It's My Birthday....and I'll cry if I want to!!!!

Today is my birthday. Number 35......again. It was a good year so why change it!! I had a great day. My family is here and I celebrated with them and Ainsley and my nephew Hunter were super excited. They both bought me lip smacker lip gloss which I had to try on right away! It was awesome. The look in their eyes when you actually use something they picked out for you is fantastic. It totally made my day. It is nice to be able to celebrate with your family especially when they don't live close by. I am so thankful for today.
I did not, however, get the one gift I really wanted. A new picture of Sofie. I emailed our agency on Thursday and got the standard answer. I will email them to remind them. That was the same answer I received last week, however, it was never followed through on. I am a little bitter toward them right now and I don't like that feeling, especially this time of year. My father always taught me to stay true to your word. If you say you are going to do something then do it. I expect the same from others too.  I would be able to accept the wait for an update if my agency was doing everything that they could to obtain one but I do not think that they are. If they are, then they need to communicate that better.
I emailed our agency at the beginning of the week about sending a care package to the orphanage through a third party agency. Such agencies are used frequently by adoptive parents and usually they are given new pictures and a small update through the agency. I was strongly advised that this is not recommended and that I would be able to send a care package once I had an LOA. These are the same people that didn't want me to tell anyone about Sofie until we had an LOA! I understand why they have these rules. They want to protect the children. It is very hard to sit by though and watch everyone else post new pictures about their kids and I am told to just sit and wait and follow the rules, but, we are not going to do anything extra to ensure that you get an update. I am a little tired of them not looking out for their clients who have hired them.
I don't know what to do. The rule follower in me wants to just sit and follow the rules but the other part of me is tired of it and finally wants to do something for us, our family.
I am so glad that my family is here for Christmas. I treasure the time we get to spend together.
If I am unable to post again until after Christmas, I just want to wish everyone a joyous Christmas and a very prosperous New Year. Hugs those you love extra tight tonight :)