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It's official...the wait has exceeded 3 years
Well, to pass the time we're keeping busy to say the least. It's come to the point where we're living life as if we weren't waiting and using up the "free time" (what is that??) to accomplish some great tasks.
Back to School
We're both working on our Masters degrees, and will be finished by the end of the year. I know for me, October can't come soon enough!
Yard Sale
Prepping for yet ANOTHER yard sale! Early June will be the date of a yard sale for us to be able to contribute to a cause that will help a deserving girl in China. http://www.movingmountainschina.org/
As we wait for our own adoption to go through, we'd like to sponsor a girl in China (who has been given a chance...unlike many girls in China) and help her overcome a monumental obstacle, affording high school, in order to fulfill her dreams of becoming all she can be. We will also be able to use the story of this driven teenager as an example and role model for our daughter when that time comes.
Travel
Both of us have been traveling for work - many nights away from home, delayed at airports, and lots of breakfasts, lunches and dinners out...makes for an bit of an unfit body
Triathlon
Back to training! Julie will be competing in a sprint triathlon again this year (July), not alone however. Reuniting with an old friend from college has sparked this and having a training partner makes things so much more motivating than doing it on my own. Bye Bye unfit body (I hope!)
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You Know You're Adopting from China if...
You know that I-600 & I-171 aren't highways....
You've been expecting a baby for over 3 years...
You understand that it's 2006 in some parts of the world....
You've "paid for" 3 citizenships, but never brought anyone into the U.S....
You know that waiting for China has nothing to do with Dillards or dishes...
Your home study is followed by a number (i.e. #3 or #4)...
You never know how many days next month will have...
You know that babies come in batches...
You've been fingerprinted four times, but never committed a crime...
You automatically assume everyone who is expecting is having a girl...
You own new clothing in 3 little sizes for all 4 seasons (because you don't know when or how big)...
You look twice when you see a ladybug...
You're more interested in what will happen in March 2006 then in March 2009...
You know people who understand when you talk about 2 day months & 5 day months...
Your due date hasn't changed by days, but by years...
You know who the Rumor Queen is...AND...you don't know who she is...
You know the forecast doesn't have anything to do with the weather...
You've waited so long, they re-checked your fingerprints to see if they changed...
Trying to understand why they're printing you again, you study your own fingerprints and wonder if fingerprints grow wrinkles...
When you speak of "that time of month" you're talking about CCAA updating & referrals...
And finally...you might be adopting from China if you love someone you've never met with all your heart!
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February 3, 2009
It's been a long time
Well, it's been a long time since we've updated our website as we've been quite busy doing a lot of things. Julie has a new job which she started at the end of September 2008. A great company with fantastic people that make her feel appreciated and welcome....a dream really! And in May she started her M. Ed. in Online Learning which is an 18-month accelerated program which will be over in October, which cannot come soon enough as every waking moment if not working is spent doing homework. John has been playing the bagpipes, selling ice cream and finishing up his MBA - in November - so we'll be celebrating our freedom at the end of the year.
So, needless to say we're keeping ourselves busy through the wait and accomplishing some great things in the meantime. Neither of us wanted to be going to school when we had a new child at home so I guess everything happens for a reason?!
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September 4, 2008
Living vicariously...
Well, beginning tomorrow, we will be living vicariously through 2 "local" couples that we have met throughout this adoption process. These couples will be traveling to China to meet their new children, one a daughter and one a son.
We've been provided blogs for each to follow over the next 14 days and I can't wait to see pictures of them as they each become a family of THREE!!
Jen & Kitt and Jen & Jeff...best wishes and safe travel to you both and we look forward to meeting your children when you return.
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18 Months worth of Words
This photo is one that was created from the words that have frequented our website over the last 18 months. There's definitely a theme...persistance, love, and family, as well as other thoughts and feelings that will help us evenutally get to China. |
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June 21, 2008
We Aren't Getting Any Younger...
This is what John and I will look like when we receive our referral...there are walkers next to the bed that you can't see :) Anyway, we're keeping ourselves busy to keep our spirits up and our hair not gray!!
Schoolwork and triathlon training is keeping Julie to a strict schedule/routine for the summer (not much free time) and summer is ice cream season, so with work and training at times with Julie for the triathlon, John is keeping himself busy too.
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March 8, 2008
WW Week 1
Weighed in this morning...down 1 lb. Not too shabby considering I had ice cream 2 nights this week (10 points per 1 cup...UGH!), imagine what would have happened if I had some willpower?!
BTW: Did you know that every .25 lbs (1/4 lb.) is equal to a stick of butter? So, I lost as much fat this week as 4 sticks of butter. EEWWW! Never allow you to think of butter the same way again, huh?
