Yesterday, our agency sent out notice that they have heard from Great Wall Beijing and they can expect to receive 90 referrals for families whose Dossiers are registered on May 17, 2005. These should be received by February 27th or 28th.

I would like to share a beautiful story. The wait has gotten longer for our referral of Katherine and for so many other waiting families. After reading this, it helps me to appreciate the long wait.

"A young boy was given a large seashell as a gift. He had to take a canoe to get back to his island and it was very difficult to transport this large shell while navigating the canoe. When approached by the gift giver in the future, he was asked how he managed getting the seashell home while captaining the canoe and was asked if it was difficult.

The boy replied, No.....
The long journey is part of the gift......"

 
 
I had the opportunity to babysit for another little friend, Anna, adopted from China. She is 18 months old, very beautiful and very active. She and I had a GREAT time playing and she was amazed to see her picture on the camera as you can see as she comes toward the camera as soon as the flash went off. 

 This is Katherine's Paternal Grandparents, Mom and Pop Perello. They are both in heaven smiling and looking down on her now. Although she will never know them personally, we will make sure she knows them in her heart.



 

 
This is a picture of Katherine's Maternal Grandparents. Her Grandfather McDaniel is looking and smiling down on her from heaven now. Katherine's Grandmother McDaniel is anxiously waiting for her to join her family of more than 35 grandchildren, more than 20 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great grandchildren.  

 
 
  I could not resist these adorable outfits. My plans are for Katherine to wear one of these for her picture at the American Consulate for her passport picture and to wear one home. 

  This is a picture of a beautiful blue velvet coat and bonnet that my grandmother made for me when I was a baby. My mother told me that the lace was handmade and came from "behind the Iron Curtain." I hope the dress that my mother made for me and this coat fits Katherine so we can have her picture made in them. 

 This is a picture of my first baby dress that my mother made for me when I was about 12 months old. 

 
 This is a picture of Katherine's Christening Gown and a close-up of the embroidery detail on the dress and bib. I can't wait to see her in it. 

The following are some of my favorite adoption poems:

Take a lump of clay
Wet it, pat it,
Make a statue of you
And a statue of me
Then shatter them, clatter them
Add some water
And break them and mold them
Into a statue of you
And a statue of me
Then, in mine, there are bits of you
And in you there are bits of me.
Nothing shall ever keep us apart



Once there were two women,
Who never knew 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 gave you life
The second taught you to live in it.
The first gave you the need for love
And the second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality
The other gave you a name
One gave you the seed of talent
The other gave you an aim.

One gave you emotions
The other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile
The other dried your tears.

One gave you up...
It was all she could do
The other praid for a child
And God led her straight to YOU.

And now you ask me through your tears
The age old questions through the years.
Heredity or environment.....
Which are you the product of.
Neither my darling......neither
Just two kinds of love.

Today, I just wanted to post about some of the things people might say or ask to adopting parents that are really inappropriate. (My answers to those questions are in "blue".)

Top things NOT to ask or say are:

How much did she/he cost? ( Well, that one doesn't even need to be acknowledged! How narrow-minded and ignorant can someone be to ask such a question? Adopted children aren't items you buy at the neighborhood mall or supermarket, they are born in our hearts.
We are the "Lucky ones! " )

There are so many children in America that need homes. Why didn't you adopt from here? ("Because China is where our daughter is from, but I'm so glad that you are considering it.")

Her mother must be Chinese. ("Duh! You think?, well if not, maybe her father was huh?")

Her father must be Chinese. ( "Well, I'm not sure, it was really dark that night and I didn't get a good look at him!")

The NUMBER 1 thing that you should absolutely, positively NEVER say is:
"I know someone who adopted and they got pregnant. That is probably going to happen to you too." (" WELL THANK YOU DEAR ABBY!! WHAT IN THE UNIVERSE MADE YOU SAY THAT!! THAT'S NOT A REASON WE CHOSE TO ADOPT AND IT'S NOT POSSIBLE !!!! ")

 
Year of The Dog  The year is 4704 and it is "The Year of the Dog." January 29,2006 was the first day of the Chinese New Year. The Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries and predates the calendar we use. The calendar measures time from short durations of minutes and hours to intervals of time measured in months, years and centuries. It is based entirely on the Astronomical observations of the movement of the sun, moon and stars.

 
This is the Lion Dance. All of the children really enjoyed this. This year's celebration is for The Year of the Dog. Next year we will be celebrating the New Year with our little Katherine. 

 
This is my little friend Lily. She was having a Great time too! 

 
 Today, I was invited to attend a Chinese New Year Celebration with the Southside Chinese Family Adoption Group. As you can see from the pictures, there were a lot of children and a great time had by all. I really enjoyed seeing the children and visiting with the parents.

Today, we received a message from our agency stating that the August 2005 LID Group documents have been translated to Chinese and are next in line for review by the Review Room Officials of CCAA. Also, they stated that based on current referral timeframes, it is possible that we may receive our child's referral information in August or September. We were hoping that we were going to receive our referral no later than June so this is disappointing news for us. They did state however, that this is merely their organization's estimation and this information is subject to change because all dossier movement is at the discretion of the CCAA, so it could be sooner.