9 months down...

Well, in any normal pregnancy, we would have our bags packed and awaiting that "honey, it's time to go to the hopsital" moment. But in this pregnancy, we are still waiting, waiting, waiting. The news for the January 2008 referrals doesn't look good ~ just another 5 days to 12/19/05. Here's hoping that 2008 will bring many many months worth of referrals!

We had a great Christmas visit with Brian's family. There were presents galore, and everyone seemed to enjoy their treasures.

Brian's mom is the best mother-in-law. In the Christmas cards that we send to the family that we are not going to see over Christmas, I write "We'll be home for Christmas, if only in our dreams." To the family that we are going to see, I write "Please have snow, and mistletoe, and presents under the tree." Well, the weather was very mild this year, so there was no hope of a white christmas. M&D got a new puppy this fall, so they did not put up a tree since Tuffy would have knocked it over. So M went out and bought a package of mistletoe so she could at least have one thing I "asked" for! Thanks, M!

We will start our paperchase for renewing our 171H in mid January. We'll have to do this every year until we bring Ladybug home. More fun! Please keep up the prayers for a speedy referral so we won't have to renew more than twice!

Wishing you a very happy, healthy 2008,

:D

A Season of Waiting...

Well, we are now in our second Advent of waiting for our Ladybug. Last year, we were finishing up our paperchase and getting ready to send our documents off to China. This year, we are just waiting. They ways things are going, we will spend the next two to three Advents waiting. It has been an interesting adventure in patience.





We will start the process of renewing our paperwork after the new year. We have to keep our I171H current, or else we have to start all over again and fall under the new rules. Hopefully it will be a lot easier since we did it last year.

Also, if you have quilt squares and wishes for the 100 Good Wishes Quilt, please send them along! I am getting very close to having 100 and would love to have your squish in the quilt! I hope to have this as my late winter project.

Christmas preparations have been coming along. I have just about all of my cookies done, gifts are wrapped, and cards are out. Hopefully after this weekend, I'll be able just to sit back and enjoy the season!



Hope you are having a very blessed Advent season!
:D

Back from Disney!

We had the great opportunity to go to the happiest place on earth this fall with Brian's sister and her family. It was a great escape, and even though we hit 4 parks in 4 days, it was very fun. We visited China in EPCOT, and had the cast member write the name we selected for Ladybug in Chinese in my autograph book. He also added "Dreams Come True" in Chinese. We looked at all the cool stuff in the gift shop, and created a "wish list" of the real stuff when we go to the real China. We also got to watch the Dragon Acrobats ~ young, talented kids from China doing amazing acrobatics.

We also took in shows and rides, and had a great dinner at the Crystal Palace with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. I am so glad that we were able to share our niece and nephew's first Disney trip with them! Next time we visit, we hope that Ladybug has just as wonderful of a time.

We are now 7 months into the waiting process. Nobody has any idea on how long the wait is at this point. I've seen predictions that we could receive a referral as early as late 2009 or as late as 2011. So we just sit and wait and prepare as best we can. Keep up the prayers for a sooner rather than later referral date!

Hope all is well with you and yours!
:D

6 months down...

This wait is so crazy! On the one hand, time seems to be standing still until we can bring Ladybug home. On the other, I can't believe it has been over a year since we started the process, and six whole months of being officially "in line."

We are still holding hope that it will be sometime in 2009 that we travel to China, but at this point, nothing is certain. It seems so funny that when we first started the process, we were concerned that Brian would still be in school trying to finish up his MBA with a little one crying in the night. He'll be finishing up in May 2008. Then, we were concerned that we would be traveling to China around the Olympics. The only glimpse of China we will get in August 2008 is from NBC's coverage of the Games.

We still believe that our little girl is somewhere out there. We pray every night for her birth mother, who may or may not even be pregnant yet.

Thank you for your continued support. It is a long haul, but we are hunkered down for the wait. We'll see what news the next few months bring us. But in the meantime, we'll just enjoy life as we know it while we can!

:D

New Favorite Band

So, every once and a while I get an urge to listen to country music. Maybe because it reminds me of working at Schramm's in High School, maybe because it reminds me of summer nights star gazing with my dad, maybe because God wants to give me a message. Last year it was Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel" when we were trying to decide to go with adoption or not. Then it was Rascal Flatts' "My Wish" when I started working on the 100 Wish Quilt Scrapbook. I'm using the lyrics throughout the scrapbook to tie it all together. Now, in the midst of my despair, once again Rascal Flatts comes to the rescue with "Stand."

Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend 'til you break
'Cause it's all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe you hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand

So many cliche's come to mind, and frankly I am just about sick of all of them. But this song really touches me right now, and I've heard it so often that I know it's God's long distance dedication to me.

Thank you all for your prayers and support in this difficult time. I truly don't know what I would do with out you.

Keep the positive vibes for a speed up!
:D

Four Days...

The new referrals are on their way. The CCAA has posted that they include folks LID through 11/25/05. That is four days worth of LIDs this month. Last September, they were referring folks from July 2005. That means they have done less than 4 months worth of referrals in a calander year. We are currently 16 months behind the front of the referral line, which means if things do not pick up, we are lookng at 4 MORE years before they get to us. This does not take into account the 5 months of "official" waiting that we have already put in.

Please keep mega prayers coming for the process and for our sanity.

D

Where did August go?!?

August has been insane for our family! The first weekend had us playing host to family visitors. We had a very fun weekend touring the 'burg. We painted some pottery and saw how doctors in the 1700's treated patients. Who needs HMOs? The picture is from this fun weekend!

The second weekend we traveled to Indianapolis for my cousins' wedding. It was a beautiful day and it was so great to see the family again. Since we are scattered all over the US, it is extra special to get together like the good old days!

The third weekend we made an unplanned trip back to PA for our friend Paul's funeral. He suffered for many years with his health, and died surrounded by his family. He and his wife Dawn are good friends, and we hold them in our prayers during this difficult time. Our niece was also baptized that weekend in PA. We weren't planning on making the trip, but since we were up there, we were able to celebrate the baptism with them.

This weekend is catch up weekend! We are busy with house work and yard work, and trying to stay cool in 95+ degree weather. We had a FCC Waiting Families dinner on Saturday. We met up with three other families in the area that are also waiting to adopt from China. They are all much further ahead of us, and with fewer people choosing adoption from China, soon we will be the only waiting family! We'll just have to have our own dinners! :)

We are truly hoping September is a much slower and cooler month!

Hope all is well in your part of the country!
:D

Home Coming!

We had a wonderful weekend visiting our dear friends in PA. We went up to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with Paul and Dawn ~ it was AWESOME!! (Can't wait till the book comes out this weekend.) We also went to the Cherry Festival for some good carnival sausage, fries and deep fried Oreo cookies.

We had a lovely dinner party with "family" from our Church. It was so great to catch up with everyone. Geoff and Sue's house is just perfect for a relaxing dinner by the stream!

The picture is my little pic of Americana. This is the square in our old home town where the Cherry Festival parade is staged. (3 hours of fire trucks, marching bands, floats and of course the Cherry Queen and her court.) The chairs in the foreground ~ they were set up about a week and a half before the parade to save the spot. That is one of my favorite quirks of the town!

No new news on the adoption front ~ still waiting, waiting, waiting. At this point, no news is good news. Please keep your prayers coming for a speed up and our sanity!

Hope all is well with you!
:D

Sneak Peak!!

We have the nursery just about done! I love the room. It is a little pink for Brian, but as we add wall hangings, it will tone down!

The Ladybug in the bed is a gift from Brian's Aunts. She is just keeping the bed warm until Ladybug can sleep there.

We are also keeping our eyes open for another lavender window panel. I thought one would do the trick, but we need two, and Lillian Vernon is not carrying them right now. We have a cute sheer with appliqué butterflies and dragon flies on it, but it is a little long, and I don't want to fix it until I know for sure which panels are going to hang. CRAZY!

We are painting our room this weekend, and have ordered our super cool bed. That should finish up the major indoor projects. Yea!

Phantom of the Opera was incredible last weekend. We left early in case there was traffic. We got up to the District early enough that we killed some time at the Natural History museum looking at the dinosaurs and gems. Then we had a fantastic lunch at the Kennedy Center Cafe and enjoyed a spectacular vista on the terrace. We could see the Washington Monument, Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, the Pentagon and the Potomac river. How cool! Then we went to the Opera House to watch an amazing performance of Phantom. Our seats were great and we had a wonderful time.