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March 1, 2008
March Maddness
My February resolution was a success (although a few days I DID go to DD for a muffin and coffee, but it wasn't BK!). For March I'm going back to Weight Watchers and staying on it until I loose the 40 lbs that I feel I need to loose in order to be happy with myself. Although, depending on how my clothes begin to fit I may stop a bit before that because I'm not totally focused on weight, I just want to LOOK and FEEL GOOD. So weekly I'll pop on and post my success.
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February 1, 2008
February's Resolution
Well, my resolution for Feb will be to QUIT stopping at the Burger King on my way to work in the morning. (and I wonder why I've packed on the pounds!) I'm going to plan my breakfasts so I can take them on the go and either eat at work or on my way to work. My problem is that I can't eat "empty calories" in the morning otherwise i'm STARVING all day long. So, I have to find something portable with protein/fiber so I can stop feeling like I "NEED" to stop at BK because it's the only thing that fills me up. (yeah, fill up and OUT!)
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January 21, 2008
The downstairs bathroom is BEAUTIFUL!
I can only post one picture here in the journal area, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to remind you what the bathroom used to look like :) Take a gander in the photo album section to see the UNBELIEVEABLE transformation it went through in 2 weeks time.
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January 14, 2008
Who'd have thought that my body has been deprived of water all these years. I have been drinking over 100 oz. of water each day, and surprisingly enough when I wake up in the morning my body is craving it!
And...I used to be a Diet Coke junkie (at least 1 if not 2 a day) and I have only had soda ONE DAY since January 1...I can't believe it!
So far, the New Year's resolution is off to a good start (for January anyway). Check back in a few weeks and see what I have in store for myself for February :)
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January 3, 2008
We received our monthly update from our agency today...and the wait extends yet another month from log-in-date. This is proving to be by far the most awesome feeling of frustrating anticipation ever!!
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January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
Well, 2007 is behind us, and I've no idea where the time went. I honestly feel like it has only been 4 months since this time last year (which is great for the ever so expanding wait!), but what did we accomplish?
John started a new job (selling ice cream, YUMM-O!), we had a VERY SUCCESSFUL yard sale raising $ for our adoption fund, John marched in his first parade playing his bagpipes, I completed a sprint triathlon during the summer, and the nursery was completed (now we just have to paint it).
So it was enough to keep us busy alongside "normal" daily life, and we have similar plans for this year. Our plans for 2008 are: renovating our downstairs bathroom, paint the nursery, John to participate in the Highland Games, Julie to compete in another sprint triathlon (hopefully more than one), John to continue working on his MBA, and plan a trip to Ireland over the Thanksgiving holiday week. (of course, all alongside "normal" daily life.)
Julie's New Year Resolution(s)
You make it, you break it...isn't that always what happens? In 2008 I'm going to try to mitigate "failure" all while resolving to do more things.
Each month, during 2008, I will have a different resolution. The ultimate goal is to create a habit and carry each resolution through to the next month, but if I don't, it's okay, at least I tried, right? So your resolution can be that you will check back each month and check in on my progress and see what the next month's resolution will be.
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January 1, 2008
January's Resolution
They say a key to helping with "weight loss" is keeping hydrated. So, for the month of January I'm going to attempt to stay hydrated and drink 64+ oz of water each day. Small steps to a lofty goal of loosing weight and gaining energy before our Little One arrives.
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December 29, 2007
Thinking ahead to 2008
As I sit around a circular fireplace at the Inglenook Lodge in Jay Peak, VT, after a wonderful day of snowshoeing in the wilderness, I'm thinking of heading back to the "rat race" (ha ha...given this next Chinese year is the year of the rat) and how I plan better myself in 2008.
What I'm thinking is New Year's resolutions are JUNK! You follow through for 3 weeks or so and then it's all downhill from there. This year I'm planning to take a lesson from a fellow "waiting mother" also adopting from China, who did this last year and I thought it was a great idea! Instead of making ONE resolution for the year (and failing miserably) I'm going to make 12...one for each month.
On January 1, 2008, you can check back here to the journal and see what I have planned out for myself this year. If I carry each resolution through to the next month, GREAT, if not...I tried something new for 30 days, created a healthier lifestyle perhaps, which is better than not trying at all, right?
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December 6, 2007
Today around 11:00 China Adoption With Love received a package of referrals for families who were logged in on December 9th, 2005. These eight little girls, ages 12 month to 4 years, have been matched with wonderful families who have waited so long for them. Both Guangxi Province and Guizhou Province were represented in this batch of children. These referrals that CCAA was able to process this month included the CAWLI families logged in up to December 14th, 2005.
