Almost. There.

I'm not a runner.  I have some friends who are, and I tried a few times.  But I just couldn't get into it.  It made my shins, feet and ankles hurt.  And we live on a hill.  Nowhere in our neighborhood is there flat ground.  So my running career was short lived.  But I imagine that if I was a runner, this is what it would feel like to be so close to the end of a marathon.  Last summer I had the joy of watching two very dear friends cross the finish line of a real marathon.  I listened as they described the last few miles, and the sheer determination it takes to make it to the end.  The adoption process is like a marathon, and we are almost at the end.  Just those last few miles to go.  But the waiting and the uncertainty of when are hard to take some days.  Ok, everyday. But some days are harder than others.  This week we got word that James's visa and medical appointments have been scheduled for this upcoming week.  That's the very last thing that has to happen before his visa can be ready and we can go get him.  But it's December 1st.  His second appointment is on the 6th.  The very latest we could possibly (I think) fly out and still make it before the embassy closes is the 14th.  Which means we need those two appointments to happen, the visa to be done, and travel approval given all next week.  That in itself is basically impossible.  Then, if God so chooses to do the miraculous, we'd have just a few days to purchase insanely expensive tickets, make childcare arrangements, buy stuff for the trip, pack...you get the idea.  My head is spinning with all of it!!  And I'm having a hard time keeping my thoughts in order just to write this blog!  So, let's suffice it to say, we're at the end of the race, and I don't know exactly how many more miles we have to run.  But I know that God has brought us beautifully this far, and the rest of the journey will play out exactly as He has planned.  And I'm ok with whatever day I get on a plane.  Because I am getting on a plane, SOON!!!!