make sure we were driving okay and weren't going to have another accident. The car went in for repair and we had a rental car for about two weeks. We do have our car back now and everything seems to be running smoothly and just by looking one would never know how smooshed it got being sandwiched between a full size truck and an SUV.

Baby Jack Wylde Young, affectionately known as Jack Jack was welcomed into the world by my sister, Jessica and her husband, Kyle on March 1st!! He is a beautiful baby. Roy and I, with our kiddos got to go to Virginia for a quick visit to meet Jack Jack and spend time with Jess and Kyle. It was a fantastic trip-- my only regret is that it was not longer. Regardless, I was able to meet my nephew while he was still in that sweet newborn stage-- still had the wonderful smell of baby all over him. Jessica is a wonderful Momma and Kyle is just, well, fantastic! Jack Jack has stolen my heart and I cannot wait to watch him as he grows and develops. He is a gorgeous babe and already growing so quickly. Mommy, Daddy, and baby are all doing superbly and I cannot wait for our next visit-- whenever that may be. Needless to say, this was a fantastic high.

I had the chance to welcome my nephew, Jamesy, and his Mommy and Daddy home from Ethiopia at the airport this past weekend. Everything worked in my favor for me to get up to NY for an overnight. I was able to be at the airport three hours before their flight landed and join the welcome home party and then to top it off Jim and Tiff invited me into their home to spend an amazing first night with their new family. All this and there is more, I was also able to spend time with Cadi and Scotty! Love them! I got to spend time with my own Mommy and Daddy!! I was able to spend some time with Joelle, Anthony, Ty, Noah, and Aiden at the airport. I got to see so many people-- to name a few-- Shari and Dan and their family, Russ and Shirley Warner, Roy and Laura Fuller, Bethany Brown, and so many others-- I know I am leaving out some! One of my best friends met me at the airport and had a key roll in pulling this whole surprise off-- YES! It was a surprise!! Erin, Ray and I were able to spend a couple of hours together, catch up, go out for sushi (YUM! and the fish eggs are definitely fantastic!!) an make it back to the airport for the big surprise. The following morning Dad picked me up from Jim and Tiff's place and I went home with him and made a pit stop to see another best friend while she was at work. I was able to surprise Jennifer with my arrival too! I got to Mom and Dad's house to find Grandmom and Granddad were there. We got to chat for awhile before they had to get home and then I spent time with Mom and Dad before going to the airport. It was a wonderful weekend and I didn't even get into how fantastic this child I came to meet is! He is gorgeous! He has a personality made for our family! Tears brimmed my eyes so many times-- when he stretched his arms out to me in total trust, when he walked right to me, and when he shared his smile with me-- looking right at me!! I left 28 hours after my arrival wishing I could stay longer, but knowing I had to make plans for my next visit. A lovely high in the month of March.

Another lovely high for me was the realization that I have some wonderful friends! Ivy and Tricia made it possible down here staying with my kiddos so that I could go up for my trip to NY. Erin played a huge role in inspiring my trip to NY and then helped me pull off the entire surprise. My friend, Kim stayed with our dogs so that we could go to Virginia. I am so blessed, not only to have family, but to have friends.

Nearly missed the selection of the month!

Our jewelry selection for the month of March is Candlelight, an absolutely stunning ring Candlelight. Feel free to browse on www.fifthavenuecollection.com/jnarunsky. There are so many beautiful pieces to choose from.  Please be sure and register under our name, all proceeds go directly to our adoption funding. Thanks for taking the time to have a peek. I know that your choices will add a sparkle to your day.

It really does just hurt sometimes...

I am so thankful for every one around us that is constantly encouraging us through our adoption process by asking how it's going and what's new. I find myself, at times, sighing  when I report that nothing has changed and that we are still in paperwork process. I love that others are excited for our process and I hope that all remain excited and keep asking With that being said, my light at the end of my tunnel is growing extremely dim. I am usually most disheartened as I get closer to achieving an objective. The paperwork process  has been a challenge for me especially since I thought we had it all covered. I assumed we would just speed through the required paperwork. I had originally thought when we entered the adoptive process that all our paperwork was going to be so easy since we had been through this before. I did not realize the amount of paperwork that, I incorrectly assumed would be suitable to use, had expired. Of course, we have reapplied for the documentation. Now, we wait. It is so hard to wait. We are still in our paperwork process. Our home study has been completed and submitted for agency approval. Once we receive our agency approval, we then proceed by applying for our CIS clearance. That clearance is one of three documents we are waiting on to complete our dossier. We continue to wait on required documents from South Africa. The projected date for document receipt was March 14th. So close, yet so far.

I had the opportunity to listen to a conference call hosted by our adoption agency today. A lot of good information was obtained in the conference call. Good information- yes, disappointing information-- definitely. With all the projected wait times we could be looking at 10-19 month wait until we bring our babes home after dossier submission. I had hoped to complete our process by the end of this year. Possible? Yes. Likely? After listening to the projections in the conference call-- No. I am grateful that our agency operates with integrity and honesty. I am relieved to know that the wait times that are projected are not minimized to give false hope. Does that take the sting out of knowing that my arms are ready to love my waiting babes? Not really.

All this to say, I am broken-hearted today. I want my babies home. I am not depressed, I am not in despair. I am just experiencing the heart ache of the wait. Nothing left is in my control. I cannot do anything to speed this process. I am reliant on others and their burning desire to bring my babies home. I wish I could believe that every one that touched our adoption paperwork had the sense of urgency that I do.

In light of all that I have just shared-- trying to work through all my feelings right now-- I am going to share the text I received from our Pastor today. He has started a text messaging ministry where he sends out a "Morning Munition." It has had application every day but today I  especially needed what he shared. He sent:

Instant gratification (getting what we want and when we want it) can lead to disappointment, deprivation, and even death. Let us be willing to wait and not be weary for the proper people, place, or things! Galatians 6:9 "Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."