Day 4 - Adoption Day

Today was another busy and odd day.  We did not do the financial part yesterday because the exchange banks were closed on Sunday (apparently banks are open 7 days a week in other provinces) so we did it today.  That part was stressful, not because of how much it was but the process of exchanging the money.  They looked at every bill individually, put it through the counterfeit machine twice, pulled up our visa information and checked out visa with our visa applications.  

Then off to the adoption office again.  I thought Mia Jade would panic going back but she did well.  They performed a little presentation in which they thanked us for adopting the children and giving them a better life and gave us a couple gifts for the girls.  One was a wooden doll of a minority which Guizhou is known for and a necklace with a charm which means good luck.  Then we took the official adoption photo and we were presented with our Red Book adoption papers.  She is legally ours now. 

Our families group photo

This means she is ours!

We finished off the evening with a wonderful meal at Pizza Hut - pizza and beer, a taste of home!

Gotcha!!

Wow what a day!  For so long I wondered how it would go but it went just as I expected after reading about so many other's "gotcha" experiences.  We had the morning to rest and get ready, which was great because we were so exhausted from the first couple days of touring and all the traveling.  When it was time to go, we loaded up in a van and headed to the adoption office.  I was anxious but not too bad, excited but so ready.

As we pulled up to the office, my mom started saying, "why are those two little girls almost in the road!?"  I look up and saw a little girl basically stepping onto the road before being scooped up and mom then says "That's them, I think it's them!"  We got out of the van and looked and indeed there were two little girls dressed so cute in pink with a few adults; we recognized them as our girls.  We went over and as our guide was talking to them, the nanny tried to hand her to me but Mia Jade would not let go of her nanny, she wanted no part of me.  But I expected that.  Quickly, our guide took us up to the office and we started on some paperwork.  They also brought us a bag of our girls things.  In Mia's bag were the items that I sent in a care package through Ann with Red Thread (my first care package obviously never made it).  There were split pants, hand knitted items including a brand new sweater that someone made for her, and the shirt that she was wearing in her updated photos.  Then a few minutes later they brought up the two girls.  Mia Jade was handed to me, this time being held by another girl but reluctantly let me take her.  (It turned out that this girl was the orphanage director's daughter and did not care for Mia Jade so there was no attachment there).  To say she was wary is an understatement.  She had a very neutral look, taking it all in, for several minutes.  The other little girl, handed off by the nanny (I later found out this lady was the orphanage director, not the nanny), started screaming immediately.  

The not so happy part

Mia Jade looked frozen and scared to death.  After a few minutes, she took a cracker from me and some juice and occasionally would look at me from the corners of her eyes.  The room was so warm with no ac, just an open window and a small fan (no screen, on the third floor).  It was going pretty well until the she looked at Naomi crying and also saw the nanny again.  Then the screaming.  It was hard but expected.  Finally we got all the paperwork done, took our official photo and we were quickly ushered out.  Mia Jade settled down for the ride and looked so tired.  She even leaned her head down against my chest to rest.   When we got back to the hotel, we realized that when I ran into the hotel room the last minute before we left, that I laid down the key and couldn't get in...we had to wait for housekeeping to open the door.  (Good move Kelly!)

At the office where we received her

But we got in, changed our clothes (she spit up on my and her in the office from crying so hard), got her daily schedule from our guide then I put her down on the bed with some stacking cups.  She went to town entertaining herself.  She stacked and unstacked, stacked and unstacked, nibbled on some snacks and would peek up at us every so often.  At one point my mom tickled the bottom of her foot and she giggled...our first glimpse of a smile.  After a while, she started to interact with us by handing us things and then taking them back.  Then a little more eye contact.  I gave her juice and helped her with the cup and there was a look of "okay, you're helping me out, you might be okay".  We sat on the bed and the interactions grew.  I offered her something, I can't remember what and she shook her head no and I laughed.  She looked up at my laughter and shook her head no again and I laughed again.  And again, this time her laugh was included....then it was on!  She would shake her head, we would laugh and she would laugh.  What a feeling!  This photos below were taken during her laughter.

