The spicy one is napping

So far the day has gone well. Our guide told us that it usually takes three full days for the babies to come out of their shells. We have hit and passed the 48 hour mark and cruising towards 72. I only rocked Lilli for a few minutes and fell sleep. She really fights sleeping. We did have another little break through today. She usually cries when we come back to the hotel room, but today we only had a whimper. I think it may have been the McDonald's we brought back with us. We have been shopping this morning at a Chinese department store and there is a McDonald's connected to it. I don't know the name of the department store but it was over 7 floors. All of the baby stuff was on the 7th floor. We bought Lilli two pairs of shoes. Her feet are tiny and it was difficult finding a pair to fit her, even in China. Shopping in China is very different than in the U.S. I was completely turned off by it at first and it still doesn't make a lot of sense to me. You find what you want and hand it to a salesperson. Sales people are not hard to locate as they constantly follow you around in the store. It is a bit unnerving but it is kind of like having a personal shopper with you in the store. After you pick what you want, the salesperson writes you a ticket and you take the ticket to the counter to pay. When you have paid, you go back to the salesperson and they hand you the merchandise. Maybe it cuts down on theft. I don't know.

Our McDonald's meal was excellent. I split a cheeseburger and fries with Lilli. She LOVES french fries. She didn't like the meat in the burger much but she loved the bun. It is fun watching her eat new things. She likes to feed us, too, and it is about the only thing she will do with Todd. I know this is hard for him and it absolutely breaks my heart. He wants so badly to be able to do things for her. She will come around I'm sure but that doesn't make it any easier.

Lilli took her first bottle today. She has wanted nothing to do with a bottle and I was disappointed because it is supposed to be an excellent bonding technique. I filled a bottle with water and liquilytes (her BM's have been mushy) and she went to town. I still haven't gotten her to take any formula but I think our main goal right now is bonding and attachment. Trust me, this kid is getting plenty to eat. She thinks Cheerios are crack!

We went out as a group last night to a Chinese restaurant. It was the BEST meal I've had yet. The food was excellent and I really like how the Chinese eat: the lazy susan in the middle and everyone shares the dishes. It is a bonding experience with the other families. We are all having so much fun watching what the other kids do! I even used my chopsticks and used them with success!

Lilli does excellent out in public. She will sit in my lap or in her stroller and she just takes it all in. She likes to be on the go. If we stop when she's riding in the stroller, she gets lippy and demands movement.

There is evidence all around of how poor a lot of the people in China are. While we were waiting for our bus outside of the store we got bombarded with beggars. It is really sad because they basically pimp their kids to beg for money. At Tienamen Square there were several little kids (5-6 y/o) who were crying and putting on a real show for money. You want to help but if you give them money they won't leave you alone. Our guide has had to get pretty verbal with some people who would not leave us alone. I think they believe that all Americans are rich and that money is growing out of our ears. We have seen some very poor and desperate places and most are very close to where we are staying. I feel very lucky to live in the U.S. and to have the things that I have (A/C). Can you tell I'm getting homesick?

There are two trends here in China that I think are fascinating. Wuhan, where we are now, is VERY, VERY, VERY HOT. The people wear these visors that look like welder's masks. It is quite comical, but I completely understand why. The heat is majorly intense. I don't know what the actual temp is but I am sure it is well above the 100 degree mark. The other thing that I think is neat is that all of the ladies have beautiful silk umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. Chinese ladies want to be pale and fair skinned. (Lilli has obviously been in the sun a lot and is very dark.) The women get out of taxis and hurry to put their umbrellas up. I saw two girls sharing an umbrella today and the one who had the umbrella popped it up and went to the other side of the taxi to shield the other girl, like she is going to get wet from rain! They do not want to get any sun and maybe it is cooler.

Well there is so much to share that I could keep typing. I'm going to read for awhile before sassy britches gets up! I smell poo in a diaper but there is NO way I'm waking her to change her!

Hot water optional

Showers are an experience in this hotel. Sometimes the water is very hot and sometimes, no matter how long you let the water run, it is lukewarm at best. We are both getting anxious to get home and back to our luxury items. I am ready to start brushing my teeth without bottled water!

We had a roller coaster day yesterday. Lilli seems to take two steps forward and one step back with us. One of the cutest things yesterday was that she finally started getting curious about the other toys we brought. She liked the books but grew frustrated when she couldn't open them. Then they became projectiles. I opened one of the books that is a touch and feel type of book and she enjoyed that one. When I opened a page and touched a fuzzy bunny I made kind of a cooing noise. She started mimicking me and soon we were cooing together.

I was applying Calamine lotion to my foot and she was watching me; she stuck out her foot and wanted me to put some on hers! It was too cute.

The little dragon is now up so I have to end. I will attempt an update during nap time.

The dragon sleeps!

We had a successful first night. She fought sleep for a little bit but when she threw the stacking cups at Todd, we knew she was done. I rocked her to sleep which only took about 30 seconds. I laid her in the crib and she never stirred. She did cry out in the middle of the night, however. To have been a fly on the wall as Todd and I jumped out of bed and scrambled to get to her crib! I'm sure it was a sight. She never woke up when she cried so I didn't pick her up. I did massage her belly and she pushed my hand away. She cried out several more times during the night but I tuned in to the fact that this was probably normal for her or that she was grieving. My mom called and she said that all babies cry out in the night. That was a relief but I see why the experts say that you shouldn't allow your baby to sleep in your room. It was hard falling back to sleep after she would cry because I wasn't convinced/didn't know if she was OK.

According to her schedule given to us by the orphanage, she is supposed to rise at 6:00 A.M. I've been joking with the other parents because they all have late sleepers and early bed times. Lilli was the only one who supposedly gets up at 6:00 A.M. My mom says not to wake her so I'm going to let her sleep. So now it is 7:30 and she is still snoozing. We have an appointment at 10:00 with the orphanage to finalize the adoption. We still have to go down to breakfast, too. I can't wait to see what she likes to eat for breakfast. I'm going to try giving her congee which is a very popular baby food in China. I think it is just a rice cereal that is sweetened.

Well, I will continue to update as time allows. The little dragon is going to dictate the rest of my day!

Thanks to everyone who is responding to the blog and leaving comments. Unfortunately I can't access my blog from here or post pictures but I appreciate all of the helpful hints from everyone! My sil, Brinda, is relaying the parental advice to us from your comments! What a blessing!

Each minute a new experience!

After the last post we have made some headway with Lilli. Before I write any more I must apologize in advance for any typos or grammatical errors. I know my writing isn't as well- thought out as normal! I'm sure my brain will come back (in 18 years)!

Any-who, we took Lilli to the common area on our floor where there is a play area. Several of the families had their babies there playing. Lilli wasn't too impressed at first but eventually was enticed to play with the other babies because of a pink balloon. It was the first time we saw her smile and she had a belly laugh. She had so much fun and Todd was able to play with her a bit without her freaking out. She loved throwing the balloon and then grabbing it and watching it pop out of her hand. She has this cheezy grin where she juts out her chin and shows off her bottom teeth. We just melt with delight when she's happy. She is also enjoying stacking cups. She figured out how to put them all together tonight so I'm not sure what she is going to play with tomorrow. She will play and play with the stacking cups, setting them up and then knocking them down.

We were quite a spectacle at dinner tonight. This girl can eat! She ate more than Todd or me and I think she ate more than both of us combined. She loves noodles and rice (go figure). She will eat meats, but she makes a face when she eats meat. She tried watermelon tonight and really liked it. The Chinese have watermelon at every meal. We were probably at the buffet for 1-2 hours and she continued to eat. I just kept giving her more and she wasn't stopping. We did find out that she does not like for her hands to be dirty. When something gets on her hands she flings it everywhere. We left quite a mess at the restaurant. We are going to a restaurant tomorrow night with the group--that should be quite an experience with 9 new babies. Speaking of food, one of tonight's delicacies was stuffed salmon head. Again, if I don't lose 20 lbs on this trip I'm gonna be ticked!

Well, we got paid back for letting her eat so much. Our first toxic diaper came right after bath time. Bath time was NOT fun. She screamed the entire time and really didn't like it when I washed her face. We are able to come her down much more quickly than earlier today. I guess that is all part of the bonding process.

The hardest thing about today was watching her grieve for her foster parents. You could tell that she was simply heart broken and totally scared. I just held her and rocked her and let her cry. I know it will get easier as the days go by and everyone assures me this is normal, but it is really hard to see her go through the pain. We have a long road ahead of us but she is totally worth it. I can't wait for everyone to meet her. She is completely awesome in the most wonderful way imaginable!

I am going to attempt pictures again.

We cannot check the blog from here for some reason. The only thing we can do is update. I hope the photos show up!

Gotcha Day!

She's here! We got Lilli this morning at 10:00 A.M. She didn't cry when I took her from the orphanage director. Apparently she wasn't feeling well. When they made the bus ride from the orphanage to the hotel she got sick all over herself and her outfit. All of the babies had on these red Chinese outfits that were actually darling. One of the nannies washed out Lilli's outfit after she got sick and then one of our travel mates ironed it dry. We didn't find this out until after the fact.

Anyway, she isn't real impressed with either one of us right now. She's probably terrified more than anything! She prefers me right now but Todd has been able to hold her and soothe her a time or two. We haven't really seen her smile yet but we have definitely heard her SCREAM! She has been upset quite a bit today. I'm trying to do everything I can to soothe her but I know she needs to mourn. The only thing I can do is hold her and let her cry it out. She loves to be around other people and is usually calm when we're out somewhere. We took her down to the dining room today to eat and she did really well. She actually cried when we entered the room. She loves looking out the window and watching everything! Later we are going to brave the Carre Four store (Wal-Mart on crack) and get some items for her.

She is TINY, but she weighs a ton. It is kind of hard to hold onto her because there isn't much of her. It feels like you are holding an anvil when she is in your arms. I'm sure it is more because I am not used to holding a baby. She is also a heat generator!

After all of the chaos with getting the babies we were able to talk to one of the orphanage caregivers. The first thing she said about Lilli is that she is "spicy and very naughty". I have seen glimpses of this trait a few times. She definitely lets you know when she doesn't want something! We also learned that her foster parents were in their forties and that Lilli was their only foster child. They also said that the foster parents had pets: a cat and a dog. I was relieved to hear that because of the mutts at home! The caregiver told us that Lilli was aggressive with the animals. That should work out perfectly. Poor Boom, Sherm, and Jake! They have no idea what is about enter their world!

At about 1:45 I got her to go to sleep. The only thing that seems to soothe her is the sippy cup. She likes to chew on the tip so I think she is teething. We can see two teeth on the bottom and two more that have broken the skin. I think she has several on top but she hasn't let us see them yet. At lunch she ate lots of noodles and rice. She also liked Cheerios and some biter biscuits that one of the other families let us have.

Speaking of other families, we have met some of the most amazing people on this trip and have developed some great friendships. We are all pitching in and helping each other out. Many of us are first time parents and have no clue what we are doing. We are really relying on the BTDT parents to help out.

I'm including a few pics. Ok, maybe not. We are having some computer difficulty.

We're here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where do I begin? We have now been in China for three full days. We got in to China late Thursday night. This is the first time we have been able to get all of the connections working with the laptop and whatever gizmo the hotel has for hooking up to the internet. I hope this actually goes to the blog! Anyway, China is VERY different. There are LOTS of people and they LOVE Americans (at least I think they do!) They are ALWAYS staring at you and they want to have their picture taken with you. It is kind of like being a monkey at the zoo! I hear that once we have the babies the attention will become even more pronounced. I'm not going to post any photos today. I want to wait and post photos of Lilli after we get her tomorrow! We only have 14 hours until lift-off! We were supposed to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get the babies, but they are going to bring them to the hotel tomorrow at 10:00 A.M.! It is still surreal even though we are in country and so close to the actual event!

I have been keeping a written journal ever since we took off out of Louisville. Mostly observations about things that I've seen so far. The flight from Chicago to Tokyo was
L-O-N-G!!!! One of the coolest things about the flight was that there were monitors that showed where you were flying, how many miles (meters) you had come, how far you still had to travel, and how long you had been airborne. It was neat to see the places that we crossed over. Some of the most notable places we crossed were Anchorage, Alaska, The Bering Sea, and Russia. I wrote down the times (in Indiana time) that we crossed over each place for future reference. I think the flight from Tokyo to Beijing was the most miserable. The seats were definitely made for Chinese people and our tushes were sore from the 12-hour plane ride. There are constant reminders in China that we are MUCH bigger people than they are! One of the most hilarious things about the long plane ride was that many people on our plane were going home to Tokyo. I had packed books and magazines to read, puzzles, etc. I was ready to take on boredom! Well, the flight attendants turned off all of the lights, shut all of the windows and made the plane like a sleeping dorm. Hardly anyone (save me) was awake! I thought this was very odd. We never saw actual night on our entire flight, but since it was night time in Japan, the flight attendants wanted to simulate the change for the Japanese passengers. Since we flew coach, my overhead light was extremely obstrusive to our seat mate (who was the nicest person! Hi Yoko!) so I sat in darkness for the entire 12 hours. Thank goodness for my I-Pod! We got here in one piece so I guess that is the most important thing!

So the travel here was really no sweat. I thought I wouldn't handle it well, but I did fine. Once we got in the air on the long flight, I was fine. When we arrived in China, we breezed through Customs. I was really surprised. On the plane we had to fill out some paperwork on whether or not we had had any close contact with birds. I thought that was interesting! We took a bus to the hotel and tried to sleep. We were exhausted from travel, but it was hard to sleep.

I could ramble on forever about all of the things we have seen. I'm going to condense my experience to a few short lists of observations:

1. The Chinese are not big on A/C ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. I have done nothing but sweat since I've been here. The hotels have air, but not like we do in the states. I've resigned myself to the fact that I will have sweat stains on the back of my shirt the entire time we are here!

2. Chinese people are very nice, but quite bold. They aren't afraid to raise their voices, honk, shout, and I think swear at you if you step out of line. They all seem to be in a big hurry and they don't want any one in their way. When we shopped at the Carre Four store (Wal-Mart on crack) people will push your cart out of the way, push you, etc. They don't have any personal space boundaries. All of the gazillion people who were shopping at the store wanted to inspect what we were buying.

3. Chinese women LOVE high heel shoes. We saw several women wearing high heeled shoes climbing the Great Wall yesterday. It is insane. Most women wear stillettos and dresses.

4. Everything here is VERY inexpensive. We bought an insane amount of items today for only $24. One of the items was a stroller!

Interesting food I've seen/experienced:

1. At lunch before we climbed the Great Wall, the servers brought a whole fish (head, tail, scales, bones, etc.) to the table. It looked like it was covered in sweet and sour sauce. I wasn't going to try it, but ended up taking a small piece. It was really good!

2. At the supper buffet last night one of the dishes was Fried Chicken Feet. No one opted for that selection.

3. This morning we had something called a Mountain Medicine Roll. It had a plum taste to it, but i suspect it was flavored bean paste. The Chinese do amazing things with bean paste! This roll was delicious!

Well, that is all for now. I'll post pictures tomorrow and let everyone know how we are doing as a family. Right now I am going to bed because I haven't quite adjusted to the time change. Please pray that tomorrow will bring good things (and a healthy baby!)

The 11th hour

OMG, OMG, OMG! We leave in less than 12 hours! This will be my last entry until we get to China. Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with the blog and sending me your wishes. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel across the Pacific to get our little sweetie!

We will be in touch! Much love to all!

Peace.

Lorie and Todd

Sleepless and sneezing

I knew it would happen. The nerves are frazzled. It is 5:00 A.M. and I haven't been able to sleep at all. I went to bed around 1:00 A.M. (after Todd which is completely amazing) and I have been tossing and turning. My allergies aren't making life easy on me either. Oh well. I'm sure tonight will be even worse. I can't believe I am going to be getting on a plane in 28 hours. I can't believe that I will probably be on the plane for 28 hours! Ha! It just doesn't seem real. I know I am going to have a total meltdown at the airport. I sure hope Todd is ready with the hefty drugs! I should be fine on the first flight--a whopping 55 minutes to Chicago. But when I walk the gerbil tube to get on the flight to Tokyo--whoo--I don't know what is going to happen! They will probably have to sedate me and strap me to the seat.

The carry-on bag thing isn't looking very good for me. I have tried 1000 different ways to pack my clothes and I just can't figure it out. I have resigned myself to having to check my bag.

I'm off to take some Benadryl and see if I can get some rest--today is going to be a busy one!

The Most Beautiful Baby in the World!

I know everyone is sick to death of this, but sometimes I just get goosebumps looking at her! She will be with us in 6 days!

3 days and counting

I heard a rumor that there is quite a following associated with this blog. Please feel free to leave comments! I do hope to continue updating while we are in China. A lady who is in China right now has had some trouble updating her blog and she is a master computer user. I'm more of an amateur. We'll see what happens.

Anyway, I had a freak-out moment on the way home from the movies. I don't know what scares me more: the looooooong plane ride, or a 16-month-old screaming baby. I was on the verge of hyperventilating as we drove home. I kept playing the "what if" game. Luckily Todd was in a calm place and tried talking sense into me. He was really patient with me until I started asking ridiculous questions. I think the turning point was when I asked, "what if the terrorists are on the plane?" I guess everyone who is going to become a parent goes through a questioning period where they question how well they are going to do in a given situation. I'm sure this is all normal, it is just uncharted territory for me and I am fast figuring out that I am no longer in control--very difficult for me!

We met with a pediatrician today and I really liked her. She said that paperwork on Lilli looks very good. I sure do hope it turns out that way!

I am going to begin packing for myself tomorrow. We are going to try to carry-on only (for ourselves). Lilli's bag weighs 34 lbs. Hers will be the only bag checked (we'll see). Each person can check 44 lbs. of luggage, have one carry-on and one personal item. I know it is different when you are traveling domestically, but in China they only allow 44 lbs. of luggage on in-country flights. We will be taking 2 flights in China: one to Wuhan and the other to Guanzhou. We've been told to pack lightly. I'm anxious to see how well I do with this one since I am the "more is better" queen.

Still feeling pretty good

We leave in 4 days. I am still not worried or stressed. I think I stressed so much in the beginning that I don't have any more stress in me. I will also credit my daily exercise with the calm, cool, and collected feeling I am experiencing. I'm waiting for Todd to start losing patience with me about getting all of our stuff together. All I have to do is pack our things. That won't take very long and it is something I am going to do Wednesday. He took off Wednesday so we can get all of the last minute things done. What he doesn't realize is that I am the "behind the scenes" girl. I've made sure that we have everything we will need for the baby. I've taken care of the electronics we are packing. I am responsible for getting the gifts for the people in China. I've been doing a lot!

Well, he is out mowing the yard and I just heard the lawn mower stop so I had better get off the computer!

Saturday before

OK--it's crunch time, right? I should be running around like a chicken with my head cut off. That is not how I would describe my attitude right now. You know the feeling you get when you've had two or three glasses of wine: that feeling where you think you can take on the world, like you want to jump up on a table and dance? That is how I feel right now. I can't explain it. I am the one who is usually freaking out, but I am so laid back it is scary. I guess I feel like I am getting ready take the trip of a lifetime and I am not going to waste one damn minute worrying! I am going to take everything in stride and enjoy every blasted minute of this ride! I know there will be trying times, but we have waited so long to get to this point and I just can't help but be super-excited! I don't know if you realize this, but this time next week we will probably have Lilli. Crazy! I'm ready! Bring it on!!!!!

