Meidyn's Journey Home

A quick update

2010-04-03T09:10:00.001-07:00

Ayana will be two this month. We have had a trying year with family health concerns and big changes. I could never have known the struggles that I would be bringing her home to. I had envisioned our journey continuing much differently but through it all Ayana has grown, learned, laughed and kept me smiling. I'm awe struck on how resilient these little ones can be and envious of their innocence. I'm am hoping for a better year to follow and am happy to know my children are always home to add laughter and joy when I need it most. I love you Ayana!!

Its been a year

2009-11-20T19:16:00.000-08:00

Its been a year since Ayana has legally been ours. Time has flown by and she has grown so much in that year. I am grateful, everyday, for her. I am enamored by her beauty, proud of her character and exhausted by her endless energy. I am so lucky to have been chosen to be her mom.

It's been 6 months!

2009-06-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful, crazy, busy, fun, incredible half year we've had. Ayana is a healthy, happy, walking, talking busy toddler who is constantly keeping us smiling and moving. Here are some pictures of our little girl.

Happy Birthday Ayana

2009-04-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our baby girl will be one already! We celebrated her birthday a little early so that her whole family could be here to celebrate. She is an amazing baby and we are so excited that we were chosen to be her parents. We love you Ayana!!

March already

2009-03-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

So much has happened in the last 3 months and I've had very little time to reflect on the journey itself. We could not love a baby any more than we love Ayana. She's smart, beautiful and full of energy. She just began crawling and is keeping us very busy. She loves her big brother and daddy. Christian is still excited that he has a little sister. I thought by now the newness would wear off but it hasn't. He is doing well in school and we just began his 3rd season in T Ball and have started back a piano lessons. TO some it all up ....I'm tired

2009 and lots to be thankful for

2009-01-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

It has been a great year. Christian, my baby boy, is 5! I didn't realize how big he was until we added to our family. He's independent, smart, thoughtful and damn cute. He' s been such a big helper these last couple of weeks that we have started "allowance". How he got old enough for an allowance I will never know. Ayana is meshing great with the family. She's full of smiles and is sleeping through the night now. It's amazing how we waited so long for her to be here and now it seems she always has been here.

Christmas and stuff!

2008-12-27T08:40:00.001-08:00

I can't explain how happy or exhausted I am. I think I forgot how much work babies are and having 2 children is WAY different than having one. Add jet lag, pink eye, Christmas and waking up every 3 hours and you have a barely functioning but completely satisfied mommy. I was in line at the grocery store yesterday and I overheard two women complaining about their children. Both were trying to out do the other with stories of how difficult their child was and how each age was worse than the last. I kept my mouth shut but thought of how truly blessed I was with my two children. I don't know if it was the Christmas spirit that brought on this revelation or that I somehow feel that I appreciate my children more because of the work it took to get them home. I can't explain it but I have the two most incredible children in the world and I would never say to someone to enjoy it now because in 6 months they will be torture. It can be trying, at times, and exhausting but isn't that what parenting is? We had a wonderful Christmas and we are all adjusting as best we can. I am so greatful and want to give hope to all fellow adopting parents that it will happen and be worth it!!

Home at last

2008-12-14T03:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to post. I came home with pink eye so I have been pretty miserable but it is slowly getting better and I've managed to keep it to myself! The trip was amazing and tiring. I had a chance to look in on most of the children but there are so many there it is hard to keep track of who is who. They are all being well taken care of, the nannies love them and care for them. They even cried when we took Ayana with us. I'll type more later but here are some photos

We're off!

2008-11-29T16:52:00.000-08:00

We leave tomorrow morning and will return December 9th. I doubt I will be able to figure out how to update this from Ethiopia so I will check in when we get home. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!! I will try to look in on all the little ones at House of Hope!

Reflection and the longest post ever

2008-11-26T14:55:00.001-08:00

As we near our departure I'm in a fog as to everything that has happened to make this possible. I think about the woman I met who was in the process of adopting from China that got us reading and researching adoption . I remember the seminars that we attended and the year that we waited until I was old enough to become a parent, in China's eyes. Then there was the dreaded homestudy, I spent a full 2 days cleaning and scrubbing, all for that 2 hour visit that determined whether we were fit to be parents. She did not look in the kitchen cabinets, although they were neat and stocked. She did not look in the garage and my husband was disappointed after the work he put in. Next was the excitement I felt when we finally got our first dossier compiled and sent to Children's Hope, we had planned to have baby home within a year, in time for our sons 4th birthday. We bought asian dolls and Chinese art. We joined our local group and had play dates, secret swaps of baby toys and fabric to make a quilt. Every month we would hear discouraging news about the China adoption process but we just new it would change the next month. Month after month of waiting with a seemingly endless line of hopeful parents who barely moved an inch, all of us with the same goal in mind. After a year or more of waiting with no end in sight we tossed and turned with the idea of changing to Ethiopia, hating to give up on our dream, one we had poured our hearts and souls into. Finally making the decision to start all over again, taking another leap of faith into the unknown. We dutifully gathered the paperwork again but were a little more subdued in our celebration. We quietly waited, stalked and researched. I spent hours reading blogs of families that had brought their children home and somehow believed that it would happen to us. We have contacted so many adoptive families that have all become intwined in our lives and yet have actually met only a handful face to face. We saw and felt our family come together to help and support us in more ways than we could ever return. Then we sweated out the week that we hoped and prayed we would get the call but the call didn't come. Then I did the one true thing that makes no sense at all. I hoped and I prayed we would NOT get the call. I didn't want to be the family who got the call at the beginning of the rainy season and know about our daughter for months and months and do nothing. As fate would have it, 2 days after the courts closed we got the call that our daughter was ready, but we would still have to wait. We waited for 3 months and were told it still was not time. We waited another month...depressed doesn't even begin to express how I felt. I would think of this tiny baby, all 7 pounds of her every minute of every day. She was in my thoughts, in my prayers, in my tears but not in my arms. Finally my husband calls on THE DAY, The day I new would be the day she would be ready to come home. I couldn't answer the phone as I was in the dentist chair and didn't know if I could contain myself if the news was bad. I didn't know if I could contain myself if the news was good either. So I waited for the assistant to tighten and twist my braces and I smiled and told her that I may be a mother of two. On the way out of the office I began to cry. Finally I called my husband and then I cried some more. I cried hard and long and for so many reasons but for most of all it was finally time. 3 years from the beginning and exactly 2 years from our original Log in Date we were told our daughter was ready to come home. I could feel the relief in my husbands voice when he told me the news, happy to be a dad but I think more happy that his wife would finally be happy again. I could pick our son up from school and confidently tell him he was a big brother, that she would be home soon. In 4 days we will take a very long flight to meet our daughter. Her latest pictures show she is strong, beautiful and perfect. I use to wonder if the love you have for an adopted child is different from the love you have for a biological child. The answer is no, The only thing that is different is the way in which you fall in love.