Back at the hotel room 

Wow what a face of joy!  

After awhile, we got some room service; rice for her and burger and fries for mom and me (we had not seen any option for a burger anywhere until here!).  She started to eat the rice and after a few bites I handed her a french fry.  That was about it for the rice, she then only wanted the fries from then out!  Finally as it was getting late, I got her into some footy pajamas and she look at us like 'what is this contraption?', took a bottle and drifted off to sleep.  All in all, I could not have asked for a better "gotcha day"!  Well worth the wait!!

Day 3 - Waiting for Gotcha!

Today is Gotcha Day!  I was able to finally get good sleep last night and actually slept in late (with the assistance from some Benadryl PM).  I was way behind in sleep and feel much better.  Our "gotcha" is scheduled for 5:00 so we have a day to set up the room and relax which has been nice.  Several people have commented on Facebook, asking about the earthquake in GuizHou today.  There was a fairly strong earthquake today which has taken between 80-90 lives.  Fortunately it is far from where we are and far from the girls' orphanage.  We are all good and thankfully it has not affected our schedule.  Just a few more hours to go!

Day 2 - The Great Wall

The highlight for me today was the Great Wall.  I got kind of emotional as we began our assent.  To walk on the Great Wall really impressed reality upon me that we were in China, as silly as that sounds.  It was a beautiful portion of the wall just outside of Beijing on a beautiful day.  I learned that there are three places around Beijing that you can visit parts of the Great Wall and this section that we went to was actually less touristy so it was kind of nice.  It was so beautiful.  The steps were very steep and uneven.  We met a family with two elderly sisters from China that had been 'training' for a year to come and climb the wall.  It was an honor to see this remarkable piece of history.  We were able to climb to the highest point of the portion that we were on.  I wanted to just stay at the peak and soak it all in.  We took a ton of photos and each one is more impressive than the next.

Coming down

In the morning we went to the Jade Factory.  It was very interesting and I got some pieces for some gifts and a couple things that I will give to Mia Jade later in her life.  (But if you are going any time soon and you want a little advice, let me know!  I would have done it a little differently if I had it to do over.)  I am glad that we got pieces that we will have forever and I got a couple pieces to give to Mia Jade later in her life.  In China, jade is prized much like diamonds in the US.  In fact George told us that in China the men are suppose to get their bride a jade bangle as well as a diamond thank to the western influence.  

Our guide set things out so that we are ready for baby!

This evening Mom and I, along with the Prejean family, left the rest of our group to catch our plane to Guizhou, Mia Jade's province.  We went from the Great Wall, to lunch, to the airport so we were good and sweaty on our travels but I didn't care.  We were heading to Guizhou!  We were met by our guide David who let us know that our "Gotcha" will be tomorrow at 4:30!  He also was able to get us a little additional information on feedings and that she is now walking (in our last update it was reported that she was not).  This is a good sign for her development.  

The last two days were great fun in the very interesting city of Beijing but now the real thing, Mia Jade.  It's the last night I will be without her and her last night without her family.    

Day 1 - Beijing Tour Day

Wow, our first full day in China was amazing.   We started off meeting up with the other families that will be with us in Beijing and Guangzhou (they will travel to different provinces to get their girls); a total of 5 families in all.  What a vary of people - for one couple, this will be their first child.  For another couple this is their second child from China; they have a 4 year old girl and are adopting a 4 year old girl.  Another family has 3 bio children ages 16-26 and a 6 month old granddaughter and are adopting a 2 year old and then Kim's family has two biological children and this will be their first adoption.  I wanted to include their stories because when I started our adoption process, I thought most everyone would have a similar story as ours - no children, unable to get pregnant, but no, there are so many wonderful families who choose adoption for so many wonderful reason.  We have a great group and I imagine I will be friends with them for a long time after this experience.

