Back to the waiting game

Well we will not be getting our referral this month. Only the rest of March has been matched. We have also heard that the CCAA will be moving in mid-November and to expect delays in the next batch of referrals.

Bummer but that is okay because right now my dossier is in the matching room and we are NEXT! WHOO HOO!

OH MAN.....COULD IT REALLY BE?

Okay getting a little antsy now. I hate to even post this for fear of jinxing it-BUT- there are some very strong rumors out there that the cut off for the next batch may be around April 20-22! THAT means we would be included after all!!!! According to one agency CCAA has matched the rest of March and they are working on April right now. They could be matching us with our little girl RIGHT NOW!!!! They said April LID's are in the matching room now. The next piece of info is that referrals should be coming next week. Hopefully be here by Friday November 4th!

Morgan and I are going on a road trip tomorrow. We will be gone for three days. We are going to be meeting some friends hopefully. I wil try to post Sunday and explain it all then.

Mike called from the Dominican yesterday. He is having a good time. He was feeling a little homesick yesterday but otherwise is keeping busy. He said it has rained everyday. I think that is pretty common there though.

Off for now-

Slow Saturday

That picture to the left is the logo for my LoveBug group from AHH some of which I should be traveling with. I told Mike he is the ladybug with the orange afro and buck teeth. LOL.

Mike left today for the Dominican. It is just us girls this week. I spent the day in South Bend with Julia and little Genevive. Morgan had a sibling class at the hospital. She said it was really cool.

I heard from someone today that for the next four months at least the children with their paperwork ready to go making them available for adoption are on the younger side. The CCAA has very little paper work on older children. That means we have a good chance of getting referred a younger baby. That same someone told me that her agency said they are trying to get referrals to go into April. That is good news for us, because then we should not get cut off for a referral at the end of November.

The Washington Post today had a story about the Bird Flu. It said that if one case shows up that the flu can be spread from one person to another then China is closing its borders to keep it from spreading. I am going to try to not even think about that. It is just way tooo depressing.

Little Chloe Jo (our girl puppy) went to her new home yesterday. Her new mama called to let us know she did great and is hardly missing us. Next week little Boomer will go next door to his new family. Morgan is having a pretty hard time with it.

Short update

Well Evan made it home and will be heading back tomorrow. Mom made it here last night and will be here for the next week spoiling her new grandson.

No new adoption wise really. They hope that referrals are sent out by the end of next week. So maybe they will be here by Mon. the 31st.

Mike is leaving on Saturday for the DR. He hasn't said much about it. I am sure he will be more excited about it once he gets home. It should be a great experience for him.

Short update, but it at least is one.

He's Coming Home....

Evan is on his way home from Hesston as I type this for a visit. He has a few days off for fall break and is a little homesick so he caught a ride home. It is hard to believe he has already been gone for about 2 months.

No real news on the adoption front. There are two rumors going around. One is that the rest of the March LID's are in the matching room and the April LID's are still in the review room (we don't like this rumor). The other is that the cut off will be April 22/23 (we like this rumor ALOT!).

Mike got word this week that he won't have a job this winter. They decided to not run the shop in Middlebury. This really stinks. We have lived on unemployment before, but I had also saved a little nest egg to get us by. Since he has worked the last couple years in the shop we have done well so I didn't worry too much. SO, no job, no nest egg. UGH!

Little Nolan is doing good. He basically eats, poops and sleeps. Just like babies are suppose to do. My mom is coming in a few days so she can get to know her newest grandson.

BABY ANNOUNCEMENT

Here are some pictures of my nephew Nolan Michael. He is about 4 hours old in these photos.

Lisa's delivery was a tough one. She went into labor at 1:30 AM Friday. She labored most of the day and after walking and walking some more was admitted into the hospital at 7 PM Friday night. She was 2 cm dialated. They had to give her morphine-it wore off. They finally gave her an epideral. Her blood pressure plumetted to 48. They rushed around and pumpe some fluids into her, her pressure spiked and she got migranes and threw up. Finally things leveled off. Saturday (this) morning the doctor came in and she was 4 cm dialated. He broke her water. At 10 AM she was only 5 cm. About 45 minutes later the doctor checked her and she was 10 cm. Whoo Hoo-we are almost done. NOT SO FAST- after 3 (YES that is a 3!) hours of pushing Nolan was finally born. 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. Cute as a button! Strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. Much cuter in person than even these pictures show. Anyway I AM AN AUNT!

Another Bummer Day...

