Nope, still haven't heard anything...

We really thought that would be some substantive rumors by now. Of course now that it could be our month and the rumors might actually be about us, there is an unprecedented rumor-draught!

So far there have been two rumors: (1) matching has begun and (2) LIDs 1/23/06 and beyond are not included. Neither of these is too surprising.

Rob & I still think that we'll be included this month, but we know now that we won't receive our referral until next week (our agency would have had to have received referrals today for us to get a call tomorrow).

It's going to be another long weekend. Mostly we're trying to stay busy and distracted.

Questions for "The Call"

I've been working on my list of questions to ask/things to write down when we get "The Call". Here's what I've got so far:

1. Date and time of call.
2. Name of person calling.
3. Baby's full Chinese name.
4. Translation of baby's name.
5. Full name of baby's orphanage.
6. City and province of orphanage.
7. Foster care?
8. Date of birth.
9. Height, weight and date taken.
10. Other information about the baby - likes/dislikes, appearance, etc.
11. Abandonment information (finding location, date found, note, etc).
12. Travel group #.
13. Other families in our travel group.
14. Can we get a care package to the baby's orphanage?
15. What does the orphanage need most?
16. Can we request updated information on the baby?
17. What is our estimated date of travel?
18. Please email a picture and baby's information to
19. When will you send the full referral packet? Can I have the tracking number?
20. Is there anything else I need to know?
21. What should I do next?

I know that sounds like a lot, but I practiced asking them out loud and they went really quickly. Is there anything else that I should ask? Is this an inappropriate time to ask about her abandonment?

Thanks!!!

The matching room

It seems like I've waited forever to tell you about the matching room (in reality, it's been about 3 years, but it sure does feel like forever!).

We think that the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) will be matching the next batch within the next few days and - unless there's an unprecedentedly small batch - we think that we'll be "in"! That means that, in the next few days, someone at the CCAA will be matching us with our Nora.

The RQ has written about the matching process here (click on the word "here") and some LWB photos of the matching room are available on this page (click on the word "page").

I get all tingle-y just thinking about it. At this very moment, someone could be looking at our file and thinking that we are the right family for Nora. It is overwhelming.

Please send your thoughts, prayers, and positive energy to the CCAA!

Preparing for our referral

I have our referral announcements ready to go. The two Chinese knot versions are shown to the left, there is also a third version which is a flat note with a ribbon - no knot, but it does have a yuzen paper-lined envelope like the others. I also made matching envelope seals with Nora's initial.

The only thing left to do is add Nora's picture to the template and print!

I'm also working on an email announcement and our email
distribution list. I guess I could probably start addressing the envelopes for the paper announcements as well.

In other news, today we went to have visa photos taken - we need one photo each for our visas and two each for the adoption registration in China. I also checked our passports to be sure that we have at least 6 months validity and 2 blank visa pages. Rob would have been close, but for some reason he has two passports (one must have been lost at a time when he needed to travel) and the second has plenty of room left.

Here's a rough transcript of my conversation with the photo guy at the UPS store:

UPS guy: Smile less
Me: (smile less)
UPS guy: Less
Me: (smile less)
UPS guy: You know, you aren't supposed to smile at all
Me: How will they recognize me if I'm not smiling?
UPS guy: After a 20 hour flight and standing in line at customs, you won't be smiling.
Rob: (laughs)
Me: (thinking ... I'll be in China to get my baby, no chance I won't be smiling)

I did come away with pictures where I'm smiling a little (no teeth though- the UPS guy wasn't going to push the button if he saw teeth). Thanks to my Dad, I always smile with teeth; it looks better that way, right Dad??

28 months today

Today is our 28-month LID-iversary and I sincerely hope that by this time next month we will have been matched with Nora. Well, I hope that every month, but this month it might actually be true.

As of now, our agency doesn't have any information about the next group of matches, but they hope to hear within the next couple of weeks.