We'll keep you posted!
:D

3 Months Down...

... who knows how many to go! The CCAA is now predicting at least a 2 1/2 year wait, possibly up to 3 years, or more. Many rumors as to why, but the one I believe most is that they are trying to put on a good face for the world for the 2008 Olympics. They publish that 1/5 of adoptions are international and 4/5 are domestic, so I think they are trying to force the numbers to match the "ideal." Sucks to be us stuck in the PR machine.

So any ideas you have to pass the time, we are certainly open to them. The 100 wishes quilt is slowly progressing. I have about 25 squishes so far. Keep them coming!

We went to Siena's first birthday party last weekend. We took our nephew Ben with us, and he had a fantastic time. The picture is of him giving Siena a Happy Birthday kiss. How sweet!

We go to see Phantom of the Opera tomorrow at the Kennedy Center. I am so excited!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
:D

Welcome, Miss Belle!

I was fortunate enough to be in the delivery room as my sister and her husband welcomed Isabelle Marie into the world today! She made her debut at 10:33 AM, and weighed in at 7 lbs 12 oz, and was 19 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great!

Now let's hope that we get Ladybug soon so she and Belle can be best of friends! We hope to hear sometime this week from the director of our agency about the meeting that she had with CCAA officials last weekend. We hope one of the topics of discussion was realistic wait times and what is being done to shorten them.

Keep you posted!
:D

Thank You, Becky!

This GORGEOUS quilt was made for Ladybug by my friend Becky. The dedication on the back of the quilt says: "For Ladybug ~ When your wings have carried you home." Isn't that the best?! I hope you can see all the different ladybug fabrics she found. How blessed am I with such talented, caring friends?!

I am still collecting squishes for the 100 Wish Quilt. Thank you to all who have sent their squish already. There is still plenty of time to send one in if you have not already.

We finally got some good news this month - the USCIS (Immigration) has made a ruling that those who have to renew their I-171H (Permission to adopt an orphan from overseas) after 7/30/07 can do so free of charge! This is a $600 fee that will be waived! YEA! Let's just hope that we only have to renew it once and not twice! (It is good for 18 months, and we got ours in January 2007.)

Well, I hope to continue to share good news with you! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
:D

Hang in there?

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! Perhaps this wait will go quickly after all!

May has been very busy. The first weekend found us at a family reunion in PA. It was great to reconnect with some family that we haven't seen in a while. The cuties are my niece and nephew, who I love to spoil.

The second weekend was graduation weekend at the university I work for, so I was quite busy getting student records ready and helping the graduates line up and get their regalia on straight.

This weekend was the neighborhood yard sale. It was an early morning, and the sales were slow, but I got to spend some good time with Siena! I helped her mommy get things set up and torn down.

And of course, the yard work keeps us hopping! We will sod part of the back yard next weekend, and hopefully get our back yard up to par.

The news for the month was quite depressing. (VENTING ALERT!) Although no one knows for sure what the time line is, we are now in uncharted territory for wait times. The next group who will receive matches have been waiting 19 months (since November 2005), and there is no indication that that wait time will go down any time soon. Our agency told us that they now expect wait times of 18 - 24 months. Sometimes I think that we will never get our referral! Of course that time line could change if the CCAA decides to do several months at a time, but NO ONE KNOWS.

That is the most frustrating part of this process. When we started our journey last summer, all indications were for a 9-10 month wait ~ about the same as a natural pregnancy. Now things have ground to a halt, and we are fully emotionally and financially invested in this process. If we pull out now, who will look after Ladybug? (I guarantee that if we did pull out, the wait times would drop to 5 months!) If we adopt from anywhere else, or by some miracle get pregnant, we are automatically disqualified from China. It just seems so unfair! I just want to be a Mommy ~why is that so hard to accomplish?

As you can see, May has been busy, which is good. June will also be busy with getting the nursery prepared ~ watch for pictures! Please keep up your prayers for a speed up in referrals, and for my sanity! :)

:D

One Month Down!

We have one month of waiting behind us! I only wish we knew how many more to go. There seem to be two camps out there now ~ one that says 16-18 months after LID, and one that says 3-4 years after LID. Our agency told us 16-18 months, so that is what I am holding onto. Please keep the prayers coming for a speed up!