It is reported that the wait time is now 24 months from LID, which is November 21, 2008 expected referral at this point. Hang in there...it WILL happen (at least that's what I tell myself)!
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November 21, 2007
Happy LIDiversary!
For twelve months a stack of dossiers has been sitting on a desk in China while we wait (PATIENTLY) for ours to float to the top when our daughter's name gets called. It's been a busy year for us with lots of changes (employment and home renovations) but when we stop and relax its amazing to think somewhere in China our daughter is unknowingly waiting for us to come get her, probably from a place we have never heard of and can't correctly pronounce.
One year of waiting down, ??? months to go :) Happy LIDiversary to us!
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October 8, 2007
No CAWLI update yet...but CCAA has one!
The CCAA has announced that they have processed all applications up to and including November 30, 2005. It has taken them SEVEN months to process all of the applications logged into their offices in November of 2005! So, for all of you wondering why it's taken sooooo long, the processing of the November applications has a great deal to do with it.
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October 3, 2007
Change is good!!
Back when we started this adoption process I decided that I wanted to grow my hair long so when I have a child it'll be easy to do (pull it back) and it won't take a lot of time. Well, it's been over a year, we're not many steps closer to our China trip, so I decided to chop-chop.
I LOVE THE NEW DEW! Spunky and a bit more trendy than the long curly locks I had. For those of you who enjoyed my long curly hair...it'll be back, someday...hair grows :) |
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September Update
Our agency announced today that they just received referrals for 6 families! The children were between the ages of 8 months and 4 years. The children were from Chongqing and Hunan. These referrals included the families logged in up to November 23rd, 2005.
And along with that update comes news of another extended wait. The current wait between LID and referral is 22 months. Who knows, maybe we can have 2 elephants before we go to China?
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Top 10
Top 10 Ways You Know You've Waited Too Long For a Referral From China:
10. When people ask you how the process is going and when you're going to get your daughter, your response is "when the cows come home".
9. When someone tells you a far off date in the future as 12-18 months you think to yourself "wow, that's coming up so soon!"
8. You know people who have had two kids in the time you've been waiting for a referral from China.
7. The last Olympics were happening when you started trying for a family and there's a possibility you'll be in China for the '08 Olympics there.
6. You know couples who have gotten engaged, married and had a baby all while you've been trying to start a family.
5. You try out all the baby stuff on the dog to "practice"--and you take pictures to post on your website because there's no other news to report.
4. You automatically convert the time to Beijing time in your head because you think maybe the CCAA is working on referrals.
3. Your nursery bedding has been discontinued.
2. You've had to dust cobwebs off the changing table in the nursery.
1. You've gone on your last childless vacation.....5 times!!!
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August 6, 2007
I'm loosing weight but I feel like an ELEPHANT!
Well, August is a bittersweet month...a month that I need to really take the quote of this week to heart.
Don't get caught up in negative thoughts, they will run your life. You are in charge of your journey; depending on how you think, it will be a positive one or a negative one! --- Marion Licchiello
This is our 9th month of waiting; our 9th month of "pregnancy". Ultimately if this were all a "natural process" we would be welcoming a child into our home this month. But it's not.
Instead we have chosen another path, another type of journey, one that does not involve stretch marks or swollen feet and ankles, it also doesn't involve sleepless nights or giving up alcohol, but it involves putting our family into someone elses hands and having absolutely no control over it, having the gestation period of an elephant (An elephant's gestation period lasts about 22 months,the longest gestation period of any mammal), wanting to go on a nice vacation to help make the wait go by a bit quicker but wanting to save $$ to do things in the house as well. Decisions decisions.
Now that I've vented, we would like to congratulate the 7 families from our agency who received referrals last week. It'll only be a short time before they head to China to bring their daughters home. YAY!
We, on the other hand, found out our wait has been extended to 21 months from our LID (11/21/07) to just attain a picture of our Little One. (and that is expected to get longer!!) So, we need to keep our heads in the game, think positive and enjoy the journey one day at a time. (easier said than done!)
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July 8, 2007
We received word today that referrals are in, and 6 families from our agency received referrals, the girls were ages 8 months to 1year 8 months. These referrals included the families logged in up to November 14th, 2005.
With this information we also found out that it's time to tack another month onto our "due date". So we're now looking at July 21, 2008...but they are expecting it to continue to get longer. Hold on, we've got a long ride ahead of us!
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June 7, 2007
Today we found out that 8 families from our agency received referrals this month…after waiting 19 months to get to this point. Our agency also has 7 familes leaving for China at the end of June and 19 families returning home from China TODAY with their children! How exciting… YAY for them!