First we went to the district of Hutong, "Old Beijing",  to see the old houses that surrounded the Forbidden City and got the chance to go through a home that the family has lived in for 5 generations.  To get there we all got in rickshaws (now bikes, not running men) for the ride.  What a cool little experience.

Our guide George discribed how you could tell a famiy's status and the man's job by the exterier of the home.  The doorway to the home had beams over the door, a specific number of steps up, and a small stone figure by the door, either round or square that symbolized all of these things.  He also shared how children had to marry into similar families.  For example, a boy from a home with three steps to the door had to marry a girl from a home with three steps to the door.  And every thing had to balance, very fang shui, evens and odds had to match up such as the steps compared to the posts.  Very complex!

George our CCAI guide

We loved George!  He really made our short stay in Beijing a very special one.  He kept calling my mom "Mom" because he said that she reminded him of him mom!  He said right away that she looked like his mom...really! :-)  He was so sweet and funny.  He always had a smile on his face.  He would gather our travel group by calling out "sticky rice" to have us stick together...and we were all white!  It was so funny to hear all the chinese chatter and then we would hear "sticky rice" and we knew to keep up.  He also talked about the awful traffic in Beijing (and it was awful!) and how he would debate if he should take the bus/subway or drive and whichever he did, he regretted and wish he'd done the other.  But how he told the story I would be cracking up!  He said sometimes his wife would just get out of the car and head for the subway, get home before him and have dinner ready!

Next, we went to the silk factory where we learned how silk is made and watched the interesting process of making double cocoon silk comforters (the silk is the inside "fluff" part).  Really interesting.  Then we went to eat lunch in a wonderful restaurant.  The food was shared on a big lazy susan for a table of 10.  Everything was delicious!  It is very interesting how everyone shares food in China.  It's so cultural to share all the food with others.

After lunch we went through Tainanmen Square and into the Forbidden City.  We had heard about Chinese staring at Americans and especially blondes but it's hard to understand until it happens.  People would come up to mom and gesture that they wanted their picture with her!  And then there would actually be a short line as people waited their turn.  There was a beautiful 16 year old blonde in our group and at one point George had to break up the crowd and basically rescue her!  The square itself was so huge.  It was crazy to think about this was where the demonstrations took place back in 1989.  There is so much history here but this is history we watched live on tv.  I was in college at the time and was in a cultural class called Life in China.  What timing that this took place while I was in that class.  Next we headed into the Forbidden City.  Really no words can describe how grand this place is.  I have heard but until you are there and see how it goes on and on, it really is hard to describe.  These buildings are amazing and you could easily spend a few days going through it all.  I knew that several emperors ruled from the Forbidden City but I assumed that is was added to over the centuries but I learned that one emperor built the entire thing over 14 years.  The detail in the buildings is amazing.  It is also very balanced in the design.  No women could enter through the main gate unless the empress on her wedding day.  No men were allowed in the women's grounds except eunuchs and no women were allowed in the inner courts.  The buildings are all wooden and there are huge iron vats around the grounds that would hold water in the event of a fire.

Mom deserves a big kiss for coming half way around the world with me!  

We were then taken to a Chinese acrobat show which was entertaining.  But honestly I was so exhausted by this point I dosed off several times.  I could have happily skipped this part but it wasn't an option as part of the tour.  When we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted but we took a short walk along some local streets.  That was entertaining in itself!  There were people playing music and dancing in the street for no apparent reason.  We laughed until we were silly!  Mom and I had a fantastic first day and it's only the beginning.

We are in CHINA!

I can't believe it, we are here after all of these years.  Surreal is the best way to describe it.  We got in after dark last night and it was pouring so we could not see much but today we will be going on a tour of some of the sites in Beijing.  I'm very excited to see my daughter's home country.  But getting here was a little stressful so let me back up.

