The Stork Is Up Again

Rumors are that referrals were mailed out yesterday. We may hear as early as tomorrow! No it's still not my turn, but these referrals should help give me a better idea of the time I have left to wait. I'm really hoping that these referrals come for those Lucky parents who had LID'S well into October. That will leave the CCAA with just the rest of October and Novembers LID'S to get through. Then it will be time for December LID's. My month I was logged in. December 7th, 2005 to be exact. This is getting exciting! So close but yet so far........

I'M IN

Yep folks that's a tampon. (unused of course!) Let me explain. Connie put out a Blogger challenge to find something weird in our home to post. At first I was at a loss as to what to post. Luckily Quackers took care of that for me today. This tampon found on my kitchen floor would not surprise me. Even though she has a lot of toys scattered through out my house, Tampons are Quackers toy of choice.


You see she steals them right out of my purse.

SCORE!!!!

What fun! No she doesn't eat them but she will unwrap them. They are more fun with the string exposed.

Just a little proof that she does actually have real toys to play with!

Taking Over

Oh Quackers. First she took over Abby's crib and now the rocker too!

I just hope she ends up liking Abby as much as she likes Abby's stuff!

Dreaming of Snow

We had snow flurries the other day. After an essentially above average in temperatures winter, it has finally gotten cold enough to consistently wear a winter coat. I also finally turned on my heat this winter. Now truly I could have left it off but my cats were cold so I caved. Anyway I know there are probably many of you out there that disagree with me but I really love snow. The flurries we had the other day were oh so brief! No accumulation at all :( I have been hoping for at least one good snowstorm before this winter ends. The odds are against it but there is the possibility of snow in my future. I am heading off to Chicago next month for another girls trip. Another lucky member of our group is turning 35 (actually 40 though she is claiming 29). I am bound to see some snow there and have been told to bring my long johns. Stay tuned for what will more then likely be my last hoopla as a Mommy to be...

I 171H UPDATE

Just in case you were wondering, I received my new updated I 171H form in the mail yesterday. YAY! I did everything right and It only took ten days!

Prom Flashback challenge

I'm taking part in Shannons Prom Flashback challenge. Here I am for my 1984 Prom. Again I'm sorry for the pictures of the pictures. They are a little blurry but you can see my dress. I loved it and still have it (Thanks Mom!). It was my dream to cut it off and make it into a cocktail dress. Don't think I will ever be that small again though. This black and silver combo was a Gunny Sack dress. Remember those? I'm saving it for my Nieces and Abby to wear some day. By then it will be good vintage!

Happy Birthday Christopher!

My baby turned TEN today! Christopher was the first everything in our family. The first baby, the first Grandchild, and the first Nephew. I still remember the night he was born. I spent the night at the hospital floating from my sisters room to the ICU unit I worked in at the time. I wasn't in the delivery room when he was born but I was able to see him fresh from his Mommies tummy in the nursery. The nurse took this picture for me to keep. Sorry it and the next 2 pictures are all pictures of pictures. I need a scanner.


So SWEET in his announcement photo.

Christopher and I during my red hair phase.

Finally Christopher last month. I love ya buddy! Thanks for being you and for 10 WONDERFUL years!!!!

Do you ever.....

FEEL LIKE YOU JUST CAN'T WAIT??????

Tonight is one of those nights. I just did a Gotcha Day search on You tube and watched about 15 families get their babies. This feeling really gets me. It's like a tightening in my chest combined with feelings of anticipation and yearning. I call it "My night before Christmas feeling". It makes me feel like I'm in slow motion and need a way to speed things up.

Update

I was pleasantly surprised last night to find out that my computer was fixed and ready for pick up! Of course I rushed right out to get it! AHHH home sweet home. Again thank God for warranty! They had to replace the mother board. I'm sure that wouldn't have been a cheap repair. An expense I definitely did not need right now which leads on to my next topic....

I was refinger printed last week It was easy and went off without a hitch. For those of you in the Hampton Roads Virginia area. The UCIS office has moved down the street. It's much nicer then the old office and seems much more organized and efficient.

Finally I mailed off all of the paperwork for my I-171H form update yesterday. (Mine expires next month) I hope I did everything right! I sent a copy of my original approved Home Study, a copy of my original Approved I-171H form, a copy of my stamped refinger print completed form, a copy of my birth certificate, my new I-600A application, an Original of my Home Study update and of course a Bank check for the fee.

Does that sound like everything I should have sent? I am so nervous that I may have done something wrong. Please cross your fingers and toes that I did right.

No Computer!

Oh no! My darn laptop has been out of commission for a week already! They had to send it away for repairs. (Thank God for warranty!!) Anyways I haven't posted much as result and have been checking in on everyone here and there either illegally at work or staying after work (like now) or going to My Moms. It stinks but the positive thing is that I have been getting more things done now and am going to bed earlier. I actually went 5 days without checking the Rumor Queens site and you know what I didn't miss anything! Now if I could just get a little motivation to go outside and exercise!

Pure Sweetness

This was too cute not to share! My niece Erin with her babies all tucked in for the night.

13 Months Logged in Today

My dossier for Abby has now been logged in with China for over one year! It's amazing to me all of the things that I have experienced since then. This has truly been an incredible journey. I wouldn't trade it either. The experiences (both good and bad) that I have had thus far have truly contributed to who I am and who I will be as a future Mother to Abby.

I still have no idea how much longer I will have to wait before Abby is finally in my arms. As of now the last group of lucky parents that received their referrals had waited 16 long months from their time of log in date. My wait is likely to be longer then that. We all keep hoping that the wait for referrals will finally stabilize. It's not happening so far.

Rumors say that the number of dossiers sent to China exceed the number of babies available by half. As a result of this fact the CCAA have recently announced new rules that must be followed in order to adopt a child from China. There are several but the one that Impacts me is that as of May 7th, 2007 singles will no longer be allowed to adopt a Child from China. I am very grateful that I entered the China Adoption program when I did. Many agencies have stated that those whose dossiers have already been logged in to China by the CCAA will be grandfatherd in as long as they have been logged in by May 2007. Please pray with me that this will continue to hold true.

71

That's how many days are left between the referral cutoff date issued today and my log in date! It doesn't seem like many days but in reality it could be another 6 or 7 months before my Abby day...... Referrals came out today for the log in dates of September 9th through September 27th. Yes another 3 months it has taken to get through 1 months worth of log in dates (even if next months referrals only have 3 days of September along with some of October). Oh well with each month I get closer and at times it seems like I am really close and not even ready yet! So I wait but I feel like time is going to speed up for me now. I hope this feeling lasts!!

On a related note. Tonight I took the Christmas candles out of my windows. I left one up though in Abby's room. I will keep it lit until she finally gets home........

2007

Happy New Year Everyone! May it bring good things for all of us!!!