Someday that will be us, but for now we will live vicariously through those families that are waiting ahead of us in line.
And during this wait we will also be spending time painting our Little One’s room…take a look at the transformation that my uncle has done to her room over the last several weeks (under ‘The Nursery’ and ‘Photo Albums’).
We said goodbye to Uncle Steve today as he left to return home after spending 3 weeks with us. We appreciate his creative design and willingness to help us out as we create a comfortable home for our daughter to come home to.
Thanks Uncle Steve, I couldn’t ask for anything better. The room is BEAUTIFUL! I can’t wait until the next time we play ‘While You Were Out’...with the bathroom!! :) |
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May 21, 2007
6 month LIDiversary
Well, it's been 6 months since China acknowledged the receipt of our paperwork, and today we celebrate with a special gift.
My great aunt...Aunt Betty...sent a beautiful, cleverly hand-knit sweater, hat and booties for our Little One. It's a very special gift that we look forward to sharing with our Little One when she arrives, and even more special that we received it today, as we celebrate 6 months of "official waiting". (and probably 12-18 months more to go!)
Aunt Betty, thank you very much for your thoughtful gift, what a wonderful surprise we received today!
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May 2, 2007
Surprise!
Well, today I'm away on business, but there is a package waiting for me at home...and it's not from my Secret Buddy!
Another friend that I have since made within the Adoption Community has sent me a beautiful outfit for our Little One. Cyndi also bought this same outfit for her daughter, so when we take a trip to CA, or they to the East Coast, our daughters can be TWINS :)
Cyndi, thank you so much for your thoughtful gift. It really makes all the difference having someone else to 'chat' with about the adoption process, specifically someone else who is going through it.
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May 1, 2007
Add another month to the wait :(
YAY! for those families who recieved their referrals this month. (3 families from our agency CAWLI) They have been waiting 19 months to see a picture of their child for the first time...and yes, we too are STILL waiting.
We have been advised that the wait time is now 19 months from LID (log-in-date), so I have updated our "due date" on the front page of the website to June 21, 2008.
At this point, we're just hoping that we are able to travel to China and pick up our daughter before December 2008! That will make our wait 2 YEARS from the time that China received our paperwork, and 2 1/2 years from the time we submitted our initial application. I'm beginning to feel like an elephant! :)
it's a good thing we have plenty to do to keep us busy during this time. So thanks to all of you who have been tremedously supportive during our WAIT!
After the April showers, may you enjoy the May flowers that follow!!
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April 1, 2007
For Real...No Foolin' !
Today is the day! Today is the day that I (Julie) will be starting back to WW, wholeheartedly, and starting my triathlon training. I have another adoptive mom, Cyndi, from CA who's going to help keep me on track with WW. I also have someone else who is helping me to reach some goals I have set for myself in other areas as well.
I figure if I'm accountable to someone else throughout this process, and give myself some "consequences" to not reaching my goals, I'll be more inclined to do them :)
Wish me luck!!
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February 25, 2007
30 Good Wishes Complete!!
YAY! It's taken me quite a while but I have finally finished the 30 "Good Wishes" that I have to send to members of our Oct2006DTC group. I've attached a picture of most of the wishes (they all didn't fit in the picture) so you can see how creative we've been.
We can't quite expect to receive wishes from others that are going through the same process and not send them one in return. So, they will all be mailed tomorrow...hopefully the recipients will like both the wish and the fabric we chose.
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February 20, 2007
Gift in the Mail
What a nice surprise to come home from work today to find a box waiting for us on the porch. Not only did it have wishes in it, but a GREAT book "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes". A perfect story that follows a woman on the journey to adopt a baby girl from China. (based on the author's own experiences)
So, we now have a regular version and the "board book" version that is great for the age when the Little One is in the phase of tearing pages out of books (because with the board book version she can't!).
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February 2, 2007
Today we heard that 16 referrals came into the agency this month, which is great news for all of the waiting parents! Congratulations to all!!
But, with that news, we also found out that our wait has been extended to 16-17 months from our LID (log-in-date) and they are expecting it to get longer. I spoke too soon :( I'm trying to think of all of the things that we can do with this extra time that would put a positive spin on the news, but today it's just not working.
That's okay, tomorrow is another day, and by then I'll have slept off "the news" and have several answers ready when someone asks me what we'll do with the extra wait time :)
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February 1, 2007
WOW! Where does the time go?
Here we thought the wait for our Little One was going to go by at a snails pace, but if the rest of the year continues to pass at the same clip as January did, our Little One will be here before you know it...
Although, I'm sure at this time next year things won't be moving this fast in our eyes. It'll seem like time is moving at a snails pace...as expected :)
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