Fingerprints, Visas, and New Pictures!

Friday was a great day. The kids and I picked up Philip and my passport pictures, combined them with our Visa applications and additional documents, and mailed it all off to Travisa. Then the four of us made a trek to Wal-Mart where I treated them to a frozen lemonade to share. We had a blast together in that toy aisle picking out a few gifts for Hannah to keep her entertained on the long plane ride home. It was a great day for all of us.

On Monday, Labor Day, we drove up to Chicago to enjoy a family outing to Shedd Aquarium. We were assigned an 8AM appointment on Tuesday in Naperville to redo our expiring fingerprints with USCIS. So, we had decided to make a family adventure of it and enjoy an aquarium for the first time as a family. Great plan, right? We thought so. However, our transmission lost everything over 2nd gear on our way there. Praise God, we were only about 40 min from our hotel in Naperville. And so, with our hazard lights blinking and occasional sudden jerks, we crawled our way to the the hotel. Again, praise God our hotel had an indoor pool and I had thrown in swim suits on the off chance we found ourselves with a few extra minutes to jump in. Little did I know :) But God did. So the kids and I spent the afternoon in that pool while Philip went to work taking care of us.
To make a long story short, Sierra had fun pretending we were characters in the Little House on the Prairie since we had to walk to dinner. We made it to our USCIS appointment and sailed through that. We got a Uhaul truck, trailer to get the van home, and rented a car for the kids and I to get home. Our kids thought it was great fun to each get a turn riding in the truck with Philip and pretending to be Mater the tow truck. So between the pool, eating in restaurants, and their imaginations, they had a wonderful adventure! Mommy and Daddy, well we're honestly still reeling and trying to figure out if the van is salvageable.
We finally got home last night feeling absolutely exhausted and doing our dead level best to not succumb to becoming grouchy parents. Of course, I had to check email just in case there was any adoption news. We had notices from Travisa- Philip's application was being processed. Mine was being held because my proof of residency was unacceptable. After talking with them this morning, I found Travisa explained that my ID is expired (they didn't explain in the notice they sent). When I looked, the front of my ID does actually look expired. However, I have a sticker on the back of my ID with an official 4 year extension. So, a) it makes sense why they red flagged it but b) it just never occurred to me to think of the dates being expired because it is my legit license. So I scanned both sides and have emailed those images to Travisa. Hoping for clear sailing from here on out for both Visas.

With all this happening over the last two days, even the little hickup with Travisa had me pretty upset. As I told my sister when she called to offer her shoulder and listening ear, I was feeling very much at my limit. I know God is in control of all these things. So I was struggling with the "Why?" But as I got quiet and started just doing the humdrum of returning from a trip (you know- cleaning and laundry), I realized even the fact that I was allowed the freedom to feel frustrated was a blessing. I didn't have to grovel before a supreme god of the universe because I had the audacity to get frustrated with and question his plans. While He IS the God of the universe, He is also Abba Father. He created us in His image and He understands the times we are frustrated to tears. We are expected to obey, but He comes along beside us and wraps us in His loving arms and says, "I know it is hard. But it will be good. Come, child." So while folding that laundry, I actually felt my smile return. I turned on praise music and I received His gift of peace that His plan, whatever it is, is perfect. And not 5 minutes later, He gave me these in my email inbox: