Puzzles...

My daughter LOVES puzzles! She is up to 100 pieces. When she can't get a lot of pieces together, she puts it away and then takes it out again. I like to do puzzles as well. And I was thinking of all the ways people start them..corners, edges, or they jump right in the middle..many ways to start all finishing the same way, with a completed puzzle.

I was thinking of our adoption and the process we had to go through..all the pieces fitting together..just right. For us we started right in the middle, with the love we had for our little boy!! (who is playing right in front of me) We then started to put together all the MANY, many, many, and many pieces that made up our adoption.

Our process was a little different..we actually met and fell in love with our son before we started this process. Unlike our daughter, who we just fell in love with her picture and followed God's leading to get her. I think that way is how most people start their puzzles of adoption.

We then gathered all of the documents required (pieces), and did the different steps like medicals, fingerprinting. (more pieces) Then we sent our dossier to get translated. (more and more pieces) After that was done we waited and waited to receive the date to meet with the adoption officials. (many, many pieces) Luggage pieces began to be filled, rearranged, filled again weighing their respective weights..48, 46.5, 47 pounds. Had to be under 50 pounds. Those were tough pieces to fit!!!!

Once we were in country, it was meeting the officials..(fragile pieces)(nerves!!made them fragile) After that then was a awesome easy piece!!! Meeting (seeing) our son!! More easy pieces as we visited him for days and days. We bonded those easy pieces together. There were reports to be written (pieces that were fit together by other people), and the biggest piece was to have our documents signed. That was as important as all the little pieces put together!! Our daughter's piece of that took a long time, our son's was done quicker then I thought. The signature peice was not something we could find and we had to have it fit just right. Then we continue with the other peices.

The adoption ceremony was really like seeing almost the whole puzzle being completed. They trusted us to finish the puzzle. How awesome!! So onward we went..the puzzle of getting the passport. For our daughter it was a long wait and a misunderstanding..but it was done while we waited. Our son's took two days..as is the rule now. In the middle of that process we needed to schedule our appointment for his visa. That also takes two days..and they make the appointment..so pieces again filled in by other people. They are only open at certain times and do not do appointments on Fridays..which is why we had to wait until this week. And we also had Columbus Day..so they were closed. (Our daughter's visa was denied THREE times. Those were like having missing pieces!!! That was so hard!!!)

Yesterday we got the final piece!!! HIS VISA!!!!! No problems!!! PRAISE PRAISE GOD!! (I have to go today and pick it up) But it is paid for and approved!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!

So putting together the pieces of an adoption puzzle is a rather hard puzzle to put together, but it is so worth it!! Some pieces we got to do, but it seems like there were just as many pieces put in by other people. Now, we can permanently glue them together as a family...