Abby's Red Blanket

I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me on my porch when I got home tonight. Abby's Grandma Littlefield made her a beautiful blanket. She enclosed a note with the blanket telling me that she had made this blanket in celebration of Abby.

She wrote, "The ladybugs should bring you good luck in your journey. The binding represents the red string which binds you to her. The tag on the corner represents the silky my daughter used to go to sleep throughout her childhood. I hope you take it with you when you go to China to wrap Abby in. The warmth of this blanket represents all of us wrapping her in our love."

I then told her about one of the story books I had received for Abby last year. A book that tells of a single mother and her journey to China where she gives her daughter her own red blanket. She was amazed to hear of this book and it's relationship to the blanket. It's another "Red Thread" for Abby's story as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks Melanie for this wonderful surprise! I love it and will definately bring it to China with me. You can count on plenty of pictures of Abby wrapped in it. Love ya, Jenny

Quackers New Bed?

I couldn't find her tonight. I knew this would happen sooner or later thats why I had thrown the blanket in there to cover up the bedding........ Oh well , at least somebody is using the crib!

September Referrals

My Congrats to all the new Mommies and Daddys out there. 18 days worth of referrals were received for the month of September. More days this time but not a whole months worth as was hoped. Oh well I am happy for the lucky parents this go round, but once again I have to say, "Lets wait and see what happens next month........"

Referrals

Oh the excitement! Referrals are on the way. I can't wait to see how far into August they get!

I'm In The MATCHING ROOM!!

Okay Blogger won't let me upload the photo right now but According to the CCAA all dossiers logged in with the CCAA by December 31, 2006 are now out of the review room. I am so EXCITED! This is really the first feeling of progress that I have had in ages!

What does this mean for Abby and I? I will have to wait and see. It's not uncommon for dossiers to hang out in the matching room for several months waiting for parent and baby files to be matched together.... I have herd some rumblings out there that people with dossiers logged in during February of 2006 have been contacted by the CCAA for more information. Maybe things are starting to speed up? Maybe the wait is finally starting to stabilize as predicted. Referrals anticipated this month are expected soon. It will be very interesting to see how far past July 22, 2006 they get this time. Stay tuned....... and yippee!!!!

Something to think about while we wait.

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens. "Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry." She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge But it just wasn't there. She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm,and she prayed that she may find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me." Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?" Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You." I think it would do all of us some good to say, "God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy.But, if You want me to carry it, I will." God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him.....I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil.4:13)

PLEASE NEVER FORGET!

On the eve of September 11th

WHOEVER WROTE THIS SHOULD STEP FORWARD AND CLAIM IT! THE WORDS ARE POWERFUL:
TWO THOUSAND ONE, NINE ELEVEN (2001-911) Two thousand one, nine eleven Three thousand plus arrive in heaven As they pass through the gate, Thousands more appear in wait A bearded man with stovepipe hat Steps forward saying, "Lets sit, let’s chat" They settle down in seats of clouds A man named Martin shouts out proud "I have a dream!" and once he did The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives." Groups of soldiers in blue and gray Others in khaki, and green then say "We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine" The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain." From a man on sticks one could hear "The only thing we have to fear. The Newcomer said, "We know the rest, Trust us sir, we've passed that test." "Courage doesn't hide in caves You can't bury freedom, in a grave," The Newcomers had heard this voice before A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannis port shores A silence fell within the mist Somehow the Newcomer knew that this Meant time had come for her to say What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day "Back on Earth, we wrote reports, Watched our children play in sports Worked our gardens, sang our songs Went to church and clipped coupons We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought Unlike you, great we're not" The tall man in the stovepipe hat Stood and said, "Don't talk lik e that! Look at your country, look and see You died for freedom, just like me" Then, before them all appeared a scene Of rubbled streets and twisted beams Death, destruction, smoke and dust And people working just 'cause they must Hauling ash, lifting stones, Knee deep in hell, but not alone "Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, Yellowman Side by side helping their fellow man!" So said Martin, as he watched the scene "Even from nightmares, can be born a dream." Down below three firemen raised The colors high into ashen haze The soldiers above had seen it before On Iwo Jima back in '45 The man on sticks studied everything closely Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly "I see pain, I see tears, I see sorrow -- but I don't see fear." "You left behind husbands and wives Daughters and sons and so many lives Are suffering now because of this wrong But look very closely. You're not really gone. All of those people, even those who've never met you All of their lives, they'll never forget you Don't you see what has happened? Don't you see what you've done? You've brought them together, together as one. With that the man in the stovepipe hat said "Take my hand," and from there he led Three thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven Author UNKNOWN (What a shame!)\

Ladybug Sighting?

What a wonderful surprise I received in the mail a couple days ago. Adorable ladybug bloomers for Abby from her Florida Grandparents. I called them last night to thank them and they asked me if had found the surprise tucked inside them. I was so taken with the cuteness of the bloomers that I missed the surprise. Tucked inside the bloomers was a check for Abby and I to assist with the expenses involved with the renewal of my soon to be expired paperwork.

Thanks Dad and Melanie! You shouldn't have but I am glad that you did! I love you both and can't wait for the day that you guys get to meet Abby in person........

LID 9 MONTHS TODAY

9 months down today. How much longer to go? I have no idea. Currently people have been waiting around 13 months for their referral. The rumors are not good right now. Most seem to point to a June 2007 referral for me. That seems years away to me. 9 more months essentially..... My paperwork will reach their expire dates soon. Fun Fun Fun as I get to redo my fingerprints, I 171, update my home study with new documents ect. All for none too small a fee I'll add.


I e-mailed my agency yesterday to ask them why we are not being given any answers as to why the wait has grown so long. They replied with an interesting concept that I hadn't thought of. Essentially saying that our (China and the USA) cultures are different. We here in the USA expect and are usually given information to our questions. China on the other hand evidently doesn't think that way therefore seeing nothing wrong with their adoption process. Or the lack of information they release. I guess it boils down to what your "norm" is. This makes it hard for all of us in the end being that we both see things so differently.

So there you have it. Stay tuned as my wait continues.

Abby's Crib is DONE!!!

Meet Abby's Uncle Pete! He came over tonight and finished up Abby's Crib. It turned out nicely. He did a good job finishing up for Meema who has a lot on her plate right now.

Oh Oh, Quackers found something different in her house. Wonder what she will do when there is a baby in there?

Also had to share what I bought with my birthday money. Isn't she beautiful?

Review Room

Guess this means that I am officially in the review room. I actually believe that I have been there for a while. I have been seeing multiple rumors on other sites from people that have herd of people who have been contacted by the CCAA to request more information. These people contacted were also logged in to the CCAA in December like I was. These rumors have been around for several weeks. Still it's nice to see it officially in print.

The big question is how long will I be in there and what happens after that? Not sure how long my file will be reviewed. Could be 1 month or several. After that (God willing that I am officially approved!) My file moves on to the matching room! It is there that Abby and I will be officially matched. Unfortunately while it seems that I am almost done that is really not the case. There are many families waiting for their referrals still ahead of me. You can see on the left that they are only up to families that have been logged in by July 22. The current rumor is that Septembers referrals will only include July 23 through July 28. I am trying to remember that this is only a rumor!

Meanwhile please pray that my file will pass smoothly through the review room and inro the matching room.......