Audrey's New Haircut

Audrey has been asking for a shorter haircut for some time now. I've been a bit reluctant to let her cut it because I knew she would look much older with a shorter 'do. With all the time we spend in the pool lately, her hair had started to look and feel more like a stack of hay than a head of hair, so this morning I finally gave in. Here she is!

Get Your Referral Fix Here!

Here's a link to the June Jitterbugs site. This is the website for families who sent their dossiers to China in June of 2005. Most of them have received their referrals so there's lots of pictures here and more on the way! Congratulations to these families!!!

Our 5 Seconds of Fame

Our local newspaper is working on an article about international adoption and you will never guess who was interviewed for the article... The reporter is interviewing families that are considering adoption, in the process of adoption and a few that have completed their adoptions. We are the "in the process" family. I think that the reporter thought she was getting a "two-fer" interviewing me since we are a waiting family and I also work in the adoption field. She asked some interesting questions that you just can't respond to with a short answer and wanted a lot of speculation on my part about what is going on in China. She was probably a bit disappointed that I wasn't willing to speak for the CCAA. I did ask to review the copy before it is printed just to make sure that I wasn't misunderstood or misquoted but I anticipate a positive article. If anything, we'll end up with a little momento for Meili's lifebook. To top it off, we have had a photographer at our house twice. Once, to photograph the interview and again to photograph our whole brood around the dinner table. I was tempted to serve Cheerios for dinner just for fun!

I Swore I Wouldn't Do This...

I swore to myself that I wouldn't do any serious clothes shopping for Meili until closer to referral time but the picture speaks for itself. I haven't quite stuck to the plan! It's hard not to pick up a few items of clothing when really there is not much else to buy. There is no nursery to decorate! With the exception of a pack and play, we have all of the necessary baby gadgets known to mankind. The crib is under Taylor's bed and the mattress is under Noah's bed. Of course, in my defense, I am an avid clearance rack shopper and I've only spent an average of about $3 per article of clothing. Just last week, I hit the Monster Sale and The Children's Place and found outfits for $1.99 and .99 a piece. So, I'm not breaking the bank here! What scares me is that we could still be almost a year away from bringing Meili home. What is her closet (really she just has 1/2 of Audrey's closet) going to look like by then?

Stork Alert!!!

The CCAA website has changed! They have issued referrals for families with log-in dates from June 16-28. That's 13 days worth which is up from 9 last month and 7 and 5 days the months before that. I'm dying to find out what happens in the next month or two! Will the wait continue to lengthen or hover at about the 12 month mark??? We started our adoption process expecting a 6-7 month wait. It's hard to now believe that a 12-month wait would be good news!!! Congratulations to all of the families who get to see their babies' precious faces this week!!!

I Think I May Have a Problem...

After dinner last night, we cleaned up a bit and headed out to the community pool for a swim. About 2 seconds after entering the pool area, I noticed a little Chinese baby girl and her family poolside. This shouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately there just aren't many Chinese families in our area. She must have been just about a year old-not a lot of hair and walking a little unsteady on her feet. And yes, she was a doll!...And yes, I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. I think I am obsessed. I couldn't help but wonder what Meili will look like, what size she will be when we bring her home, will she be a happy baby or one of the quiet, brooding types?

Then, another little Chinese girl joined them. She was a little older, under two I would guess but old enough to notice that we were looking at her and my kids were smiling at her. She thought they wanted to play and came over to us. Her mother of course followed. I commented about how beautiful her daughter was and had a little chat with her. I wanted so badly to blurt out our apologies for staring at her daughter and explain our reasons why..but I didn't. So they probably went home thinking that Tucson now has an official Chinese baby-stalker! I think it does. ;o)

Thank You, Secret Pal!!!