We were so excited to get to the airport in Jacksonville, walked to the check-in counter about 40 feet into our trip and Mom says "well all is good so far" and we giggle like silly girls.  We tell them our names to check in and the guy looks us up and tells us that there are two people registered as Kelly Wilson and no Sandy Parkes on the entire itinerary.  I wipe out my copy of the itinerary and show him Mom's name on everything but he tells me not in his system and that is was an error by the travel agency... and only the travel agent can fix it.  Ok, major problem because it was 6:00 EST and our travel agent is in California where she will not be into the office until who knows when.  They try several things to fix it and NO ONE can.  Supervisors come, they call everyone they can think of, it's obvious to everyone what the mistake is and common sense says it should be and easy fix but nope.  We spend the first hour and a half of our trip at the check-in counter as we watch our flight time rapidly approaching.  So finally we did the only thing we could do to buy some time and that was to buy an over the counter ticket for Mom to Atlanta where our connection to Asia was hope we can reach the travel agent during our layover.  So, we got on the plane, not elated like I wanted to be as we began our trip but stressed about what was going to happen.

So we get to Atlanta and immediately head to the check-in desk, tell our story all over again and still no one can help but the travel agent they tell us.  We have left half a dozen desperate voicemails, a few emails, I even looked up her name on White Pages and left a message with someone who probably was not her.  And no response...heck it's still 8am there.  The ticket counter tells us if we don't have it fixed by 12:10, then Mom is not getting on the plane.  We start working on Plan B;  Mom says for me to get on without her.....what?!, after all this go without her and pray she gets there the next day on her own?  No, I will go the next day if that is the plan.  Thankfully we have a day built in for touring and it could be the best option.  Or Mom could buy a ticket on this flight as well....nope, it's overbooked.  There is a flight through Japan that arrives about the same time, at $1700.  None are looking attractive so we go with the first; I would delay a day.  Then at 11:30 we finally get hold of her.  She is so apologetic and started working immediately on the issue.  The time is ticking, it's got to be fixed by 12:10...she got it fixed with about 10 minutes to spare.  What a huge relief....we were going to China, both of us!  The rest of the flights were very nice (love Korean Air!) and 24 hours almost to the minute of taking off in Jacksonville we landed in Beijing.  SO happy to arrive!  So learning lesson....make sure you have a 24/7 phone number for your travel agent!

In Atlanta I was so excited to finally meet an online friend Kim and her family.  Their daughter is in the same orphanage as Mia Jade and our girls are born the same week!  We had conversed a lot up until this point and loved to finally be about to meet her face to face.  They were so kind as we stressed over our ticket situation and in fact Kim was the one who got the travel agent on the phone right as she was walking in at 8:30am in California.  I know we will have a great trip with her family; it will greatly add to the experience.  And as we got off in Korea, transferring to the China flight, we met another family getting off and on the same plane who are also with our agency and will be with us in Beijing and Guangzhou.

Mom and I had had a plan, to grab some breakfast before our Jacksonville flight and then a quick lunch in Atlanta during our layover.  We did neither because we were dealing with the ticket problem.  So when we got on the plane finally at 1:15pm we still had not eaten anything.  They bring our lunch on Korean Air, which is Korean food of course and Mom looks down and says "I'm so hungry I could eat seaweed".... our soup, Seaweed Soup.  I busted out laughing as the stress had finally melted away, so that was our quote of the day.  They thing that made me laugh and begin the enjoyment of this amazing journey!

Welcome to our travels!

Travel approval & travel dates!

This past Monday we got the great news that our travel approval had arrived to our agency!  I expected to see them this week but Monday was a bit of a surprise.

Then yesterday we got our specific dates of travel:
We are leaving the US on September 5th and arriving in Beijing on the 6th.
September 7 will be a tour day in Beijing.
September 8th we will travel in Guiyang, Guizhou.
September 9th...GOTCHA DAY!  The day that Mia Jade is finally placed in my arms!

