May Referral Update

Below you will find the update we received from our agency today. Based upon my information from the "rumor" sites on the internet, China sent out referrals through November 1st of 2005. So, they are speeding up the process - they increased the number of days this time by one extra day... Isn't that great? Yes, that is sarcasm you detect :o) Here is the message we received:

"Today, May 1, 2007, we received a big blessing of 10 baby girls' referrals from China. The girls' ages ranged from 7-15 months. They are all from Congqing Province. These 10 families were all LID 10-28-2005. We thank God for each little girl and pray for each family whose lives were changed today."

April Adoption Update

Well, here is the newest update....I am really beginning to think that my joke about signing adoption papers at the same time I am signing my membership papers for AARP is going to come true!! Here is the message we received today:

"Last night, the early morning for China, the CCAA posted the news that families with LIDs up to 10-26-2005 received referrals this month. A Helping Hand did not have any families logged in between 10-24-2005 and 10-27-2005. We know and understand that this news can be frustrating as you wait for your referral and struggle with the growing wait. Please know that you have our empathy."

OH MY GOODNESS! (As Morgan would say, "Whatz up with that, dude?" ) In an entire 4 week span, China only sent out referrals for 3 days. They were sending them out a month at a time....At this rate, I hate to estimate when we will be going. It is very frustrating, but at the same time in our hearts we know without a shadow of a doubt that God knew this was going to be our journey when he sent us down this path.

Adoption - March Agency Update

Well, here is the update we received today....

"We celebrate with three families today who had waited for almost 17 months for their child's referral. All three adorable girls are nearly seven months old and they are all from the Samoan Children's Welfare Institute in Hunan province. The CCAA issued referrals for families who were loggedin between Oct. 14th, 2005 and October 24th, 2005. We will be sending out a more detailed update later this month. Congratulations to those three families!"

That was the update...My thoughts...17 MONTHS?? Holy cow! Based upon that update, we have 14 months to go still... UGH!!!

February Adoption Update

Well, there has not been too much news on the adoption home front. But, I figured I would update you all when we receive some word on referrals from our agency.

This is the message we received today:

We were delighted to receive referrals for 13 beautiful girls, from the Anhui and Sichuan and Provinces, on February 2, 2007. The CCAA issued referrals for families with log-in dates through October 13, 2005 indicating a current waiting time of 15.5 months.

The China Center of Adoption Affairs has the following posted on their site:

"The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before March 22, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before October 13, 2005."

All that is to say...they still have to review the documents 8 months ahead of us and it is going to be a while.

Breaking News....

Ha! Bet that headline caught your attention... Sorry for not posting lately. Kinda' doing the hustling and bustling holiday thing...Shopping, wrapping, running to the post office, starting the Christmas letter, crumpling up the newsletter and starting again, etc., etc., etc... Hopefully, I will have some time this weekend to post a few things.

Well, here is the breaking news...
We finally have our LID (log in date). Our paperwork was logged in, in China, on November 21st. Yeah!!!! So, the countdown of 14 months began on this date. Mind you, this is only the countdown toward the referral (information and picture of our lil' (insert name - still keeping it a secret - here) and not the date for travel. Also, the 14 months can either speed up, slow down, or remain the same. It is all in the hands of the China Affairs office and God.

Til next time...Sleep tight!

It's A Bird...It's A Plane...

NO... It's our paperwork headed to China! YIPPEEE!!! WOOO HOOO!!! YEAH!!!! It was officially sent to China today. As soon as we receive our Log In Date (LID), which is the date the China officials receive the paperwork, our clock will start ticking toward the current wait of 14 months. If the wait remains the same, this special little girl hasn't even been born yet.

(Insert our last name here) ...HERE! Yes, we are here!!!! It has been a bit crazy around our home. We are really looking forward to October as things are beginning to slow down a bit. This post is to update everyone on Baby (Insert our last name here) #3. Yes, although you have not heard much about it since we made the commitment to adopt again, we are still in the process of completing the paperwork. Our dossier (aka paperwork for China) is nearly complete and all we are really waiting for is one little piece of paper called our I171-H that is issued from US Citizenship and Immigration. Once we receive that we will go to our county office and the state level for their notarization/authentication. From there, we send it to Washington D.C, back to our adoption agency, and finally to China. Once in China, the agency office in China will translate the information and submit it to the China Center for Adoption Affairs. Once they log it in, our clock starts ticking....The last referrals ran 14 months. UGH! Anyway, our home study is complete and we are almost done paperchasing - There will be lots of celebration on the day that it is out of our hands!

In addition to this paperwork, I have been having to write monthly reports for Rylee and submitting pictures each month. Her final post-placement visit is scheduled for tomorrow so, I will soon be free of adoption paperwork - For awhile that is...YEAH!!!!

We have already come up with a name, but we want to keep you in suspense a bit longer --- I have already tried to change the name, but the boys are holding me accountable. Here are a few of our considerations...

a) Bailey (For Champ Bailey, a football player for some NFL team - Morgan knows)
b) Addison Grace
c) Grace
d) Madison
e) Madilyn
f) Abigail/Abbey
g) Taylor

We know that God has very special plans for this little girl as He turned three hearts around 180 degrees. We are so excited to meet her and to see His plan unfold for her life!

Check in again soon as I have more to post....