The enormity of that decision is mind boggling.
Do we let go of the little girl that we have come to love through her pictures and videos, a little girl that Lleyton shares his bed with every night, as he will not lay his head down unless Baby Sister is there with him? Or do we wait and hold out hope that the issue with her paperwork will be resolved sometime soon and she will join our family shortly thereafter?
This isn't one of those decisions you have to make every day. This isn't one of those decisions that many people will ever have to make.
What did we decide after careful consideration and a couple of phone calls to our agency...
At this point, we just can't imagine giving up on our little girl. We have continually been told that the gathering of the paperwork is not a matter of if, but of when.
So we wait.
We may be faced with this decision again in the future, hopefully not, hopefully during our director's trip to Ethiopia (she is somewhere over the Atlantic right now, en route to Ethiopia) she will be able figure out what is happening to slow this process down and maybe she can even help get it resolved. But if we do have to face it again, we will do so.
P.S. The picture above is of a fortune that Sara opened the other day during a lunch outing to PF Changs. We didn't make our decision solely on this fortune, but we did feel that it may have come as a sign to us to wait for Baby Sister.
As someone who has faced the same thing you are right now, all I can say is the 'very best to you' and that my prayers are with your family.
ReplyDeleteMy family also suffered the loss of not one, but two little girls referred to us. We grew to love them and feel as if they were a part of our family, we still feel that way. We also can not imagine a day with out the third child we said yes to. So, think this through with careful and prayerful thoughts. But, go with your God given instincts, and follow your heart.
For us, the paper work was never worked out, and the reasons are concerning. International adoption calls for many adjustments in your life, and until you are given reason not to, you have to trust those who are assisting you.
My prayers are with you and the children you love in ET.
Elizabeth