The following two weeks are filled with some tour days, official appointments to finalize her adoption and appointments to get the required documentation to bring her home to the US and become an American citizen!
And finally, we should arrive back home on September 21st.  What a great homecoming that will be!

This time is so exciting!  Two weeks from today we will be on a plane heading for China.  It's still a bit unreal.

Post Referral Phase

It's been just over 7 weeks since "match day" and it has been busy!  The first few weeks were filled with more paperwork with crazy names like I800, PA, DS230, & A5 issued by places called NBC, NVC and ACIVU.  Now we are waiting for the all important TA.  That one I will explain; our travel approval!  It's the last thing we need to be 'invited' to China to go get Mia Jade.  We are hopeful that it will come next week and then we can start making plans...which means hopefully leaving for China the first week of September!  

This has been a very exciting time.  I love to look at her picture everyday and speculate when I will hold her in my arms.  I recently got more information about her which was very exciting.  One of the things that I wondered most about was where she was during the month or two from when she was found to when she turned over to the orphanage.  It is required to search for family members of abandoned children for approximately two months.  After notifying the police about her finding, a "finding ad" is placed in the local paper giving family the opportunity to get her in the event it was not intentional.  I wondered where she was during this time and just found out that she was kept by the couple that found her.  This warmed my heart so much.  My prayers have been filled with thanks for these strangers; key figures in my daughter's life who I will never know anything about.  I am so very thankful to them for taking part in her care and her future.  How I wish I could tell them "thank you" and tell them she has a home.  

I want to add a little education about abandonment and "findings" in China.  This is something that sounds so cruel to us in America, but this is how adoption as we know it can be initiated in China.  There is no legal path for a birth mother to choose a better home through adoption in China; another right in the US that we take for granted.  The only option is "abandonment", but this also is illegal.  So babies are often left where the will quickly be found, sometimes with notes explaining why the child had to be given up.  The reasons are the same as birthmothers in the United States or anywhere in the world - one or more parent may have died, they are too young to be parents, they can not afford to feed the child or provide appropriate healthcare.  Of course there are also some cultural reasons that too often are assumed to be the reason of a female abandomment.  More often than not, children "abandoned" in China are done so out of love, not left as if they are trash...which the term "abandoned" often conjures. 

Mia Jade did not have a note but this also is not surprising.  She comes from one of the poorest, uneducated areas of China.  When even the people in China say its extremely poor, you know there is nothing like it here in the US.  So is it very possible her birthmother/family were illiterate.  Some minority groups in the area (which she may be part of) don't even have a written language to this day.  I can speculate what her first days were like but I like the things that I know; when she was found, she was a healthy weight, so she was well cared for.  I am a person who does not dwell on the past or the unknown and I hope I can pass this gift on to my daughter.  Besides, God put her in the perfect place at the perfect time to end up in our lives where I get the privilege of teaching her about Jesus Christ; something that surely she would not have received if she did not already walk the challenging path of her young life.  

To God be the Glory

The "wait" for our referral is finally over and now I can reflect on how God carried me through.

When I was weak, God gave me strength.
When I was in doubt, God gave me more faith than I deserved.
When I was completely defeated, God gave me Zane.
When I didn't know if I was on the right path, God gave me an angel to guide my path.
And now, God has granted me the honor of raising another of His children as my own.

I am so blessed right now and soon I will be even more blessed when we can bring our girl home.
Thank you to everyone who has had a part in helping me through the difficult and unforeseen wait.  From those who prayed with me to the supportive blog comments from complete strangers.
And most of all I thank God for preparing my heart for this child.  I will do my best to love her and teach her of God's love.

To Him be the glory.

THE Call - June 25th, 2012

Our match call was so exciting.  I finally got to see our daughter's face, learn how old she is, where she is living and how she got there.  My mom and aunt were there recording and snapping shots as it all happened.  The entire call was about 25 minutes but here is a little less than 2 minutes of the call and my reactions.  The phone call that changed our lives!

