Spaaah!

My spa weekend was fantastic. We spent the entire weekend pampering ourselves, going to movies (we saw Mama Mia and laughed till we cried), eating out, lounging in the pool..more pampering! I'm such a sucker for the spa (who isn't?!)! The four of us decided, however, that 2 days just isn't quite enough. Next year we're pushing for three days!!

The photo above was taken as we were getting ready to leave the spa. If you look close enough you may notice a tear in each of our eyes. Just kidding!

Breathing again!

After many, many emails and phone calls, I feel I can state with a measure of confidence that our adoption is going to be OK... at least with regards to our agency being denied Hague accreditation. This is due in part to the fact that we have not allowed ANY of our documents to expire and, as such, qualify to extend our current I 171H (which doesn't expire until 1/9/09). After the extension if filed, a new I 171H will be issued which will be good for an additional 18 months. China has a informed our agency that they will allow them to continue to facilitate the adoptions of their families who expect to receive a referral (and complete their travel) before their current I 171H expires. That's us! In fact, after we file for our extension, we....and I say this with a measure of confidence as well...should be done with our paper work!!! Done being fingerprinted and re-fingerprinted, done with medical exams, done with home studies and notaries, done with court certificates....DONE...until, of course, we get to China.

So, for now I am breathing again. For the first time in a long time I am starting to let myself really think about her. I am allowing myself to believe that the crib, pictured above, will not remain empty forever! I'm enjoying picturing her with us instead of wanting to cry everytime I do. It feels so good. It's amazing how close to my heart this child has remained these past 3 years!

Tomorrow I'm off to enjoy my "girlfriends weekend". Checking into the spa for 2 days. Aaahhh! I'm glad that I get to do so with peace of mind. This week has been stressful and rather high in emotion. It's going to feel so good to put all of that behind me for a few days, relax and enjoy the company of my wonderful friends!

"Thank you" to all our friends and family for all of the loving support we have received from you over the course of the past 3 years (we started our paperchase 3 years ago this month)! It's been a journey fulls of highs and lows and so many unexpected twists and turns. We couldn't have made it this far without you!

Big hugs to everyone!

Fear, Sadness, Anger....and Tears

I just received the following email from my agency. They "kindly" sent it to all of their waiting families on Friday night and then closed the office for the weekend so as not to be available to answer any of our questions....and believe me there are many.

Why? Why? Why? How much change, pain and uncertainty can we be asked to endure????


On July 9th, 2008 CHI was reviewed by COA for our Hague accreditation. Yesterday, July 17, 2008 we were informed by COA that our Hague application has been denied. Our denial was based on being non-compliant in one state where we are licensed. This was not brought to our attention until last week after the Hague review was already underway. We are currently working to resolve this issue and will be requesting from COA re-consideration to our approval.


Specific information on how this affects you - or if it will affect you will be coming in the near future from your specific program.

We are going forward in the faith that this will soon be resolved. We are committed to you and your adoption.


Thank you for your patience and prayers during this time.”
Dwyatt Gantt

The Countdown is on!

9 days left until I check into here.....

For some of this.......

AAAWWW!!!

Our Flagstaff Trip!

We just returned from a week in Flagstaff. We went on hikes, slept in (my favorite thing to do), played games (Doug's favorite thing to do..Scrabble was the game of choice once again), built forts (Jacob's favorite thing to do), went to the Grand Canyon, watched movies, golfed, got pedicures....you name it! We even had some live entertainment at the house one night (the kids put on a play for us...too cute!). We had 4 families (8 kids, 8 adults) in one house and still managed to have a great time! We have some of the greatest friends (and family, of course) in the world!

July 2008 Referrals!

I've been out of town and slightly out of touch! We headed up to Flagstaff for a few days and while we were away, referrals came in. This batch matched families with log in dates of January 21- January 25th of 2006. A 5 day batch. It may not be much, but it is a step closer! There are now 44 days left to be matched before we see a referral. We are included in day 44!

Congratulations to all the families who are seeing their child's face for the first time!!!