CHI's projects in China

Our agency, Children's Hope International, does a lot more than just work in the field of adoption. It's founders, Dwyatt Gantt and Melody Zhang, have made it their mission to help improve the lives of orphans in China, whether they are available for adoption or not.

Recently, Melody started a blog to keep people aware of all that they are doing for kids in China. It's amazing how much they have been able to accomplish with the help of interested families all over the world.

I am going to put a link on the right side of my blog so that anyone who wants to can look and see what Melody has to report.

Her blog also has information about sponsoring orphans in other countries. Some of these children need medical treatment, some surgery and some just food, water and educational assistance. Please check out her blog if you are interested in, or have ever wondered what's involved in, sponsoring a child in a foreign country.

http://www.melodyzhangorphans.blogspot.com/

Who could ask for more?

Have I mentioned how great my sisters are? You couldn't ask for anything better. I forgot to mention this on my blog back in February, so I'm doing it now.

Throughout the adoption, I've been a little bit wary about allowing myself to get too comfortable with the idea that we will someday actually be parents to a beautiful little girl. I'm a bit of a nervous Nelly...actually, I'm a professional worrier. So, needless to say, there's been very little shopping, decorating...very little preparation in those areas. I kept telling myself that once we had our official approval, then I would let loose and start the shopping sprees.

My sisters, on the other hand, had no such reserve. They had been shopping off and on all throughout our process. They were smart enough, however, to hide it from me. After we received word that we had been approved, Doug and I hopped a plane to Ohio to attend his brother's wedding. Sarah stayed with the boys. When we returned, she had a surprise for us.

She had emptied part of my closet and filled it with all the things she had been picking up at stores and boutiques over the past year. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. LITTLE GIRL CLOTHES IN MY HOUSE!!! I had so much fun going through all the outfits. The boys were so excited to show me....it was so sweet. Doug's eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw it...I warned him that this was just beginning....he believed me.

Anyway, I had to brag about what wonderful, wonderful sisters I have once again. They spoil me and they will spoil their niece....I'm sure of that!

Saying good bye...for now

Yesterday was one tough day. We had to say good bye to our friends, The Searls, who are moving to San Diego. Machell and I have been best friends since we met almost eleven years ago. We've been through sooooo much together. She is my glue. She knows me so well and keeps me on track. It's killing me that she won't be here when our daughter comes home. It's hard for me to even imagine. I know, no matter where she is, that she will be a constant source of support and love but it just won't be the same. Our children are as close as kids can be. Benjamin and Travis are best buddies...Jacob is just as close to him (although, Austin is his "official" best friend). Ashley has been such a joy to watch grow up. She's at such a fun age (12 going on 20...ha ha)!! I was so looking forward to having her around to be a big sister to my baby...I guess now it will just have to be from a distance.

We will be able to visit them often, and I know we will stay close. But, for now we are sad. This is a big change that will take some getting used to. We love you guys and will miss you so so much!!

Last day of school!!

Well, the boys have made it through another year of school! Jacob is officially a 5th grader and Benjamin a 3rd grader. These last two weeks of school have been insane. Science projects, field trips, presentations, parties....you name it. I think I'm more ready for summer break than they are. Both of the boys have done well this year and Doug and I are so proud of them. Hopefully next year we will be coming to the end of the school year festivities with their little sister in tow.

Summer is underway....maybe THIS summer will be our last with just the boys (we said that last year, of course). We will enjoy every minute of it and do our best to do the things they want to do...they deserve it. They've been waiting patiently as well and have been doing a great job of keeping me distracted and busy. What good boys I have!!!

Poor Stinky!!!

For once it wasn't my boys....but it was my nephew! My little Lincoln broke his arm over the weekend. He was wrestling with his two older brothers on the bed (naughty, naughty) and somehow got hurt. It wasn't obvious at first that anything was broken, but after one trip to the ER, one to the Pediatrician and one to the Orthopedic it was realized that he had fractured his growth plate in his elbow. So, he will have to wear his little cast for a few weeks. Both my boys have broken bones, but for my sister Norah this was a first. Not too bad considering she's got 3 little boys in the house.

The Stork has landed...for some

I just received the following announcement from my agency:

Children's Hope is delighted to announce the arrival of 17 China
referrals for our 11/2/05 log in date families on June 6, 2007.
There were 16 beautiful little girls and one very handsome little
boy. They are from Chongqing City and the Guangdong province. They
range in age from 7.5 to 12.5 months. These referrals were for the
11/2/05 through 11/7/05 log in dates. These families waited 19
months from log in date to referral. We expect these families to
travel in about 8 weeks.

Congratulations to these families and all our China families who
have moved up in line!


It's always so exciting when referrals arrive. Hopefully these families will post pictures of their little ones on our Yahoo group message board soon. I love looking at them.

The next batch of referrals will probably arrive in about 4 weeks or so. So, back to waiting.

In case any of you are wondering, the family that received the referral for a little boy had specifically stated that they were open to adopting a boy or a girl in their original homestudy.

