I'm Adopted

I had a dream last night....
I had to choose a Mommy and Daddy...
At first I wondered what to do...
There were so many it seemed untrue...
Short,tall,thin, and stout...
I couldn't decide which ones to pick out,
But I was surprised as I could be...
Mommy and Daddy had already picked me!!!
~Patsy Gaut~

(I thought this was such a cute little poem)

Still Waiting for our referral and probably will be until August. Yesterday, our agency sent the "Stork Alert" which lets everyone know that they have received referrals from China. This month, they received only 21 referrals for the May 31st DTC date. I was hoping that some would include the first week of June, but there were none for June for Great Wall China Adoption Agency. The wait is just about 1 year from DTC dates so that would be August for us if it holds at this pace. It seems that I am wishing the months away so we will be closer to traveling to bring Katherine home.

Last night our agency, Great Wall China Adoption, hosted a dinner, at the Happy Valley Chinese Seafood Restaurant , for their East Meets West Conference held in Atlanta, GA. We met and had our pictures taken with the President, Ms. Snow Wu. We also met two other families that will be traveling to China in our LID group. We all had a great time and met another family, who have just returned with their beautiful little girl, that shared their travel experience and information with us. I never saw so much food!! Everything was delicious except I do have to admit that Joe and I were not too crazy about the Tofu dish. Also, attending the dinner were many adopted children with their families from different areas of the U.S. and Ms. Zhong, Zhenijuan the Director of the Mao Ming SWI orphanage in Guangdong Province who will be speaking at the Conference today.

Kisses In The Wind
I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me,at least that's how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are...what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.
Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all I can do.
Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

~ Unknown

Katherine: "Pure"
Mei: "Rose"
Lia: "Bearer of good news"

Katherine Mei Lia written in Chinese characters:

Today, I thought I would explain how we came about picking out the name Katherine for our daughter. First of all, I have always loved the name Katherine and my husband, Joe, loves it also, so there was no problem agreeing on her name. Katherine's name has a special attachment to a very special woman who has touched my life, Katherine Mae Braithwaite. She is an extraordinary, loving, compassionate, strong woman, who is a nurse that trained me to become a physician's assistant in a pediatrician's office. I worked with her for almost 5 years and saw her endure unbearable emotional pain with the suffering of her only child's incurable illness. I never saw her cry, get angry, heard her raise her voice or lose her patience with anyone. She was always very supportive and encouraging. I have always had the highest respect for her and knew in my heart that if I ever had a daughter, that I would want to name her after Katherine. After I married, we struggled with infertility issues and Katherine was there to assist me through the treatments and gave me moral support to have the strength and faith to endure the failed attempts and more procedures and treatments. At last, I was able to conceive and after nine months of complete bedrest and a complicated high risk pregnancy and delivery, we received our "Gift from God", Matthew! What a Blessing he has been in our lives.

Now, after 20 years, we are adding to our family and Matthew will have a little sister! Somewhere in China, there is a baby girl waiting to join our family, and her name is Katherine Mei Lia!

We have had the middle name of Mei Lia picked out for several months. I have never known what Katherine's (my friend) middle name was. Today, I called her and asked her what it was, and to my surprise, she told me it was Mae. I could hardly believe it. What a wonderful coincidence. I believe it is meant to be :)

The top view is one of our neighbor's yards. I think we have the most beautiful street in town :)

The second view is from my front door today. I sat outside on our front porch and enjoyed the view and the beautiful weather. (Just a piece of Paradise here on earth !!)

When I opened the front door today, the view was breathtaking. It was as if I had opened a door to one of heaven's gardens. This is one of my favorite times of the year, along with the autumn colors in October. Katherine will be able to experience this beautiful view next year. I cannot wait to take her on walks along the cart paths, to the beautiful lakes to feed the ducks and geese and picnics and playtime in the many beautiful parks we have here.  

Some people have asked:
Why China?
My answer to them is:
Because that's where our daughter is.


"Do you want to do something beautiful for God?
There is a person who needs you.
This is your chance."
~ Mother Teresa