28 Months LID

That's 2 1/3 years that have passed since our paperwork landed in China and we're still not sure when we will see Meili's face. I'm still hoping for a December referral, but the hope is starting to fade a bit. This last month's batch of referrals went up to January 25th and only covered 5 days so things are still going painfully slow. I am absolutely sure that Heavenly Father's hand is in all of this and it will happen when it is supposed to happen but that doesn't mean that there aren't hard days and efforts to extrapolate guesses as to when our referral will arrive based on the info that is out there in the meantime...

Word on the China adoption street is that there were no files logged in from January 28th-February 5th of 2006 due to CCAA's closure to celebrate the Chinese New Year holiday. That means that of the 44 LIDs that are ahead of us (our LID is March 10, 2006), there are at least 9 that have no files logged in. So next month, if the CCAA can match 2 days worth of LIDs, then they can really match 11 and that would make the mathematical equation that is constantly running in my head have a more desirable outcome than it does right now.

We watched a friend's two children last night. The youngest is 15 months old and it was his first time being left. He was a joy. He was obviously concerned when his mother left him but never cried. I could tell that he knew that I wasn't his mom but I was a mom so it was okay. He went with the flow throughout the evening as we fed him, changed him and played with him and was thrilled to see his mother when she returned.

I couldn't help but think of Meili. If she has been born, what is she going through right now? How well are her physical and emotional needs being met? How will not having a mother in her first months of life affect her transition into our family? The 'li' in her name means strength and that she will have enough of it is our prayer for her as we wait, hopefully not too much longer.