(Oh yes! Cannolli went to see the manatees too!)

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered:
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, People may Accuse you of Selfish, Ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be Honest and Frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build it anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

~Mother Teresa~

Our Fingerprints expire on July 1st, so I had to write a letter to the CIS requesting another appointment to have our fingerprints done again and pay the fees again. We received our appointment, scheduled for today at 8:00 a.m. This morning we got up very early, drove to Atlanta and stood in line with 1,000+ other people and did it again. They are scanned on computers. You would think there is a permanent record somewhere wouldn't you? So why do we have to pay the fees again and do this again? Go figure. One funny thing did happen though. We took our puppy, Cannolli with us. He goes everywhere with us in a special bag that looks like a purse. (My husband insisted that he come with us) Well, when they asked to check inside my purse, I knew that they would be surprised, so I tried to prepare the lady and the guard by telling them that Cannolli was in my bag. I did not want them to over react and cause a scene when I opened the bag. Well they laughed and asked me if I was kidding, to which I replied NO! She then said with a big smile that she had to check the bag anyway, still thinking that I was kidding. I opened the bag quickly and Cannolli stuck his little head up so I closed it immediately. The lady started laughing and the guard standing next to her just said, "I didn't see anything" and laughed. They both approved us to go on through and said that I had made their day. We were in and out within 45 minutes and on our way home. I am sure it is a story they will laugh about and share with others for a long time.

CIS Application Support Center where we had to go to have our fingerprints redone. Do fingerprints ever change? ( LOL ) Just another hoop we have to jump through, but things are moving along - at least they seem to be.  

Good News!! The CCAA made their official announcement of this month's referrals today. I think this made all of the waiting families very excited! Maybe this means that things will start moving faster and we might be getting our referral in August. Our LID is August 24th, and it looks like the wait has been about 12 months wait on referral times. If this continues, we might be traveling in October to bring Katherine home. What a great Birthday present that would be for me and to have her home before the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. We have some good friends who just received news that they will be receiving their referral next week for their second little girl. It is beginning to feel like this very long wait for us will be coming to an end soon.

Sorry, but this is how I am feeling today!!

The "WAIT" is also very hard because there are so many children waiting for their "forever families".

Well, we are still waiting and will be for at least 2 more months. For any friends and family who are beginning to wander if this is ever going to happen for us, there is an interesting website www.chinaadopttalk.com where you can check out the rumors that all of the "waiting" families are hearing via the web. As you will see, this waiting game is a "roller coaster ride" and the ups and downs are getting worse by the month. Rumor has it though that the CCAA is trying to keep the wait to 12 months and we are all praying that this is true.

 
"Aunt Janet" and Amber Grace 

 
Amber Grace - 1 month old 
We finally got to meet her !!!

  
Amber Grace and her Proud Dad

   Matt (Katherine's Big Brother)

   Matt's Birthday cake celebrating his 20th Birthday

   Last week, during our trip to visit family and friends, we celebrated Matt's 20th Birthday at his Grandmother's home on June 12, 2006. It was a very special day for him becoming a young man and no longer being a "teen". I had mixed emotions, remembering that 20 years ago I was giving birth to him and having to grasp the reality that he was no longer a child, but now a young man. I thought of how fast the years have gone by and the many wonderful memories we have shared with him. What a lucky little girl Katherine will be to have such an INCREDIBLE BIG BROTHER.

We are proud to announce the birth of a new "family member", born May 12,2006. We will be traveling soon to meet and welcome her into our hearts and family and give her lots of love, hugs and kisses. Please welcome little "Princess" Amber Grace!

For anyone interested in Chinese Art, please check out the website www.scrollsfromchina.com. The scrolls are amazing and are painted by and benefit the children who are in orphanages in China.

Katherine's Big Brother Matt

Katherine's Big Brother Matt
Video sent by janetlynnperello

I couldn't resist posting a video of our son, Matt, singing in his college recital last year. Did I mention how proud we are of him? Katherine is going to have the most awesome Big Brother!

7min

7min
Video sent by janetlynnperello

This is a 7 minute video which offers a good explaination as to why we chose to adopt from China.

We received an e-mail from our agency that they have received 39 referrals through June 9,2005 LID. There are 3 more dates in June and 4 dates in July before August 24th LID receives their referrals. This seems like eternity. We are praying that more than one date at a time will start receiving referrals. At this rate, it will be 7 more months before we receive our referral for our little girl which would be a total of 16 months since our LID and 23 months since we started the paperchase. Then another 2 months before we can travel to bring her home. GRRRRRRRRR!!! Now, our fingerprints are going to expire and we have to have them redone and $$$$ fees again. Hopefully, our I-171 won't expire, because that presents with more paperwork and more $$$$. (JUST VENTING! I'll be fine.) Please remember our little Katherine in your prayers. God Bless you all!!

 
We have met and become friends with some other families who have adopted from China. They have shared their little girls with me and the children have stollen my heart. I love to take pictures and would like to share some of my favorites with you. ENJOY!!! Lily's Smile: Awesome!! 

 
  


Anna's kisses with Elmo and kisses in the wind: Priceless!!!

FAITH IS BEING SURE OF WHAT WE HOPE FOR AND CERTAIN OF WHAT WE DO NOT SEE.
Hebrew 11:1

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

Here are some pictures of Katherine's updated room. The beautiful bunnies on the bed are gifts that Grandma Mc made. We have added the wicker shelves and colorful bins to the shelves, and added a few more animals, and pillows.


 

Our agency contacted me again and has predicted that we will receive our referral either in July or August. This is a big disappointment because we were expecting it in February 2006. It is getting closer, but still seems so far away. Our paperwork has been through the "Translation Room", where it is translated from English into Chinese, and has now completed the "Review Room" process, where everything is checked for accuracy and proper dates. The next room will be the "Matching room" where we will be matched with our little Katherine. I am glad to be where we are now, because I am hearing that the wait is possibly being extended to 18 months after LID for families just starting the process. If we receive her referral in July, we will travel in September to meet her and bring her home. If we receive it in August, we will be traveling in October. What a great Birthday present that will be for me, but if we get the news sooner, all the better. I will keep everyone posted and up to date on any news we receive. Please remember our family and Katherine in your prayers.

STILL WAITING !! :)