Could it be?

Could this be our last weekend not knowing who our precious Kaelin is? All of our sources are leaning towards a very strong YES! It is looking very good that we could get Kaelin's referral as early as this Monday! Although we are not getting our hopes up too high, we are pretty sure we will see her sweet little face for the first time somewhere between Monday and Thursday of next week! Gary and I can hardly believe that we are this close to finally seeing our little girl! Justin, Marie, Adam, Sarah, and Marcus are also amazed that their little sister (by a lot!) is finally on her way! Our entire family is just too excited for words! It has been an incredibly long three years and just over two months since we started "Our Long Journey to Kaelin!" Looking back it is hard to believe we have waited so long for this new little person to join our family! Truthfully, though, she has always been with us! Not a day has gone by since April 30, 2005, where she has not been prayed for and held close in our hearts! This little girl that we have dreamed about for so long does not even know what is about to take place. She only knows the life she has now, whether she is being cared for by a loving foster mom and dad, or by the loving nannies in an orphanage, she has no idea that her little life is about to change. We are all ready for her, but the question is, "Is she ready for us?!" Haha!

As for the day we recieve Kaelin's referral and how the whole referral process goes, I will attempt to explain.
The day of our referral, we will first receive an e-mail in the morning from our referral counselor at our agency telling us that they have our referral and we will be getting "The Call" that day! "The Call" is when we are told all about her, her name, age, birthdate, province she is living, and a few other details. This is where it gets even more nerve racking! We then wait for the phone to ring! So just a heads up if the Caller ID doesn't say Great Wall China Adoption, we ain't answering! So don't call us no matter how curious you are! WE WILL CALL YOU! We are also going to send out a massive email after we have some time to cry and stare at our new daughter! If you think we don't have your email be sure and send it to us so you can be included! You can leave it in the comments section or you can send it to us at dgallen21182@yahoo.com!

After "The Call" we will get another e-mail that will have Kaelin's photo attached and we will get to see our daughter for the first time! This is when Gary and I both will probably lose it completely! In fact, I am crying even now as I write this! What a mess we will be!

The day after "The Call" we should receive Kaelin's referral file in hard copy. It will come by Fed Ex the next day. Included will be her medical report and some other information about her. The medical report will be what we are most concerned with. We have a standing appointment with our pediatrician that afternoon so she can review all of her medical information and tell us if everything looks good. We have been praying faithfully that this will be the case! If so, we will joyfully accept her referral and send everything back to our agency with the green light to proceed! After that we should be on our way to China within 4-8 weeks to bring her home!
Since we are so close to our referral day, this may be my last post until then! We have so much yet to do it is mind boggling! But, if for some reason her referral doesn't make it by the beginning of next week I will post again, keeping everyone informed! Let's hope my next post will be titled "We Have a New Daughter!" Love, Di

Today is our 29th and very last LID Anniversary! I can't believe I am even writing this! Since January 23, 2006 we have watched these bittersweet, monthly milestones come and go! Now that we are so close to our referral, this amazing and incredibly long journey is about to take on a whole new meaning! Our family is far beyond excited for what is about to take place in our lives, a true miracle!
I must admit, though, it will be a little weird not waiting anymore (for our referral that is!) But, we are entering into a new and exciting phase of our journey, and trust me, we will never look back with regret towards our long wait! There is a reason we have waited so long for our sweet little baby girl! The moment Kaelin is placed in mine and Gary's arms in China, we know this will be true more than ever! There is so much to look forward to in this new life we are all about to venture into, especially for our precious daughter and sister, Kaelin!

Possibly? Maybe?

Today I heard from a member of our travel group and she was told by our referral counselor that we will more than likely get our referral on Monday, July 7th! We were really hoping to hear something before the 4th of July weekend! You never know, it could happen! Just to be on the safe side I will have my Ladybug Call Sheet, the video camera, and the digital camera all charged up ready and waiting next to the phone! Oh well, after waiting for over 3 years, I guess a few more days won't kill us!

