Another Update

We got another update from Jenny at Half the Sky about the earthquake and the news is very dismal. "As of now, Thursday afternoon in China, there are 14,866 people confirmed dead, 14,463 in Sichuan Province. There are 22,438 people reported missing – 21,020 of them in Deyang alone. There have been 3,300 aftershocks and they continue". Many orphanages have been affected, too many to list on my blog. You can go to RQ and read more on these orphanages.
My heart just goes out to all of the parents in China who have lost their only children. So very sad.
Many friends and family have asked, "Will this will affect our adoption?" We honestly have no idea. Time will tell. If you would like to give money to help with this terrible tragedy here are just two of the many places you can donate: Half the Sky or you can donate at GWCA .
Once again, please keep the people of China, especially the children, in your prayers.

Update on Earthquake

We received an email from our agency, Great Wall China Adoption, yesterday regarding the earthquake in China. Several of the orphanages in Sichuan and Chongqing provinces have been directly affected by the earthquake. Great Wall receives many of it's referrals from Sichuan and Chongquing. They have set up a relief fund for the orphanages in need. If you would like to donate you can go to GWCA and click on "Donate for Earthquake." You can also donate at Half the Sky.org
Please send your prayers to all of the people, especially the children, in China who are suffering the effects of this horrible catastrophe.

Massive Earthquake in Central China!

This news is so upsetting! For the article click here
Hopefully all of our Precious Pandas and other adoptive parents who are in China right now are alright! Please pray for all of the people in China that this disaster is affecting!

It Came!

I take back everything I ever said against Detroit USCIS! We got our new amended I171H in the mail on Saturday!We were in Chicago moving Marie on Saturday so I didn't actually find it until Sunday! That means it was lurking in our mailbox for a whole day and a night! We were re-fingerprinted on April 29 and after only 11 days it is here! We were totally not expecting it until at least July! So, imagine my surprise when I was going through the mail and there, nestled in between the junk mail, was a letter from United States Department of Homeland Security! We have to have this document in order to obtain Kaelin's Visa in Guangzhou! What a great unexpected Mother's Day present! Speaking of presents, my amazingly thoughtful and wonderful children got me the most beautiful solid gold ladybug bracelet! I cried buckets when I opened it! What a great day it was!
Our paperwork is all up to date! Now, all we need is our referral! GO JUNE! GO JUNE! GO JUNE!

Could it be June?

Yesterday we got a little surprise on the RQ website! Her projections show us getting our referral in June! Now, I know that her projections are just really good guesses based on poll information, but after waiting for soooooo loooooong it is very hard not to get excited! With a June referral that would put us traveling right smack in the middle of the Olympics! I have no idea how any of this is going to play out! Talk about suspenseful! The next few months are going to be nothing short of a carnival "puke" ride!

OMG!!!!! WE'RE NEXT!!!!!

Holy fortune cookies! We are next on our agency's list of waiting families! I wish that meant that we were going to get our referral in June but it will more likely be the first week in July! Here is what I predict (with help from RQ polls) it will boil down to in the next few months:
June - Jan 13-16
July - Jan 17-23 (US!)
Aug - Zero (curse those Olympics!) Just in case, though, Jan 24-Feb 1
I have started packing and trying to get organized, but we still have so much more to do! Yikes, what the heck have we been doing these last 3 years! Actually, now that I think about it we have accomplished quite a bit!
Just to name a few:
*Painstakingly completed a dossier and sent it to China!
*Read a bunch of books on adoption, attachment, and Chinese culture!
*Decided on a name!
*Adopted 2 cats and 1 puppy, who has grown into an 80 lb monster!
*Lost 2 dogs and 2 hamsters!
*Gary started a new company!
*Finished the nursery!
*3 graduations
*Finished 5 courses on international adoption (required by our agency)
*Took classes for Infant CPR Certification (passed!)
*Completed shots for hep A&B, typhoid, tetanus!
*Redid our I171H form and the mountain of paperwork that goes with it!
*Fingerprinted 3 times!
*Moved our kids 18 times!Marie 5x, Sarah 6x, Adam 5x, Justin 1x,Marcus 1x
*Made lifelong friendships with other waiting families!
This list could go on and on, but I have a lot to do today, so I better get going! AAACCCKKK! WE'RE NEXT!

Referrals are here!

Yesterday was such an exciting and happy day for many of our January Precious Panda friends! Referrals came in unexpectedly and took everyone by surprise! Although it was only a 3 day batch, thru the 12th of Jan, it was an amazing day! I can't tell you how uplifting it was to see all of our friends babies faces for the first time! The fact that we actually know them and have met them in person made it all that more special! So a huge and heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS goes out to Susan and Riz and beautiful baby Sophia Joy, Scott and Hope and adorable baby Izabella, and Susan and Jonathon and their gorgeous TWINS, Eleanor and Lilykate!

3rd Time's a Charm!

This morning we went down to Detroit USCIS and got our fingerprints done for the third time! We left at 6:45 am and got back around 10:30. We are so glad that is done! The question is are we moving forwards or backwards? Now the hard part, waiting for our new I171H to come in the mail! I hate that they send such an important document in the regular old mail? We have pretty crappy mail service where we live! I am always getting someone else's mail! So that means other people must be getting our mail, too! Being the good neighbor that I am I always hand deliver it to their mailbox! I just hope other neighbors are doing the same for us! So for the next 3 months I will be the mail police and no one can get the mail but me! I just worry that this flimsy non-significant looking envelope will get thrown out with the junk mail!
More exciting news! Referrals are coming in this week! Hopefully CCAA will do a big batch! Hey if they did a two week batch we will be in! Ha Ha! Dream on!

27 Months!

'nuf said!