Now, about the plane ride . . .

OMG--6 DAYS!!!

Does anyone know how to lose 40 lbs. in 6 days? LOL! I got a disturbing call from hubby dear today and he is extremely anxious! I thought I was supposed to play that role? I am amazingly calm! It is actually kind of scary. I told my friend yesterday that I really can't think about what is getting ready to transpire too much. If I do, I get nervous and anxious and I am not useful to anyone in that state (least of all myself). For right now I am basking in my "cool as a cucumber" state. I'm even going to get in the pool for awhile here in a minute. Someone in one of my groups mentioned that she is not obsessing about the trip because it is only two weeks of the rest of her child's life. That made so much sense to me and really put things into perspective. So, I am going to relax and enjoy the ride! Now ask me how I'm doing before I get on the plane! Ha!

Location of N. Korea

I just checked a map of the world. North Korea is connected to China, but on the north side and the only time we are going to be close to North Korea is on the 15th and 16th--we fly out of north China on the 17th. Thank goodness. The farther away I am from that lunatic, the better!

Hey Barb! Three posts today!

Weather in Wuhan

I just checked the 10-day forecast in Wuhan, China, and the temp the day we arrive will be 95 degrees with 77% humidity. Everyday between now and the 17th it shows rain. Ugh! And I can't wear shorts!

Here is a pic of the province so you can see where Wuhan is in relation to the rest of the country.

This time next week . . .

I will be on a plane headed for China! We should be somewhere over Russia at this point (I hope). I need to check our tickets again, but I think we land in Tokyo on the 14th at around 1:00 P.M. or so. We have a two-hour layover and then a four hour flight to Beijing. If I calculate correctly, the flight from L-ville to Chicago is about an hour. We have a two hour layover in Chicago and then a 12-13 hour flight to Tokyo. That is equivalent to going to Vegas three times. I can handle it! I'm just concerned about the time change and becoming acclimated to it. We don't get into Beijing until 8:25 P.M. (that is A.M. here) on the 14th. We do some heavy-duty sightseeing in Beijing on the 15th and then we head to Wuhan to pick up Lilli on the 16th! We don't actually get her until the 17th, but that gives us a day to prepare in the province. I don't know how long the flight is from Beijing to Wuhan but I am guessing 2-3 hours. That flight will be cake compared to the Chicago-Tokyo flight! I'm rambling at this point.

We had dinner with our good friends Tom and Karen and their little girl, Tomi Li. They are the ones responsible for getting us into this mess! LOL! We got all kinds of packing tips tonight and they are going to let us use their money belts. I am going to look very cute in that thing! I didn't realize how prissy I really am until this trip. I thought I was made of tougher stuff. I have a feeling that I am going to be learning a lot more about myself in the next several weeks.

I gotta tell you that this nonsense in North Korea is making me a bit uneasy. I believe China and Korea are VERY close to one another if not right next to each other. I just hope that Korea's crazy dictator keeps himself sane long enough for us to get to China and get back! Holy Moses! That guy is a loon!

I'm also starting to get a little nervous about our homecoming. I know people are going to want to see Lilli and I am going to want to show her off, but we have to make sure that she has bonded with us before we start parading her in front of everyone. I think I want to impose a CALL FIRST order before people come by and I think I may put a note on the door as well. I have been doing a lot of reading about bonding and attachment and I feel this will be the best thing for our family. Tom and Karen even suggested that I say that on our answering machine (the Call First order). I also think we will have to play that one by ear and I am always flexible. She is going to dictate a lot of what happens. We will just have to see!

One more thing . . . I think instead of spelling her name Lilly, I am going to spell it Lilli. It seems to fit better though I am not really sure why! I hope this doesn't screw up anyone's monogram plans! Ha!

Well, I'm off to download more songs onto my I-Pod. I copied 128 songs from CD's yesterday. I figure I have 18-20 hours on a plane and I don't want to run out of soothing music! Now all I need is my Valium prescription!

8 days and counting

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We had the fam over for swimming and a cookout. There wasn't much swimming because of the rain, but the food was good! And we had plenty of it, especially sweets. The kids are all breaking in Lilli's toys for her. I can't believe the places that we found toys last night! They were EVERYWHERE!!! I guess I need to get used to the clutter of toys. I bought a big, wicker, storage chest that is going to be Lilliana's toy box. I am going to try to keep all of her toys in it. She got a play grocery store for the shower and it has a spot in the living room. I am trying to get "over" that but I am afraid it is going to find its home in the basement! I'm sure I'll mellow a little as time goes on; we'll just have to see.

I have been working on the finishing touches of her room today. The bumper pads need some alterations and I am currently ironing the curtains for her room. I washed the bed clothes as well since they have been on her bed since about October! I figure a good once over everything is in order.

I am going to have to repack Lil's clothes AGAIN! Our agency sent us a packing list from someone who has already been to China. They gave pointers on what to bring vs. what not to bring. Todd is all about this list and thinks that we must follow it to a "T". He also spent over an hour on the phone with a state trooper who just returned from China. Apparently he gave Todd a list of items as well. Todd thinks we should buy all of the clothes for Lilli when we get over there. I don't feel comfortable with this and feel we should pack a few things. It does seem silly (even to me) to lug a bunch of stuff half way across the world if I can buy it when I get over there, but I have my heart set on dressing her in things that I have picked. Where is the happy medium? My question is if we buy everything over there then don't we have to bring it back? Maybe what we'll do is buy stuff for her over there and then donate it to an orphanage before we fly home, that way we will have lots of room for souveniers. :)

I am going to try to get my house straightened up before Todd gets home. He is like a tornado when he comes in. He leaves things everywhere and then starts ranting and raving about the house being messy! It can be quite unnerving, but what a cutey when he gets aggravated!

11 days and counting

Lots of things going on! We went camping this weekend with our good friends Jason and Linda. I wasn't too excited at first, but I slowly came to enjoy it. There are a few things I would change, but we'll save that post for another day.

We spent a good chunk of today finishing up Lilli's room. We hung the border and arranged the furniture. Todd hung some pictures and shelves and I continued the task of doing laundry for her. I took down the curtains to wash because they have been hanging for almost 9 months and they were probably dusty. We have kept the door to the nursery closed since the furniture and bedding arrived so dust is minimal; I still want everything to be clean when we come home.

We received our itinerary while we were gone. I haven't looked at it yet but I do know that we go to get Lilli on the 17th at 9:00 A.M.--that will be 9:00 P.M. on the 16th for everyone here at home. We'll be making phone calls so don't go to bed! LOL! We also received the cost for the intra-China travel arrangements. One word -- OUCH! Our idea that this adoption was going to cost less than $20,000 has gone by the wayside. We have been able to save some money, but everything seems to be costing more than we thought. Oh well. It will be worth it. We do find it funny, however, that they wait until you have the photos of your child before they get serious about travel costs!

I'm still trying to pack. I have a few more items to purchase, but I think I have everything we need. I think Todd and I are going to share a suitcase. By share I mean I will have at least 3/4 of the suitcase and he will have whatever is left when I am done. I am still having a shoe crisis. My rash is getting better (I went to the dr on Friday), but I still don't see how I am going to get around less than 3-4 pairs of shoes. I have resigned myself to the fact that I am only taking 4 outfits for myself. I also don't think I am going to take all of my make-up. I think I'll take the basics and be done with it.

The 4th of July is in two days. We are having the fam over for swimming and a cookout. The pool water temp today was 86 degrees--bathwater! It was awesome! I hope it stays nice, but I think it is supposed to rain on Tuesday. We'll see!

14 days and counting

It has been almost a week since I've posted anything. We are busy getting everything organized, packing, etc. I started packing Lilli's stuff tonight and I just don't know how I am going to get everything in one bag. I am packing her stuff in the "big" suitcase and it is almost full. I subscribe to the packing philosophy that more is always better. I am going to have to abandon that philosophy for this trip. I have been threatened to not take more than two pairs of shoes. This is going to be very difficult for me. When my brother got married two weeks ago, I took six pairs of shoes for three days. I like to have options. I had planned on taking a pair of tennis shoes, my Dansko's, and a black pair of walking sandals to China. Unfortunately I have developed a rash from one of the pairs of shoes so now I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm trying to determine which pair of shoes is causing the rash. I had a similar occurance a few years ago with shoes. My mom is allergic to the glue used in shoes and has to be really careful when she buys shoes. I think I may have inherited this from her. I'm just hoping that it clears up between now and China. If not, I'm in big trouble!

I had my teaching license professionalized today. It was a pain in the butt, but I'm glad I finally got it over with. Now I have ten years before I have to take any more classes.

The shower went well on Sunday. There were tons of people and it was mighty hectic. I felt bad that I didn't get to spend more time with everybody. I think it may have been better to have a shower with friends and then a shower with family. Live and learn. We're still trying to clean up the house and get things put away. I have done enough laundry in the last 24 hours to do me for a lifetime--I know, I know, get used to it. If one more person says that to me, I may punch them in the face! I told Todd that we have a new category for laundry. We have whites, towels, light colors, dark colors, and now PINK! I did three entire loads of nothing but pink--pink and white, pink with flowers, pink with bunnies! When I cleaned the lint tray on the dryer it was PINK! I thought I had done a pretty good job of avoiding this girly color. Guess I haven't done as well as I thought! Oh well. Little girl clothes are just so darn cute!

