Merry Christmas...an Update

I haven't posted to our "baby blog" in many months. As the reality of the wait bagan to sink in, it was discouraging to say the least. After many late night discussions we decided to proceed with renewal of our USCIS approval. We have completed the paperwork necessary for our home study update and once we have a visit from our Social Worker this weekend, we will be ready to apply for an extension of our I600A.

I came across this song a few weeks ago on another waiting family's blog and was so moved by it. It was written by a member of the band Third Day while he was waiting to bring his daughter home from China. I have shed more than a few tears listening to it, but it is beautiful none the less.

I imagine we will have at least two more "waiting" Christmases...but we are looking forward with optimism to the great joy that awaits us at the end of this very long road.

I will...

A new batch of referrals came out this week and the CCAA has finished matching families through January 31, 2006. These families waited over two years to see the face of their child for the first time. One family had the song "I Will" by the Beatles playing on their blog...and as I read their good news and saw the sweet face of their new daughter, I was so moved by the words in this song. So turn up your speaker and be moved along with me...

To my precious daughter~

This wait is turning out to be more difficult than I ever imagined. My heart and my arms ache to have you home with us to complete our family. While I may never completely understand the reasons for the wait, I know that once we see your face and hold you for the first time, we will know that we were waiting just for you...and so wait...I will.

Love,

Mama

It's been 10 months...

...and we continue to dream of the time we will be back in China to bring our mei mei home.

If you look closely, you will see a double rainbow...the view we had from our front door on Sunday evening...that has to mean something right??

Am I Delusional?

A new frock to while away the wait...

I figure I will either have a well dressed child...or make a bundle on ebay. Yes...that's the smallest hint of doubt about the adoption creeping in little by little as the months go by with no speed up in sight....

A rug to build a room on (and 9 months!) !

Update: Uhhhh......yeah.....Wendy politely pointed out that we are celebrating our 9 month anniversary instead of the 10 month anniversary I loudly proclaimed yesterday. I have no excuse for my faulty arithmetic except for the fact that I am on vacation and blogging is challenging....and there was probably a little wishful thinking thrown in for good luck! I was intent on getting the post up and trying to watch Lia at the same time. So.....9 months down.....and so many more to go... :-)

As we mark the 9 month anniversary of our Log in Date in China, we remain excited and happy that we will someday welcome our second daughter from China! This week, I found the most precious rug while I was antique shopping with my sister. Although the colors didn't photograph very well, the main color is a peachy pink that will be perfect for our nursery! This was special for me as the first thing I bought for Lia's nursery was a rug as well. Rug....done! Next up...bedding!!

Happy Mail and Good Wishes!

At some point I plan to begin a formal collection of quilt squares for our mei mei's 100 Good Wishes Quilt. Since our wait continues to grow with each passing month, I have not been too worried about getting started just yet. But when Kim e-mailed and asked if I would like a quilt square, I was touched...and of course took her up on her offer!

We received her beautiful square and wish this week. It is the first official wish for our daughter to be. I had to cry just a little when I read the wish and saw the lovely fabric. This wait is difficult...but it's moments like these that help me hang on to our dream and have faith.Thanks so much Kim!

...and so we wait...Month 8!

Thank you all so much for taking part in my baby name poll! We had so much fun with it! I planned to take it down when we had 25 votes, but I think we were up to 76 when I composed this post. Of course my friend Laura admitted she voted several times for her favorite...which I am pretty sure is the case with my family as well (and you know who you are!). I had to resist the urge to jump in myself and vote a few times! We have not made any final decisions yet and I may just reconfigure the name poll at a later date and take votes again.

For now, we celebrate the passage of 8 months since our dossier has been registered in China. To put it into perspective...we received Lia's referral just a few days short of our 8 month LID anniversary. I think that fact has made this particular month a hard one for me. I recently entered our information into a referral date guesstimation program (based on mathematics and the current referral data) and if things continue as they are, we can expect to see our referral on August 10, 2015...give or take a few months. Thank goodness they add that little disclaimer at the end. (:-)) I do expect the referral rate to speed up at some point and I don't really think we will be waiting until 2015...but for now, the news is dire and really hard to fathom!

Despite the pessimism and sadness we sometimes experience, we realize what a precious opportunity we have been given. We are honored and humbled that Chinese officials will bestow upon us (pending review, of course!) the responsibility to raise another of their own daughters. We are thankful.

...and so we wait.