We could have Nora's photo in just two or three weeks -- I can hardly believe it!

Calendar update - May Matches!

May referrals arrived today and appear to cover log in dates from January 10 through January 12, 2006. We're almost there -- maybe next month!

Congratulations to everyone who is receiving their referral! Seeing all the happy families being made gives me hope!

Yawn. I mean ... whee....

This month's rumor roller coaster has turned out to be more of a kiddie ride. No ups, no downs, really not much in the way of rumors at all.

First we heard that this month's batch included the 12th. Then we heard it was through the 12th. Then we heard it included the 12th and was maybe through the 12th. Oh, the suspense. Do you think the cutoff might be, uhm, I don't know, the 12th?

I've thought since December or January that we'd get our referral in June and I still think that. Not much of a roller coaster anymore and, you know what, that's ok with me as long it eventually happens.

There are a number of families with our agency who have 1/11/06 LIDs and we're really hoping that they see their babies' faces this week. Fingers crossed for you guys!!

Hoping for anything less than "Horrid"

The Queen is back and I'm liking her projections -- come on bad case!!

As silly as that sounds, four of the past five months have been "Horrid" or "Worse-than-Horrid". As someone said earlier today, "Horrid" is the new normal.

I still think that we'll get our referral in June, but I sure am having a good time thinking about May.

Fingerprints

Our CIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) fingerprints were due to expire on June 27 and since we won't have Nora home by then, we needed to request an appointment to get them retaken. It's an interesting process. You write a letter requesting an "invitation", then a couple of weeks later you get a letter with your appointment date/time and, unless you have a really good reason to reschedule, that's when you go. Our appointment was Friday morning.

This is something I really don't like to do, because it seems like the immigration office is always full of really crabby people. Friday, though, it wasn't so crowded - the guard was friendly, the other people waiting were friendly, the woman taking Rob's prints was friendly, only the lady doing my prints was having a bad day. I've never heard such sighing. Not a big deal to me, since it was only a few minutes of my day, but how sad for her that the day had already gone so wrong by 10am.
Yes, it's true, I'm running out of material for my digi-scrapping class.

Calendar update -- one more week!

One more week until we're matched with Nora! By week, of course, I mean a week's worth of LIDs. Knowing that the 12th is a big day, I'm thinking that next month will go through the 12th and then we'll get ours in June. You'd think I'd have learned by now that I shouldn't make any predictions about this, but I can't help myself.

Self portrait

Yes, that's right. I'm crabby.

The latest news on the Rumor Queen is that the cutoff for April referrals is 1/9/06. Five (small) days, including a weekend. If it's true, this is a very small batch. This makes May out of the question for us, June is still a possibility *if* they get past the 12th next month.

We know several people with 1/10 and 1/11 LIDs and really feel for them this evening. I so hope that it's not true.

I'm gonna go snuggle with Maddie. She makes me feel better.

Ok, twist my arm

Ok, I'm on the roller coaster again. After some encouraging comments from our agency and a post on the RQ forum today which said that someone had been told by their agency that 1/13 LIDs were included in the April batch, I couldn't help myself.

This is exciting. I think we might have our referral in May! (I hope that doesn't jinx anything)

A positive sign!!

After a lengthy period of radio silence, today we received a somewhat exciting email from our agency -- it was time to download our pre-placement packet!

This packet included some information about travel, passports, paperwork and a contact sheet for us to complete and return to them so that they have all our phone numbers for "the call". How exciting to finally be planning for our referral day!

After reading the packet, I think that I should probably also start a "to do" list for everything that needs to happen between referral and travel -- stop newspaper, hold mail, notify employers of leave dates, make boarding arrangements for our furkids, etc, etc, etc. I'll post a draft when I get it put together. In the meantime, if you think of anything that I need to remember to do, feel free to comment here or send me an email. Thanks!!