I was shampooing the carpets and upholstery in my Suburban on Saturday in 108 degree heat when the mail-lady walked up to my garage with a package. My secret pal had done it again!!! She sent an insulated cooler filled with fun summer things: cute Meili-sized pink and orange (my favorite colors this time of year!) water bottles, a jump rope with ladybug handles (kids had to try this out-see pics) and the most adorable ladybug bathing suit I've ever seen. Audrey ooohed and aahed thinking about seeing a little sister running around in it. Thank you secret pal! You're the best!!!

Four Reasons Why I Have Neglected My Blog Lately...

Yep, we are coming up on 1 month since the kids have been home from school and it has been BUSY!!! Taylor just finished a Babysitting Certification course (parents doing the happy dance about that one!!!) and Noah and Audrey just finished a Spanish Fiesta class. They had a great time but now we're just happy to have a few less places to be. That is, until they all start piano lessons on Friday!

Audrey had her end of year dance recital last Saturday. Her class danced to "Jellicle Cats" hence the kitty attire. Here she is with her little friend, Sarah. They did a great job!

We've had temps in the 103-108 range so the local pool has become our hang out. With the weather such as it is, we can't really survive long outdoors if there isn't water play involved! That also means that we are experiencing a bit of 'cabin fever' at home. The kids are getting on each other's nerves and the constant mess of things is getting on mine.

A scary thought: If current trends hold, this will be the climate of things when we bring Meili home next year...YIKES!!!

Three Months Since LID!!!

Woo Hoo!!! Three months down and ??? to go! For those of you who don't speak adoptionese...it has been three months since our adoption paperwork (aka dossier) was registered at the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). When we began the adoption process back in September, families were receiving referrals about 6 months after their log-in dates (LID). Last month families with LIDs of June 6-15 received their referrals so the wait has almost officially doubled since then!!!

The CCAA has stated that the wait will extend beyond 12 months. The million dollar question is, how much beyond the 12 month period will the wait extend? The next few months will be very interesting while we wait to see when the CCAA will start to match a full month's worth of dossiers at a time. At that point, we will have a better idea of when we can expect to have Meili home!

Of course, with international adoption things can and will change so we just have to be flexible and that isn't always fun. Someone posted to a Yahoo! group the thought: Instead of counting the days, make every day count! I think that's a great idea. Lots of things to get done around this house and lots of kids already here that need a mom with her game on!

The truth for me is that 3 months into the wait is a great place to be. Adopting from China has always been a dream of mine and it's been quite a feat to get this far. I wasn't sure that we would have the emotional or financial means to welcome a fifth child to the family. Sometimes I feel like the opportunity to adopt for us is no less of a miracle than someone with fertility issues becoming pregnant!!!

Waiting For Meili-The Musical...

So, last night I sat down at the computer with my 10 year-old son, Taylor, for an official lesson in burning music CD's. I know...it's 2006-time to catch up! We put together a fun CD of songs that one day will remind us of all the highs and lows that are the adoption process. Some of the songs are the adoption standbys. Others are silly, ie. 'American Woman' by Lenny Kravitz-great background music for a video if Gotcha Day doesn't go smoothly... Some are just there because they happen to have the word "China" somewhere in the song or because they are upbeat and will make for a good recovery between the tear-jerkers. Here's the playlist...

Waiting for Meili-2005/2006/2007?

China Girl-David Bowie
Waiting For You-Seal
Get To Me-Train
American Woman-Lenny Kravitz
A New Day Has Come-Celine Dion
Beautiful Day-U2
Swept Away-Geoff Moore
China-Tori Amos
Here I Am-Bryan Adams
Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World-Israel K.
A Moment Like This-Kelly Clarkson
Happy Adoption Day!-John McCutcheon
Lady-Lenny Kravitz
Heaven-Live
Stay With You-Goo Goo Dolls
When Love Takes You In-Steven Curtis Chapman
Are You Gonna Be My Girl-Jet

I'd love to hear what the rest of you in blogland are listening to and/or planning to use for background in your adoption videos!