2010 is on it's way

The last couple of years I have said farewell to the year with a blog posting so here it goes! Besides the continued ridiculous slowdown in China referrals and a couple trips to the ER with Zane for respiratory issues, I can't complain much about 2009 - it's been pretty kind to us. Zane of course has been the focus of life. He has changed so much in a year. His first year came with great changes but the second year is a blossoming of a personality. He is so much fun. You can have a conversation with him, he loves to do things on his own, very independent, and he is so loving as well. It sounds crazy but after over 2 years, I still can't believe he is in our life. I am in total awe of God's plan and power. This year has actually been pretty quiet, which is a good thing. Besides the daily fun stuff like bike riding, going to the park, the beach, the zoo etc we didn't have too much big stuff happen which is okay. One of my favorite things of the year was the holidays. Zane really had some understanding of Christmas and Santa which was a lot of fun. We read books about Christmas (regarding Santa and reindeer as well as the birth of Jesus), visited Santa (4 times!), Christmas parties and of course lots of presents which he enjoyed. Each day with him is more fun than the previous.

The unfortunate news is that CCAA only referred 34 days in 2009 - and I was disappointed with 71 days in 2008. We have no idea when we will see a referral for Mia Jade - some say another 3 years, ugh. Only time will tell. I hate it but I really hate it for my friends still waiting for their first child. We have Zane in our lives so the pain of waiting for Mia is greatly diminished.

2009 was the year of Facebook, Michael Jackson passed away and the Tiger Wood's scandal. It was filled with big bailouts and rising unemployment, which thankfully we have been spare of so far. But in our piece of the world, it was a good year. We can only hope 2010 will be as kind but we could also hope for better - in the form of a speed up in referrals. Happy New Year everyone! And welcome a new decade, 2010!!

Zane is Two!

October 22, 2007

I can't believe today is Zane's second birthday. It was a blink of the eye that he was born. He entered our lives in a flash and has been the light of our lives since. With only 5 weeks notice that he was on the way, he arrived almost two weeks early. It was the most joyful, stressful, exciting experience of our lives. No words can express how much he is loved. We are so thankful for him each and every day. And with that, Happy Birthday Zane!

October 2009

3 Years since LID...really?!

I can't believe I am posting this. It's been 3 years (on the 12th) since our paperwork was logged in to CCAA. Never did I actually believe it would take this long and still there is no end in sight. My agency even says there is no way of knowing if we will get a referral next year or not. At this point I certainly feel we have another year or two of waiting. It's very frustrating, depressing, even stressful. I'm not sure what else to say.

Summertime

Zane in the Keys - July 2009

So I have been failing at blogging!  In a way, I have purposely not been blogging - sort of ignoring 'the wait', in hopes it will come sooner if I not writing about it all the time.  But while we continue to wait (and wait, and wait for Mia), we've been having wonderful summertime fun with Zane.  We recently took him on his first vacation to the Keys.  It was only a few days but we had a great time and it was nice to travel with Zane, really for the first time.  He did a great job in the car and loves being in the boat and the water.  He is at such a fun age right now - doing new things all the time.  I love this toddler age!  But of course, we continue to wait for Mia - at best, we could get a referral next fall (2010) and at worst (I think) in 2011.  We have faith that God has a plan for our beautiful daughter and she will join us at the perfect time.  To be honest, I couldn't imagine taking Zane on a trip around the world, literally.  If we had to travel now, I think we would leave him home but we really want him to be there when we get Mia, so another year will probably be a good thing.  Plus, I'm really enjoying giving him my full attention.  Meanwhile, several of my friends have either brought home their daughters recently or are about to travel.  It give me hope and peace when I see that it really does happen - even if it takes much longer than we ever imagined!  

3 Year Mark

I feel like all of my posts these days are negative news about "the wait" but "the wait" just hit the 3 year mark for those logged in March 2006 - it's looking more like we will be waiting at least 4 years. I never though that would really happen. Also, we went through all of February without any referrals. Yes, referrals just came out early in March so we may see a second set in March but who knows. And for 2 referral batches in 2009, they have covered 6 days - 2 of which fell on the weekend. So where is that positive wind that we heard was blowing?

On a good note, the little girl that we have sponsored for over 2 years through Grace & Hope has been adopted! What great news. We have watched her grow (and wondered why a non-special needs infant wasn't placed earlier) since fall 2006. I hope her adjustment to her Forever Family will go smoothly. I'm so glad she was able to be in a home setting while she waited. We look forward to our new child.

Not the start we were looking for

The first referrals of the new year are out and it covers 2 days, March 1 & 2, 2006.  I don't have much to say about that except I hope it's the last 2 day batch we see.  I hope they can get through March within 6 months.  I'm optimistic that it will pick up after March 2006 are done.  From everything I have seen, it is a very big month.  But then again, every time I'm optimistic, I get disappointed.  Congrats to all those who have received the gift of their new child!