Our Red Threads

I already shared the most amazing 'red thread' connection to our daughter and that is her name.  We named her Mia Jade back in 2006 and then find out last week that her Chinese name means "cherished jade or engraved jade".  That one blew me away!  

Here is the second 'red thread'.  I went back on my FaceBook time line to see what I was up to the week that Mia Jade was born and here is my post from the week that she was born:

I got goosebumps when I saw this!  Of course we only have an estimation of her actual birth day.  Her birthday is one month before the date she was found because she was approximately one month old.  So could she have actually been born 8 days earlier...on the day of this photo?  I so distinctly remember this day; we were sitting on the beach and a ladybug landed on me, and stayed on me for the longest time.  Ladybugs are a bit of a good luck charm referring to Chinese adoption.  And I posted the comment rhetorical question, "could it be a good luck sign".  And to think that week, maybe that day, Mia Jade was entering the world half way around the world!  I'd say it was a good luck sign and the second red thread to our daughter!

Match Day was Perfect!

It's been just over 24 hours since I first laid eyes on who I knew in my heart!  And now with the flurry of the day settling a little bit, I can look back at yesterday and appreciate that it went just as I wanted our match day to go!  I went to work for a few hours in the morning, which helped me get my mind off the fact that we should hear news soon.  Then I got a "pre-call" from our agency, confirming that they indeed had a referral for us (that was a huge relief) and that she would call at 1pm to provide the details.  My mom and aunt when into motion, getting me lunch (like I could eat!) and of course a birthday cake (few events of celebration go by without a cake in my family)!  And I headed home to get THE call.

When I got the call, the video camera went on and the flashes of the camera began.  I'm so glad we recorded it because it's actually really neat to go back and view that moment when I learned that we have a daughter.  The agency rep said she was emailing a photo first and then there she was on my computer, the cutest little face!  I was told her date of birth - I had to ask how old that made her...no way of doing math at that point!  "She is a little over one, 14 months" I was told.  For a moment I was a little sad that she had her first birthday already.  I hoped to be there for that but I also knew beforehand she could be as old as two.  So I will have her for her second birthday and all the rest thereafter!  Then her Chinese name, Fu Han Yu.  Fu, the surname is a denotation of the orphanage where she is but 'Han Yu', the caller told me, means "Engraved Jade".  (When we received her paperwork, we read another interpretation showing her name means "Cherished Jade"; even more perfect!)  The wind was literally sucked out of my lungs!  My daughter's name is Mia Jade; a name I picked out in 2006 when we began our journey.  I heard a whisper in a state of half asleep, half awake, that her name was to be Mia Jade.  Now I am not one who has had many audible conversations with God or angels, but that moment I truly believe that is who I heard.  It sounds crazy but I now know for sure it is not crazy.

Other details followed including what they knew of her arrival to the orphanage (I will keep that information private for now) and what paperwork is next.  But my mind was spinning by now.  What I have hoped for, prayed for, had faith for had finally happened and she was just perfect!  I was so excited to get on the phone, the internet, Facebook and spread our news!  The day was finished with a wonderful family celebration at the local Chinese super buffet and a gift of a Panda bead for my bracelet to mark the day.

This morning I woke with my daughter on my mind and a smile on my face.  I showed up to work with copies of her photo lining my office door like wallpaper!  And I came home to our FedEx packet with all of our paperwork for the next steps to be taken and happiness, a couple more photos.  So it was all perfect.  Just what I hoped it would be!  And here she is, another adorable photo of our daughter.  Half way around the world, she waits but our love will reach her soon!

Here is my blessing! Introducing Mia Jade!

Here is our beautiful daughter!  She is 14 months old (this picture is from last November).  The best part, (besides her adorableness) is that her Chinese name means 'Cherished or Engraved Jade'.  There are no words that can express my love, my joy, my relief and my excitement! 

