Oh boy.  Where to even start.  Well, for starters, we have backed away from this particular referral and heartbroken does not begin to describe how we feel right now.  I do not want to expose details because there is an innocent child involved and that is really sad and they deserve respect and privacy.  Let's just say that lawyers are not all to be trusted.  We had gotten a referral for a beautiful child.  There were a couple inconsistencies in the story as to how they became available for adoption but we fell in love with her instantly and overlooked a couple things.  Those inconsistencies grew and after a couple days, it became blatantly apparent that we were not dealing with a very straightforward adoption case, or a very ethical lawyer.   It was a heartbreaking decision, but we decided to go with our guts and stick to our morals and integrity and back away from this referral.  We are now back to playing the waiting game.  We are toying with the idea of reentering the international waitlist and foregoing the domestic adoption route.  Our personal lawyer is awesome and he supported and encouraged us in our decision to walk away from this referral.  The lawyer for the baby and birth mother, however, exposed the horrible side of domestic adoption, especially from such a vulnerable group of people such as the Marshallese.  I hope that this beautiful child can be united with a loving adoptive family or back with her biological parents soon.  We are now at a crossroads and trying to decide what path to take. Stay with domestic and risk another heartbreak, or go with an established international program with strict guidelines and a known timeline.  I am leaning towards the latter at this time.  Sigh.