8 days and counting!

2008-11-22T06:03:00.000-08:00

So I think we are actually going to be able to pull it all together. We are just about packed, paperwork is done but needs to be copied. I have a "final" list of what we need to do before we leave and it looks doable (is that a word?) One small snag, I have an ear infection!! How on earth does a 32 year old get an ear infection. I didn't even know this was possible but it hasn't been feeling quite right for a couple of weeks so I went to the Dr and he said I have fluid in my ears??? He gave me antibiotic and told me to take decongestant to help avoid my eardrum from rupturing in flight. Now that sounds pleasant! He said it may or may not clear up in time so he gave me extra antibiotics and said good luck! So if you hear rumor of a half deaf women wondering around Addis Ababa looking for pain medication don't worry, It's just me! Today my family and I are going to the Ethiopian restaurant to celebrate! Should be exciting, whether I can hear or not!

Updated Pictures!!

2008-11-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

I'm truly in LOVE! Not that I wasn't before but these are the first pictures that we are able to see all of her. She is just perfect, absolutely perfect!

What to pack??

2008-11-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

What do I pack? What do I need? What does the baby need? What have I forgotten? How much is too much? What size is she? What does she eat? When will I sleep? How will I survive the flight? I think I've officially hit my breaking point.

Drum roll please!!!

2008-11-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

We waited far too long but definitely worth every tear. She is finally ours to bring home and love. I can not thank all of you enough for the support you have given me through all the ups and downs of this journey. You have all found a way into our hearts and we will forever be bound together in our past and our future. The one I obviously "altered" was because I had to see her in girl clothes!!

In 2 days I hope

2008-11-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

In 2 days I hope to be posting a picture of our baby girl.
In 2 days I hope to be on cloud nine.
In 2 days I hope to be buying a plane ticket.
In 2 days I hope to be packing our luggage
In 2 days I hope to be finishing paperwork.
In 2 days I hope to be telling my son he's finally a big brother.
In 2 days I hope ............

Recent Pictures

2008-11-04T17:54:00.001-08:00

Gilmore Girls...

2008-11-02T06:42:00.000-08:00

Ok...I know this is strange but I love the Gilmore Girls. My husband makes fun of me and family will not come over after 9:00 for fear that I will be watching it. It's become a joke but I love it. I cried when it ended and bought almost all the Series on DVD. I have spent the last few months watching the WHOLE series again, with a goal to be done with the series by the time we traveled. Last night I watched the final episode and cried again when Lorelai and Luke got back together and kissed. ( I know, my goal seems small but it kept me busy). Unfortunately, I timed it so that I would finish based on our OLD travel date. Now that the court date is not for 2 more weeks and travel at least a month away what am I to do. I don't like watching movies-I find I invest too much of myself in movies. I'm afraid to do anything related to the adoption because I'll Jinx the next court date. I was in the middle of packing when we didn't make it through court so I just left everything in the middle of the nursery floor and will get back in there once we pass through court. I'm thinking of starting to watch HOUSE, as it doesn't really have a progressive plot and I won't get caught up in anything I can't finish. I only like to watch short tv shows that are light hearted and I can walk away and come back and not feel like I missed something. Ok...enough rambling for today. Please recommend tv shows you love!!

Cloth diapers

2008-10-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

I finally finished some of my cloth diapers!! I'm not the best sewer but I'm getting better with every diaper. The top three are water proof and have velcro closures these are also referred to as all-in-ones(aio's) in the cloth diaper world. The bottom two are fitted, I will need to use some type of cover to make them water proof. Also I picked up a diaper bag\Purse today!!

November 13th

2008-10-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we did not make it through court and it was rescheduled for November 13th. We were shocked to hear our new court date was a full month out but are trying to make the best of it. We are praying we can get her home by Christmas. We received our referral on July 7th and time is crawling. I have read several other blogs where there have been several delays in court but all eventually worked out. I just don't know how many months I can look at the same pictures. I've also noticed that many other families receive many more update and pictures than our agency offers. It would seem that would be an easy thing to get and might recommend it to them when this is all done. One couple actually gets periodic updates of milestones and personality traits of their waiting child. How wonderful it would be to know how she is developing all these months. I think we received one set of updated pics about 3 weeks after referral and nothing since. 3 months have passed, I have no idea what she looks like, how big she is, if she has hair, does she smile, sit, crawl, what does she eat? Is she growing? My questions go on and on and it's probable that I will continue to have all these concerns until December. Please pray for our patience and strength to get through this next month.

Baby shower!

2008-10-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful day!! My most favorite closest family and friends gave me a baby shower! We got more than we could ever need and are so grateful for their love and generosity. Please excuse the dress, I loved it in the store but in pictures I think it makes me look pregnant LOL. I guess it's fitting.... enjoy the pictures

Soon she will be ours...

2008-10-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

In less than a week we will hopefully hear that our sweet girl will have passed court. Every day we get closer and closer and our list gets longer and longer. Thank you everyone for your support through this wait. We can't wait to be able to share her picture with the world!! I'm praying that we hear next week that she is officially ours!

I want her home NOW!

2008-09-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

To outsiders I probably appear to be normal, maybe even a little laid back....trust me when I tell you... THAT IS NOT THE CASE! I have been EXTREMELY patient throughout this process. I have paid my dues and with very little complaining. I didn't even go balistic when we missed the cutoff court date by ONE day. So here's the truth...I have been looking at this picture of a tiny, beautiful 9 week old baby for almost 3 months!! She probably doesn't even look like this picture anymore!! I want her home! Something should be done so that people do not have to wake up everyday to a picture of their child and NOT be able to hold them for 4 months with no information. I am truly done with this whole process. If all goes well we will travel in 36 days DO NOT JUDGE ME! YOU WOULD COUNT DOWN TOO! This is entirely too long to go without some type of information about her. A picture..something. As I sit here I know, that like labor pains, this pain with fade as soon as I hold her but I can honestly say that I could not do this again. My personality does not mesh well with the cruelty of the wait. To those who do this more than once, I am awed by your commitment. Ok... Thats it for now.