Today the March referrals started. AHH got only 4 referrals and nothing after 3/17 just like I had heard. I belong to the March DTC group and they were posting referrals all day. I should have been excited for them, but I just couldn't be. I had a real heavy heart today and feel really depressed. It will most likely be 9 weeks now until we get our referral. I need to snap out of it.

On another news front, Mike is going to The Dominican at the end of the month. He got an offer to go with our church on a mission trip (same place Katie was this summer) to help build a house. The trip will be paid for, the only thing we lose is his week of pay. It should be a great trip for him. He is gone 10/22-10/29.

Off to bed and to sulk.

FIRST PICTURE OF OUR BABY!

HAHAHA! Gotcha!

WOW-Way behind

It is amazing how I have fallen behind in my blog. I really wanted to post one to two times a week. It just hasn't been happening.

My puppies are growing very nicely. They are just starting to get to the playing stage. They are sooooo cute.

Now mom only weighs 4 pounds and the pups are about a pound.

I also had two cybershowers this week. Both for my March Yahoo groups. The one on Thursday was great. I got my first gift bought off my registry. Morgan had fun opening the presents.

I have also been involved in that alphabet swap that I mentioned before. I still have about 4 more swap items coming but so far I have gotten a great load. Here are some of my items.

Word has it that referrals have been sent out and are on their way. Word also has it that the cut off this month was March 17. Now that is really BAD news for us. We were hoping to get our referral next month (at the end of October) but with an LID of 4/19 I am pretty sure they won't make up that much of a difference. That means our referral won't come until the end of November or first of December. This also means that we won't be traveling in December but we will be pushed to the end of January. Chinese New Year starts on January 29th and nothing is open in China for two weeks so that bumps us to the middle of February. So in one fell swoop we lost 6 weeks. I have had a rough few days. Lots of depression and crying. A huge pity party for myself. I am starting to accept it but I am sure for the next couple weeks I will have some low times and woe-is-me times. There is a slight chance it may still come next month, but since March and April were big log in months it is really doubtful.

Okay- I need to quit being an Eeyore.

Night.

Checking off the Holidays

Today is our 5 month anniversary for being logged in. YEAH! Right around Easter I was reflecting on how by next Easter Olivia would be home with us. Well since then there are several other holidays I can now check off that she won't have to celebrate (like she does anyway) without her forever family.

Valentines Day
Easter
Mother's Day
Memorial Day
Father's Day
4th of July
Labor Day

It would be awesome if we could celebrater Christmas and her first birthday together too, but only time will tell.

Keepin On

My babies are getting pudgy and more vocal. They still have their eyes closed but should be opening in the next two days. They are so snuggly.

There are rumor running rampent on the DTC sites. The closer we get to referrals the wilder they get....

1. That referrals will go to March 25th and be mailed out by September 30th before the week long Chinese Holiday in October.

2. The Director of the CCAA is out of town until after the Chinese Holiday (he is supposedly the only one that can sign the referrals-so they would not come out until after the holiday).

3. The referrals won't come out until after the holiday but they will include March and April. (I like this rumor best!)

No matter what is true or not, right at this time our dossier is suppose to be in the "review room" where our documents are being looked at and checked over. This is very exciting because the next step is the matching room. Please start praying for us, as I believe very soon God's hand in our future will be revealed to us.

One of my friends Julia, is going back to China to get her second daughter. They were suppose to be up next for referrals. Well this last week while looking at her agencies new list of special needs children she fell in love with a little girl and they have gotten the okay to adopt her. It will delay their travel by a couple months, but she is over the moon in love with the little two year old, soon to be known as Abigail.

As the referral time comes near, we are having cyber showers in our groups. I have two this month for the March group. These are so much fun. I love showers.

My SIL, Lisa is getting very close to having her baby. She has been having contractions and the doctor said she is ready any time. (She isn't due until Oct. 3rd though).

Hopefully I can post more on referrals soon.

Another September Day

This weekend was a crazy one. Mom and Gordon came on Friday night and Uncle Jim and Aunt Trudy and cousin Jimmy and Michelle came into town Saturday night. They came for my sis-in-law, Lisa's shower today. My diaper cake was a hit. Everyone thought it was crafty. Lisa got a lot of neat things today. A fun time was had by all.

Only 1 2/3 months left until our referral (I hope). It is getting real. For a while I was turning down the excitement level. Just seemed to far away. I have been having dreams again and spending a lot of time hanging out in Olivia's room.

Last night Mike and I went to see the play Aida at Amish Acres. It was awesome. If you ever get the chance to see that production do it.

