no TA

Well... yesterday came and went and we did not get our travel approval by the 18th as we had hoped. It was disappointing to have prayed so much for something, to have hoped and truly believed that God would do this, and then to realize it wasn't His plan for us. But we do not lose heart. We are perplexed by this, but definitely not driven to despair. One thing that I just keep thinking is that God knows the entire situation. He knows Mary Carson, knows her heart, knows her circumstances. We don't know her yet. We thought this would be the best situation. But since we know that "no good thing does he with withhold from those who walk uprightly," (Ps 84:11), we know that if it was good for us to travel for Mary Carson and be back by Christmas, we would have. But for whatever reason that would not have been good. Even in the midst of disappointment, He has already been helping me to see some of the possible good from traveling a week later - such as - the big kids will miss less school (there was a concern for possible need for re-enrollment upon our return due to so many consecutive absences and that they could be put into different classes - so now this is no longer a concern) and since we'll be gone over Christmas, there will be less (fun) chaotic gatherings to navigate when we get home with Mary Carson since we'll need to keep her close to home for awhile as she acclimates to family life. So God is working on my heart. And we just continue to trust and submit ourselves to the One who fully knows us, all of us, including Mary Carson. We will keep praying for a timely travel approval. We need to have it by December 2nd to travel to get her in December (likely leaving Dec. 14). We fully expect and trust that this will be the case and are so excited. This means that (baring any unforeseen circumstances) we will meet our little peanut one month from today. God is so good. So excited to celebrate her today with a sweet adoption shower for her thrown by some of my friends.