6 weeks and counting!

2008-09-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

I've started packing and shopping and worrying, right on schedule! We have less than a month before our court date and about 6 weeks before we travel. I am really going to start getting some things checked off my list this weekend. I'm uneasy about leaving our 5 year old home with Grandma and I'm sure I'll be a wreck when we leave. I need to remember to get him a BIG BROTHER tee shirt and prizes to open when I'm gone. I wish I had someone to come to my house and organize me.

Packing Lists...HELP PLEASE

2008-09-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

I thought that this would be the easy part but I have way too much stuff for just us and one very little baby. So...to all of you who have traveled give me some advice. Give me 5 necessities that you couldn't live with out and 5 things that you could have left at home. A special thanks to Lisa who just returned from Ethiopia with her children. She has given me enough info on our little one to hold me over until November. OK...don't be shy. Leave packing info!!!

We have a Court date!!!!

2008-08-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

This is what we've been waiting for! We have a court date scheduled for October 13th and a tentative VISA appointment on November 6th. If everything goes as planned we will be traveling to Ethiopia the first week in November. I am panicking about all the things that need to be done but am excited to finally see it all come together. We should have our baby girl home for Thanksgiving! Couldn't get any better than that.

She is 15 weeks old!

2008-08-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

Time is passing quickly for us and we can't wait to travel to pick our baby girl up. We received some updated pictures today and she has grown so much in the last month. I can't believe it's the same baby. She seems to be thriving well and we were so excited to have received these surprise pictures. Everything else is calm and we are just waiting for word of our court date, hopefully sometime in November. We have asked a couple of families that will be traveling this month to look in our little girl and give us some feedback on how she is. It would be nice to hear of her temperament, and milestones. Hopefully we will get an idea of how big she is also, thats all for now.

What a wonderful...tiring week!

2008-07-09T16:30:00.000-07:00

It started out with a bang. Of course, you've read that we got our referral and I have engrave her little face in my brain. She is our tiny, little miracle half a world away and their is a sparkle in her eyes that lets us know she's going to fit right in. The hard part will be the next 4 months of waiting. I am making lists, and then more lists and also trying to save a little money. On top of all this exciting stuff, I got braces. WHAT WAS I THINKING!! OUCH!! I'm trying not to whine but these things hurt so it's making it difficult to concentrate on anything other than my mouth. Today I ate mashed potatoes which is a big step up. Tomorrow I will graduate to solids!! More later!!

The day we've been waiting for!

2008-07-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

We got the call today at around 2:00. Unfortunately, Chris was in a meeting so he missed the actual call but I left immediately after the call to give him the good news. We are so excited and can't wait to bring her home. She is 9 weeks old and the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen. I can't stop looking at her picture and can't wait to bring her home. It will be quite a while before we can post her pictures because we have to wait until after the rainy season for our court date.

Stilll waiting...LOL

2008-07-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

I saw this and I just had to post it. I've come to terms with the obvious fact that we will be waiting another 5-6 months to travel. This pictures sums it up! LOL

In case you are wondering-I'm waiting by the phone!

2008-06-27T13:22:00.001-07:00

So,here I sit thinking that they wouldn't refer out for one girl referral for March 7th and not ours so I'm clinging to hope that with in the next hour we will get our call. I don't think they usually call this late but I'm still waiting. It's 15 weeks today and it looks like we will be traveling after the rainy season. Come on Children's Hope, now would be a perfect time to call!

Lots of referrals this week...

2008-06-26T14:26:00.003-07:00

There have been a record amount of referrals this week and it is very exciting. At the same time, I have to say that today has been one of my most stressful and hardest day in a long time. They actually referred a family whose dossier went to Ethiopia the same day as ours! I waited and cried and waited and cried and nothing. I am soooo happy for the families who received the picture of their children this week but it doesn't lessen the disappointment of not getting the call. This week is probably the last week that has a chance of making it through court before the rainy season. It's hard because I new we'd be right on the brink of making it. I'm hoping that tomorrow they will have just one more call to make. I know this sounds so greedy, I never expected to see a referral for our date and not be included in the calls. I guess I was a little emotionally unprepared. Enough rambling for now. Congratulations to all the new family's, what a wonderful day for you!

14 weeks

2008-06-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

CHI had 6 referrals today for 4 family groups. Congrats to all the new families. I was nervous all day thinking this could be the day we saw our baby girl. I tried to explain it to a co-worker by telling her that I felt that I was 9 centimeters dialated and the doctor told me not to push because it wasn't time. To make matters more complicated, when she's finally ready, we will have to wait months to actually hold her. I'm tired of waiting for the phone to ring.

I really thought today would be the day

2008-06-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I really thought today would be the day. Today is my son's 5th birthday and he's been asking for his baby sister a lot lately. I told him that she would come home when he was five. Of course, he took that literally and thought that his birthday would be the day. I was hoping we would have a picture to share with him but it doesn't look like it will be today. Every time I look at the clock I say "there's still 3 more hours" "2 more hours" "30 more minutes". I guess there's still time. Talk about a gluten for punishment LOL. I'll wait as long as it takes.

I think they lost my phone number

2008-06-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

Ok....so what are the chances that Children's Hope International has lost my phone number. I know it sounds obsurd but isn't it possible?? I haven't heard of any referrals in the last two weeks, which is disappointing to say the least. I almost called to see if they could give me an idea of my chances of getting a referral this month in hopes to make it through the courts before the rainy season. At the very least I could make sure they had all working and appropriate phone numbers to reach me. I hope it's soon because the wait it trully killing me. It's been over 18 months that I've been waiting for that call and I'm ready!!!! OK....thats it. If anyone is reading this from CHI email me to let me know you can reach me if you wanted. Here's to a busy, referral full week.

