6 years!!!

We have officially been waiting for our Little One for 6 years now, yup, that's 72 months- a very long "pregnancy".  Today marks our 6 year LID anniversary as our dossier was registered in Beijing on November 27, 2006.
That sounds like forever ago but also seems like it hasn't been that long either; as life has gone on and not waited for us a bit.  We are 6 years older, still working the same jobs, but for me in a different  location.  We  sold our house and built a new one.  We have done a lot to free ourselves financially and with God's grace we've been successful in doing so.  We've lost a few family members and gained a great niece.  We lost our precious Meeka dog also during this time.  We've taken a few vacations, beach, mountains, trail riding, hiking and a little boating.  Our priorities have shifted a lot and we're more boring frugal and focused.  We've done lots of thinking and dreaming about our family to be.  Still worshiping our Lord at the same church but with many new people and some wonderful older saints. Still healthy praise be to God.  We've learned a lot more about China, its culture and a lot more do's and don'ts of parenting.  As we are finishing up our home study for the umpteenth time, it's nice to know this is the final set of paperwork that will used to "make" our family.  So China, let's see what the next 12 months has to offer!

October Re-cap

I know, it's already November but I just wanna give you a quick review. . .  I was supposed to have foot surgery but it was cancelled.  I got sick with allergy/sinus/ asthma crud the next week and was pretty much sick for the remainder of the month.  I spent two weeks sleeping on the couch, 2 days off work (should've been more), a round of antibiotics and I still have a dry hacky cough.
The weather has turned cooler and we've had some wonderful mild temp days and we've already had a 3-4 inch snowfall as well as some 80 degree days.  We've attended a farm festival and our church had a fall festival/day of celebration.  We've seen enormous growth in our church just since summer (Praise God) and a super great Youth Group with an awesome bunch of faithful leaders. We had 18 baptized on one Sunday!   We've begun Christmas play practice. Spent time with family and have tried to be obedient to what God has us do for others.
Adoption related news, yeah, I'm getting there.  We've seen some interesting things happen in the past few weeks.  We have met with our social worker twice this month, once for a safety audit and then for interviews.  This is the 4th time we've had to do a new home study as OH requires them to be done every two years, not to mention the in between updates we had to do for USCIS.  We've officially been waiting 71 months so you do the math.  This time it's a little more exciting as we are working with a new home study agency as we had to transfer because ours went out of business- don't worry, this isn't gonna delay anything and nothing bad is gonna happen, everything is proceeding as it should and if anything, a little better.  You see, I say we're excited because everything we do now brings us one step closer and God willing this will be the last time we have to update all this stuff.  So it's not like last year or the years before when we had to do all this but knew we'd have to repeat it in 2 years, 4 years, etc.   This will (fingers crossed) be our final update.  Now of course we will have a lot of paperwork prior to travel and post-placement paperwork once we return home- but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!! As part of our home study we had to spend an entire day completing Hague training and it was very interesting and very helpful; we learned a lot and it brought a lot of issues to the forefront that we hadn't examined real close- great training.  More about that at a later time.
And now, for the most exciting news . . . the CCCWA referred families through October 8th , 2006 so all families with an LID up to 10-8-06 have been matched with their babies!!!  This means they are finally in the month right before us!!! We are logged in November 27, 2006!!!! That means exactly 50 jellybeans are left in our jar and we are countin' them down.  (See jar from earlier post)  So it'll be exciting to how the rest of the year moves along.  Happy November everyone!

Passing of time . . .

It's hard to believe so much time has passed since we began this adoption journey.  It's fall already  and this year has sped by.  The one subject I've been thinking about a lot lately is contentment or being happy in the moment.  Maybe "happy" isn't such a good descriptor, more like, satisfied, comfortable, resting or at peace with life's circumstances.  You see, I'm a planner and I like to have things mapped out so I know what I'm doing from one weekend to the next or after work or more immediately, what I'm having for lunch or what I can get accomplished in a day.
There's nothing wrong with planning, as long as you aren't torn apart when your plans don't work out.  I'm not that way, sure I get disappointed but I'm pretty flexible.  I guess the struggle is more between contentment in the present versus anticipation of the future.  I realize ultimately that I am not in charge and my idea of how my day is gonna be, is merely and idea.  If I have a plan, then I can be prepared.  Therefore it may be more about being prepared than really having something planned.  I know that although I plan ahead it doesn't necessarily mean I'm unhappy with what's happening today.  So planning ahead and having your mind in the future is not the equivalent of being disconnected or unhappy with the present.
I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and occurs in God's timing.  So fretting and planning are not going to change the course God has for us.  Anticipation of future events is more of a faith and trust thing.  You look forward, anticipate, hope and expect things to happen.   Does that mean you're not happy with the part of the path you're on right now?  Nope, I don't think so, just means you're excited about what God has for you in the future and you are trusting that it will be revealed in His time and in His way.

Just remember that the path you walk right now has it's own aspects to be enjoyed.  God chose this path for you and not another.  There are things on this path for you to learn, enjoy, work through, and heal from.  While on your particular journey, don't watch your feet.  God has them and guides your every step; instead, get that chin up, look around, enjoy the view.  The journey is just as important as the destination.

