shipping stuff :: update

Update below!

March 22, 2012

So I'm a little on edge today. Let's just say that the tracking info for that blood, sweat and tears package is not in the system yet.

I may hyperventilated a tiny bit typing that.

We had a message on our answering machine yesterday afternoon from the courier service in DC. They had told me before that they would call when they had our documents in hand back from the Chinese Embassy. So getting the message really put my mind at ease! It basically said that they had picked them up, everything was fine and that they had already put them in the prepaid envelope and sent them off to Seattle.

I was a little aggravated at the UPS store when we shipped the dossier to DC. We had opted to NOT have it come back to us first after authentication. My rationale was that it would add at least a week to our timeline of getting it to it's final destination...Beijing. Why should it come all the way back here and then us pay again to just ship it to WACAP? Instead, I wanted the prepaid return envelope that accompanied it to DC, to be for Seattle so it'd go directly to the agency.

Only they said they couldn't print a prepaid UPS label for it. It'd have to be a USPS one. That scared me a bit. I have no idea what the problem was. Don't people do prepaid labels all the time for various locales? I was very kind and kept my cool. But still, I wanted to send it through any carrier other the USPS. And that evidently couldn't happen unless it came all the way back here first. Argh. So we did 2nd Day Air with a tracking number and delivery confirmation.

The courier's message said it went out yesterday. But when I track it on my phone, there is no record of it ever leaving yet.

It simply says...

"To Seattle.
Delivery date unknown. Bummer. 
No location.
Electronic Shipping Info Received
Saturday, March 10, 2012"


This, just this little paragraph, makes me want to cry. My hope {and earnest prayer!} is that they packaged it up yesterday afternoon, and dropped it in to ship, but that the mail had already run and that it's just not in the system yet.

I've emailed the courier service. I'm going to give it a little longer, and then I'm going to call and get the full skinny. I know it's stupid. But my goodness, I just want that stack of papers delivered safely to WACAP and then to Beijing by April 1st. I'd just love some confirmation. Some reassurance.

Surely, surely everything is okay.

Moving on.

In keeping with my shipping theme today, I wanted to share this picture.

That's right. These sweet bags were filled to the brim with red stones and sent on their way to the organization that gave us the grant a couple of weeks ago.

Aren't they cute?

I bought some muslin bags this time and a little set of alphabet stamps.

In case it's hard for you to see, they say...

thank you


one less orphan


james one twenty seven

and

little prince


I hope they liked them. :) That package made it safely to it's destination yesterday afternoon. That one I tracked and yep, it was right on time.

Goodness.

This dossier may be the death of me! lol. Honestly, I'm just overreacting. Right? I will update once I have answers. Stay tuned. Or don't. You may hear me wailing all the way from where I am to where you are if that precious package is MIA.

In the meantime, I just consumed a huge mound of chocolate chip cookie dough. It's how I get by under stress!

Update!

Well, what a difference a day makes...and what a phone call to the courier service will do for your sanity!

As it turns out, they made a mistake.

I'm telling you, I'm resolved to be much calmer during this process than I was during Joel's. But when the courier service tells you on the phone that they made a little mistake with your dossier documents...I won't lie, you throw up a little in your mouth.

Just sayin'.

I very calmly and kindly said,

"Okay. What does that mean?"

And the nice lady on the phone said that they had accidentally put our dossier package in the pile/bin to go out with the UPS stuff. And when the UPS guy came for the day to pick up the lot of it, they realized that ours was not being shipped UPS but USPS.

Argh.

I knew that USPS stuff would go awry! So they caught it of course but by then, it was too late for it to be shipped on Wednesday as it was supposed to be. So it left yesterday afternoon and went to the sorting facility. I think we are in the clear for now! lol.

Our dossier, according to a tracking screen shot taken this morning, should be delivered on Monday. 

Hallelujah!

Who knows? Maybe the whole thing was just the Lord's protection over it. I would much rather it be delivered on a working Monday than a non working Saturday anyway! 

So there you have it. 

Poor, unsuspecting cookie dough. It got me through the rough spot of wondering where oh where our dossier was! 

But just like so many other things with adoption, there are bumps in the road. Sometimes big, other times, like this one, small. Over and over I have to remind myself that the Lord is sovereign. Over and over I tell Him that I know He is God over all things. That He can be trusted. 

The little prince is seated safely in His hands, as are we. That brings me tons of comfort today!