Well, I think I've BS-ed enough for one evening. Todd wants to use the computer and I am only writing to appease my mil (LOL)! Just kidding Barb!

I'm off to repack Lil's clothes for the FOURTH time!

Travel arrangements have been made

We just booked our international flight to China. OMG--that one hurt the wallet! We leave the 13th of July and return the 26th! Gotcha day is the 17th. How crazy is that? In less than 30 days I will be a mom.

We have been running ourselves into the ground getting everything ready for the shower on Sunday. I've tried convincing Todd that all of this work isn't necessary, but he just continues to punish himself. I'm done. I'm cleaning the house tomorrow, but I am NOT doing anything extra for Sunday. He'll just have to deal.

I think I am coming down with a cold. I've got that scratchy throat/rundown feeling. It could be that we have been working our asses off.

Peace.

P.S.

I will be 33-years-old two months from today! Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . .

Nothing new

We are in full "get the house ready for company" mode. As I type, I should be out draining the large pond so Todd can pressure wash it tomorrow. One can only take that fishy, dead animal smell for so long. I did have to actually get into the mucky water about ankle deep; there was a fish caught in the filter basket and I had to save it. The lengths I go to for animals! I also got to pick up one of our frogs. It startled me at first because he (she?) was lying on its back. I thought, hmm, that is a strange rock. When it moved I realized it wasn't a rock. I approached him cautiously and scooped him out of the fish net. We stared each other in the eye and then I put him in the small pond. I think we have a real bond!

Well, I was just telling my buddy Linda that it hasn't sunk in yet that within a month I am going to be a mom! It's just crazy. We were laughing at Todd because he has been so cute about the whole thing. I think he called everyone on the department yesterday to tell them we had travel dates. He is going to be a great dad. I'm a lucky girl.

The fish are calling me and Sherman needs to go out so I'm off to do some more fishin' and froggin'!

We have our TA!

We received our TA this afternoon. Looks like we are tentatively leaving on July 13. Our agency is requesting our CA for the week of July 24. So really we could leave sometime during the week of July 13. No firm dates yet but it is good news that China has approved us for travel. I guess my bitching and moaning got their attention! LOL!

Another poopy day at summer school. Imagine a group of 17 of the most unmotivated kids in the world. That paints a fairly accurate picture of my class. What is so frustrating about them is that they are all intelligent and capable of doing the work, they just choose not to. I am checking their folders and many of them are simply not completing their work, or they are completing just enough work to get half credit. It is completely insane. They are playing the same game in summer school that got them in their current position. I just don't understand. There is a quote from the movie 28 Days that I love. It says, "the meaning of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." I know I wasn't the most motivated student but these guys are ultra-lazy. They make me look like a dynamo!

I'm off my soapbox.


I was trying to find a photo of someone lazy and all I could find was my hubby sleeping with my nephew, Aidan. The is an accurate photo of my students from where I am standing at the podium. He is going to kill me!

Travel approvals are coming in

. . . just not ours! Many other agencies are sending their people travel approvals. The travel approval (from here on known as the TA) is when you get approved to travel in China. We will receive tentative dates but still won't have anything in concrete. It will probably be a few days after we receive the TA before we know firm dates. Once the TA is out, then we have to wait for our CA (Consulate Appointment). This is the big one and travel will be scheduled around this appointment. It is probably the most important appointment we have in China, after receiving the baby. Unfortunately, I have no idea what we do when we meet with the Consulate, but I've heard that we have some kind of swearing ceremony (I ought to excel at that).

On another note, the pool is filled and the pump is running. It is SO quiet. It looks awesome. I will be adding chemicals to it before I retire for the evening.

Summer school only lasts for 8 more days. Our last day is next Thursday, not Friday like I had originally thought. Yee-ha! My kids were turds today and I came very close to asking one to leave. Why do they have to be such a-holes sometimes? Oh well. I think Todd wants to hand the border so I best go. He's a bit disappointed in me this evening because I took a 3 hour nap. It felt SO good and refreshing, though! I have told him that I do NOT want to get into doing a bunch of work before the shower. We always bite off more tasks than we can chew before we have an event at the house. I'm determined that we are NOT going to do that this time. He is fighting me tooth and nail. I guess I should be glad that he wants to make the house look nice. We'll see what we get done!

The most beautiful baby in the world!!!!!!!!!!!

Breathing a sigh of relief . . .

Well, the big wedding is finally over and life can return to normal for a few short days. It was a beautiful weekend and it was awesome to see my family and spend some time with them--I miss them! The pool has been installed as well--we are filling it as I type. And, only two more weeks of summer school. The shower is Sunday and hopefully we will know our travel dates by the end of the week. The boards are saying sometime between July 9 - 15. Works for me; I just want my daughter. I bought two of the cutest outfits this weekend in Chicago. I just can't help myself--girls clothes are too cute and if I go in to a store, I get sucked in by the cuteness. My granny told me I better "cool it." (I went shopping with her Friday.) When I got back to the hotel Todd was a bit disturbed that I had purchased more clothes. I told him I was done and looked at me a bit incredulously. I really shouldn't buy any more clothes and I don't plan on it at this point. I have been spending money on this kid as if it grows on trees. Can you say the word spoiled?

Well, I haven't been home in four days so I am going to veg-out for a bit and then retire to a comfortable bed!

Summer School blues . . .

OK, I'm over teaching summer school. I have a good class, but I am ready for it to be over. I had to harass my students a bit today because they were getting lazy.

We have mailed our visa applications! We had to go and have more passport photos made. They are flippin' expensive--$16.00 to have two 2 X 2 inch pictures made for both of us. Also, we found a courier service in Chicago that will take our application to the Chinese Consulate. I was so hoping that I would not have to make a day-trip to Shytown. There are only5 Chinese Consulate offices in the U.S. There is an office in Chicago, D.C., Houston, San Francisco, and another location that I'm not sure of.

Still no pool. We are not supposed to get any rain this week so hopefully on Thursday or Friday of this week they will finally install it! If they don't, I cannot be held responsible for my actions!

Peace . . .

The most beautiful baby in the world . . .

Ahhh, finally . . .

I spent 5 hours shopping for a dress!!! 5 HOURS!! It was pure insanity. BUT, I finally found a dress, no, THE dress for the wedding. I look so good in this dress that I will probably upstage the bride! LOL! All kidding aside, when I put the dress on it was like the dress had been made just for me. The saleslady (who was the bomb-diggity) had to pick up her chin off the floor when I walked out of the dressing room. She even put one aside for herself. It is an awesome feeling to have that one large item off the checklist of things to do. Now all I have to do is find shoes . . .

Nothing new on the adoption front. We are working on filling out our visas. Lots of signatures and adresses and more passport photos! It is a never-ending maze of paperwork around here. We have guides for every aspect of the adoption laying around the house. Absolutely crazy!

We did have a major meltdown at the house today. Things were going fine and I was on the floor loving on the dogs. Todd decided to join in. Our lab is just a big old baby and he doesn't realize his size or the power behind his legs. He does this thing where he flips over on his back and stretches his legs; what he really wants is for you to rub his belly. Well, Todd was on the receiving end of one of his stretches and he got it right in the face. That sent hubby dear over the edge. He thumped Boom one good time on the nose (the poor dog is wondering what the heck is going on) and the tirade begins. He starts ranting about how if the dog does that to Lilly then he'll have to find some place else to live. I went OFF! I thought we had an understanding that we were going to be patient and work with the dogs. We have had many constructive conversations about how there will probably be some scratches and rough play and that every creature in this house is going to have to come to an understanding about the other ones. I just will NOT have a small infraction on the dogs' part be the end of them in our house. They are my babies as well and I know if we are patient, everything will work out. The dogs will have to learn their place and we will have to teach Lilly that she must be respectful of the dogs. Harmony in the house is really up to the two of us. We have to create a climate where the dogs are not jealous of Lilly and that they realize that she is a couple of notches higher than them in the pack. On the flip side, Lilly is going to have to learn that they are dogs and that they need respect, too. She will have to learn how to play properly and when she is to leave the dogs alone. I really, really want it to work with the dogs; I just need my husband to be a partner with me and believe that we can make it work. Oh the trials and tribulations . . .

I was very good on my shopping outing today. I did not purchase one thing for the baby. This is pretty incredible since I have purchased something every times I have gone out in the past several months--I mean EVERY time! I desperately need to go to BRU and register for a few more items. I checked our registry and found out that several of the "big" items have been discontinued. One day at a time.

Having a bad day . . .

I'm having one of those days. I haven't felt good; I've been nauseated since we had dinner last night. I think I may have gotten hold of something bad. On the phone with my buddy Amy, I burst into tears. She thinks I have an upset tummy due to nerves. She could be on to something. I don't know what it is. The flip side is that I will probably shed a few pounds since I'm not eating anything.

Todd brought me back to reality today. He commented that we have been so busy doing things around the house and preparing for the wedding that we have lost sight of what our most important priority is right now. I couldn't agree more. I've been obsessesed with finishing the ringbearer pillow and now I have to concentrate on finding something to wear. I have to be super careful about my attire because my mom will have a cow if I don't wear something she deems appropriate. I'm sure that is contributing to the upset stomach. I've been all over creation this week and haven't found anything I like or remotely would consider wearing. What I need to be doing with my time is preparing for Lilly instead of worrying about things that are not going to matter in a few days!

Tonight I spent some time babyproofing the kitchen. Todd is going to shit when he comes home and finds the drill in the kicthen. I installed several cabinet locks and I think I did a pretty good job! There is only one cabinet that I had to drill two sets of holes; I placed the latch too high. He becomes very uncomfortable when I want to use the power tools. There have been a several "near death" experiences involving myself and power tools (drills, saws, etc.) I am not afraid!!