In Honor of our Meeka Jo

Our sweet Meeka dog passed from this life one month ago today, Tuesday, July 24th, 2012.  Our house is quiet and lifeless and we have a huge hole in our hearts.  God continues to strengthen us every day and we can't thank Him enough for that.  Meeka gave us so much in the 7 1/2 years we had her with us.  God truly blessed us by allowing us to be her parents during that time.  We praise God for putting her in our lives for this season of time and we truly believe God had a purpose for her.  She came to us right after our last fertility treatment failed and has been our baby ever since.
We have speculated that our daughter in China will be born some time this year and so her season with us is now complete.  Albeit too short.  One never has enough time with those we love, now do we?
We plan to apply all the things she taught us about parenting as we embark on a new journey to parenthood with our soon-to-be daughter.  I think this could be one of the biggest accolades to her. In honor of her, and because of her, we hope to be better prepared for our new daughter.
 Meeka taught us so much about parenting,  like how to selflessly care for others.  Put your immediate needs aside- you can always have time for someone else.  We learned that love makes tough situations so much easier. She helped us recognize that tone of voice is just as important as what you say.  We learned that sometimes we need to take time to rest and rejuvenate.  She made seemingly unbearable situations very tolerable and even allowed us to see the humor.  She taught us that we really do have an unending capacity to love, no matter what comes our way.  She gave us so much joy and fulfillment and taught us the meaning of  "family" no matter the composition.
We still have an empty spot in our hearts and we miss her so very much.  We thank God for the mercy He showed her and the peace He provided to all of us during this difficult time, even in her final moments.  We also thank God for allowing the three of us to be together in those moments- He knew the questions and fears we would have and He provided answers and nothing but peace.
I don't feel I could ever write enough to convey how very special she was and how much we still love her.  She was a special puppy girl and unlike any dog I'd ever met.  She was our Meeka dog and I can't define it much differently.  She was a complete living example of her name.  She was power under control but would let you know when enough was enough.  She let us know when she was tired and had had enough, when her time had come.  On a regular basis she was submissive, yielding, and gentle.  She was affectionate but never intrusive- never would lick you in the face, rarely barked (maybe only about 5 times, really).  Meeka was described most often as "adorable" by people she'd meet as they inquired about her breed.  She traveled well and was such an easy going girl.  Even in the last months she was accepting and went with the flow, she adapted well and had a wonderful spirit about her.
We cannot say enough to describe how special she was to us and will forever be.  We shared so much as we walked the path of these last 7 1/2 years together.  We have so many wonderful memories and plan to apply all that she taught us.  There really is no way to memorialize her, she was a one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable, very special puppy girl who we believe was truly Heaven sent to walk with us through this time in our lives, our little furry angel.   We love you Meeka dog, mommy and daddy loves you!

Stork Landing! Just not our Stork.

Our agency,  among many across the world, received referrals of precious children today.  The CCCWA has matched children to families that have log-in dates through the 21st of September, 2006.  Although it was a little disappointing they didn't make it any further, at least referrals were sent and families are seeing their babies' faces for the first time.  Okay, enough with the patience stuff, let's hurry it up so they can start matching October, 'cuz November is our month!!!!!  No, sorry, not November this year.  I mean November is our log-in month- my projection for our referral is sometime between April to September of 2013.  Still gotta hang in there a while longer!

No news but a little speculation . . .

So last monday, our agency received referrals for families logged in through September 4th, 2006.  This was right about where I had expected things to be and it was good to see it wasn't any worse than anticipated: meaning fewer referral days.  In addition, on the Rumor Queen site today she stepped out and made some projections based on how things have fun the past year, as far as referrals go.  I'd been speculating that we would possibly get our referral sometime between April to September of 2013.  Okay, so don't boo hiss folks, we're not pouting- that only puts us a little over a year.
So after Rumor Queen had made her projections, (also based on the past year's referral numbers) she provided a best and worst case scenario so to speak.  So according to her we could receive a referral anywhere from next April 2013 to Jan 2014.  Okay, so the January thing totally stinks and deserves a major BOO HISS!  But that seems to be worst case, with CCCWA  referring only 4 days a month and I refuse to accept that (if only I had any sayso in the matter).  So now I'm gonna begin getting my mind and hienie in gear to get some baby things done.  I'll keep you posted as we do.  Like redo the high chair, buy a closet organizing system, research strollers/carseats, etc.  See, God knows I'm a planner and I like to think things through- He's just allowing me quite a while to ruminate on these matters, lol!

Jelly Bean Time

 No, not just because it's almost Easter.  Two years ago upon our 4th year LID Anniversary (11-27-2010) I devised this jelly bean jar as a visual representation of the number of LIDs we have left.  At the time, we had 193 LIDs in front o f us.  Each month when referrals come then I count the number of days referred and remove those beans from the jar.  I had gotten a little behind (since 7-2011) so yesterday I had quite a few jb's to remove.  So guess what folks, we're down to 83 LIDs before referral. Not calendar days!  Hold on, what this means is the CCCWA has referred families with a log-in-date of 8-31-06. So they must get through 9-1-2006 to 11-27-06.  Due to my laziness, let's just say we had a lot of jb's to eat!