Destiny

2008-06-03T16:28:00.001-07:00

So I was having a bad day, just thinking about how long we will have to wait if we don't get our referral with in the next couple of weeks and was looking for a sign, or inspiration or something to clear my head. I opened a book and this is what I turned to

Destiny

This is bigger than you and me
Nothing can come in between
For the door is open
And I'm walking through,
To what has already been approved

Make every moment count
Yesterday is gone,
And tomorrow who knows what will come
Through the spirit I see with signs I'm guided
For what is to be, can't be undone

So all we have is here and now
I put my trust in The Almighty Hands
To walk this land in the direction
Fulfilling my purpose, with possible distractions
But whatever the situation there is a solution

Life experience is preparation
Even disappointments are on my side,
Teaching and moving me to new insights
I will not worry I release to be free
Because some things are meant to be

Nothing stops or blocks
The pathway to my destined place
The dream will not sleep
My destiny awaits
Because I can see it looking back at me
I do more than speak, I prophesy
For what is mine God will provide

I will not fear what lies ahead
When darkness comes
The light will shine bright,
Illuminating the way for me
So I can continue my journey
To my destiny--
Michelle Hanna

It helped me, hope it helps you to.

12 weeks of waiting

2008-06-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

No new referrals this week that I heard of. I think, at this point, we should assume that we will be receiving our referral in a couple of months and probably traveling some time at the end of the year. I've decided to get some projects done while I wait and maybe it will help pass the time. Chris has started fixing the fence in the back yard and getting it more kid friendly. I have spent the whole weekend sorting through paperwork and cleaning out closets. You would be amazed at the things you find when you get the back of a closet. I registered our son for kindergarten and am preparing for his 5th birthday party in a couple of weeks. That's about all for this week. Hope to see lots more referrals next week to move us up in line!!

1 week and she's ours...we hope

2008-05-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an inner exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world.

I'm expecting a baby!!

2008-05-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

OK....so I know this sounds really obvious, being that this is an adoption blog but I'm finally feeling like it might actually happen. We've been working on adding to our family for about 3 years and I can actually imagine having another child home. It's not just something that might happen one day but something that I really think will happen and probably this year! I can't explain how great it feels to say it outloud and talk about it with other people. I even had a dream about her last night, just like when I was expecting our son. She was beautiful and little and cried alot LOL...anyways...I just thought I'd let everyone know. This is week 11 and I am expecting a call, sometime in the near future, that will let us know we have a daughter. Please let the call come quickly before I lose this adrenaline high from all the referrals this week!!

3 More Referrals today!!

2008-05-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

YAYYYY! Congrats to the new families, I'm so excited. The referrals were for 3 baby girls, which bumps us up in line. On our unofficial list we are 4th ish in line for a baby girl. I'm still praying we will get referral in June and make it through the courts before they close up.

waiting..waiting.....more waiting!

2008-05-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

10 weeks waiting and so far a very slow month for referrals. I heard some agencies sometimes get 30-40 in a months time. I know that this is because they are not as new to Ethiopian adoption and their wait times seem to be longer BUT I'm still hoping CHI will surprise us with a record bunch of referrals really soon. I was really hoping to get referral and court date before courts closed but it doesn't look like it will happen. I think there has been only 1 referral this month and we are already half way through May. More later

someone's sleeping in her bed

2008-05-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

My 17 month old niece is spending the night tonight and using the crib for the very first time. I took the bedding out as she's much too old for bumpers and am enjoying the usefulness. She is perhaps the strongest, most resilient person I have ever met and I'm happy she has a safe, comfortable place to lay her head. She is almost done with her 26 week of chemo for Wilms tumor and I pray she will be completely healed and healthy come this time next month. It really puts things in perspective and although I am anxiously awaiting our referral I am happy to have this time with her one on one. Please take a moment to pray for her tonight, her family can use lots of hugs and kisses.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bellaboo

Love auntie DeAnna
I love you baby Bella!

Half way there.......

2008-05-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

9 weeks....I'm going to say we are at the half way point for waiting. I have nothing to base this on but that's what I'm choosing to believe. We read the update from Children's Hope International and it said that they added 4 more nannies to the House of Hope staff. That can only mean that they have or are expecting a higher volume of children and one of those children is OURS. In the mean time we are working on some house projects and getting ready for our sons 5th birthday!

We're ready!

2008-05-04T05:26:00.001-07:00

Today we got the crib and set it up. Of course that led to decorating and organizing and now we are just about ready. I still want to get something to tie the curtains back with and some small fixes but we are READY! So this post is to my Children's Hope International....if you were holding back our referral because we were not ready that has officially changed. All we are missing is BABY!!

Week 8 TOMORROW and we are about 8th in line

2008-05-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

Alright.....Again I've "met" families that are ahead of us in this wait. Come on Referrals!! The only way for us to start gaining ground in "the wait" is for some of the families to receive their children's referral. Nothing else to report, it's been a real busy week and I have an even busier weekend planned. Have a great weekend!

seven weeks....but who's counting

2008-04-25T16:51:00.000-07:00

Not to much new to report. I've reviewed our waiting family list and we are 7th ish in line for an infant girl. LOL, It's so funny that every week that goes by the list seems to grow and grow. I've been sick this week and am taking the weekend to relax and get well. Next week I am seeing my doctor to get our tetanus, Hep B and polio vaccines. I just looked back at when I started this blog and it has been 2 years that we have been on this adoption path. I am looking forward to getting our referral and taking a break from all this waiting. and just enjoying our children.

3 Referrals today!!

2008-04-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

CHI had 3 referrals today which has moved us up in line. Congratulations!! From my newest calculations we are the 6th family waiting for an infant girl and the 10th family in line waiting. I keep finding more and more families ahead of us so I apologize if it looks like we are falling further behind on the list. The truth is I have no idea how many other families might be ahead of us but I keep trying to figure it out. We started buying gifts to give to CHI employees when we get to Ethiopia.

SIX WEEKS

2008-04-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

So it's been 6 weeks and 2 days we've been waiting for a referral. I find myself looking at pictures of Ethiopian children and wondering what our daughter will look like. It's really kind of silly because there is no way to know what she will look like but it helps pass the time. We will be starting our travel vaccines soon and I am slowly infiltrating our agencies waiting family list to see where we are on the list. LOL, it is not working very well but I have narrowed it down to somewhere between 5th or 25th in line for an infant girl.

4 Weeks and counting

2008-04-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting for 4 weeks, hopefully no more than 20 more weeks to go. We are starting on our travel vaccinations this week and are getting excited that this might actually happen.

I am sitting watching American Idol's give back program and I can't help but think of all of the children who need help. I also can't help but think that one of those children will be mine. I called in and donated but it could never be enough. I tried to have our son watch it but he's 4 and the meaning is lost somewhere between the music and the commercials. I try to think of all the things we take for granted and I can't grasp the injustices. I can't put into words how much more I am aware of since beginning our adoption journey. I pray that I can pass this awareness on to my children.

