While we wait

As the end of this month draws closer without any news from Bulgaria, Rob and I have begun to realize that there is a very real possibility that we may not get to see our son before the end of the year. The holidays are quickly approaching in Bulgaria as they are here in the U.S., which means that the approval of our paperwork could potentially get delayed with the MOJ because of government offices being closed for the holidays.

While this realization has made us sad, we cannot dwell on it. Doing so does not help us or our son. Instead, Rob and I have chosen to fill our days with reading more books on adoption, praying for our son and making preparation for our first trip to Bulgaria. On when we will see our son, I know that God's plan is perfect, and He has directed us through this entire journey. He will see us through the next few months, and we will meet our child when the time is right. That being said, I also need to heed my own advice that I frequently give to my husband, which is that God would not have brought us this far to then see us fail. This verse come to mind:

"When I was waiting quietly for the Lord, His heart was turned to me, and He gave ear to my cry." Psalms 40:1
Rob and I have also decided that we should spend our time while we are waiting to hear from Bulgaria by cherishing every moment with our sweet daughter. Julia has been an only child for over seven years, and while she wants her little brother home as soon as possible, Rob and I realize that this will be a huge adjustment for our little girl who is not accustomed to sharing her mommy and daddy with anyone. So, we have begun planning some extra special adventures with mom and dad.

For our latest adventure with Julia, we decided to take her for her first ever session of painting pottery this past weekend. Julia loves to write stories and "illustrate" her stories with wonderful drawings so Rob and I decided that her love for art might be extended to painting pottery.

The studio that we decided to take Julia to for the pottery painting session is next door to the dojo where Julia takes karate two or three times a week so every visit to the dojo last week made her more excited about our impending visit to the pottery studio. Finally, the time had arrived. Julia looked over all pottery in the studio several times to pick out her perfect piece. She decided on a dog which looks very much like a labrador retriever puppy (Julia adores her cousin's lab), and then Rob and I helped her pick out paint colors for her dog. She decided to make him a chocolate lab with green eyes and a blue collar.

At the pottery studio, we learned that our pottery piece needed to have a least three coats of paint in order to have the dark, rich colors show up after the glazing and firing process. In order to get three coats of brown paint on our little pup, Rob and I quickly realized that we would need to get in on the painting action as well. I have to say that a good time was had by all, and we are all looking forward to picking up Brownie (yes, she named him!) on Friday. Rob even painted a "B" on our pup's tag so that no one would forget Brownie's name. Julia then told Rob and I that even though we all helped to paint Brownie that Brownie was going to stay in her room! That's my girl.

We have also decided to make a second trip to the pottery place. This visit will be for Julia to pick out a piece that we can all paint for her little brother's room. Something tells me it is going to be that ceramic airplane I saw her checking out!