My friend from Fort Wayne is back from China with her new daughter. They had a rough time while they were there and I can only hope that they can now really start to bond and be a forever family. Their daughter (19 months) was not bonding with Cassie at all and only wanted dad. She also cried a lot during their two weeks there. Tomorrow dad goes back to work and mom will be on her own with her. It could be a tough day.

Puppies Are Here!

Annie had her puppies this morning. 5:00 AM. The first one was a boy and was born great. The second one was breech and her head got stuck. I was really worried for a while but finally got the little thing out. So: 2 puppies, 1 boy and 1 girl and doing great. Mom is doing good and is an awesome mom.

Busy Day....

Okay-I came up with an idea for my Alphabet Swap. It was so obvious. Olivia's Onsies! So I went out today and bought 27 onesies and spent several hours decorating them for my March Moonbeam buddies. I also bought more fleece and made a regular blanket and 6 mini blankets. My back is killing me from bending over all day.

I am also sick. Head cold-sinus pressure and running nose. I was up all night. Three weeks into school and it has already started! Once I start back on my bus route I seem to be sick all the time. I will get at least 6 colds over the next 9 months. Mike thinks it is because of all the snotty nose kids on my bus. He says he is going to buy me a surgeons mask to wear.

My friend Cassie from Fort Wayne is in China right now picking up her second daughter and it is not going well. Little Isabel is rejecting her and will only go to daddy. It is really hard on Cassie. Isabel seems to be grieving a lot too. She is 19 months old and was in a foster home. The kids that come from foster homes seem to have the hardest time adjusting. They are better off in the foster home, but this little one was basically ripped away from the only family she knows and put with strangers. It is sad.

Referrals did come on Thrusday. Look at my website under "The Wait" for details. There is only one group ahead of us. The March group is expecting their referrals around the end of September. There is a holiday for China and every thing shuts down the first week of October. They will probably try to get the referrals out before the holiday. BUT since they will be shut down for a week, our referral may come a little later. Who knows.

I also made a "diaper cake" yesterday for my SIL's baby shower coming up this weekend. It is pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Thats all for now.

February's Referrals

Here they FINALLY come. The February referrals are on their way and should be here tomorrow or Friday. The cut off is suppose to be February 25th. So-not only did they NOT come early, they are not going to include any of March. Bummer.

My little baby (picture to the right) will be a mommy in about 6 days. She is getting quite pudgy. I can lay my hand on her tummy and feel the babies kicking. I am hoping for 3 pups but will be satisfied with 2. If she only has one, I threatened to ship her to the pound. (I told her I was just joking-can't stress her out right now.) Anyway, three pups would help fund my trip to China. I already have 2 sold if she has them.

I just signed up for a new swap. This is called the alphabet swap. I have to come up with $1-$2 gifts that start with either O or S (Olivia's initials). Last month they had a B swap for baby. People sent things like bibs, booties, bows, board books, baby rattles etc. Soooo if anyone out there has a real creative idea for me please let me know. I have to send out 27 items so I need to get busy. I could also do L (for Livi-nickname). HELP!!! This is like a baby shower swap so it should have to do with kids.

I will post the referral results on my website page "The Wait". Well I should be down to two months left of the wait. Then we will start a new wait for travel.

ChinaMama

On his own...

He is off to college. Mike and I got back yesterday from our looooong trip down south. The Hesston campus is beautiful, Evan's room was really nice it was HOT there. Over 100 degrees. Seriously though, it was a great place and I felt really good leaving Evan there, knowing he will do great. You can check out his campus: http://www.hesston.edu It will take some getting used to at home though. Last night I did a mental roll call of my kids like I normally do. In my mind I knew Evan was not at home, but my first thought was "I wonder what time Evan is getting home." It took a second to remember he wasn't coming home.

Nothing new on the "Olivia Watch". Referrals rumors are running wild again. People think they may come next week and include all of February. But-they are only rumors.

My friend, Cassie, is leaving on Wednesday to pick up her newest (and 2nd) daughter from China. I am so jealous. Excited but jealous.

I am getting really tired of this wait. It is sooo draining. I am almost getting to the point that I don't even care anymore.

Annie is getting FAT! I am hoping for 2-3 puppies. That will help fund our trip. Poor thing though. Only 2 more weeks.

Well I hope to write soon with more news.

