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!!!

Just about ready

I've got Nora's blog moved and almost ready for use. When the time comes, we'll be posting her information and referral photo there and I'll shut this one down. The URL and password for the new site will be included in our referral email announcement, so keep an eye out for that.

The RQ site/forum has been down most of the weekend and of course our agency is closed for the holiday, so I don't know anything new about the status of this month's matching, how many days might be included or when referrals are expected to arrive in the US. I would love for it to be this week, but it's probably more likely that it will be next week. Not necessarily a bad thing, because I've got a squidzillion things to do!

Have a great Memorial Day! Hope it's as sunny and beautiful where you are as it is here!

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!