It's a really long wait and is getting longer

Well, what can I say .... I am feeling very discouraged about the adoption. I found out last week that there were 4,000 dossiers to China last April. Right now the CCAA just finished matching Nov. 2005 which had 2,000. It literally took them 6 months to do this. We are already looking at 22-24 months currently. Now with 4,000 DTC's we could be looking at 3-5 years before we will receive a referral. YIKES!! Everyone is predicting that the wait time is just going to increase. We can't wait that long. Gabby would be 11-13 years old. We would be 52-55 years old ourselves. Yes, we want a child but we can't wait that long.

Looking in to the WC and SN program through our agency. It is hard to weight everything out. We might look into Foster Adopt or another country if possible.

Keep us in your prayers .

Jody

Got a package today from our Secret Pal. She sent an adorable Hot Pink long sleeve TShirt that said "Lock Up Your Sons" and 3 cute Disney Fairies books. I loved the handmade ladybug card. She's must be crafty!

Does life ever slow down?

Wow where did the month of September go? It's already the second week of October. I can't believe it. I have joined 2 bible studies in the last week and a financial planning group. My schedule is getting to be very full. I have to remember to enjoy this season as fall is such a beautiful time of year. It has been cold and rainy for the last week and half. We occasionally see a break with the sun drifting by.

Where are you precious daughter? Have you been a thought yet, or in your birth mommy's tummy , or are you in an orphanage some where waiting for your forever family? I pray that you are safe, warm and being loved. We are coming for you as soon as we can. We can't wait to hold you forever.
J

Happy Birthday Mother

Happy Birthday dear Mother! We love you and hope you are having a wonderful birthday in Solvange with friends.
J

HUMmmm

Well, It looks like I have fallen behind in blogging! OOPS. I was on a roll there for awhile. Ever since my Aunt died I have been turned upside down. I have had a hard time getting back on track with everything. Things have gotten busier here. Gabby is doing really well in school and seems to like her new teacher.

Fall is here to stay in the Pacific Northwest. We have drained the water from the pool and have to let it dry out before folding it up to store it. The mornings are cold and in the 40's and the highs are maybe into the low 60's during the days. I love this time of year. We got a few fall things (cabbage, mum's and a dogwood tree) to plant in the front yard last weekend. I need to buy some new bulbs though to plant under the plants.

We got a new cat. She came from a shelter . She was surrendered by her owner. Her name was Sweetie Pie but we decided to call her Sasha. She is 11 months old and is white with black and gray tabby. She has green eyes and is on the petite side. She loves to play and is very gentle and affectionate. She is a little skittish around the dogs but does better when they are one on one with her. I took a picture of her yesterday and will have to post it.


We continue to get Quilt Squares for 100 Good Wishes Quilt. I think we have around 6-7 now. I've got to wash and iron my fabric and then cut it out and get going on this project. I know we have plenty of time 2-3 years but our April 2007 DTC group wants to have them sent out by the end of December. YIKES! I've got to get on the ball.

Jody

Farewell to Auntie

It is with great sadness that I write about my dear Aunt Sheila passing. She died peacefully last Thurs. Sept. 13th. Her services were yesterday in Portland,OR. My parents fly in from Boise. My sister flew in from Ontario, and came to visit us for two days. It was great to have her here.
It was a lovely service and so wonderful to be with my cousins again. We always enjoy being together. We celebrated and were joyful. We know Auntie is in heaven with The Father. What a celebration there must have been for her there!!

Jody

Happy Birthday dear hubby!

Well, the day has arrived when dear hubby is half a century old!! I still can't believe it. It seems just like yesterday we were in our thirties. We went out to Macaroni Grill to celebrate with Gabby. They have yummy food and we ended up bringing half of it home! Gabby of course had to call Daddy at work this morning to sing him Happy Birthday before she left for school on the bus. My present to him was a family membership to the YMCA. Decided we needed to be working out if we are going to keep up with a 2-3 year old toddler in a few years. He loved it and thought it was a great idea. YAHOO. I can't wait to go swimming and get set up with a program with the personal trainer.

We were wondering tonight how many more birthdays will pass before we have our precious #2 daughter. I refer to her as #2 because we have not picked out a name for her yet. We will probably have to see her first before we will make a decision.

Our replacement hall tree with bench came today. I can't wait to see if this one will work and not have all the manufacturing problems that the first one did. The first one was white with maple and this one is distressed black. I decided to change colors as I am liking black more and more.
Kinda odd for a girl like me who is definitely into decorating more on the shabby chic end of things.

Okay, I've got to figure out how to add things to my blog. I visit other sites and see how cute they are like Waiting for Lauren, Seventh Diamond, Waiting for Sophie and they are so pretty and individualized. Help anyone out there know what to do?

