Lesson of the day: Take initiative.

So, just the other day I was praying with the girls about the adoption process.  Frustrated that when I actually manage to connect via telephone with our lawyer, she always says, "No news.  I'll go check tomorrow."  Strange that every time we talk, she had already planned to go "tomorrow".  Anyway, since the social worker who needed to do our last interview had been out for 2 months, the lawyer told us she was busy catching up on work.  I prayed that God would give us preference in her mind and give us a date for the interview.  Natty informed me that I was being selfish...maybe she was right.  So, I changed the prayer and asked that God would put us after those who need the interview a lot quicker than us- whatever that means.  When we went into town today to sign the adoption book, I suddenly decided I was going to take matters into my own hands and ask if the social worker was there.  The guy working behind the desk pointed out her office and said I could knock.  When we got in front of her door, I suddenly didn't know what I was going to say.  Our lawyer had told me that she needed to be the one to make the appointment and I felt like I must be jumping out of order of the chain of command , but I also felt like this is our process and we've hired this lawyer to help us.  Surely, getting involved of my own initiative couldn't hurt anything as long as I maintained a smile.  We knocked, she answered and then she had us sit while she fumbled around with her printer for a while.  While we waited, she asked us to have the secretary get our file ready.  Then, she sat us down at her desk and we talked about everything from evangelicals "hating" Catholics to spanking to miraculous healing and a bit about adoption in between.  I kept wondering if this was the real interview or if this lady was just in the mood to talk.  Although we had an approaching meeting that it was becoming more obvious we weren't going to make it on time for, we decided this was more important.  When a co-worker informed her that it was time for lunch, she closed our file and said, "So, do you want me to come do a home visit or should I just go ahead and send my report to the judge?"  Uh....yes?!  Scotty invited her to our house and she said she'd go ahead and send the report on Monday, but come to our house the following Wednesday because she like us.  I gave her a big hug and thanked her profusely and we ran (literally) out of the building thanking the Lord and astounded how it had all gone down.  When I called the lawyer with a bit of trepidation because we had overstepped her, she commented nonchalantly, "Oh, good.  She's never there when I go."  Hmmm....why didn't you tell us we could go and try to make the appointment ourselves since we are there EVERY WEEK, I wanted to say.  Oh, well.  I think I've got this polite assertiveness thing going and I'll just run with that for a bit.  So, YAY!  Almost done!

Birthday girl!

Natty's school asked us to dress her like a carrot that week.  Thankfully, it wasn't hard to find a carrot outfit...who knew?

Natty turned six on Monday.  We let her have the day off of school and we took her out for breakfast- cinnamon rolls.  I would have made them at home, but Scotty got sick on me over the weekend and we had already planned a birthday lunch for after church on Sunday.  So, I was a little busy prepping for that, hosting by myself (totally not as bad as I thought it would be), cleaning up and making a birthday cake...I just couldn't squeeze homemade cinnamon rolls in there, too.  After breakfast we came home to play, eat a quick and early lunch and then head back out to see a movie.  Then, home for cake and ice cream and back out shortly after for an early dinner at Natty's favorite restaurant.  The day was all about her and it was so sweet to spend it together!  Because we decided to give Natty her main birthday present early (a hamster), I had warned her that she would only have a couple very small things to open on her birthday.  At first that idea seemed very upsetting to her, but when the day rolled around, she was very gracious and didn't mention it at all.  I was proud of her, as those things can really send her reeling sometimes.  She was pleasant most of the day and even thanked us for taking her out at different times.  This might seem like expected behavior, but for her, it can be a bit iffy.  I wrote her a birthday note and told her how I've seen her grow in this last year.  It was good for me to take some time to really think about the way the Lord has worked in her character this year- really in these last couple of months.  It's been a long road at times and I know the journey is just beginning, but I see progress and that is encouraging.  Then, she got bangs.  Bang!  From 5 years old to 15 in one snip.

We continue hounding our lawyer and architect with very little success.  No news there, unfortunately.