Nothing much else to report. I've been reading the travel guide this evening. It has made for some interesting reading.

Another long night . . .

Tonight has been a very busy night. We went to Target to register and I have worked on the shower invitations practically all afternoon. There were 23 new e-mail messages with about half of them coming from our agency. All kinds of new stuff is cropping up and it is beginning to get a bit stressful. We found out today that we have to go to Chicago to get our visas. As luck would have it, we will be in Chicago next Friday for the big wedding weekend. We are hoping to take care of the visa situation while we are there. If not, then I may be making another trip. It just feels like every time we turn around there is another fee or something that needs to be notarized or what not. I don't think anybody has ANY idea how difficult this road has been. Sometimes I feel sorry for myself and wish that we hadn't picked this path. Then I look at Lilly's pic and I know we are doing the right thing. It can be overwhelming when everything has to be completed by a deadline and there is only so much we can do in a day. I think today is one of those days when I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. Sigh.

I know people don't mean to be hurtful but there have been some things said regarding us having a shower that have rubbed me the wrong way. My sil informed me that a family member doesn't understand why we are having a shower with no baby. My sil is AWESOME and totally backed me up by saying that we would be having a shower if I were pregnant. You go, girl. I just think people don't know how to handle the adoption and lots of people are really excited but they really don't know how to channel that excitement. I know everyone wants to see the baby but it may be awhile after we get back before Lilly is comfortable being around people. Heck, it may be awhile before anyone other than Todd and I can hold her. So now I'm sitting here with this information and questioning why we are having a shower and wondering if other people are going to feel the same way as this family member. Todd says I shouldn't care, but I do. A shower is essentially a party that I am throwing where people bring me gifts. It feels funky and uncomfortable. What upsets me is exactly what my sil said, there would be a shower, without question, if I were pregnant. I've never been a conventional person and I haven't changed that in regards to starting my family, but there are some things that are traditions and having a baby shower for your first child is a tradition--adoption, bio, stolen, whatever! I just wish people could understand how their remarks and opinions are insensitive. Maybe I just need to grow tougher skin.

So that was a brain-fart of a paragraph. I don't think I ever made a point. I'm in a state of confusion as to whether I should have this shower or not. Oh well. My dog just passed gas; it smells like bologna.

The real fun is starting . . .

I bought the cutest shirt for Lilly today. I just couldn't resist--it was on clearance. Anyway, we received the first e-mail from the "travel team" with our agency. Probably the biggest shocker is that there is a $2000 "Province fee" that we were oblivious to. Todd is NOT happy. In addition, we had planned on wiring the $3000 orphanage donation to China but Lilly's province does not accept wired money. My question is how will they know the difference? So it looks like we will have to take $5000 in cash with us to China. Not only do we have to take the money, but the bills have to be new or like new. Again, why? It doesn't make sense, but we've come this far so there is no backing out now. It's just been a weary road and the only thing that is going to make us happy right now is the travel arrangements.

The buzz in the groups is that we are not going to be traveling until the end of July. I am surprisingly not bothered by this. Everyday brings us closer to having her so I am not so concerned about when we go. I just want some concrete dates.

One post tonight did concern me a bit and it was about vaccinations. I checked the CDC and WHO and no vaccinations are required for China. One of my travel buddies was talking about vaccinations and I haven't had any. Some people get vaccinated for hepatitis. This hasn't been something that has been pushed by anybody in the organization and if it were extrememly important I think getting vaccinated would have been more stressed. I think my mind is working double over-time and looking for things that could go wrong at this point of the game. I would feel like dog doo-doo if that kept me from going to China!

I've lost my mind!

Remember how excited I was to have the whole summer off? Well, about an hour ago I accepted a position to teach summer school. Our principal called me and asked if I would be willing to do so. I think this is a blessing in disguise. The money will really help and I will make a shit-ton of it teaching summer school. We have been on a spending frenzy lately and I have been extremely nervous about living on one income. We have also bought some VERY BIG TICKET items (new pool) that we probably should have waited on. I got a call this afternoon from one of my peeps and he mentioned that they needed another English teacher for the first session. He said my name came up as the person to do it. Then, I was at the funeral home this evening and talked to my assistant principal and she said that it was a definite possibility. I thought about it and it wasn't a hard decision to make. I feel bad sitting on my tush all day when I could be bringing in an income. It is only for 4 weeks and I will have plenty of time to get ready for China. Summer School goes from 8 - 12 so I will still have almost the entire day. Plus, I think I am a better person when I have some routine and structure in my life.

One of the ladies in the June group who is in China right now has her "Gotcha" day video posted on her blog. It brought tears to my eyes. Todd and I watched it and we can't believe that will be us in a few short weeks. Still no word on when we will go. Our acceptance of Lilliana went to China on Friday. It will still be a few weeks before they give us the dates we will travel.

Here is the blog for "California Vicki": pomafamily.blogspot.com. She has also included travel logs covering her first few days in China. Be sure to watch the gotcha video! Have some tissue handy, especially when you read her journal!

Sleepless in Jeffersonville

Another sleepless night. I've been up since 3:30 A.M. Don't really know why. I think I may have restless leg syndrome.

Nothing much to report on the adoption front. We are busy preparing for Lilly's arrival. I have now found it easy to refer to her by name whereas before I thought that was incredibly odd and it felt funny to say. This evening I told Todd to put some items in "Lilly's room". It felt good to finally be able to say that. I'm totally babbling, but I guess it is better than my usual middle-of-the-night snack when I can't sleep. Speaking of eating, I have given up peanut butter permanently. I gave it up for Lent and it has been a PB-eating frenzy since Lent ended. I think I'm addicted and I really don't want to be forced into joining PBEA (Peanut Butter Eaters Anonymous). I'm giving it up . . .

We saw The Break-Up today. It was OK. My mind kept wandering and I couldn't concentrate on the movie--probably why I can't sleep right now. We have SO much we need to do before the baby! Right in the middle of all of our excitement, my brother is getting married in two weeks. I still need to find something to wear and something for Todd to wear. It is funny how I am now responsible for dressing two people and soon I will be responsible for dressing three! The really funny thing is that I have absolutely NO sense of style. I know what looks good together, but I can't accessorize to save my life. I love the necklaces and jewelry that everyone is wearing right now and everytime I get dressed I think to myself that my outfit could use some jewelry. What's a girl to do?

So, I'm cross-stitching the ring-bearer pillow for my brother's wedding. In true Lorie style, I waited until the last minute to start it. I'm about 3/4 of the way finished with it but it is still one of those things that weighs on your mind. As soon as I get that done I am going to concentrate on finding something to wear to the wedding. I'm feeling a trip to Value City!

We had dinner with the Godparents of Lilly Friday night. We had to go to Indy to have our fingerprints updated (do fingerprints change?) They live in Logansport and met us on the north side of Indy for dinner. We ate at P.F. Changs (how appropriate). It's a Chinese restaurant. Todd and I arrived several hours before them and spent the afternoon shopping at the Fashion Mall. That was a great trip! Todd the Spender came out to play and did we have fun! I bought a pair of sandals for China--my first pair of Dansko's. We also got sucked into buying an oil burner and some oils at the Body Shop. It smelled awesome! We bought Michael's wedding gift and of course some things for Lilly. I finally went to Gymboree. I didn't think it was all that expensive. Of course I was looking at the clearance racks!

OK, REALLY babbling now. I should probably end before I embarrass myself.

I wouldn't use the word bored . . .

Daunted might be a better word. There is so much to do that all I find myself doing is watching T.V. This is my 2nd full day off and I am feeling the pressures of having an open schedule. There is so much that I want/need/have to do that it can feel a bit overwhelming. Watching soap operas and Titanic for the 500th time would be so much easier! (Thank God for HBO!!) I know a healthy amount of vegging is OK but there are things I actually need to do and I think that Todd is counting on me to do. This is sad, I know, but I don't like to do stuff around the house alone. Sounds corny, but it is true. I like it when we (Todd and I) work in the yard together or clean house or whatever. I know Todd doesn't begrudge me the time off that I have; I completely earn everyday I have off in the summer. I also know that he doesn't mind if I stay in bed all day every once in awhile. It's just that right now we have A LOT going on. If he comes home from work and I haven't done anything he will be disappointed. Not mad, just disappointed that an entire day has been wasted. I think some of that stems from my previous mental state as well. He worries that I will have a "relapse" if I am sitting on my bum all day doing nothing. So, when he comes home today he will find the house cleaned, two new posts on our blog, laundry going, and dinner plans in the making. I don't guarantee that I will be this productive every day, but I am making an attempt.

OK, so I am bored already!!!! Cut me some slack! It will take me a few days to get into a routine and then when Lil comes home I'll have to readjust again!

Still floating!

We are still on cloud nine! We have pictures of Lilliana EVERYWHERE!!! I am a complete mess. I went to lunch with my good friend Amy yesterday and she asked if I was "on" something! I've completely lost my mind. I'm scatterbrained, punchy, etc. It is really crazy. We sent our acceptance letter to China that we will indeed adopt Lilliana. Things are rolling in the right direction.

Well, nothing much to report. We are beginning the task of babyproofing, finishing the baby room and doing LOTS of shopping. I went to Target Friday afternoon and spent over $200 on baby stuff. One thing is for sure, we are going to get Lil out of those pink pants and blue shoes and into something more suitable for an angel! I can't wait to have her here!

Hubei Province

Our little beauty is from the Hubei Province in China. Here is a map of the province.
The orphanage is in a town called Wuhan. It is apparently the biggest city in the province. I've also included a picture map of
China to see where Hubei is located in the country. I totally jacked these pictures from the June DTC Yahoo group! Anyway, we will know when we travel in another 3-4 weeks. Hopefully it will be soon after that time frame! I can't wait!