J

Your the Best Mommy

Tonight I made pasta with marinara sauce for the family. After Gabby finished eating she told me "Your the best mommy." "I love you so much." It was just so cute and special to hear from her. She has really changed and is expressing herself so much more. All that therapy is really paying off. I still have high hopes for my special girl. She can be so gentle and such a loving girl.
I pray that God will continue to be so very important in her life. She truly loves him and wants to learn more about him. She loves to go to Sabbath school and Church. I give everything to him. He will provide what she needs.

Our DD#2 we continue to pray for you. You are so loved even now. May God keep you safe and healthy until we come to bring you home.

Sadness

My mother's sister had a stroke last week. This has been an incredibly hard time on our family. My Aunt is just receiving comfort measures only at this time. She has suffered more strokes and heart failure this last week since her hospitalization. It is hard to believe that she is going to pass. It is like we are all holding our breath to see if she has made it through the night. She was a wonderful mother to my 3 cousins. We have great memories of spending time with them in Portland during the summer months when we were young. Camp meeting was a very great time with my mom's family. We stayed with her when we adopted our precious daughter Gabby. She got to see our daughter before my parents did. I will always honor her and share that special bond with Gabby.

I pray that my Aunt will be at peace and not suffer any pain. I know she is in God's loving hands and I will see her in heaven.
J

Beautiful day in Seattle

Today we met my parents at the Sun Princess to pick them up from their cruise. We then went to the Seattle Space Needle. We decided to go to brunch at the restaurant. WOW!! What incredible food they have. We were very impressed. The view was absolutely spectacular! It was a pretty clear day so Mt. Rainer, Mt. Baker, Cascades and the Olympics were just gorgeous. We could see the seaplanes landing on the lakes. We had the best time. It was expensive but, so worth it! Thanks DAD! Love you.
J

New Ticker added

We are going on a trip for Christmas with my family! Lots to plan and think about for the trip.We can't wait. We are planning on doing some skiing. Gabby should have fun with her cousins.

A Moonbeam

A Moonbeam

Take a glimpse into the sky
And if a moonbeam hits your eye
Follow it back to whence it came
And dream of a child who'll bear your name.

A little one may look right back
And follow a beam along its track
And see a mother awaiting the day
In who's arms forever to stay.


Tom Fisher

Its Official

The CCAA has gotten through 4 days of referrals( through November 25,2005) in one month. It has taken them 4 months to get this far in the Nov. LID's 2005. This is devastating news... At this rate we will not see our child until 2010. I am incredibly saddened by this news. On a happier note they have reviewed through July DTC's 2006 . Rumors of them already asking questions on the August DTC's 2006. We keep on hoping that things will speed up and so far no signs of this happening.

On a good note Gabby went back to school today. She looked adorable in her red pants and jacket with a cute t shirt from Gymboree that said SS Cutie Pie on it. Apparently she had a great day. She told me all of her classmates names and her teachers name. After she left this morning I accomplished a lot of errands. I actually picked out and bought my fabric for the 100 Good Wishes squares. Now I have to cut it out and start thinking of the wish that I want to send to everyone in our April 2007 DTC group and the May 2007 DTC group that joined our quilt exchange.

I pray that God will give us peace and guide us during this waiting period.
Jody

The Most Beautiful Things in The World

The most beautiful

things in the world

can not be seen

nor touched....

But they are felt

in the heart.


Helen Keller

A visit from Nanny and Papa

Hi again,

We have been incredibly busy this last week. School starts next Tuesday for Gabby. We have been busy having play dates with friends, school shopping , meet the teacher day etc. My mom and dad are here visiting for a few days before they leave on their cruise for Alaska on Sunday. We will also get to have them stay with us for one night when they return.

Mom and I went shopping for Gabby on Friday to Gymboree. We found some adorable new outfits on sale. They are having an extra 20 % off this Labor Day weekend. We got her like 6 out fits!! Of course I had to look at what they had for a smaller girl size ? for a 2-3 yr. old. They had so many adorable things. I alas was good though and didn't buy a thing! Believe me it was hard.


Today we drove up to the new resort Suncadia. We had lunch and toured a couple of the model homes for sale. It is a gorgeous area and the day was absolutely beautiful. We had fun walking and seeing the golf course. The homes are spectacular and a mere 1.25 million! We will be buying one very soon ...HA HA! I wish. We would love to live in an area like this.

We were talking with my parents today about our precious girl waiting for us in China. They are so very excited and hope that the time of referrals speeds up. I do to, but I am not sure it will. We realized while driving in our 4Runner today that we will have to have a third seat when she comes. Otherwise when family comes to visit we will have to take 2 cars. HUM... I think I would like a new car in a few years. Although I love the Toyota 4 Runner. It drives like a dream.

