20 months and 5 days . . .

Another month has come and gone with no word on when our agency expects to receive their next list of waiting children who will become apart of their special needs pilot program, “United in Hope”. We continue to hope and pray that it will come soon. At times, it might seem trivial and even selfish on our part to wish for this to come in now, especially with everything else that is going on in China with last week’s earthquake, but nevertheless, it is a wish that we pray will come true soon. We truly feel for the people of China and ask that you continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We will continue to do what we can on our end to bring our file into compliance with Hague. The implementation of Hague has added a few new steps to the process, but all are manageable. We are hoping to have our home study update done this month, as well as request new fingerprint appointments for us to be re-fingerprinted for the I-800 Form, and we also will need to have our physicals updated and request child abuse and neglect letters from each state/country we have lived since the age of 18 years. Like I said, all is doable and we hope to have most, if not all, accomplished even before we receive our referral, thus facilitating only more waiting time on the part of the CCAA. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes according to plan.

Earthquake in China

Please keep all the people affected by horrible earthquake that hit central China in your prayers. It is such devastating news. We pray for all the people who have lost loved ones and those who still have no news about their loved ones. I hope the world as a whole can set aside their differences and help the people of China in whatever ways are possible. Again, please keep the people of China in your prayers as they deal with this horrific tragedy.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Moms and Soon to Be Moms everywhere. Today as I honor my own mom and am honored by my daughter and husband, I cannot help but remember my daughter's birth mom, who if it were not for her I would not be the mom to the most wonderful, beautiful and miraculous person on earth! I am so very grateful to Samantha's birth mom and if I could meet her I'd tell her thank you a million times over for granting me the most precious gift of becoming a mother. Although I know she made a huge sacrifice when she made Samantha's adoption plan, I am ever so grateful. I'd like her to know that I think of her often and wish I could share with her the wonders of our daughter. I hope she knows in her heart that the daughter she gave to us is loved and cherished each and every day and that she is simply precious and very special. So on this Mother's Day, I want to wish Sammie's Birth Mother a Happy Mother's Day from both Sammie and me. We both thank you from the bottom of our hearts for letting us become a Forever Family! God Bless You!

A Sign???

Tonight we had Chinese takeout for dinner. Sammie had a double fortune in one of her cookies and I opened a few others. If these are not a sign that our referral is just around the corner, then I don't know what is. Here they are:

• "A new relationship is about to blossom. You will be blessed."
• "A short stranger will soon enter your life with blessings to share."
• "Soon, a visitor shall delight you."
• "You will be called upon to celebrate some goods news."

What do you think?

A Glimmer of Hope!

It's not much, but I checked in with our agency today about whether or not they have heard anything on when they expect to receive a new list of available children. I was told that as of last Friday they were still working with the existing list. They did indicate that they had heard from the head of their China Program and that he had recently spoken with their contact in China and that she has been working with the Nanjing SWI to clear new children for adoption, but that they haven't received the new list yet. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and hope that a new list of children arrives soon!

Still No List

We'll another day has come and gone with no word of when our agency will get the next list of children waiting for their forever families! It is very sad and frustrating and I feel so much for the precious children that continue to wait for their families. If only they could get united with Forever Families quickly where they can be showered with hugs and kisses and the love they so deserve. For all families waiting, know that we feel for you and are there with you as we too continue on this, which at times, seems like a never ending journey. We know in our heart that it will happen one day - All in God's time!