P.S. There are only 6 people in front of us to have their pool installed! Woo-hoo!

Lilliana Li Ting Hollis

I forgot to include her name! She is going to be Lilliana Li Ting Hollis and we are going to call her Lilly.

Here she is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That wasn't so hard. This is our little beauty! I get giddy looking at her--I can't believe she's mine! We got a message from our agency saying that they believe we will have completed our travels by July 31! Things are moving so fast! We also found out that she is a little stubborn and high-spirited! I'm so excited to hear that. I thought I saw a little bit of mischief in those eyes! Anyway, if you look at the middle picture you will see a flying hamburger. We have no idea what that is all about but we have had such a laugh over it. We also think she looks like a linebacker in the middle picture because they have so many layers of clothing on her! It is hysterical! The toy she is riding on also has a moustache! Where do they come up with these things?! My mom said we will have to giver her some fashion lessons. Don't they know that hot pink and red don't match? LOL!

We are just completely in love with this little baby! I get goosebumps every time I look at her!

What a day!

Today has been a whirlwind of activity! We have been on the phone for the last six hours and have had a constant flow of people at our house. I must say that I am completely exhausted! We have been going nonstop since I got home this afternoon.

I was so amped up when I got home that I had to put on workout videos to deal with the stress and energy. Then I tried to lay down for awhile--still couldn't calm down. Finally I took a book out on the deck to read. I was getting comfortable when Todd yells from the upstairs window that I needed to get my butt back in the house. I grabbed my book and ran upstairs to the computer. There it was, the referral e-mail. We did a 1-2 click and up popped an e-mail saying we have a daughter. We clicked on the pictures and this little cheeky girl is looking at me. It has taken me awhile to absorb everything but I can't stop thinking about her! I think she might possibly be the most beautiful baby in the world.

Still haven't figured out this picture thing . . .

We have a daughter!!!!!!!!!

Her name is Han Li Ting. She is 14 months old and has black fuzzy hair! I think she is quite a beauty! We will receive the rest of her information tomorrow. I'm going to work on posting pictures tonight!

Bingo was his/her name-o

Bingo may end up being his/her name-o if we change our minds one more time! I do think we have come to a decision about the name. We will post it as soon as we know the sex.

Non-adoption related items: We had our trees serviced yesterday. What a hoot. There are three HUGE maple trees in the back yard that provide lots of shade (and helicopters). The problem is that one of the trees provides shade for our pool and garden. We don't want shade in those two areas. I couldn't bring myself to cut it down (nature lover) so we decided to have it "topped". The treeman said he would take a third of the tree--I heard a third of the branches. It looks like a really bad haircut. There are NO branches whatsoever. It is little more than a naked stump. But, I got what I wished for--no shade for the pool or garden.

Nothing much else to write about. It is 4:21 A.M. -- having a little trouble sleeping. Today is our day!

Still matched!

I must correct a mistake I made in a previous update. It was actually Judy who decorated our house! Both she and Karen have been extremely helpful throughout this whole process. We would not be where we are today if it hadn't been for them. I still remember when we went to the Great Wall seminar at the library. I will never forget when Todd looked over at me and said, "You know we're doing this." Of course this was after Karen and Judy brought in their beautiful babies for us to see!

It looks like our paperwork is getting closer to being here. We cannot wait to see our little one's face!

Busy, busy, busy

Today has been a whirlwind of activity! We have had so many phone calls and visits--I'm feelin' the love! My sil, Angela, stopped by this afternoon--she is so excited! When I got home,
Todd was waiting under the carport. The first thing I saw was pink balloons on our mailbox. Then I saw the streamers and balloons on our front door with a note; all the while
Todd is snapping pictures. Our EXCELLENT friends, Karen and Judy, had stopped by to decorate our house and wish us congratulations. They have both adopted from China. Judy has two beautiful daughters and Karen has one gorgeous beauty and is waiting for #2--she is LID 6/20! I'm going to work on posting pictures tonight since I will get to post the photos of our little angel soon! The reality of it all STILL hasn't sunk in!

Stay tuned for photos!

We're MATCHED!!

At 6:45 this morning we got a call from Karen, our regional office representative, saying that the CCAA had matched through June 15. We are JUNE 9!!!!!!!!! We have a baby--the stork is flying over the Pacific right now!! Our agency e-mailed us this morning to let us know that they expect to receive referrals on Thursday or Friday of this week! They said they would call us when they have them in hand and e-mail pictures and everything else we needed to know. Then they will make copies of everything and send us the original. We should have that next Tuesday.

I was pretty much in shock this morning. I was fine until I called my brother and talked to his wife, Melissa. I started boo-hooing when I told my good friend Amy. I've been fine otherwise. I don't think the reality has hit me yet.

We'll keep ya posted!

New rumors

First of all, I am going to blow a gasket today. My students are being poop-heads. I know they're just excited about the end of school, but so am I and I don't want to put up with their BS. Boo-hoo, I know. Cry like a baby!

On to more important things--the latest rumor from Spain is saying that the cutoff date for referrals is June 15. They are also stating that referrals will be mailed next Friday and we should know something the first week of June. I want everyone to remain calm!!!! Most rumors from Spain have not panned out. I'm about 90% certain that we are going to be in the group, but I don't want to count my chickens just yet. Lots of people are upset on the June board. I wish they would remember that the Spain rumors are not that reliable and to give it a few days! The next week is sure going to be interesting!

6 days of school . . .

6 more days! I couldn't be more excited. I think I'm worse than the kids right now! We got a call from Walnut Ridge today saying that there were 34 people in front of us to have their pool installed. All I can say is that they better get crackin'! I'm not too worried. I'll have most of July, some of August and almost all of September to enjoy the pool. Heck if it's a warm year I may even get into October.

On the adoption front there is still NOTHING! Everything, all the boards and even our agency is being VERY, VERY quiet. It is almost scary. By this time last month there were lots of rumors flying around. I checked the Rumor Queen and she did not have much to say that would affect me. She did say that one agency told people who were logged in in October of 2005 could expect their referrals sometime in May of 2007! May of 2007!!! That is PURE INSANITY!!!! The Rumor Queen is not happy as she was logged in in September of 2005. I have decided that our next child will NOT be from China unless they can get things going a little faster. We were actually talking about #2 today. I think we have set our sights on Viet Nam. The wait is shorter and the babies are younger. I have a feeling that when we get #1 we will begin the paperchase for #2. I think I want another girl and then #3 will be a boy. Todd wants a son. We may try In-Vitro for that one or maybe for #2. I think we ought to get #1 before we make any big decisions.

We still haven't decided on a name. Lilly is Todd's favorite. I like Sophia. We both like Lucie. Lilly is REALLY popular among Chinese-American children. I have other names that I like, but Todd is pretty dead-set on Lilly. He is being quite inflexible with the name. I mentioned pairing Lillian with Abigail to make Lillian Abigail _____ (chinese name) Hollis, but he poo-pooed that idea. We are going to have to come to some kind of decision. I think it would be much easier if Todd would just let me pick the name!

Well, my spirits are high (could be the beer I had earlier) and I'm just waiting for "the call". Hope I have good news to report soon!

15 more days of May

Sometime in the next 15 days I am going to get a call saying, "Congratulations! You have a _____ (probably daughter)." I will know how old my child is, I will know what he/she weighs, and I will have a photo. All of this agonizing waiting will be over! Then the real fun begins. I'm starting to get cautiously excited. There is still a part of me that thinks we will miss the cutoff again this month; that is the cautious part.

I checked the Rumor Queen a moment ago and it doesn't look good for families who logged in after us. One agency is telling their July people to plan on an October referral. OCTOBER!!!! I would absolutely hurt someone. Another agency is saying that they expect this next batch to get most of June. Good ol' Great Wall says the CCAA has the potential to complete two weeks worth of referrals (a very political and noncommittal answer.) That is kind of a good thing about GW. They are extremely cautious about what they say and how they say it. They also said that they expect referrals to be mailed the week of May 29. Again, they really don't know this for sure they are simply speculating based on the previous months. If may 29th is the case, I will probably know which child we have been matched with during the first couple of days in June. I can wait--heck, I've already waited an extra 6 months! What's another few days?!

Please keep us in your prayers that we make the cutoff this month! I really think Todd is going to go insane if we don't get our referral. Remember that last month they went through June 6 and we were logged in on June 9!

Until later . . .

11 days and counting

Only 11 school days left. I am so ready! I don't think I've ever been this pumped about the summer. I think it is because I have NEVER taken off an entire summer. I have always worked at least one summer school session and last summer I worked both sessions. Essentially I did not get any time off last summer at all which means I have worked for a solid year. I know the people with "real" jobs have no sympathy for me (mom), but I am so burnt out and so over being a teacher for this year. The awesome thing is that I will leave NAHS on Friday, May 26, and not go back as a teacher until January 2007 (most likely).

No new rumors. I think I reported that Spain is saying the cutoff date will be June 20. If that is true, then our friends Tom and Karen will be traveling with us. Their LID is June 20. I hope that happens for them and for us. It would be nice to be in a foreign country with people we know, especially someone who has already been to China. I'm not getting too excited yet because Spain has not been correct with any piece of information. We'll see.

I keep trying to imagine what it will be like to be on a plane for 16 hours. I am wondering how I will handle the enclosed space of the plane. I'm not claustrophobic, but I can see myself freaking out on about hour 5 or 6. The longest flight I've been on is 4 hours to Las Vegas. I think I will ask my doctor to prescribe me some Xanax or Valium or some kind of mood altering drug to get me through the long flight. I've also been wondering about going over a couple of days earlier than needed to get used to the time change before we turn our world upside down. Lots to think about!

