There have been several of our past vacations where by the end of it I daydreamed about having our outbound flights cancelled and having to stay for a day, two days, even a week.  Without fail, however, when the flight time came we got on the plane to go home as planned.  So, it makes sense then, when we are the most anxious to get home we get a bonus vacation, not of a couple of days but a couple weeks... maybe more.

That’s right.  Shant and I are currently still in Virginia awaiting the ICPC (Interstate Compact for the Protection of Children).  This is basically an agreement between the child’s birth state and their potential home state that ensures everything is done properly and the child can travel.  It’s meant to protect children.   It also requires that we as brand new parents patiently wait in a state that is not our own, in a hotel that is not our home, without any of the things we would build a sustainable routine around.  All this so that the “powers that be” can read documents and form that information sign off on that yes, we are ok to be parents and no we aren’t trafficking children.  That is, they do that when they aren’t on vacation (oh joy we just happened to hit Christmas & New Year!).  And even better, the IT person who does the scanning is working remotely and only comes in on the day before a two day holiday!!! (Insert scream of frustration here).  

So in short what we have learned is that for parents ICPC more accurately stands for “I Can’t Possibly Cope”,or maybe in our case I Certainly Prefer California.  

So that is the “trapped” portion of my title obviously.  But remember that this update also mentions “in paradise”.

We cannot possibly overlook the fact that despite not being in the place we want to be, Shant, Percie, & I are spending hour after hour TOGETHER.  It is, in fact, a dream-like reality for us.  We have spent a total of 24 days and 9 consecutive full day plus overnights together.  She remains an incredible source of joy to us both.  She continues to trust and bond with us more and more each day.  She now actively calls me Mama and Shant gets all manner of names from Daddy, to Baba, though half the time she is referring to either her bottle, a sheep, or her beloved Peppa the pig.  Long story short, we are loving being with our little girl and learning all about her.  While we miss home so much sometimes that we could (or maybe do) cry, we trust in God’s providential timing.  We are sad that we missed Christmas at home and with our families but we know that all this is temporary.  We expect that this time is working things out in ways that we couldn’t even begin to guess.  

At the same time, we do ask for your prayers that the work is done soon and we can make our way on to the next chapter of our adventure!