The 'embracing' scenario is very familiar. I would assume you have someone set to 'parent'? When you set a villager to 'parent' they will pick one person to stick too, so when that one parent is on the move, the 'chosen' one will know it and it will either say 'waiting for someone' or 'embracing'.
I find this to be a pain, since the one 'chosen' never seems to get any work done!
I find lots of glitches. I just pick up my villager and drop him/her again and they go on with their business.... lol