My dear daughter, I dreamt of you last evening. Your face was so sweet with beautiful brown eyes and dark hair. Your smile was warm and bright to see. I know in my heart that you will fit perfectly into our family. Hum... maybe you have been born and maybe you are but a mere thought at this time. Where ever you are may you know that we love you and will be coming to get you as soon as we can. We can't wait to see you.

Love, Mommy

First 100 Good Wishes Quilt Square

What fun! We received our first quilt square today for the Highs in Lancaster,PA. They are in our April 2007 DTC group. Thank you so much I love the fabric it is so bright and fun. I will post the picture soon.

Got to go clean before my parents get here! UGH..
J

Welcome

We are a couple Brent and Jody who live in the Pacific Northwest. This is a journal of the journey to adopt our 2nd daughter. She will be born in China and be in our hearts from that day until we see her on our GOTCHA (or Forever Family) day. Our daughter Gabby who is 8 is anxiously awaiting to have a mei mei. Our process to adopt started a very long time ago. Let me tell you a story.....


Brent and I met in 7th grade at GAA. We both enjoyed being friends and didn't start dating until we were in high school. We continued dating in college for freshman year. Then we went our separate ways, but always maintained that friendship by calling and writing to each other. We both had other significant relationships during that time. We finished college and attended our 10 year high school reunion. At that time we rekindled our romance. Brent ended moving back east to Maryland and working for the federal government. At that time we started calling each other and writing alot. Believe me a long distance relationship can be rather costly! We would see each other every 3 months. This lasted for about 1 year.



Then we decided that I would move back east to be closer to him. So, I quit my job at Eisenhower Medical Center as an Occupational Therapist(OTR). I packed up some of my belongings including my dog Cocoa and cat Cinder. My dad helped me drive all the way to Oklahoma City and then Brent met us. Dad flew home to Pasadena from there. Brent and I continued on driving to MD. We arrived and I got my own apartment,job and life. We continued to date and then got engaged within 4 months of moving there. We were married at home in my parents yard in Pasadena,CA 5 months later.



We were having a great time being a couple. Pursuing goals for work etc. Then we decided to start having children after 3 years of happy couple hood. We had bought a town home and were ready to have that family. After 1 -2 years of trying we had the usual testing done and found out we could not have children of our own. Needless to say we were absolutely devastated. I would cry all the time and ask God why... It took us awhile to get over the grieving before we began to think about other options for us.



We decided on adoption and then Brent got a new position taking us back home to southern CA. We were just so excited to be back closer to our families(especially me)! I had been very homesick for my family. Brent had been in MD. for 10 years and I had been there for 9 . We enjoyed seeing many wonderful historical sites and traveling on the east coast while we were there. We sold our town home, my mom came out and helped us drive home with the 2 cars,dog and cat. Since Brent worked for the government they paid for the move. Thank Goodness!



So, that was a major interruption in our process. By the time we got settled, jobs, new house etc. another year and 1/2 had gone by. We then started contacting different agencies to pick the right one for us. We ended up with Adventist Adoption Agency out of Portland OR. Since we lived in CA. we had to find another agency to do our home study. Bethany Christian Services was who we used. I had a really hard time writing my auto biography. I don't really like to talk about myself so it was awkward for me. We finished with everything and got our letter of acceptance from Bethany dated 6/10/1999. We got a call from AAA on 6/17/1999 about a Hispanic baby that had been born early that morning outside of Portland.OR. Our profile was given to the birth mother along with 2 other families. We got the call the next day: She chose us!! We were just ecstatic and were so very excited to be parents. We called our families, packed,called the airlines and drove 2 hrs in traffic to make our flight that Friday evening. We got in about 11:30 pm. We were picked up by my dear aunt and we drove to her home. Our daughter was placed in our arms 48 hours from when she was born. She was absolutely beautiful with jet black eyes, hair and medium skin with a cupid bow mouth and very long fingers. She was petite 5lbs. 12 0z's. and 20" long. We had to put her in preemie clothes she was so tiny! Her birth mother had named her Rosalinda. We incorporated the Rose part into her middle name. We got home a week later after filing for the petition for termination of the father rights etc. She was a very good baby.

She is now 8 years old and going into the 2nd grade this school year. We have had our ups and downs as she has Autism and Sensory Processing disorder. We cope with it the best we can. We go to alot of therapies outside of school to help her. She is in a CLC at school and is learning to read, write and do simple math. I will end this post with this note and continue on again about the searching our hearts for a sister for Gabby.

Jody

Secret Pal gift

We recieved a wonderful package in the mail from our secret pal from DTC 2007 April group on August 15th. We received 3 books Wombat's Secret, Brave Koala, and Australia At The Beach. HUM... I think there is a theme here that I can not ignore. Our secret Pal is from Australia!! WOW. What fun and how exciting to be receiving items from half way around the world. They are just such wonderful books. Gabby and I have read them a few times already. Thank you My Secret Pal! Your the best. As soon as I figure out how to post a picture on our blog I will.