Finally into November! / 2 Year Anniversary!

The good word is that referrals are in the air and will arrive at our agency, today. A very substantiated rumor says that they include LIDs all the way through November 1st. Woo hoo! Every step forward by CCAA is a step closer to our little girl, even if they are baby steps.
Today is also our 2 year anniversay since we started this adoption journey. Wow!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is Gary's dad's 81st birthday! He isn't a "spring chicken" anymore, but he is amazingly healthy and strong! He eats whatever he wants and has smoked since he was 10 yrs old. Wow, don't we all wish we had that kind of body stamina!

On the adoption front: So far, CCAA has covered LIDs thru October 26, 2005. There's a rumor that referrals could come as early as this Monday. Please, please let them, at least, make it through October! It's not hard to do the math, so if it is taking CCAA 6 months to get through October, imagine how long it will take them to get thru the rest of 2005! With our January 23, 2006 LID it looks like we may not be bringing our baby girl home until 2008! Unless, by some miracle, things speed up. Not likely.

Gifts From My Secret Pal!

Today I came home to find a package from my Secret Pal! I love the little "bedtime" theme she chose. Everything is so soft, sweet, and precious! I can't wait until Kaelin gets here so she can snuggle up in that blanky! Thank you so much, Secret Pal!

Way to go Sarah!

On the home front, our daughter, Sarah will be graduating from Michigan State University in a few weeks. She has been accepted as a dietetics intern at the University of Memphis in Tennessee, where she will also be working on her Masters. I'm so sad, that she won't be around to get to know her little sister, but happy, too, for her hard earned success.
Not much to report on the adoption front, although there is a rumor that CCAA could put out another batch of referrals at the end of April, not likely though. Chances are more like the second week in May, due to the fact that CCAA will be closed the first week of May.

Working on the baby's room...

Gary did some more drywalling in Kaelin's room today. It's a slow process, but when it is finished it will look way cute. The theme for her room is PBKids Pink Daisy Garden. It will have flowers, butterflies, fairies, and, of course, ladybugs!

An Inspirational Poem

Our Precious Panda friend sent us this poem. Thank you, Cheri!

DON'T QUIT
When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road your trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When you might have won had you stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the cloud of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are;
It may be near, when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worse, that you must not quit.

I think I've cracked!

Last night when Gary got home he asked, "what's up with the bag of rice?" I told him my plan to bulk up my arms to get used to holding a baby again. As we were talking he said, "you realize that you are swaying that bag of rice!" I didn't even know I was doing it. We both laughed, and he said, "just don't start singing to it or try to rock it to sleep!" Yikes! Maybe, I have lost it!

Agency News

Our agency e-mailed us today with their take on the increasing wait for referrals. Simply put, they believe the slow-down is due to not enough "paper-ready" babies to match to all of the dossiers of waiting families. They also stated, it is estimated that the wait could reach between 24 and 36 months from LID! This is not for sure, though, because the amount of "paper-ready" babies CCAA receives differs every month. So there is really no sure way of knowing exactly when we will get our referral.
On a slightly different note: Today, I bought a 20 lb bag of rice to carry around the house in order to build up my arm strength. I should have arms of steel by the time she gets here, either that or an aching back!

Is this the "norm"?

If two days of referrals per month becomes the norm for CCAA, then where does that put us? With that, we are going to try to start focusing on the things that are right in front of us from now on! No more obsessing over the question of when? We have started Kaelin's room, it's hard to stay enthusiastic, though, with depressing news around every corner. Right now, Gary is building a window seat and then we will paint the room pink. As you can see we have a lot to do! Gee, do ya think we will be able to finish it in time? Ha Ha!

Happy Easter!

Even though it's snowy, icy, and very cold out, it's still a beautiful morning. Easter Sunday brings such wonderful feelings of hope and rebirth. Let's celebrate the new life we have all been given through Jesus Christ. Happy Easter everyone!

Today's dinner menu:
Greek salad
Roast herb chicken with Pesto
Asparagus
Sweet potato casserole

Dessert:
Four berry pie with whipped cream
Coconut cupcakes
Chocolate chip cookies
Assorted Easter Candy