I have been tagged!

2008-03-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

ok.....I've been tagged to write things about myself. It's taken me weeks to come up with this list. Where should I begin....

1. I have been actively trying to have children for 8 years.
2. I have one child.
3 My child is my greatest joy
4. I have been married for 10 years
5. I canceled a trip to Rome for our 10 year anniversary.
6. Instead of going to Rome we will be going to Ethiopia this year.
7. I wear scrubs 4 days a week
8. I hate to cook
9. Coffee is my number 1 vice
10 I've recently been told by my doctor to stop drinking coffee
11 I haven't been very successful not drinking coffee
12. I have been officially waiting for our daughter for 2 1/2 weeks
13 I secretly hope they refer us a daughter before everyone else ahead of me
14 I know that our agency will not make that mistake
15 My son asks about his baby sister almost everyday
16 Everyday it breaks my heart that he's still waiting
17 I can not grow my nails long enough to get a manicure
18 I am going to Cozumel in 9 days
19 I have three tattoos
20 I once had my belly button pierced
21 I once danced on a bar with a little person
22 I have 2 dogs and 2 cats
23 I love House
24 I love edamame beans
25 I hate doing laundry and am always behind
26 I should be on the treadmill right now
27 When I go on vacation I go by a different name
28 In Cozumel my name will be Coco
29 I think Brad Pitt is the greatest
30 Tomorrow I am buying a goldfish for my son
31 I love to shop
32 My favorite smell is clean laundry
33 I'm terrified to fly
34 I am planning on medicating myself for our flight to Ethiopia
35 I'm not sure what to medicate myself with for our flight to Ethiopia
36 I always have Easter dinner at my house
37 I am sad that my son will be going into Kindergarten this year
38 I am saving up for Lasik surgery
39 My 16 month old niece is my hero
40 I just got my hair cut and I now have bangs
41 It takes me almost an hour to straighten my hair
42 I love making fun of American idol auditions
43 I spend too much time online
44 I went to wrestlemania
45 I am not a wrestling fan
46 I am not a morning person
47 I like to get to bed by 11 pm or I'm useless the next day
48 I have trouble coming up with things for a list
49 I am done with my list

To Ethiopia Tomorrow!!!

2008-03-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Yay us!! I was informed by CHI that our dossier will be sent tomorrow to Ethiopia and that we will officially be waiting. I'm so excited we are finally paper pregnant. We should get our referral in 5-9 months. Tomorrow is also our 10 year anniversary so we will have LOTS to celebrate!

Dossier to CHI!

2008-02-29T12:15:00.000-08:00

Our paper work is complete and on its way! On February 22nd it was sent out to be authenticated, which can take up to 2 weeks and then off to Ethiopia it goes. In the meantime we just received an email stating their are 26 families ahead of us. It's a whole lot better than our place in line with China so I'll take it. The longest any family has waited so far, with CHI, is 5 1/2 months so hopefully we will travel by the end of this year. That still seems so far away but I think that is the most logical time frame. Ethiopia's court system shuts down for a couple months every year and unfortunately we will likely be caught in the middle of that. Of course, I may be surprised and get a call in a month that a beautiful baby girl is waiting for us!!

Please, Please, Please let me be done

2008-02-13T18:57:00.001-08:00

For those of you who are keeping up we have been working on our dossier since December. I finally think it is finished and have sent it to our agency to be reviewed, sent to be authorized etc, etc. This can take up to 3 weeks and then hopefully we will officially be waiting.......again. They are estimating our referral to be within 3-9 months and I've agreed to meet them half way. I will wait 6 months at the most and then I'm packing my bags and I'm going to Ethiopia to get my baby. If I sound impatient please keep in mind that we have been waiting for baby since 2005 and I'm really done waiting. I have watched both of my sisters get pregnant and deliver 2 new babies in the amount of time I have gathered paperwork for 2 separate dossiers and waited over 14 months. Our son keeps saying that first his baby sister was coming home when he was3, then 4 and now 5 years old. He is expecting her on his 5th birthday. So I'm shooting for June 13th or sooner!!!

Where we are

2007-12-14T18:35:00.000-08:00

OK....so we've had our homestudy again and are waiting on it to be written. We have officially requested the government to make the switch to allow us to adopt from Ethiopia. Hopefully we will get our updated I-171 and Homestudy before Christmas. We finally received our last paper from Chris's employer and we have sent it to be county certified and then it will have to be state certified in Georgia. As soon as we receive everything from social worker we will have that State certified in Florida and send everything to Childrens Hope. It then needs to be authenticated and then sent to Ethiopia. I'm hoping we can get all of this done in about a month. PLEASE!!! I've done everything as fast as I can, now we just wait. I decided to go to babies r us today just to LOOk around and I'll have you know I parked in the EXPECTANT MOTHERS spot. I AM expecting, I've been EXPECTING for well over a year now and I think I look great. Nobody stopped and asked me to pee in a cup or anything. It was a little anticlimactic but it felt good. I didn't buy anything because I think it will jinx the whole process but I made a mental note of a lot of things.

Off to Ethiopia

2007-12-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

With the current slow down with China's international adoption program we felt it was time to switch gears. We are currently beginning our process to adopt a little girl from Ethiopia and hope we will be able to travel in about 9 months to pick her up. We are anxious to start our new journey and hope it will go smoother than the last!

Where to go from here?

2007-10-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

I wish that I was one of those people who could sit and just let things happen, but unfortunately I am not. I said that I would wait it out but I don't believe I can. How can someone wait, indefinitely, with their life on hold for years? This is month 11 and CCAA has made it through 3 months worth of LIDs since we began. It's truly insane to expect families to hold on to hope with no communication. We are praying that we will find our daughter on a waiting child list that will soon be posted with our agency. If she is not there we will withdraw from China's International Adoption program. I am saddened to give up, we have put much of our hearts into China but see no end in the waiting in sight. We are excited to get started on our new path that I believe will lead us to Ethiopia. We have discussed this and are ready for a new journey. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we make this decision.

10 months Pregnant today...technically

2007-09-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hello all, it has been quite a while since I've logged in. Unfortunately, nothing new to report. China is still referring children out at a snails pace. I've decided it will definitely be 2009 before we travel and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. We are planning a vacation in 2008 and are continuing on as usual. I believe that after the 2008 olympics we will begin to see a speed up in referrals. As of now they are currently referring families that were "logged in" in November 2005. We were "logged in" in November 2006 so we are at LEAST a year away and probably longer at the current rate. Keep checking in and I will let you know of any changes

It June!

2007-06-24T11:03:00.001-07:00

This month has flown by. My "baby" has just turned 4 years old this month and is keeping me very busy. I've also started back to school, hopeful to have my degree by the time Leila comes home, and am proud to announce I have completed my first class with a 103.24 average. Unfortunately, with the way things are looking I will be able to become a neurolic surgeon (twice) by the time we head to China. China is moving at a snails pace with referrals and we are really no futher ahead than we were 7 months ago. Our adoption agency has received their list of "waiting children" and we have requested to review 2 children's files. The probability is low that we will be chosen due to the LARGE number of waiting familys that request these files but we shall see. We just received our Secret Buddy gifts and the pictures are posted

May Secret buddy!

2007-05-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

We just recieved our May Secret Buddy gift and I wanted to thank our secret buddy. We received a great adoption book, a cute outfit and some cute toys. This may be our last month of swapping and I wanted to make an extra effort to thank our secret buddy. We have loved all of our gifts. Sorry I'm unable to post pictures but our camera is not working. Thanks

6 months and holding on.....by a red thread

2007-05-18T07:00:00.001-07:00

Its been 6 months and I am estimating another 2 years before we're in China. Wow, thats a long time. It soooo much longer than the 1 year we thought it would take. Rumors are circulating that maybe there will be a larger batch of referrals this month but only time will tell. I have been contacted by several couples in our LID group and DTC group that are dropping out of the program. Its a difficult process and you feel very much "in Limbo". We have had our doubts that it will actually happen but see no alternative so we will wait and see.

5 Months with no end in sight

2007-04-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

It's official, we've been waiting 5 months. China's last batch of referrals only consisted of 2 days of LIDS, way worse than 2 weeks and definitely not a full month. Sooooo....we continue to wait and in the meantime try to continue on as normal. Easter was fun, and I've decided to go back to school...very part time and hopefully earn my degree by the time Leila comes home. Thats about it for now!

Referral time again

2007-03-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

Its getting close to the time of month that refererrals arrive. Rumors are stating we should know by next week. It would be great for them to surprise us with a whole months worth of LID's. If they began to do 1 month worth of LID's a month we would have 12 more months to wait. If it continues at 2 weeks then it will be a full 2 years more we will have to wait. Christian has stopped talking about his baby sister, which is probably good. It's hard to explain to a three year old why mommy and daddy talk about his baby sister but he hasn't met her yet. At first I told him when he was 4 she would come home, now I tell him maybe when he's 5. Its not fair to him and so I'm trying not to talk about her around him.

We've been waiting 4 months

2007-03-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

What can I say...... I have no idea how long we will be waiting but I have a feeling it will be much longer than we expected. We've been staying busy with Christian and work and trying to make more time for friends. Referral are trickling out at a very slow speed. Since we've started waiting I think they have barely made it through 2 months worth. We are, at least, 2 years away if things continue.

Our Newest Arrival

2007-02-14T17:37:00.000-08:00

OK...I know I'm asking for trouble but she's soooooo cute!! This is her blog debut so relax and enjoy our new baby girl......HERMIONE. Yes, I named her! She was just calling out my name and I had to have her. It seems like everytime we wait to have a baby we get another pet. I'm going to start charging admission to enter our home.

We've made it 3 months.

2007-02-14T17:28:00.000-08:00

Today is our 3 month LID anniversary. We're hopeful that things will start to pick up soon but we've been keeping very busy. Today is Valentines Day and we celebrated with lots of Candy and Flowers.

Referrals are here

2007-02-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

Congrats to everyone who received their baby's pictures this month. Rumors have it we will not see another batch of referrals until mid March due to Chinese New Year.

Again, I'm disappointed with the amount of referrals, it seems the longer we wait, the longer the wait becomes. I sat down and did the math the other day and it's looks discouraging. At this rate, taking approximately 2 months to get through one month worth of waiting parents dossiers.....It will take over 2 years to finally get to OUR LID of 11\14\06!

My Secret Buddy struck again

2007-01-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

Thank you secret buddy!! The gifts were great and the poem beautiful. Its like Christmas every day these days with gifts and quilting squares. Every time I receive a secret buddy gift I know I'm one month closer to going to China!

100 Good Wishes Quilt

2007-01-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

For those who don't know I have joined a "quilt square swap" in the attempt to gather enough squares to make a 100 Good Wishes Quilt. The idea is BIG in the Chinese adoption community and is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby. Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part of the cloth can go into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. I have already received several beautiful swatches with cards to place in a scrap book and am currently cutting fabric to send out to other adoptive families. THANK YOU! If your reading this and would like to send a swatch please do (at least 8x8 in size) and include a small card also for scrapbook. For those of you who are reading this thinking that I am the last person in the world to make a quilt YOUR RIGHT! I have 12-14 months to learn how, now thats a way to keep busy!

2 Months Down!!

2007-01-14T17:05:00.000-08:00

Today it has been 2 months since we were logged in with CCAA. No one is sure how long we will be waiting but we are definitely one month closer!!

Referrals are in

2007-01-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

Congrats to all the new parents who are seeing their children for the first time today! I have to say I'm disappointed in the amount of days processed and it really looks like this wait will lead us well into 2008. We'll see how it goes next month, hopefully before the Chinese New Year.

My Secret Buddy sent me....

2006-12-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

Yeah Secret Buddy!! You did great and I love all Leila's gifts. For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about I am part of an online group of expecting adopting parents. Every month we exchange with our Secret Buddy with gifts and each month it is a separate theme. This month was "bundle up". With that hat and mittens she will definitely be bundled up. Thanks again and Merry Christmas

1 Month down!

2006-12-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

I guess, with the Holidays coming, that this month is flying by quickly. We have survived the 1st month of the wait!! Yay US! The Christmas tree is up, shopping is done and we have received wonderful blessings. It seems that everytime we get a little bad news about the adoption process something happens that changes my perspective. I want to thank our family for being so wonderful and caring. We have received unexpected gifts and well wishes from our family to help us with our adoption process and we are so grateful. Thanks for everything. As we enter into the new year we know that the wait for Leila will likely lead us well into 2008. We also know that we have so much to be thankful for while we wait. Merry Christmas!

