6 Days is better then 2!

Yep! Rumor Queen has it as a R5 on her site! Referrals are on the way and the cut off date is November 1st! (Lot's of exclamation marks I know but this is good news!!!) Everyone was expecting another 2 day batch like last months referral batch but for once it didn't happen :) YAY for all of you lucky families with babies on the way :D I can't wait to see all of the referral pictures start popping up. In honor of your happiness I think I will do a little shoppy for Abby to help celebrate your dreams finally coming true!

So now just the month of November LID's to get through before my LID month December! November has been projected to be a monster month with lots of families logged in and waiting for their referrals. I am thinking it will take at least 3 more months for the CCAA to finish issuing referrals for Novembers LID's. December has been projected to be a smaller month of LID's but who really knows? (All of my guesses or statements are based on rumors anyways.) Now if December truly is a smaller group then maybe I will be lucky enough to be part of the first batch of referrals issued for Decembers LID's. (LID Dec 7th) Hey that is just 4 more months to wait until I finally get to see Miss Abby's face. Could it be? My baby might just be home before the New Year............Or at least I will finally have a picture of her :D

Bath Time?

I can't remember where or when I came across this photo. I do remember that this is a way of bathing babies at the orphanages though. If I recall the babies really don't mind it either??? Interesting to say the least.......

Wow?

My thanks to Ann for nominating my humble blog as one that makes her think. I'm flattered since I really don't think I am at all that exciting. I wish I could write and share my feelings as well as so many of you are able to do. I love reading all of your blogs. It's there that I find peace, empathy, support, understanding, forgiveness, friendship, strength, knowledge and a sincere sense of belonging. This journey of a lifetime is just so much more special because of all of you! Many times I have felt like nobody really knows what I am going through. That nobody can truly understand the stress or it's effects on me. It would be totally unbearable if I was facing this alone. Luckily that is not the case. Maybe we have never met in person but I still don't think that makes us strangers. It's here where we can all relate, we laugh, we cry, we share shopping tips, we wait, we celebrate and most of all we support one another........ and for that I am Very Thankful :)


I could name any number of blogs because you all make me think. I read so many and still don't have them all listed in my side bar yet. Here's a few that I haven't seen make the nominations yet though.

Waiting for Sophie I'm sure everyone knows about this blog. Shana tells a story when she writes and her pictures are just beautiful.
Cherry Blossom Baby Another single Mom like me. She has been so positive throughout her journey and it has been wonderful to watch her dreams come true.
Eliza's Story One of the first blogs I started to follow. She also has had her dreams come true and I look foreward to reading each of Eliza's new adventures.
Pam in China A Mom of 2 adopted from China and living in China. It is really neat to see things from her perspective.
Starfish This woman also lives in China. She seeks out Orphans in China that need extra TLC in order to survive. She cares for them until they are ready to meet their forever families.

Serious Retail Therapy

I have been so bad lately! I can't help it. I hate not having any idea when I might finally get to see Abby's sweet little face. The rumors are starting again and it is sounding like the next batch of referrals will again only include a couple of days. It's early but still stressful. Usually the rumors seem to start off fairly good then turn pretty grim before leveling out some where in the middle. Last time the rumors seemed to turn bad and just stay there. To make up for past disappointments I have been doing a little shopping again. What better way to lift your spirits then by visiting E-Bay :) I may not be able to expect an eminent referral in my mailbox, but I can look forward to the arrival of won items. Hey it works! At least in the short term.

I absolutely love this dress. It is part of the Gymboree Tea Garden line. I would get it in every size if I could afford to.


Tiffany (Mom of Eliza) turned me on to Baby Nay. They have such pretty patterns. Thank goodness for E-Bay cause I would never be able to afford them in retail.

Target find for only 5 bucks!

Babies r us

It's reversible!

I don't know if Abby will be a paci baby or not but if she is I will be ready!

There has been more damage but I don't want to put my Mom in shock :)

Fun Stuff

My friend Mandy surprised me at work the other day with this neat ladybug stone. I know some of you are not into the ladybug thing in regards to China adoptions but I think it's a fun connection to believe in.



This is the card that came along with it.

I also came home last night after work to a package waiting for me on my stoop. Inside was this note from Melanie and..........

This adorable bib.

Tucked inside the ladybug is a little wash cloth :)

Finally My friend Nancy gave me this journal. I love what she wrote inside it :)

30 months???

This button is so appropriate right now. It was created by Julie, Mother of the beautiful Miss Tess. Her Cafe Press store is linked on her blog if you are interested in checking out this and more of her creations.

Rumor Queen today posted what we all already suspected and knew is an eventual possibility. She has written that a European agency is telling their clients that the wait for a referral from China may reach 30 months. Not a pretty thought to live with. If referrals continue to be issued in just a few day increments then this is actually a very believable rumor though. Please excuse me while I go be sick now.