The Long and Short of it!

We are so close, but still aren't sure about WHEN? So here is the long and short of it!
If referrals arrive on................We have this # of days left to wait!
6/30(dare to dream!)....................13
7/1...............................................14
7/2...............................................15
7/3...............................................16
7/4(not happening, holiday!)
7/5(nope, again, Saturday!)
7/6(definitely not, Sunday!)
7/7...............................................20
7/8.............................................. 21
7/9...............................................22
7/10..............................................23
I guess that was really the short and long of it! But, that's it! I refuse to go any further! We are on pins and needles (or shall I say nails and spikes) already! The great thing is, no matter how you slice it, WE ARE NEXT!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD! HALLELUJAH! AND GOD BLESS AMERICA! Can't you tell, I'm not the least bit excited?! Heehee!

Happy Birthday, Big Man!

Golf, burgers, hotdogs, beer and more golf pretty much sums it all up! We love you, BIG MAN!

Ooops! I almost forgot!

I have been so excited and freaked out about being NEXT that I completely forgot to post about this months referrals! First of all, Gary and I would like to officially congratulate our good Panda friend, Sharon, on the referral of her beautiful daughter, MaryAlice! We are so very happy for you!! We would also like to mention our other good Panda friends, Susan and Riz, who are in Beijing China this very minute! They are only a few days away from meeting their gorgeous daughter, Sophia Joy! Along with them are our other good Panda friends, Susan and Jonathan, who will also be meeting their precious twins, Eleanor and LilyKate, on the same day as Susan and Riz! We can't wait to see all of the great pics of your Forever Days!

Ready or not, here she comes!

It is hard to believe that we are down to the inside of a month until Kaelin's referral! Time seems to be going by pretty fast, too! We have a long list of things we want to accomplish before we leave. Things like installing a new kitchen floor, painting the house, changing some light fixtures, cleaning the carpets, and on and on! Honestly, though, do any of these things really matter? NO! So what if our house isn't perfect? Something tells me she won't mind! More importantly, we are more than ready to be her parents and give her the love she will need to overcome all that she has been through, so far, in her tiny little life. That is all that really matters anyway, right? So now the countdown to Kaelin begins! We are hoping to get "The Call" sometime between the last week in June and the first week of July. Hopefully we won't have to wait beyond the 4th of July weekend, that would be way too long!

Referrals are on their way and the cut-off is the 22nd!!

YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?! WE ARE NEXT! WE ARE ABSOLUTELY, NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS ABOUT IT, POSITIVELY, UNDENIABLY, WITHOUT A DOUBT, NEXT! OMG! OMG! OMG! SOMEBODY PLEASE PINCH ME!

A Sign??

Last Wednesday my dad and I spent the day planting a lovely border of all white Impatiens around my perennial garden, about five flats. Well, yesterday, I think I found a small glimmer of hope that Kaelin might be coming soon! Right in the middle of all my white Impatiens, there is a pretty little pastel pink bloom! It was not there when we planted all these white ones! Where did it come from? Could it be a sign? I sure hope so! Don't you love how, Tigger, our cat just had to be in the photo! He nonchalantly strolled up and posed there all by himself!
So far, there is no word on when the current batch of referrals will arrive. This has been an unusually silent month (insert cricket sounds) as far as rumors and the cutoff date! We are hoping for CCAA to at least make it to the 18th so that we have a better chance of being in the July batch! Maybe we will hear something today! BTW, so much for the "magic" red boots!

A Dare!

Not that I am very superstitious, but I am keeping these red boots on until referrals get here! I was going to take them off, but on a dare from some of my best cyber friend's here they are! Maybe, if I wish and hope and pray really hard and tap my heels together, just like Dorothy did in Oz, referrals will include the 23rd! I can't believe I am going to the post office with these on to mail a package! Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures!