Boyd Orchards - A Helping Hand Adoption Reunion

Today we had a wonderful time at Boyd Orchards in Versailles.  We were there attending our first AHH (A Helping Hand) Reunion Picnic.  It was a lot of fun - beautiful weather, a really neat orchard with many fun activities for Alexis and lots of adoptive families with happy, healthy and smiling children! 

 Mommy and Alexis with the largest chair we've ever seen!

Nee Nee and Alexis brave the SLICK slide!

 Wipeout on the slide!

 She is fearless!  This was a REALLY tall slide!

 Posing to show off her butterfly face paint!

 Alexis got to "adopt" a bear and name it...she chose the name "Teddy Bear!"

 Family pic

 Mawmaw and Alexis strike a pose...

Alexis, Nee Nee and Tyler - she has little use for us when they are around!

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See...

...I see a waiting family looking at me!

Alexis and I have been attending a parent/child zoo class at the Louisville Zoo.  While visiting the zoo today, she made this art creation with one of the art vendors.  She chose the panda bear because "they have panda bears in China."  The Eric Carle book, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, is one of her favorites, and we've been reading books about China with panda bears as characters.  She wanted to make this for Annabelle's room (her idea) and I thought it would be a sweet memory to share with both of them some day. 

Monday night a new "shared" list from China will be released and our agency will be working - very late at night - to match families.  We are at the top of our agency's list, so we are very, very hopeful that Annabelle will be found within this month's list!  However, we know that the RIGHT baby may not be on the list, so we may have to patiently wait for another month.  We truly believe that we will be matched with the child that is meant for us....that needs us....and that we need, too!  The waiting part is just hard - and so stressful!

We will be at White Mills Christian Camp for the Performing Arts Camp I am directing next week.  If we are matched, we will be contacted (while at camp) on Tuesday morning.  We will have internet access at the camp, so we will let everyone know if we have good news to share.

We are also excited that tomorrow we are going to the annual A Helping Hand Family Reunion for families who have - or are pursuing - adoption through our agency.  The reunion is a picnic at Boyd Orchards in Versailles, KY (which is near Lexington), so my sister and her boyfriend, Tyler, will be able to join us as well.  Sarah Lynn (my sister) is traveling with us to China, so we are anxious for her to meet other AHH families and their adopted children.  It's so exciting to think that, this time next year, we'll have two little girls to take to the reunion!

Waiting for "The Call"

It's been a while since I have posted, so I thought I would share an update.  We are at the top of our agency's list, awaiting a "match" at the end of this month.  Our agency matches once a month, when the shared list is released from China.  This typically happens, to my knowledge, toward the end of the month on a Monday.  We're thinking it will likely be Monday, the 27th, or possibly the Monday before that.  Our agency will be reviewing the list, looking for a baby that meets our criteria.  We are very hopeful and anxious that this month will be our referral month, but we know that it may not.  Without all the paperwork to keep me busy and distract me, it's challenging to just "patiently" wait.  I think the paperwork also gave me some feeling of control, because I was accomplishing tasks, checking things off my list and meeting deadlines.  Now, we just wait.........and wait........

If our agency is able to match us this month, they will call us the next morning.  We will all be at church camp in White Mills, so I'm glad we will be too busy to sit and be nervous.  Well, we'll probably still be nervous......but 50+ kiddos under the age of 10 will help serve as a distraction!

I found this poem on a website someone sent me.  I thought it was a beautiful way to describe the waiting process:

Daydreaming

I stepped into her room today
Knowing she's not there
This waiting for referral
Is more than one can bear
But taking in the moment
I sit down on the floor
And dream of her here with me
When waiting is no more.
A little giggle fills the air
As I rub her feet
I place my hand upon her heart
To feel its every beat.
A song is sung so very soft
Her eyes begin to close
She’s meeting me in dream land
A place where love still grows.
My vision now is very blurred
The tears stream down my cheeks
I’ve dreamed of her quite often
Throughout these past few weeks.
Suddenly a sound is heard
The phone rings in the hall
Waking up I quickly pray
Please let it be "The Call."
_{Tom Fisher
© July 19, 2005}

Several people have asked me when we will be able to go to China, after a referral is made and we accept it.  It will likely be 4-6 months, averaging out at around 5 months.  So, we are hoping for sometime around December.  However, there is a lot of paperwork (fun, fun) to do once the match is made, so we will have to WAIT (some more) and see!

LID and Fundraiser Update

We finally received our logged-in date and LID number from China on May 24th.  We actually heard that we had the LID at 10:00 on May 23rd, but it was already the 24th in China, so our LID is 5/24!  It took a little longer than they had expected, but it was likely due to a delay in the translation process, which our agency said happens sometimes.  Whatever happened, we are very thankful it was accepted and we are a waiting family in their system! 

We received word of the LID just as our agency was sitting down to make "matches" for the month of May.  China releases a list of children in our minor special needs program once a month, and agencies have to search through lists (in real-time on a computer) as they are released from China.  It sounds crazy and complicated!  They did attempt to match us, but we were not matched this month.  We didn't expect to be, as other families were ahead of us.  But, the good news is that our agency matched FIVE families, so we are at the top of the list now!  So, June looks like a promising match-making month for us!  Matches are typically made on the last or next to last Monday of each month.  The matching occurs around 10:00 p.m., so families are notified the next day.

We are also thankful to share that our agency received our donation check from our Premier Fundraiser Show - in the amount of $997!  We also have a couple of private donations coming in, so the fundraiser will total over $1,000!  We are very appreciative and blessed by our family and friends.  We can't wait to tell Annabelle how many people loved and supported her - before she was ever here!  Thank you to those who attended or sent in orders in order to help make it a huge success!!

The Waiting Game

Did I mention that I DO NOT like waiting??!?  Not a good character trait for a family adopting!  We are a little disappointed tonight because we are still waiting to hear our LID, or logged-in date in China.  It has been two weeks since our dossier was sent, and our agency is very confident it has already been logged-in, and likely was last week.  China is sometimes slow to update their system.  However, without an official "date" from the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs), we cannot be "matched" with a baby.  American agencies do "matches" for our program once a month (usually the next to last or last Monday of a month).  They are making matches tonight - probably as we speak.  So, we missed out being potentially matched this month.  It wasn't likely, as other families are ahead of us, but there was still a slight chance IF we had that LID.  However, even though we are disappointed, we are trying to look at it positively.  Perhaps the girl we need to be matched with will be on the list next month and there is a reason our agency doesn't have our LID yet.  We do trust God to guide our agency in matching us with the perfect baby for our family, but it is still so hard because it is out of our control!  Now we just have to wait for another month and wait to see.  We could be matched in June, or July or August.....we just don't know. 

Until then, we are going to be excited about the future, but enjoy every minute of summer fun with Miss Alexis!  We have all sorts of fun activities planned for her this summer, and we're really looking forward to the closing of the school year so we can just enjoy some relaxing time with her. 

Please pray for guidance and clarity for our agency, as the match-making process is very tedious and stressful for them as well.  We know little Annabelle is out there and we just hope we "find" her soon! :-)

Fundraiser Party

We had such a great time at our Premier Jewelry Fundraiser Show last night!  Jason and I both greatly appreciate our friends and family who attended or placed orders to support our adoption efforts.  We also deeply appreciate Kim Day and her generosity!   The love and encouragement others have shared regarding Annabelle is overwhelming and only makes this "journey" more special!  We look forward to telling her about how excited everyone was as we awaited her arrival with much anticipation.  Thanks to everyone's generosity, we were able to raise around $800 that will be sent to our adoption agency, and we still have a few orders coming in.  That is amazing and will help us greatly!  Thank you so much!  I know there were others who live far away who wanted, but couldn't attend, and others with too many obligations last night.  We completely understand and just appreciate your prayer support.

I also wanted to include a picture that was on the cover of our dossier packet (copy of the original) that we received in the mail today.  We can't wait to hear that we have a LID (logged in date) from China soon!

DTC!

In the adoption world, many acronyms are used and tossed around to refer to milestones and important dates in the process.  DTC is one of those, and it refers to one of the most monumental milestones (other than receiving a match)....DOSSIER TO CHINA!  Our dossier left with FedEx from Lexington at 4:00 today.  It is on its way to China!  It represents the culmination of all of our preparations, paperwork, documentation, etc.  I have attached pictures our agency took of our dossier before it was packaged for mailing.  Not all of the documents are shown, but each of the certification statements from the U.S. Secretary of State's office represent documents that had to be authenticated at the county and state level.  I especially thought the Chinese authentication from the U.S. Chinese Consulate was neat!

It generally takes two weeks to receive a LID, or "logged in date" from China.  This will verify that we are logged into their system.  As soon as we can receive the LID from China, we can be matched with a baby girl!