SAS (Stroller Avoidance Syndrome)

Yesterday was an unusually warm day for this time of year, so Ricardo and I decided to spend the day in Stillwater. This quaint town, with an old-fashioned downtown filled with antique and gift shops, is situated on a river and is really a beautiful place to spend the day (under normal circumstances).

It seems we chose "National Stroller Day" to visit Stillwater. Everywhere I looked, it didn't matter the direction, were strollers. I couldn't walk along the sidewalk without having to side step one every few seconds. I have never noticed before how many variations of strollers there are, nor have I ever been someplace where there were more strollers than actual people! In fact, there were strollers running up and down the street that were empty and unmanned. Up and down the street they raced, mocking me as they sped by. Pink strollers, blue strollers, loud motorized harley davidson strollers.

Last night I didn't want to go to sleep, for fear I would dream about strollers who had minds and wills of their own (ever see the iRobot movie?). I finally drifted into a fitful sleep, and thankfully did not dream about strollers.

I hear that a cold front is coming, and Autumn is well on its way. This is good in my opinion as I won't have to worry about strollers again until I actually need to take mine out and use it!

Another Setback

Lydi@ and I way back in January. This is the image I need to keep before my eyes. Some day soon she will be in our arms again!

As a writer, sometimes the best place for me to sort out my feelings and figure things out is on paper. To be honest, I have a million other things to do at the moment, but I can't concentrate on anything as I can only think of Lydi@. We received some disappointing news today. Our file was sent to the minor's section in PGN. This happens when one of several things occurs: 1) the birth mother is a minor and there are some issues around that 2) the adoption is occurring because of abandonment--in which case there is due diligence to be done in an effort to locate any family members 3) there is concern over the legality/authenticity of the documents.

We are certain the first two are not the issue, so that only leaves the third. The minor's section will need to do an investigation. From what we've been told, there appears to be some type of inconsistency in one of the documents. We don't know how long this will take or what the outcome will be.

To cheer myself up, I decided to run to the Studio at Rush Creek (great little art studio/coffee shop nearby) and get an iced chai. On my way, there was a song on the radio called "How you Live."

In light of all that is going on for me today, the lyrics called out an invitation. How I live (each moment) is so important. How will I live in this moment? Will I choose to live in fear, worry and distrust? Or will I choose to live in a place of trust and confidence in the fact that God most assuredly is involved in every aspect of our lives, and that He reigns over the heavens and the earth? Pat answers just won't cut it in the hardest of places. I need the reality of who God is to penetrate to the deeper places of my soul. This is the invitation, the "good," that God promises to bring out of our times of suffering.

Lydi@

We've been asked how we came to choose the name Lydi@ for our little girl. There were multiple reasons...

• We wanted a name that was uncommon, but not weird.
• We liked the idea of a biblical name
• We wanted something that could be pronounced in Spanish
• We wanted a name that had a nice sound and that we wouldn't tire of (and hopefully that she would be happy with)

The name Lydi@ actually came into my mind one evening when I had awakened in the middle of the night. I had never considered the name Lydi@; in fact, at first I wasn't sure if I particularly liked it. I got up the next morning and went to my Bible to read about this woman who is only briefly mentioned in scripture. I liked what I saw.

On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. One of them was Lydi@ from Thyatria, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. She was baptized along with other members of her household, and she asked us to be her guests. "If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my home." And she urged us until we agreed. Acts. 16:13-15

There were so many characteristics I saw in Lydi@ that I really liked. Things that both Ricardo and I personally value. She was a worshiper of God. She listened to the things of God. She was someone who's heart was open to the Lord, she greatly valued community; she had a gift of hospitality. She was industrious. Also, it is said that she became a financial supporter of Paul and his ministry -- using her talents and resources to further the Kingdom of God.

Dulce (Lydi@ 's middle name) means "sweet" in Spanish and is the name her biological mother gave to her. We felt that this given name was a part of her identity, and wanted to keep it. We also felt that it so aptly fit her temperament and demeanor. If there's one thing that we could say about her personality, it is that she is most definitely sweet.

We're In!

It was confirmed today. Our case has been resubmitted to PGN. If all goes smoothly, we could have Lydia home by the end of October.

We have decided to trust in God and His timing. We are hoping that the latter part of this process will go quickly, making up for all the lost time.

We miss our precious little girl more each passing day. Yet we know that there is a purpose in the wait.

PGN

Still no confirmation that we are in PGN, but we received an email from our attorney's office today that they have resubmitted our file. So, most likely, we are in! We should know for sure tomorrow.

As we've learned throughout this process, nothing is certain until one has proof. For anyone considering international adoption (particularly anywhere in South America), here are a few tips on how the process works:

Step One: Attorney says -- "It (whatever "it" you might be talking about at the time) will be done by Friday."

Step Two: Translation - "This will get you off of my back until Friday, at which time I have the whole weekend to relax. I will pretend to be busy on Monday and Tuesday and not respond to your calls. I will get back to you on Wednesday and let you know that we had a slight problem and are certain we can have it taken care of by Friday."

Step Three - Refer back to Step One.