Today is #15!

Well, I thought I would do a count of where we are at. LID is at 15 months for China. In some respects it is hard to believe it has gone by. In other respects it is painful. Somewhere a little girl is waiting for us and we can't get to her. May God keep her safe until we may be her forever family!

Jody

Dream

The future belongs to those
who believe in the beauty of their own dreams!

Eleanore Rossevelt

Happy Birthday to me!

NO MORE SCHOOL!

I am done taking all of my PRIDE classes! YAHOO!!!!!
I graduated today. We were all very excited to be done with this.
It was a very informative class. It's just that 4 Saturdays in a row for 8 hours is a little much!

Jody

Lake Chalen

I love this picture. In VBS this week we are teaching the children about God's power and how he gives us power to be thankful,to be helpful to others, to be brave, to live again and share with others. I have so much to be thankful for! Thank you Lord for being in my life and loving me as I am. Thank you for your grace, wisdom and power.In your time we will have our 2nd daughter.

Jody

Have Faith

Faith goes
up the stairs
love has built
and looks out the window
which hope has opened.

Charles Spurgeon

Okay yes I am getting old!

Yes it is true my big 5 0 is this Sunday! I am trying to handle it with grace and style! The truth be known I can't believe it!! All of my friends are younger than me here in Seattle area and they can not believe how old I am. I guess that is a compliment. I have to agree I don't feel and look like I am going to be 50. I guess I have good genes. My parents are both in their 80's and look like they are in their late 60's.

So now you know why I am concerned about this long wait! We are no longer spring chickens. Life just keeps on rolling along.

Jody

Uncertainty

As you can see I have not blogged in a really long time. My heart is just broken and numb. Our hopes of having a 2nd daughter or sibling for Gabby is becoming very unlikely. We are pursuing Foster/Adoption also right now. I am taking the PRIDE classes which you need to F/A. We are both scheduled for CPR training and Blood Born Pathogens class. Is my heart completely into this ? NO!! I am scared to death that we will receive a child that is not Legally Free. This means that they are on the way to terminate the parents rights. Usually this can take around 18 mos. and longer. My fear is that they (DSHS and the parents) will fix their family issues and we will be left with a big No HUGE hole in our hearts.
Can I do this to us and my daughter? I 'm not sure.

I'm at a loss for words. Time to go now.

Jody

Our Adoption Timeline

Dossier To China~ April 30, 2007

Log In Date Of Dossier In China~ April 30, 2007

In The Review Room~ February 2, 2009

In The Matching Room~ April 28, 2009

Join AAO's WC list~ January 28, 2008

Receive Referral~ September 18, 2009

Accept Referral~ October 1, 2009

Send In Letter Of Intent~October 22, 2009

Receive Pre-Approval from CCAA~ November 13, 2009

Receive Letter of Approval~ December 4, 2009

Receive Travel Approval~January 14, 2010

Receive Consulate Appointment~January 21, 2010

Travel Dates To China~February 27- March 13, 2010

Gotcha Day~March 1, 2010

Digging out of the Down in the Dumps

Okay I know it has been way to long. What can I say except I have been very discouraged and really soul searching . We know we are doing the right thing by wanting to adopt again. The problem has become the wait. We feel we can not wait 3-4 years for our little girl to come home with us. So we have been looking at what is available. Options are Foster/ adopt, International adoption from a different country, or Waiting child from China. We looked into Guatemala with no prospects as they are not Hague compliant and therefore the USA has shut down adoptions with them. We are sort of looking into foster/adoption here but I am very concerned because of what I have seen happen with Kurt and Gaylene. So, we thought alot about it and prayed alot about it and finally filled out the papers for WC from China with our agency. They were turned in today to our agency. When I talked with Cindi she said there are 20 families on the program now. They get 12 children every 2-3 months. So, it could take us another 6 months to see any referrals. Then we send in a LOI and wait 4-6 months to receive LOA. Then you send that back and wait for your TA. That comes and then you travel within 6 wks to pick up your child. I feel pretty good about this. --- is also starting to adopt from Ethiopia and Kazakhstan. We are interested in Kazakhstan. When I asked Cindi about this she said it would not start until the end of this summer. So, we wait and see what happens first. Only God really knows where our child is coming from . I know and have faith that he has picked the perfect child for our family.

So, Happy Belated New Year!! We had such a fantastically fun and relaxing Christmas with our entire family up in Sun Valley. Gabby learned to ski and is doing a phenomenal job at it! She is going up and down the ski lift. She had 5 days of 2 hr private instruction with an adaptive ski instructor. Her name was Jessie. What a sweetheart she was and not much taller than Gabby!

I am YAWNING...... Time to hit the hay.