Fall is here!

Fall is finally here. It is still hot 'cuz we're in Texas ya'll, but it is fall none the less. Our adoption process with our new agency is moving along. No news except that we remain hopeful and happy about bringing little Dias to our home. There are many troubling waters in the world of international adoption and this just makes our own problems seem even harder. Then, something happens or someone says something at just the right moment and we take a breath and put our oars back in the water and keep rowing!
We have been having fun and trying really hard to still be in the moment. For what we already have is more than we ever dreamed of. My daughter is growing her practice in Portland, Oregon and continues to amaze and bless me by her presence in my life. Mike and I have secure employment and are blessed with the resources to continue our adoption. In these trying times, that is not a small statement.
One adoption family friend is going to leave soon to adopt their daughter and another family will return from their first visit with their daughter tomorrow. Several adoptive families we now call friends, have said they will not be returning to Kazakhstan if they want more children. This saddens me but I can understand completely. With China adoptions taking 4-5 years and other countries becoming more and more strict, UNICEF's attempts at decreasing (stopping) international family building and The Hague setting criteria that leaves many families in limbo, the future for international adoptions is bleak I hate to write.
I did not set out to advocate for adoption. Life sometimes hands us our destiny even when we don't pick it ourselves. I swore when we were given a second chance to adopt Dias that I would spend the rest of my life helping families and children unite through adoption. I still don't know what shape that will take. However, I am sure I will be in the mix somewhere.
The most spectacular people have entered our lives via this miracle called adoption. Also,a little spirit in a Kazakh boys body, blesses me everyday by calling me "mom". It keeps me going. That, and fall fun.......