Referral Time

This is the time of month my stomach starts churning and the nailbiting habit starts rearing its ugly head...it's referral time! Referrals usually come at the end of every month. The rumor right now is they have been mailed out from China and should be arriving on Thursday. According to the Rumor Queen (the link to her blog is posted on the right side of this page), it looks like they may have gotten through October 14th, 2005. Our dossier was logged in on October 31st, 2005. I can't believe it's finally getting so close! It's been such a long wait, I'm wondering if that incredibly bright light at the end of this tunnel is real or a figment of my imagination. I am also starting to go into panic mode. What are we doing? Are we ready to be parents? We've been married for 10 years...am I really ready to give up the freedom we have and make the sacrifices that will be required of us? Yes...with all my heart. I know God has been preparing us for this, maybe for our entire lives. What an incredible gift to know the will of God and to make His desires our own.

Even if the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) did get through October 14th, it will probably still be the end of March before they get to us. But like I said, that light is getting brighter and brighter...and I can almost see her sweet face on the other side.

Stella

For those of you who have not met the newest addition to our family, this is Stella. She is a beautiful cat and extremely independent. We got her so soon after we lost Caly, I was having a very hard time adjusting to her, but she is finally starting to grow on me. Max on the other hand is not fond of her at all. I feel so badly for the poor little guy. He is constantly on the lookout for her as she is always lying in wait to attack or chase him. I am seriously considering re-naming her "Regina". (For those of you who saw the movie "Meangirls" you will know why!) We thought things would have settled down by now, almost 5 months later, but no such luck. If anybody out there has any ideas, please feel free to share!

Chinese Baby Shortage?

I found this article online today that talks about the number of babies available...or not available...in China. People ask me about it often, and I don't really know much more than anyone else, but this article has some interesting information.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/op...&or ef=slogin
I don't know how this will affect future adoptions, but I am glad we are so much closer. Rumors floating around out there say the wait time is now between 20-24 months. It makes the nearly 15 month wait we've had seem not so bad. I find myself wishing all the time...if we had only gotten our paperwork in a couple of months earlier. On the other hand, if it had taken a couple of months longer, we would be looking much closer to that 24 month time frame. I thank God for His perfect timing for our perfect daughter!

American Idol

Today is a day I have been waiting for for 8 months. It's the new season of American Idol! It's pretty much the only show I "have" to watch every week (although many people are convincing me I should watch "24"...I might have to add that to my schedule). I sometimes feel so sorry for people after they hear what the judges have to say, but at the same time, they are going to an audition to be judged. I can't believe some of these people. Do they really think they can sing?? Or are they just looking to get on TV? I'm sure it's a little bit of both. Anyway, I am just thankful it's back to keep me entertained over the next few months. My dad always used to say, "Don't wish your life away Julianne.". I know dad, but if these next 3 months or so went by a little fast, I wouldn't be very disappointed!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to our blog! I have been following several blogs of families who either have adopted or are in the process of adopting from China, so I thought it would be fun to start one of our own. At this point we are in the "home stretch" of our waiting process. Our paperwork was logged in in China on 10/31/05. At that time we were told our wait would be approximately 6-8 months. Now here we are, one year and almost 3 months later and she isn't home yet. It looks like we should get a referral at the end of March...I have a feeling we will miss the cut-off for February by just a few days. But we know that it is all God's timing and He has the perfect daughter for us. We are thankful for the peace He has given us during this long process and for the support of all of our wonderful friends and family. We hope this will be a good way to keep all of you updated on our progress, so check back often!