Log in Date

2006-11-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

We are officially logged in with the CCAA. Our Log in Date is November 14, 2006. This is the date which we will be tracking our progress with and also the date China uses for its referrals. The current wait time from LID to referral is 14-15 months. That means that we will not be expecting to hear from China until January 2008 at the soonest. Their is always the small possibility that China will start speeding things up but I am not counting on it. I am hoping that everything happens quickly enough that our travel is not interrupted for the 2008 Olympic games. Rumor has it that China's adoption program will likely be effected and delayed during this time. I will keep updating the log on new rumors. Now its time to celebrate.

Lady bugs ARE good luck.

2006-10-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, the Chinese adoption groups have kind of claimed the ladybug as their unofficial good luck symbol. Yesterday, the day we sent our dossier to our agency, the very same day I was told our dossier would be off to China by Friday I saw a ladybug. OK....you think I'm reading into this too much but its true. I'll also have you know that it wasn't just coincidence, I wasn't walking through a garden searching for ladybugs, I wasn't even outside enjoying a sunny afternoon. I was minding my own business and I opened our door to let our dog out (at 8:30 at night) and if flew inside the house. More like tried to attack me to get in. Of course my immediate reaction was to swat this bug that flew at break neck speeds into my home but then I noticed IT WAS A LADYBUG. I immediately realized that this MUST be a sign of good luck. I also realized that under NO circumstances could anything happen to "Hope" ( yes I named her). Now I had to catch the critter without harming it and before my cats made short work of her. Well, 20 minutes later, armed with a sippy cup and papertowel we released "Hope", (Yes I really named her), into her natural habitat. YEAH......Leila we're coming soon! Hope told me so.

2006-09-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

OK....so...We are waiting for our paperwork to be returned from the Chinese Embassy in Houston Texas. They are currently checking that we crossed every "t" and dotted every "i". I really hope we did also. If we did, we should get everything back in about a week. Then we give everything to our local agency here to review and she will send it to our agency's main office. Then they will recheck everything and send it to China. We will officially be DTC. Then we wait..some more for a "log in date" this will be our official starting time to wait. In about 12-14 long months we will receive a call stating that we have a referral. 8 weeks later we will travel to China to get our little girl. My son asked me the other day why his baby sister was stuck in China?? I have no answers for him but told him that she must not be ready to come home yet but hopefully she will come home when he's 4. He has no concept of time and will probably ask again tomorrow. I wish we hadn't told him yet as it will be a looong 14 months for him. As for me, I'm holding up. The woman who originally got me interested in adopting from China is there NOW, bringing home her baby girl. I know they are ready to come home and wish them a safe trip home. See you soon.

Legacy of an Adopted Child
Once there were two women, who never new each other
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother
Two different lives shaped to make you one
One became your guiding star the other became your sun
The first one gave you life and the second taught you to live it.
The first one gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it
One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name
One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim.
One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.
One saw you first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.
One sought for you a home that she could not provide
The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.
And now you ask me through your tears
The age-old question, unanswered through the years.
Heredity or environment which are you a product of?
Neither, my darling. Neither.
Just two different kinds of love.
Author Unknown

A Whisper

2006-09-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

A Whisper started our journey,
Yet with no spoken word.
A whisper tugged upon our hearts,
Instead of being heard.

Your family is not quite complete;
There is yet another.
A precious child that waits
for a father and a mother.

Another tiny hand to hold,
A child to embrace.
Another priceless little smile,
A reminder of Gods' grace.

A whisper offered us faith
As we asked, "who?" "When?" and "Where?"
Our serach in paths found direction
As we whispered back in prayer.

Her little hand your're soon to hold
In a family hug, embrace.
Your're soon to see her priceless smile,
A reminder of God's grace.

Thank You, Lord, for all you've done
and all that you will do
Thanks for whispering to our hearts.......
I have a child for you.

I-171 RECEIVED

2006-09-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

Yeah....we're doing a happy dance. OK, not quite dancing but maybe a little toe tapping. We received our I-171, our final document needed to complete our dossier. We had it notarized, and it is officially on its way to Tallahassee to be Certified. When we received it back we will send the whole bunch of paperwork to Houston to be Authenticated. Then I will send it to our local agency rep here who will check to make sure everthing is in order and then hopefully send it to the main office. Then it is DTC (Dossier To China) where it is translated and then sent to the CCAA (Chinese Children Adoption Association...I think) and they will Log it in. We then will receive an official LID (Log In Date) and our wait begins!!! The current wait is around 13-14 months and projected to get longer.

More Rumors

2006-08-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

Rumors are coming in and its not good. It seems that China is looking for a way to reduce the amount of adoption dossiers(applications) and therefore reduce their wait times. They are currently working on a list of regulations to eliminate some hopeful parents. To list a couple: age limit of 45, BMI or some type of weight restriction, medical history, College degree, higher income. If these rumors are true then we will no longer qualify. In the past China has "grandfathered in" applications that already were Logged in. That is what we are hoping will happen. So....we will continue on and try to hurry up as best as possible. Immigration stated they never received our home study so our social worker resubmitted it. We are hoping to get our I-171 some time next week. It will then need to be certified and they all of our documents still need to be authenticated in Houston. If everything goes as planned we will hopefully be done at the end of this month.

I heard some parents learn Chinese...

2006-08-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

It really seemed like a great idea! I mean, with the wait time increasing it sounds like we would definitely have the time to at least get down some basics. Finding the will power and time to do it seemed so daunting. I searched the internet, book stores and spoke to many adoptive or soon to be adoptive parents and everyone agrees that the more we learn and expose ourselves to our daughters culture the better it will be. I'm all for that and fully plan to incorporate my daughters culture in her upbringing. After all my researching I finally ran across a blog that seemed to help me with this decision. I wish I could find it again to give proper credit, but this soon to be mother......... was learning to use CHOPSTICKS! This is something I can do, and with enough time (12-18 months to be exact) I'm sure I can become great at it. I will wow the other traveling families while in China and I will teach this new skill to our daughter. As for the learning Chinese.....I opened a fortune cookie the other day and it had a chinese word written on it and then its meaning. I put it away to look at later and picked up my chopsticks to finish my dinner. I'm getting great!

Meidyn's First Ultrasound

2006-08-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is her first ultrasound. Isn't she beuatiful! Just thought I would share with everyone. I had it on a previous post but it had a name on it I had to cut out. So here's the rough version until I can fix it properly.

