What it feels like to adopt

My girlfriend, Terri, sent me an email with this photo attached asking how I was holding up! I laughed so hard when I saw it. The picture pretty much describes how I've been feeling this week with regards to the adoption. My nerves are a frazzled mess (but in a good way) as we wait to see what this batch of referrals will do! I've been checking the rumor boards like a mad women! It's a thrill a minute...not really, but it is an exciting time for us!

One thing is certain, my friend Mardi WILL be receiving her referral in this batch! My heart is racing for you Mardi! I'm waiting on pins and needles right along side you! Lauren is almost here!!!

Where I want to be.....

Right now I'm sitting in my office going over the last of my accounting stuff to get things ready to file our taxes. But, where I want to be is pictured above.....Ventura beach, chasing after my niece who spent the morning running through the sand in her p.j.'s. How dreamy is that?!

UPDATE: Here's one more reason I want to be with Vienna on the beach and not in front of my computer: I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO CHECK THE RUMOR QUEEN SITE!!! Look what she just posted:

There are a few early rumors floating around, none are higher than an R2 at this point. The rumors range from a cut off of the 9th to the 14th.

The 9th OR the 14th???!!!.......Kind of big difference for us! GIVE ME STRENGTH!!!

Noth'in but love

What an amazing weekend we just had!

• First of all, Doug and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. Friday night we had a family night with the boys! We exchanged gifts (kind of a family tradition) and took the boys to dinner at a cowboy/western restaurant which they loved, surprisingly enough! Saturday morning I dropped the boys off to Sarah and.....well, the rest of the weekend was heavenly. Doug and I ate out, sat by the pool, shopped and just enjoyed one another's company (I'll spare you the details on that one). We talked a lot about the last 15 years and how blessed we both feel to have one another, the boys, our friends and family....and of course, we talked and dreamed of our baby girl.
• Second of all, Sarah organized and sponsored a yard sale at her home on Friday and Saturday in honor of our adoption. She enlisted the help of all the friends and family members she could think of. She asked everyone to drop items off to her home that they were looking to get rid of. She made sure to mention that all the proceeds of the sale would go towards a donation to her niece's orphanage. There was an overwhelming response. She was able to raise over $1000.00!! Both her and Norah worked hard all weekend to make this sale a success. They did an amazing job. Doug and I are so full of gratitude toward the both of them. I've said it a million times before, but I'll say it again.....I HAVE THE BEST SISTERS IN THE WORLD! Doug and I will hand carry the money to China with us when we travel and will proudly turn it over to our daughter's orphanage director. Orphanage donations are a mandatory part of the required adoption fees. It's one fee I have no problem paying. The money is given directly to the Social Wellfare Institute that houses the children being placed. It is used to help improve the conditions of the facility, employ nannies, and provide food and clothing for the children. Our daughter will have benefitted from the donations of the families who have traveled before us and her "sisters" will benefit from ours. It's a good thing.
• And finanlly, I went ahead and hopped on Rumor Queen just a few moments ago and read the following: I’m seeing multiple agencies who are giving their clients the idea that the next two months could cover more days than we might be expecting them to cover. She went on to mention that the hint is that the next batch of referrals COULD cover through the 13th!! Although early rumors tend NOT to be true, there is that glimmer of possibility that our LID will be included in the next batch of referrals (due to arrive in the next 2 1/2 to 3 weeks). So, hang on folks, the roller coaster ride is about to get extremely exciting. I for one will choose to keep my hands and heart inside the ride at all times, until it comes to a complete stop!

Love to all,
Mary

P.S. I know the pictures are horrible, but they are the only ones I have from this entire weekend! They were taken on Doug's cell phone...Jacob took the one of Doug and I..we look a little rough....I guess that's what 15 years of marriage will do to you (ha ha).

P.P.S. I chose the Eric Clapton song out of desperation. I couldn't find another song that fit the post. I have to remove the music thing from my blog, it's too much to try to manage. Anyway, this was the song we danced to at our wedding. Isn't that sweet?!

Our 3 Year LID Anniversary!

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of our log in date. It's amazing to think that 3 years have passed since we received word that our documents were officially "logged in" at the CCAA. So much has changed in our lives since then. So much has changed in the world on international adoption. The one thing that has remained the same is the uncertainty of this program. This has been one long, hard journey but I'm so glad that we have stuck it out. It already feels so worth it!

Our little sugarplum is in our thoughts and dreams everyday. There's hardly anything I do throughout the day that doesn't make me think of her. I don't know who or where she is right now, but I know I love her. It won't be long before we see her precious face.

We love you, baby girl, and will continue to wait for you with open arms and open hearts!

(The flower pictured above is some type of a "sugarplum" flower....who knew?!)

March referrals!!

The March referrals starting arriving in the U.S. earlier this week. They matched families with LID's of 3/3/06 thru 3/6/06!! Our agency did not have families logged in during those days, so they have not announce any referral news, or even that the 6th was the official cut-off date for this batch, but I'm reporting it anyway.

This means that there are only 4....that's right, 4 days left to match to get to us! Aaaaaahhhh! We are so close! I knew March was going to be an exciting month.

As far as my guess as to when we will see our referral, well here it goes. I think that the next batch of referals will cover only 1 day, March 7th. Those referrals are expected to arrive around the first week of April. The next batch, which will arrive around the first week of May, will hopefully cover the 8th thru the 10th!!! So, I'm hoping to receive our referal then! My biggest fear right now is that the CCAA won't be able to match the 7th in one batch and that they will have to split it into 2 batches. I hope not. What a hard, hard pill that will be for people to swallow. A half day batch. I really, really hope it doesn't happen.

One of my biggest thrills right now is knowing that my good friend, Mardi, is up next for a referral!!!!! She has an LID of 3/7/06! I can't believe that she will be seeing her daughter, Lauren's, precious face in just a few weeks! It's so exciting to see someone who has been enduring this wait right along side us actually get to this point. I can't wait to celebrate the arrival of Lauren's referral. Yippee!