That's all I've got.

Still nothing newsworthy

Another week and nothing new. It was Derby this weekend and that is always fun. I picked the winning horse and the horse that came in second. That was worth a whopping $60!

I was reading the June DTC board tonight and someone said their agency expects referrals to go through June 21. I don't really care how far they go as long as they get through June 9! I've had several freak-out moments in the last couple days thinking that I may be a mom in a few short weeks. Eek! I still don't know how I am going to handle that. The word "mom" still scares me a little bit. I guess that is what pregnant women go through as well. It is interesting how many parallels there are between adopting and pregnancy (with the exception that my pregnancy is about to enter its 12th month!) Ha!

I planted my garden tonight. I am trying several new things this year. I'm growing cucumbers and watermelons. I hope I am successful. We had to build some type of deterrent for Boomer so he won't trample the garden. I knew the task was beginning to get on Todd's nerves. One of the funniest things about Todd is that he gets angry so quickly. It is never targeted at me, but he gets angry at inanimate objects that won't cooperate. I always know when he is about to blow a gasket: he makes this face and starts taunting the object. It used to really bother me but now I think it is H-I-larious! If the taunting and face making doesn't work he begins to "rough" up the object and treats it quite sternly. Lastly, if all else fails, it seems that throwing the object and cussing at it might make it come together. It is at this point that I have to turn around and pretend to be doing something else or else I might laugh and make him angrier. Sometimes after I have given him a sufficient cooling off period I can kid him about his temper and we have a good laugh. Then we have to go and look at the object to see if it is still useful. (Often, the fit of anger renders the item useless.) Tonight it was the fence we were putting up around the garden to keep out the dogs. We'll see how well it keeps out Boom. That dog is a crafty one!

So, we're still waiting.

Nothing new

There has been no activity since referrals came in last month. At this time, there aren't even any rumors to speculate about. It is only May 1st, but I can't help but think that this is MY month. Only 30 days left of May and only 17 days of school left. How sad! I haven't really had to work in the last 2 months due to my student teacher. There had better be some good news before the school year is over. I so badly want to stand up at our final faculty meeting and share my "celebration"! Hopefully I will have something to share!

Getting excited again

I thought it would really bother me when the other June DTC people started posting their referrals on the boards. It has actually done quite the opposite! I got excited and nervous and giddy about receiving our referral. We just have to be next! The ages of the babies is really exciting, too. The ones that I have seen so far have been very young. Several have been 6 months old! I can only hope that we will have the same luck. There was one set of identical twins as well. The oldest baby listed was 16 months old. All of the babies have been girls! That's pretty good! I told Todd tonight that we need to kick it into high gear and finish getting our stuff together. I still need to find a pediatrician and there are several things we need to purchase. One day at a time.

On another note, I do not have school tomorrow and I am planning on going to the Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse! I'm very excited.

My Big 'A'

No, not my ass--my attitude. I was feeling pretty down about the news (when it finally sank in) and as I was leaving the grocery today I ran into my dad. He would always tell me that attitude is everything. Our code was "Get your big 'A' up" which meant that I needed a little attitude adjustment. Dad always knew when I was feeling sorry for myself and would say this phrase to me. It used to infuriate me, but today it was just the kick in the pants I needed. God certainly does work in mysterious ways! Anyway, dear old dad helped me realize that this process isn't over, only temporarily delayed. By golly we have to be next!! There are only two LID's in front of us. Aren't dads the best?!

Not so disappointed

Well, we haven't received the official word from our agency yet, but the CCAA is reporting that they have finished matching families whose dossiers were registered before June 6th. Being June 9th I'd say we are definitely not in this group. I think it is fairly safe to say that we will be in the next group, but I am not betting on anything these days. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to the amount of dossiers the CCAA is getting through. I'm thinking that May 31st must have been a really large group. What really bothers me is that our agency hasn't informed us yet of anything. I got all of this information from the CCAA website. I was under the impression that they informed the agencies first and then made it public knowledge. I must say that I am very disappointed in Great Wall.

Soooooooo, it looks like I will be going to my brother's wedding and attending July 4th festivities at my aunt's cabin. If we travel before August I will be VERY surprised. I never would have thought that almost a year after our friend's returned from China we would still be waiting. I'm not sure we would have gotten involved in this had we known. Our wait time will be 11 months on May 9th. Crazy, I tell you. Sometimes I gotta wonder if this is a sign from God; that maybe we were not meant to be parents. Or maybe God is testing us. Who knows.

Well, we're off to wait another month!

More waiting

We thought today was going to be the "BIG" day. According to our agency, China was to send referrals today. I guess something happened because now they are expecting referrals to be mailed on Wednesday or Thursday. The rumor sites are reporting that the cutoff date is June 6th. This is an unconfirmed rumor from Spain and their track record isn't very good. They were the ones who said the last batch of referrals would go through the middle of June. Keep your fingers crossed!

On pins and needles

Our agency sent us an e-mail yesterday saying that they were not sure when the cut off would be for the next batch of referrals. They said that this batch should include all of the people logged-in on May 31 and the first week of June but that they still didn't know if this would include June 9. Our agency doesn't have anybody logged-in between May 31 and June 9. There will be a lot of unhappy people if the CCAA only sends our agency enough referrals to supply one log-in date. I will be surprised if we are in this group. They are supposed to let us know today if we are included. The e-mail seemed to be leaning towards no; there was just something in the way that it was worded. We will have to see. . .

I just figured out that I can play with the font color and type. Woo-hoo, it's the little things . . .

My heart fell to my feet . . .

I nearly lost my afternoon snack today. We received an e-mail from Great Wall stating that they still had nothing to tell us, they can confirm that the CCAA will be sending referrals for those families registered on May 31, and that they cannot confirm if the CCAA will send referrals for families registered on June 9. I about died--there was our LID on the referral update. Todd was sitting at the computer and began pointing at the screen with a bewildered/shocked look on his face. Then we read the message in its entirety. I had to read the message several times to make sure I had the correct information. The long and the short of it is that we still know NOTHING and neither does GWCA. The next several days are going to be tough. We are so close and living in the world of unknowns. I am not getting my hopes up but at the same time I am preparing myself for referrals. I told Todd that if we get our referral we have to kick our asses in high gear! We still have a lot to do before we go to China!

Message from GWCA

We received an e-mail today from our agency stating that they expect to receive referrals this week but that they still don't know which LID's will be included. The chat boards are going crazy! Most other "big" agencies are saying that the CCAA will get through June 3. Technically, this is the first week of June. June 3 is a Friday so the next day will be June 6 and then us, June 9. I don't think there are too many people logged in on June 8 and I haven't heard of one person being logged in on the 7th, although I'm sure some of the more obscure agencies have that LID. Anyway, I still don't think I will be in this group. Miracles do happen, however!

On another topic, my allergies are in FULL swing! I haven't stopped sneezing since 5:00 this afternoon! It is driving me absolutely bonkers! I had to make a mad dash to Walgreens to get some allergy meds. I forgot that they now have that BS pseudophedrine law where you can only buy so many pills a week. As I'm wheezing and blowing my nose I have to fill out a form in triplicate, get fingerprinted, and give her the secret handshake--all for a 24-pack of pseudophedrine. I just wanted to stop sneezing! It was miserable. God love the drug dealers!

More rumors . . .

I am typing on my laptop in bed so there may be more typos than usual--LOL! Today's rumor is that the CCAA is only going to fill referrals through June 6. That is pretty on par with what has been happening in the last several months. I'm OK with this news, if it turns out to be true. It means we won't travel until July at the earliest. I hear Beijing is HOT, HOT, HOT in the summer. Oh well! What can we do?

Since I've had a student teacher I have been in and out of other classrooms. I subbed for our ENL (English as New Language) teacher and had the opportunity to talk to several students who are from China. They were telling me where we should go when we are in China and teaching me some words. It was a hoot. What was really funny was the kids who were from Mexico and Afghanistan trying to say the Chinese words! Again, absolutely hysterical I really enjoyed being around all of those multicultural kids.

Back to the rumor--one of the positive things about getting a later referral is that I will be able to go to my brother's wedding. That has been a real booger of late. Unfortunately the purse that I bought for our daughter to take to the wedding will not be used in the manner in which it was intended. I had really hoped that we would get to see her toddling down the aisle with Alex and Emily as a flower girl. We will just have to wait and see. Nothing is set in stone yet and we have heard nothing official. Hopefully we will have some info in the next several days. Things are too quiet on the boards . . .

New information

We received an e-mail this morning from our agency saying they expect to receive referrals by the end of next week. I just don't feel that we'll be in this next group. I want to be in this next group, but I just don't think it is going to happen. The "Rumor Queen" has posted that one of the big agencies said that they believe the CCAA is going to send referrals through the first week of June. I have been searching in vain for a calendar to see if, perchance, June 9 is in the first full week of June. I know there are LID's of June 2, 3 which means the 4th and 5th are weekend days. Then there are LID's of June 6, 9 and 10 with the 11th and 12th being the weekend. The next LID is the 13th, but I'm not as concerned with that!! With that same logic, and if the rumor of filling only a week is true, we will definitely not be in this next batch. Nobody really knows anything until China sends the referrals. I think it is looking like late May for us.

I better have something before the end of the school year. I don't know what I will do if I don't. For those who know me I may have another episode at the end of the year school party! Ha! Not happening!

I think I may bite the bullet and hang the border in the baby's room this weekend. It is fairly feminine and as soon as I hang it, we'll be referred a boy! That is just my luck. I've been thinking of ways to make it less feminine. The set that we are using was coined as unisex, but I wouldn't have picked it if we were having a boy. It is Sir Leapsalot from Babies 'R Us. It has a frog prince and princess and uses lavender, pastel green and pastel yellow. The border is more celestial and I think we could pull out the stars and use more of the yellow and green than the lavender if we had a boy. We painted the room light green. Any thoughts?