We've started getting quilt squares in. This is going to be an awesome quilt! I will be collecting fabric all through the summer, so you still have time to go fabric shopping! I had such a hard time choosing fabric for the fabric swap that I am doing with my Feb2007DTC Yahoo! group ~ so many great choices! Just to recap ~ send a 8"x8" square of fabric to be used in the quilt, and a note with your wish and name on it. The note can be as elaborate or as simple as you want it to be. A lot of the notes I've gotten so far have been on card stock, but any paper will work.

We have been enjoying Siena in the meantime. She is growing bigger every single day, and coming out of her shell. She has captured our hearts! We'll get lots of great tips from her Mommy and Daddy.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
:D

L I D !!!

We received word today that our dossier was logged in (LID) on March 30, 2007! WHOOOO HOOOO! We already have 3 weeks of wait in! The agency is still holding to 16 months from LID to referral, so hopefully by next summer we will have some really great news!

I feel like DTC was like taking a home pregnancy test, and LID is like having it confirmed by the doctor. It is just so wonderful to know that our folder did not get lost and was not rejected, and is now sitting on a shelf waiting to be reviewed!

From what I understand, they have through March 31, 2006 reviewed and ready for matches. They are at October 26, 2005 for matches. So keep up the prayers for expediency! They need to start doing at least a month of matching each calendar month for the 16 month wait time to become a reality. Adoption math!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

Love,
:D

100 Wishes Quilt

We are still waiting to hear of our LID. The CCAA only did 2 days worth of referrals this month, and our agency missed the cut off by one day. So we probably won't hear of our LID until May. Keep up the prayers for a speed up in the process!!!

In the meantime, I am going to start Ladybug's 100 wishes quilt. It is a northern Chinese custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby. Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part of the cloth can go into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric.

If you would like to contribute fabric for the quilt, please send a 8" x 8" square and a swatch of the fabric attached to an index card with your wish for Ladybug. The fabric can be any color or pattern that appeals to your eyes! I hope the quilt and the scrapbook will help pass the time!

If you need our address, please leave a message and your email address in the comment section and I'll send it to you.

Have a blessed Easter season!
:D

Waiting to Hear

I was waiting to post until we heard that we are officially "logged in." This is the date that our official countdown clock starts. Our agency told us that we are probably already logged in, and we just have to wait for notification, but it is still nice to know that we are official and there wasn't something missing from our dossier. The referrals are late coming this month (they could have come as early as yesterday, and they are not in yet) and we hope our LID (log in date) notice will be with the batch of referrals.

Brian called our dossier consultant this week to ensure that things were moving as they should. (apparently my word wasn't enough! :) ) She assured us that everything is OK. She was still promoting a 17 month wait at the most. She seemed to think that things will slow down for a little bit, then it will pick up again to an 8 month wait. We are just caught in the goofy spot that it will still be a 16ish month wait. Who knows! The best we can do is get everything ready and hurry up and wait!!

Fingers crossed that we learn our LID this week!
:D

Kisses in the Wind

My friend Priscilla found these Chinese characters on line. They translate to Ladybug. No doubt that they will find their way into the nursery!

I've been cruising the information superhighway looking at other folk's blogs and websites. There is so much good information out there, and it is amazing to sit and read your very own adoption story on a perfect stranger's website! It is an incredible feeling to know that I am not alone.

I found this awesome poem on a site, and wanted to share it with you all. It captures so much of what I feel, and it is great imagery until we can bring Ladybug home!

Have a great week!

:D

KISSES IN THE WIND

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.
--- Unknown

Getting Braver!

Ok folks! Now that I am less afraid of the blogging world, I have now set Wings for Ladybug up to allow comments from anyone! You don't need to have an account with Google. I will have the option to post your comment or not, depending on how appropriate it is.

We received ANOTHER batch of paperwork in the mail today. Not fair! I thought we were done with the paper chase and had nothing left to do but wait.

So we will spend the next couple weeks filling out these supplemental forms. I think we answered all the questions during our home study, but I think the larger agency wants to have it documented on their forms. Fun, oh fun.

Mark and Carol are enjoying their time with Siena in China. I know they are anxious to get back stateside to familiarity. I am anxious to meet the little cutie!

Well, that's the big news of the day!
:D

Siena's Coming Home!

