Anticipation turns to Anxiety

When Dave passed his orals and was offered conditional employment with the U.S. Foreign Service, we anticipated that his Security Clearance would take 6-9 months. That gets us to right now - 6 months later. We are now in the Any Day Now window, and easily foresee ourselves staying here for the next 3 months.

Should he receive Security Clearance sometime in the next 3 months (remember that Jake is due in mid-May), he would be invited to one of the summer classes and we would move to DC around June.

We like this idea. The girls can finish up their school year here, and begin a new one in Washington. We can blow through our 6 weeks worth of diapers and formula, and then leave the country rather than relying on substandard quality or expensive imports. Family can meet Jake while she's still tiny.

But I wonder if God is trying to lower my expectations.

We've been seeing posts lately from people who have been awaiting Security Clearance for around 1 year. And I am reminded of the conversation Dave had with his interviewer. The interviewer said something to the effect of... Whoa, you've got an awfully long list of Foreign Contacts. And you are a consultant? Who speaks to a long list of companies and seminars on a weekly basis? Wow - this will take a long time.

He may have been right.

But don't get excited, Shanghai friends. Dave's contract with Uncle H-- runs out this year, and they have no plans of renewing. We will be leaving Shanghai this summer, either way. Talk in the office at this point is that they would appreciate his skills in Hong Kong - and with the same boss over both Shanghai and Hong Kong, this would be a simple move to make happen.

Hong Kong is alright with me - no language issues, good doctors and access to high quality baby items, and I'm already connected to people there.

But stickiness ensues when we realize that sometime during that Hong Kong year, Dave will probably receive security clearance and have us shipped off to DC mid-school year. And then shipped off from DC to post, also mid-school year. That'd get poor Lilly to attending 4 different schools before she hits 1st grade at our first post. It would continue Sophia's practice of never living in a home for 12 months until she reaches her 6th birthday.

And to make things even more interesting, expedited adoptions have definitely begun again. It seems that families currently in China are picking up their child 24 months after being registered with the Chinese government. We registered in April 2009.

That pulls our number in the middle of next year - what could be shaping up to be a very interesting year.

Also, please note. As this post is pure speculation, you will understand why the posts have been sparse lately. With no news on the baby front, the adoption front, the Foreign Service front or any other major drama, I simply haven't much to say. Please excuse the long breaks... and pray for some news soon!