No news to share

We just received word from our agency that they have no news about referrals. Our rep e-mailed a message to families yesterday saying they have no news to share, but that they expect referrals by the end of the month. Isn't that news? She didn't give specifics about who would receive referrals but I have a feeling that only May 31 will receive them. I think it is dangerous to think we will be in this next group. We should be in the next group, but I'll believe that when we see it!!

Adoption Lingo

I thought I should take a moment and define some of the terminology I have been using in my previous posts, so here goes . . .

Dossier -- this is the packet of information we had to collect to send to China in order to adopt. In this packet are our birth certificates, marriage certificates, fingerprints, security clearance, and anything else "official" you can think of. Each piece in the dossier had to go through three different government offices to be authenticated. They first went to our local government in the form of notaries; second they went to the state to be certified; and finally they were sent to Washington, D.C. to be authenticated. Collecting these documents took about 4 months.

Homestudy -- this is when a social worker came to our house and asked us all kinds of questions about our personalities, childhood, married life, etc. We met with her four times. Twice individually and twice as a couple. She looked at our house and made suggestions on how we could make our house more child-friendly. In the home study we had to include photos of our house, which room would be the baby's room, the two of us participating in our hobbies, and anything else we deemed important. We also had to have complete physicals and be up to date on all of our vaccinations. Our medical histories are also included in the home study. Two copies of this 18 page document (I think) are included in our dossier.

DTC (Dossier-To-China) -- This is the day that our agency, Great Wall China Adoptions, sent our completed dossier to China. When we finished collecting everything for our dossier, we sent it to our agency to be quadruple-checked. Our DTC was May 27, 2005. This date doesn't have much significance to the adoption process. It is more of a checkpoint/turning point for the adoptive parent.

LID (Log-In-Date) -- This is the day China (CCAA) received our paperwork and the clock officially began ticking. Our LID is June 9, 2005.

Referral -- The referral is the information about our baby. This is what we are waiting for!! In the referral will be several photos of the baby we have been matched with, his/her medical history, and what the child's personality is like. Hopefully we will be receiving ours soon! Once we receive our referral, we will travel to China in 6-8 weeks.

CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) -- this is the government office in China that handles ALL adoptions. This is also one of the reasons why we chose China.

Hope this clears things up for people!

The latest news

We received interesting information yesterday regarding how many dossiers were logged in our date: 31. Not too bad. If you add the 21 dossiers on May 31, that is a total of 52 referrals all together. It's possible we'll be next. Unfortunately, other agencies have dossiers logged in from June 1 - 8. Lots of people in the groups are posting information about how many dossiers their agency has on those early June dates. It doesn't look like there are a huge amount of dossiers but I have a feeling that it will be enough to keep us from getting our referral by the end of the month. Is it only April 5?!

I announced to Todd this evening that I was NOT celebrating Mother's Day this year if we do not have our referral. I figured last year would be my last Mother's Day without a child. Who needs Mother's Day anyway? It is a holiday that Hallmark created and everyone has played right into their devilish hands! All of the card buying and gift giving! Bah humbug! I can do without it, of course until I can actually celebrate that day! Then I want all the hoopla--brunch at the Seelbach, diamonds, flowers--oh yeah!

So, we're still waiting. Only 3 1/2 more weeks of this month.

Magnolia Doll

I just received a doll for our baby called a Magnolia Doll. She is a soft Asian doll and is she ever cute! I was so excited when I opened the package. Todd wasn't as excited as me, but he made the statement that the doll was going with us to China. Gosh I hope this baby is a girl! I've got an entire room full of girl stuff.

No new rumors today. I did read that the May 31 group is large as well as the June 2 group. We are June 9 so who knows. That is all.

Spring forward!

Well, we turned our clocks up an hour this morning. I've felt rushed all day. I can't believe that it is 10:30 P.M. already! No new news on the adoption front--still waiting! I did have some "kid" therapy this week and had a chance to get away from all of the adoption nonsense. I visited my older brother, Rob, in Georgia last weekend and got to spend a lot of time with my niece and nephews. I also visited my grandmother in south KY with my younger brother Michael. We took his fiance' to all of the sites in southern KY including my favorite spot--Cumberland Falls. Hopefully the next time I go to the falls, I will get to take my child. It was raining very hard while we were at the falls and on our way out of the mountains, we saw a rainbow. It was the biggest rainbow I have ever seen. Maybe it was a sign!

Call me crazy, but when we were in Georgia we went to a place called Tallulah Gorge State Park. It is a 900 ft. drop into a river and they have waterfalls (I love waterfalls.) Anyway, we hiked to the bottom of the gorge and went across a suspension bridge. The video I took is hilarious because I was freaking out! The bridge was shaking, bouncing, swaying, etc. I kept accusing Todd of teasing me by causing these motions, but he claims innocence. I took a bunch of pictures of the waterfalls from the suspension bridge and when we looked back at the pictures there was something very interesting in one of the photos. In one of the rock formations in the middle of the photo it looks like a little Chinese girl's face. I swear it is eerie. To my credit, Melissa said she could see it as well. I will have to post the picture. I think that could be another sign; either that or I have officially lost my mind!

I went into the baby's room before posting this evening. My sister-in-law gave me some clothes and the cutest pair of black patent leather shoes. I love to go into the room and look at all of the clothes that we have so far. Todd made a joke that at the pace things are going, some of the clothes I was afraid I wouldn't get to use because of the seasons may work after all. It is good that we haven't lost our sense of humor. I think if our LID date was later the delays would be bothering us more. We just have to be close at this point. There are only 10 LID days in front of us. If we aren't next, then we have to be after that. I keep telling myself that anyway!

Another month to wait

We got official word from Great Wall yesterdeay that the cut off date in China was May 30! They only filled 5 days worth of referrals! At this pace, we will be lucky to get a referral in July! I surely hope we don't have to wait that long. I don't know how I am going to get through this next month. If the CCAA continues to only fill days worth of referrals, then we should plan on a June referral and hopefully travel in July. I do like how referrals have been coming at the end/beginning of the months. The next batch will most likely come the last few days of April. Amazingly, I am OK with the news. I'm a little shocked, but I am OK with it. I think there is still so much I want to do before we go. I definitely need to lose some weight. The room isn't finished and I don't have everything I need. That brings me to another topic and that is the shower. Do I go ahead and have the shower or wait until we get a referral? So many unknowns. I'm just shocked that I am not going crazy. Oh well. What can we do? Todd isn't handling the news very well. He feels like something is drastically wrong. I think I may have created that monster because someone on the June board was speculating that that might be the reason for the slow down in referrals. I mentioned this to Todd and has this idea stuck in his head. So, we're off to wait another month. The CCAA will need to fill 10 days worth of referrals for us to be in the next batch. They have May 31 through June 9. I don't even want to speculate!

The rumor mill is ON FIRE!!!!!

Oh boy! The rumor mills are alive and well today. I'm thankful to be a part of Great Wall who are always conservative and never give us speculation. People in the June group are going crazy. The latest rumor states that the only people who will receive referrals are the rest of May. The rumors are coming from two other agencies: Holt and another agency that I can't think of. Great Wall sent us an e-mail around 2:00 stating that they were aware of the rumors but that they had not heard anything from the CCAA indicating that only May LID people were getting referrals. I believe Great Wall said to take the rumors with a grain of salt. Until I hear from Great Wall, I will not listen to rumors. Until next time!

We received our "Places Everyone" e-mail today! We are definitely in the Matching Room and the second group on deck to get referrals through our agency. This doesn't really mean anything, however. We still don't know when we will get our referralor if we will be in the next group. The nice thing is that we should know something in the next two weeks. If we are not in the next group, we HAVE to be in the group following. I can't imagine waiting another month, but I have absolutely no control over the situation. I am at an amazingly calm place right now. I don't know if I'm trying to protect my heart or what. I'm going to go with it! It's nice not to be super-stressed for a change!

I've come to peace with the fact that I probably won't get to go to my brother's wedding. He is getting married June 17. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be in China then. Hopefully it doesn't work out that way, but if it does, so be it. Like I said, I've come to peace with the situation.

Nothing much else to report. Still waiting.

Lorie

It is March 7, 2006. We had hoped that by this time, we would already have our child. Unfortunately, or should I say because God has a plan, we are still waiting. We have had several blows in the last couple of weeks. We thought that the CCAA would at least send referrals for the rest of May. They only sent referrals for May 17. Then, we were certain they would send the rest of May, but they only sent through May 25. So now we are stuck on the cusp of the next group. I want to believe we will be in it, but I am protecting my heart from the disappointment. After the last bit of news I was ready to throw in the towel and forget about ever becoming a parent. Thank goodness Todd is a patient man. He has to deal with my "over-reactions" quite a bit! I tell you he is a saint. Anyway, I know that this adoption is going to work out. I know that we are SO close. I know all of this, but I am ready to be a mom!

We should be receiving what Great Wall refers to as a "Places Everyone" e-mail. This will show us where we really stand. I sure hope we don't receive diappointing news again!

Until next time!

Still Waiting

We are still waiting. China has all but come to a stand still with referrals. They have been dragging the month of April out since October. We should have or should be in China right now! When we found out that we were going to be waiting longer, we had to accept it. What other choice do we have? We can't be mad at anyone. But still, it is frustrating and aggravating. I'm sick to death of people asking me about when we're going to China. I DON'T HAVE A CLUE! I know we'll get there, but we are SO close and I am having a hard time dealing with the suspense.