Our friends Mark and Carol are on their way to get Siena tomorrow. It is almost 9:00 PM Monday, which means it is10:00 AM Tuesday in China. They are probably on their way to the orphanage!

They have waited such a looooong time, and we are just thrilled for them. They have several days of bonding and sightseeing, paperwork to fill out, medical exams and somewhere, find time to sleep!

They will be back at the end of the month, but it will be a while before we can visit. Siena will need time to get used to her new home and parents before new folks are introduced. So while they live literally right behind us, it will seem so far away until they call to invite us over! But it is worth the wait.

We are anxiously waiting to hear about our LID (log in date.) This is when our clock will officially start ticking. We've heard 16 months, and that is the good estimate. Thanks for your prayers for a speedy process ~ keep them coming!!

Have a great week!
:D

Waiting is the Hardest Part!

Well, the dossier arrived in China on February 26, 2007! We are now waiting for our Log In Date, hopefully by the end of March. Then the long wait begins...

Our friends Carol and Mark are getting ready to go over to China on Sunday to meet their little Siena! We are so excited for them! They live right behind us, so we will be able to visit Siena and spoil her rotten. We are looking forward to all the tips that Carol and Mark will give us after their trip.

We have plenty of projects to keep us busy! We have a nursery to prepare (Butterflies and Dragonflies!) and many projects around the house to finish up. My favorite project is going to be working in the side yard in the new flower bed. Big Plans! Watch for pictures.

I ask for your prayers for a speedy process. I just can't wait to hold our little Ladybug in my arms!

Have a great week!
:D

On It's Way!

I am over the moon! We received word this afternoon that our Dossier made the final review and it is now on its way to China via FedEx! It is such a feeling of relief that our documents are finally complete, approved, signed, sealed and on their way to being delivered.

It will be 2-4 (or more) weeks until the Log In Date (LID), the official date recoginzied by the CCAA when it received the dossier. The LID is very important with regards to when/ if rules apply to you, and when you receive your referral (matched up with a daughter.) Right now, the referrals are coming 16 months after LID. So we are looking at Julyish 2008. Our prayers now are for a speed up in the process! :)

Thank you all for your support over the past 6 months as we put our ducks in a row. We have grown a lot over these past 6 months, and hope to find some peace as we wait now for the word that our Ladybug is ready to come home with us.

The Chinese symbols at the top of this blog are the symbols for "blessed," because that is how I truly feel today, for the first time in a very long time.

We'll keep you posted!

:D

Happy Chineese New Year!

This weekend is met with mixed emotions for us. We are still waiting for our 171-H to come back from the Chinese Embassy in DC. If it does not come today, or at least given to FedEx today, we will have to wait until the middle of next week since the Embassy is closed for CNY. That puts us very close to the February 23 DTC (Dossier to China) date. The next DTC date is March 9. All because of a silly typo from the Virginia State office! ARUGH!

I know God has a reason for the seemingly endless delays. He has our Ladybug picked out for us and this is just timing adjustment to make sure we get her. But, a girl can still ask for expediency! :)

Babies born in the year of the Boar are considered lucky tokens to have in the family. From http://www.locketown.com/chinese_horoscope.htm:

"By nature, BOARS are peace-loving, trustful, honest, and sincers. People born in the year of the Boar will be lucky and successful in handling money, business and academic matters. They have a deep desire for knowledge and are generally well informed. Boars are the finishers, they are the ones who put the last necessary touches to a project. Boars are suited to be doctors, bankers, businessmen, scientists and entertainers."

Our Ladybug will probably be a Boar Baby. It is exciting and heart wrenching to think about her life before we will know her. I guess the best we can do is pray for her birth parents and for her as she continues her journey to us.

Happy Year of the Boar!

:D

Welcome to My Blog!

We are so excited to begin our Journey to Ladybug! We are adopting a baby girl from China. This Blog is a great way to share our journey with our family and friends.

For those keeping score at home, we are waiting for our 171H (that's the US form for approval to adopt a foreign born orphan) to get validated by Virginia and approved by the Chinese Embassy in DC. Then it is off to Harrah's in Texas, where it will be sent off in the next batch of dossiers to China.

We'll keep you updated with adoption news and other exciting events in our family.

As always, thanks for your prayers and support through this journey.

Love,
:D