It keeps getting worse

2006-08-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Alright, nothing has changed as far as our paperwork. We are still waiting on I-171 and cannot do anything until we receive that. There are many rumors going on right now that the wait could extend as long as 18-24 months after we send paperwork to China. I can't understand why this would happen. China states it is because there is not enough "paper ready" children for the amount of people who are wanting to adopt, thus creating a backlog. If this were the problem I would think they would have figured out a way to fix this and it would be getting better, not worse. Some think it is China's plan to limit the amount of children adopted internationally for political reasons with the Olympics coming up in a couple of years. I guess it's possible they do not want to give anybody any reason to bad mouth them. There are also some who say their are not as many children being abandoned and therefore a shortage of children. I really don't know and would hate to think that these children are purposely being left in orphanages longer than they need to be. Well....thats it. These are just rumors and I'm hoping they will be replaced by better rumors tomorrow.

We're still waiting

2006-08-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

The home study went great and our final copy has been sent to immigration. We should be received our I-171H and then we will almost be done with paperwork. All our paperwork, including home study will need to be certified in Tallahasse ( I think) and then authenticated by Chinese consulate. Then we will send everything to our agency, after making many copies and they will forward it (dossier) to China. We are hoping for early September.

Our Adoption timeline

2006-07-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

In case anybody is tracking how long it is\will take us to finally bring Meidyn home here it goes

May 17, 2006 Sent application to Childrens Hope International
June 8, 2006 Childrens Hope accepts us and we officially begin our "paperchase"
(this is where we gather specific documents required by China and then have them notarized, certified and then authenticated)
June 12, 2006 Request background checks from local police. Took a total of 2 weeks to finally get notarized copies.
June 19,2006 1st Official home study visit
June 30, 2006 Doctors appointment for medical form to be completed
Sent application for Chris's passport (expedited)
July 11, 2006 2nd doctors appointment to complete tests
July 12, 2006 Sent application i-600 requesting permission to adopt an orphan
July 13, 2006 2nd Official home study visit
July 15, 2006 Passport application denied, requested additional information UGHH
July 17, 2006 received Chris's medical form, after 2 attempts
July 18, 2006 received Deannas medical form, after 3 weeks. Notice it is filled out incorrectly. Need to start over
July 22, 2006 Scheduled to have fingerprinting done to receive clearance to adopt
July 27, 2006 Final Home Study visit scheduled.....

All of this, in addition to other paperwork not mentioned but easily attained, will then need to be certified by secreatary of state and then Authenticated by Chinese consulate. It will then be prepared into official dossier and translated into Chinese and then sent to China.

We had hoped to be DTC "dossier to China" by August 9, 2006 but doubt that will happen with recent hold ups. We are now optimistic for September DTC

After our dossier reaches China we will receive a LID "log in date", this will begin our official wait. The current wait time is 12-13 months but it is expected to increase. When we finally received our referral for our daughter we will hopefully travel within 2 months. Wow, seems like a long time off. Lets hope it speeds up

More slow downs

2006-07-18T17:44:00.000-07:00

It seems that we take one step forward and three steps back. I have been working on getting our medical forms from our doctors for 3 weeks. I finally got mine back today but it was filled out incorrectly. I will be going back tomorrow to beg for them to redo it (while I'm there), I think I'll bring cookies with me to bribe them. On a brighter side, we have our fingerprinting apppointment this Saturday! Finally making some headway. It seems every step we need to make takes us about 3 weeks to complete. At this rate, and with the rumors of China's wait time increasing. We should be bringing Meidyn home in 2013!

Is her name really going to be MEIDYN?

2006-07-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

No...at least I don't think so. This was a name my husband came up with as a joke and of course I fell in love with it. Its unique and has Mei in it which is Chinese in origin but it will not be her name. It will give children (and adults) too much to work with as far as teasing ie: "Made in China". The truth is...I can't adopt enough children to use all of the names that I like. In the end I will pick a few of my favorites(just like I did with my son) and have my husband pick the name. For now, it is Meidyn or Mei Mei or Christians baby sister.

New Names

2006-06-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

We've been thinking of names for our daughter and I found this on someone's website. Gave us some great ideas
1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet and current street name): Mollie Flamingo
2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME (grandfather/grandmother on your mom's side, your favorite candy): Margaret Reeses
3. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your middle name):D-Just
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME (father's mother's name, street where you grew up):Natalie Beach
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (best friends name, city where you were born):Traci Malden
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name):Sor Ell
7. JEDI NAME (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards):enitsuj llegab
8. SUPERHERO NAME ("The", your favorite color, favorite drink): The Purple Sea Breeze

2006-06-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." - Ancient Chinese Proverb

2006-06-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

Can you say too much sun! This picture may have been taken on our very last trip we take before our big trip to China to bring our daughter home.

2006-06-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

This will be the very first post for our daughter's Blog. This is really quite a monumental feeling, it makes her and this whole journey real . We were accepted last week by Childrens Hope International to adopt a baby girl from China. This is something we have been talking about for many months, but due to my age we had been waiting to get started. In that amount of time the wait for our daughter has more than doubled with no answer as to why in sight. As you can imagine my anxiety has already set in. What if China doesn't like us? What if our Social Worker doesn't like us? What if our daughter doesn't like us? What if China runs out of children. What if a small rabid dog gets a hold of our dossier right before we send it in and we have to start over????? Chris, of course, never waivering, has not let on that he may be a tad overwhelmed with the prospects of gathering paperwork for months that has to be notarized, certified and then authenticated (whatever that is), and then have a social worker come into our home and study it to make sure we are not unfit or insane and lastly wait for over a year to finally bring home our daughter. Seeing that he tends to be the the more rational of the two of us ...I've formulated a plan. I will keep busy... very busy. Our wonderful Social Worker told us during our first conversation to expect this gathering paper part to take 8 weeks. I can not let this happen, not because I don't have time, I've got lots of time. I am obsessed with getting this done. I will not sleep until I have done everything in my power to get everything done as quickly as possible so I can sit here and wait for my daughter. This will be equivalent to 2 1\2 pregnancies! I could go on and on about this but I will end on this note. I am more than halfway done with the gathering of paper that was suppose to take 8 weeks and it has only been 2 days. How on earth will I survive over a year of waiting. How on earth will the adoption agency still speak with me after over a year of waiting. Please God give me patience....and then my daughter. Meidyn, we're coming soon.