ChinaMama

More babies on the way

My baby is going to have babies! My little yorkie, Annabelle (Annie) is due September 6. Now in this picture she is just a baby herself. She is now 1 1/2 years old and all of 4 pounds. I am hoping she has 2-3 puppies. I am looking forward to the upcoming births as it will give me something to focus my attention on besides waiting for referrals. By the time the puppies are weaned and ready to go to new homes, it will be just about time for Mike and I to head to China.

We take Evan to college this week. We are leaving on Thursday evening after my bus route and driving all night to Kansas (15 hours). Evan and I went shopping today to buy the last few necessities that he needed. I still can't believe my first baby is going to college. There were some days I never thought the time would come but now it seems to have just flown by.

Morgan, Katie and I start back to school on Tuesday. That is 1 day away! This summer has gone quickly.

One of the women on my March Moonbeams group has become a new mommy. Her husband is in China right now with their new little 18 month old, Delaney. She stayed home because she couldn't take enough time off work to make the trip and have bonding time at home. It is so exciting as people start to get their new daughters.

Well that is all for now
ChinaMama

Happy to see August

We are already 5 days into August. There are sooo many rumors going around about when the next batch of referrals will come and how many days they will include. I give up trying to keep up.

I won a contest this week. My April chat group that I belong to does a contest every 5 days or so. Someone posts a prize along with a guessing game. The last one was we had to guess this persons breed of dogs that she owns. I guessed Yorkies and I WAS RIGHT. I won a Chinese Cookbook and a Calligraphy book. So now it is my turn to choose a prize and contest. I said I would make letter pillows in the winners daughters name. My contest was they have to guess how many diapers I have bought so far. It is all pretty funny. The picture above is a sample of what I am offering.

My stamp camp for my friend Cassie this week was a success. I helped her make $160 plus $160 in orders. My little contribution to her China trip.

I started on my 100 Good Wishes quilt today. I went to my aunt's house and we set up a plan. I need to do some cutting and such this week and then next Friday we will meet again and get started. I am pretty excited.

Only 10 days until school starts. Morgan finished Jump Start and Bible School this week so we have a one week break before we head back to school. I am ready. The sooner school starts the faster the days are moving.

My Aunts have set up a shower date for my sister in law Lisa. We decided to forgo the double shower. With this being Jon's first baby, it is better they have their own shower. Hers will be September 11. Then sometime after we get our referral Lisa said she wants to throw a shower for me. Secretly.......I can't wait.

that's all for now-
ChinaMama

They are here....

July referrals came yesterday. Our agency got 15 referrals for people that are logged in from December 24-January 27. That means they actually went longer on the dates this month. NOW next month will be the real kicker. Chinese New Year was the first two weeks of February this year so the CCAA was shut down during that time. That means there was only two weeks in February that were logged in. Sooo next month will really be up in the air. Either the rest of January and all of February will be matched and maybe the referrals will come a little sooner or they may throw some of March in there too. Who knows. We are still counting on an October referral. We are half way over on our wait. Whoo Hoo!

We picked up Morgan's goats at the fair this morning. Yeah! No more trips out to the fairgrounds.

On Sunday our friends the Trawick's from South Bend are coming over for a cook-out and swimming. They are getting ready to go back to China to pick up their second daughter from China. I am really excited about their visit.

Also, on Tuesday, my friend Cassie from Fort Wayne is coming over to do a stamp camp at my house. For $10 my friends can make 10 cards. I am doing this to help Cassie make some funds because they will probably be leaving August 24th to head back to China to bring home their second daughter from China.

Busy Busy!

Thats all for now-
ChinaMama

July Referrals are on their way...

We got news today that the referrals for July are in the mail and on the way here. Are agency said they are expecting a package on Thursday and one on Friday. I was sooo hoping they would come last week. It seems like each month they come a few days later.

Morgan showed her goats at the fair yesterday. She got fourth place with one of them. She had a hard time controlling her goat and got pretty upset in the ring, but the club leader got in the ring and helped her.

Morgan also started Jump Start today. (Basically 2 weeks of summer school.) She thinks it will be okay.

The heat has been oppressive here lately. On Sunday the heat index was 108 degrees. The drought we were in is over though. We have been getting rain at least every other day with some pretty bad storms mixed in. I guess there is a cold front coming in tonight with some storms and finally tomorrow it will be only 75 degrees.

I got a couple gifts this week from two of my secret pals. I got two of the cutest outfits for Olivia. Also a doll, a book and a bib. It is sooo much fun getting little clothes. It just keeps confirming that she is coming.

OH! I don't know if I ever posted here our name pick. It is Olivia. Most people know by now, but if you didn't now you do.

That's all for now- I will post again when referrals are here.
ChinaMama