Since these families waited 19 months from their log in date until their referral, it can be said that the the current wait time is 19 months. Supposing that stays the same, we can expect a referral in October. The chances are it won't stay the same, but we can always hope.

No News Yet

Apparently the latest referrals are on the "slow boat from China". No news yet to let us know if they've even been mailed. I've probably checked my computer 12 times today. I'm anxious to see how much closer we've come. The rumors are all over the place. Some say they will cover through the middle of November and others think it will only be a few days. We will just have to see.

I'M CAUGHT UP!!!

I'm finanlly caught up on my blog!!!! I should have started this two years ago, but I didn't. So, from now on I will be able to post things as they actually happen! I'm so excited. Hopefully soon we will be hearing about the next batch of referrals! I'll post as soon as I get word. Thank you for following our journey.

May 2007/SPA DAY...AGAIN

OK, it's true. I went to the spa twice in one month. I'm so spoiled!! This time it was due to my lovely mother-in-law. She treated myself, and my two sister-in-laws to a day at the spa. My best friend Machel came along as well. She's moving to California soon and I wanted us to have some time together before she leaves. We had a great time...of course. Afterwards, we met Doug, Tim and Rick for dinner. It was a special day. What made it especially nice was having Jacque (my sister-in-law) with us. She lives in Washington and we don't get to see her as often as we would like. She came down for the weekend and we had a great time. She's pregnant and just starting to show...due in November. I sent her home with the cradle that our boys were in when they were babies. Our little girl will be too old to use a cradle, so I was glad to give it to Jacque. It will be so precious to see her little one sleeping in it!

May 2007/Hat swap

My friend Terri organized a hat swap for some of the March waiting families. Everyone who joined in got to buy a hat for another waiting family and mail it to them. The family we got to buy for is right here in Phoenix.

I made Doug and the boys come with me to the mall to pick out the hat. They all three knew better than to complain too much....anything to keep Mom from being sad about the adoption. We ended up having a great time shopping. The three of them are worse than me when it comes to getting excited over little girl clothes. Our sugarplum is going to be so spoiled!!!

I've included the picture of the hat and the card that we received in the mail!! We can't wait to have a little face peeking out from underneath it!!

May 2007/SPA DAY

I got together with two other waiting mom's for a day at the spa. Both Terri and Mardi are logged in in March along with us. We met at the Red Door Inn for facials and relaxation. It was so nice to see both of them again. We chatted, drank wine, floated in the pool and talked about how we are getting through this difficult wait. Terri bought lunch and Mardi bought gifts. They are both so thoughtful. We can't wait for the day we can get together with our little girls.

May 2007/Fingerprint date

The time has come for Doug and I to update some of our documents. We had a visit with our social worker last month. She sent an updated report to the Court and soon after we received an appointment to get fingerprinted (again)! So, Doug and I had a little "fingerprinting date". I wanted to take a picture of us getting fingerprinted, but you are not allowed. They make you leave your cameras and cell phones in you car when you enter the building. Who knew fingerprinting was so top secret. So, we took a picture of ourselves in the car leaving the appointment. I wanted something to remember it by. The picture isn't pretty, but it's precious to me. I hope and pray this is the last time we have to update our documents. These fingerprints will be good through May of 2008. As long as we travel by then, we won't have to do this again. Here's hoping things speed up.

May 2007/More referrals

The CCAA put out another batch of referrals. They arrived the first week of May. They covered families that were logged in from October 27, 2005 thru November 1, 2005. Six days...not a lot, but it beats two days like the last batch.

April 2007/The wait drags on

The slow down in the wait has taken a turn for the worse. We had been told that October and November 2005 were record months for the CCAA. In other words, the CCAA had received "record" numbers of dossiers these two months. We knew that when it came time for referrals, it would probably take them longer than normal to work through these months. What we didn't know was just how bad it was going to get. The batch of referrals that was received during the first week of April only covered TWO days worth of waiting families. TWO DAYS!! The news was heartbreaking. The two days that it covered were Oct 25th and 26th. The next batch of referrals (not expected to arrive until the first of May) would start with October 27th and move forward.

March 2007/Anniversaries

We had two anniversaries this month. March 10th was the one year anniversary of our log in date. March 13th was the 13th anniversary of our wedding day! Doug and I have been on quite a journey these past 13 years. I can't wait to see what lies ahead.

I love you Doug...thank you for supporting me in everything. You make my dreams come true!

March 2007/Matching luncheon

Now that we were in the "Matching Room", my sisters and Cori decided we needed to celebrate..girlfriend style. So, they threw me the cutest luncheon ever!!! The theme was "The Matching Room"...I didn't really know what that meant, until I got there. Everyone bought little gifts that matched in one way or another. For example, one gift was a tank top and flip flops for me with a little tank top and flip flops for our baby girl so we could match. My girlfriend Lezlie bought sweatshirts for the boys with a pink one to match for their little sister. There was also a beautiful dress that's blue with white pok-a-dots and a pink bow with two matching ties for the boys. It was all so thoughtful and adorable. I love it and I love my sisters and my girlfriends. Without each and everyone of them I would have lost my mind by now.
Thank you all so much.