Hmmm... I still think June

The table above is from RQ's latest analysis. I've highlighted the cells including our LID in green. The good case, which never happens anymore, has us in April. Bad case has us in May and the horrid case has us in June. The past several months have been between bad and worse-than-horrid, so it seems that May is a possibility, but June is much more likely. So, I still think June.

Now that our referral is getting closer, we're starting to think more and more about Nora -- who is she, where is she now? This weekend, when we were romping in the snow with Miss Madness, we couldn't help but wonder if Nora is from someplace warm. If that's true, will she like our climate? Will she like water (of course she will - she's our daughter!)? Will she share my birthday (June 30), Rob's birthday (July 14)? We can't wait to learn all about her!

Congratulations 12/28 - 1/4 LIDs!

March referrals are beginning to arrive and it sounds like they cover log in dates through January 4, 2006. Finally we have broken through to OUR MONTH!!!

January 4 would be one day worst than RQ's "horrid" case scenario, but it is what I was expecting to see this month, so I'm sticking with my June prediction for our referral. May would be nice, but let's say June for now and I may amend if April gets through January 12. If April gets through January 11 or less, ours will almost certainly not come until June (or later). Have I lost you yet? Makes perfect sense to me - we PAPs* have our own language.

Congratulations to our friends who are receiving referrals this month - we are so excited for you!!

* PAP = Prospective Adoptive Parents

Feeling ... great!

February 16, 2008 - our 25 month LID-iversary. I wonder how many more of these we'll have - 3? 4? more?

I can't explain what has changed this past month, but the wait feels different to me now. We just completed our third (last?) home study update, so that bit of stress is behind us. We're working on care packages for this month's Packing List Challenge. It feels like we're getting closer to Nora. I'm beginning to feather our nest and savor each moment of preparation. This is great! Sort of makes up for the first 24 really long months of waiting.

Wheeee!!!

Amazing -- a whole week of fantastic big referral batch rumors and the roller coaster still has not taken any big dips! This is FUN!

On the less fun side of adoption, today I went to the doctor for the annual health exam needed in our state. Last year, through some stroke of luck, I was able to get by with a note from my doctor (seriously, he wrote a note), but this year it was back to the full physical with lab work and TB test. No fun.

Two tickets please!

It's that time of month - when the CCAA is rumored to be working on matches for the month and the entire China adoption community speculates on the number of matches made and the LID cutoff date. And - boy - are there some wild rumors this month. First there was some indication that 12/22/05 LIDs would be "in", then a rumor of 12/30/05, followed by a rumor of 12/27/05.

While any of these would be VERY good news (expectations have been set to expect only through 12/20/05) - the possibility of getting through 12/30 has me excited beyond all belief! 12/30 would put them within 17 days of our LID for Nora.

Rob says that he doesn't want to ride this rollercoaster anymore. Luckily I have my friend, J, at A Lesson in Patience who's going to ride with me this month. So we'll take two tickets, please, and we'll be sure to hold on to our hats.

For the latest in rumors, visit the Rumor Queen at www.chinaadopttalk.com or the RQ forum at www.chinaadopttalk.com/forum.

Well, this is it.... 24 months

24 months today. Unbelievable.

First we thought that the wait would never pass 12 months. Then we thought it would never pass 24 months. Never say never.

When this wait ends, however long it takes, Nora will be home with us and it will have been worth every minute.

The principal part of faith is patience.
~George MacDonald~

A dismal three days

It's true. The CCAA has matched only from Dec 15 - Dec 19 this month. Two of those days were on a weekend and the others did not appear to include many dossiers (and none at all from our large China-only agency, whose next LID is 12/20).

I'm sad for us and even sadder for the 12/20 families who had hoped to receive a referral this month.

While I continue to hope for the best, I'm also beginning to mentally prepare myself for a referral in late Summer or Fall. October in Guangzhou sounds a whole lot more pleasant than August, doesn't it? (How's that for a glass-half-full perspective?!)

Hugs to all the other waiting parents! Believe me, we feel your pain!