It Happens again

I'm just sitting here now pondering today's terrible events that occurred at Tech today. I'm angry! Those poor kids. I am watching various kids being interviewed on CNN right now and you can just tell that they are in shock. I can't even begin to imagine what their loved ones went through today. It's just crazy! I feel like no place is safe anymore. This type of thing seems to be happening more and more these day's. It makes you stop and think. How can I guarantee Abby's safety in this world we live in today. Is violence becoming the norm? I see it every day at work in the ICU. When I first graduated nursing school back in 1994 we rarely had a gun shot victim. Now we see them almost weekly. It used to be that when we got one of these patients the area that the incident occurred was in an area you would expect that type of thing to happen. Now these incident's are happening everywhere. The victims seem to be getting younger too. Why are guns so easy to get? Why do so many young people have them? How about all of the young people today who saw this and more then likely other prior similar incidents on T.V. How is this increasingly common occurence shaping their future expectations of our world today? Something needs to change and SOON! How can we stop this? That is the million dollar question. Man, I just really hate guns!

Need a Smile?

I found this link to a smile on the CHI yahoo group. Love Without Boundaries put together this beautiful slide show sure to make you smile. They do wonderful things for so many children. Please go here to check it out. Click on watch to get the show started :)

Congrats Mom and Hugh!

Referral update

Mr Stork arrived this past Friday. Waiting families that were lucky enough to be logged in from October 25 through October 26, 2005 finally had their dreams come true. :) Yep! You read that correctly, only 2 days worth of LID's were issued this month! BUMMER with a capital B :( Why only 2 days you ask???? Only the CCAA knows.................

Happy Easter

We could all use a laugh :)

On a more serious note though........ Happy Easter to each and everyone of you!

16 months today

I can't believe I have been logged in with the CCAA for 16 months! Actually, I can, but what I really can't believe is that I have absolutely no idea how much longer I still have to wait. I would be fibbing if I said I wasn't frustrated. Anyways I celebrated today's important milestone by buying another Willow figurine. I had never seen this one. I think she is perfect and a very appropriate symbol for where I am at this point in my life.

Click on the card to enlarge it and you will see what I mean. (I'm sorry that it is blurry)

On another note though...... Look what I woke up to this morning. A spring snow storm! Not really a storm but still. We rarely get any significant snow fall. We also had an unusually mild winter this year. Now for it to even snow on April 7th?? And On my LID???? Last week we had a day in the low 80's and I actually broke down and had my air on for a day. (only a day but I have had my windows open since then) Last night I closed my windows, turned my heat back on, and used my gas logs. Tonight it is for forcasted to drop into the 20's. Crazy times.

It was pretty though :)

My car covered around 6:30 Am this morning.

All in all we got around a half to 1 inch accumulation. Areas to the north and West got around 3 inches. It was all gone by the time I got home tonight though as a result of temperatures in the 40's.

I Believe

With the grim rumors and projections about referrals currently circling today, I decided to do a post on faith and belief. I googled the word believe to look for an inspiring image to go along with my post. I swear (honestly) this adorable little girl is one of the images that popped up with my search. I am a firm believer in signs and am taking this image as a sign meant for me and all of us. We can't give up! Our children are out there and WE WILL find each other. I believe it

Knowing this doesn't make the wait any easier though. None of us planned to wait this long. The lack of information and uncertainty has been excruciating. The sleepless nights, altered plans, and pounds that I have gained have also not been pleasant. Do I regret my decision? Not for a minute! This picture of this adorable little girl (I wish I knew who she belonged to) has just affirmed my faith. I do and will continue to believe for me, for Abby, and for all of us.

My new header

A big thank's to Sara for the beautiful header she made for me and added to my blog. She is another waiting China Mamma. She doesn't charge a fee but there is a place on her site for you to make donations if you would like. She does wonderful work! Go here if you would like to check out some of her creations. Thank's again Sara :)

Referrals?

Referrals that were rumored to be on the way did not arrive as expected. Possibly next week they say? What I want to know is did they skip a month? I know that up to 35 days or so can pass in between referrals at times. Now I'm thinking that end March expected referrals would be 1 month and end April referrals would be 2 months...... So does early April referrals equal 1 month then early May referrals another month????? Seems like a lost month to me. Rumors are also saying that when the referrals do arrive they may still only be for the rest of October???? Then November is projected to be a huge month possibly taking as many as 4 months to get through all those referrals?????? So where I was thinking possibly June for Abby's referral is now starting to look like September. See why I'm going nuts here?

Made with love by Meema

Here it is. Abby's first Taggy Blanket. Meema made this for Abby. She did a great job and I love it! This is definitely coming with me to China. I will give it to Abby on Gotcha day!