Stork Watch!

News has hit the internet that matches are in the air - the stork is flying!  The cut off is 9/15 - what a great batch!  All that blabbering about being calm in my last post, yeah, that's gone!  I'm crazy excited!  After 6 years we will soon have a face to match the love I have had for our daughter!!  WooHoo - we are IN!

Update:  Our agency has referrals...phone calls on Monday!

Next week?

It is Thursday, less than a week from expected referrals, and I'm surprisingly calm.  For years I wondered what this month and this week would be like.  Normally I am anxious about referrals being posted, calculating how many days they covered, how much longer to go, but we are next in line - we have every reason to expect a referral this batch.  I think that is where my greatest comfort is found; that or denial!  If we were two or three days away from the last cut-off date, I don't think I would have this calmness, and I don't think I will have this calmness next week!  But for now, it is all good.  My mind is entertaining her age, her face, when we will travel to get her, and that is all very exciting.  I can't believe we are next in line.  It's been so long.  One friend posted on FaceBook that we just passed our 69th monthly LID anniversary and that her agency told her it would be 6-9 months...how important punctuation is!  How funny and how true.  But we are next, we are ready and we are excited.  I'm so glad to finally put this part behind us and finally see the face of our daughter.

Check out these beautiful necklaces!

I'm so excited to share these beautiful necklaces as a fundraiser toward our adoption fund.  I worked with the artist to come up with the ideas and she created these beautiful creations.  Each verse is very special to me.  

The first version is above, hand stamped with, "Have faith in God".... answered Jesus - Mark 11:22.  Our journey has surely required great faith.  We thought this adoption would lead us to our first child in less than a year and a half.  Six years later, we are just now about to finally see her face.  We had a successful domestic adoption of our son 4 years ago, after which we entertained the idea of a second domestic adoption and abandon this path.  But I have always had great faith that this is the path God choose for me.  (I told my mother when I was in middle school that I knew I wouldn't have biological children but that I wanted to adopt from China...the crazy part, there was no international program with China at that time).   I feel that God has prepared me for this journey and given me the strength and most of all, the faith to persevere.  But it has not been easy.  I think myself (and all the others of us that have stayed in this 'line' for this long) as a little bit crazy at times.  Faith has been my enduring strength and Mark 11:22 simplifies it, in Jesus's own word "Have faith in God".  I will share my faith to whoever will listen and wear that proclamation with this beautiful necklace.  I would love if you would join me but checking out the link!  The necklace can be purchased for $26 at http://jubileesjewels.com/Mark-11-22

The second version has part of Psalm 139:14 which says "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."  This verse tells us that each and every one of us are a unique creation by God and a true master piece.  Our pastor brought this verse to my attention; he tells his young daughter this verse every night so she knows her own value.  I love this verse and the necklace is beautiful.  I want my daughter to know as well that she was created by God exactly as He intended. This is a beautiful verse, especially for all our girls to know in the face of a challenging society.  Please go to http://jubileesjewels.com/adoption-fundraising/Psalm-139-14 for this version, also $26.

I hope they are well received, we can help our adoption fund a little, and most importantly spread the great news of the love for Christ.  There are some other great pieces on the website as well so please take a look at the beautiful pieces.  Thank you Stacy for your beautiful and talented work and your dedication to help others!

One Marble Left

Starting the beginning of 2011, I began a marble countdown.  Each marble represented one LID day between the date they had referred through until our date of 9/12/06.  It was a nice visual to see the marble jar decrease, a sign that while it was moving slowly, we were indeed getting closer.  Some months were fun, removing as many as 14 marbles one month, but most were less impressive, 4-6 at a time.  But this past referral batch we went from 8 marbles to one, representing one LID left, our own.

 8 marbles in the jar representing the 9/4/06 batch in April

 Zane holding our one last marble

ONE left, 9/12/06 is the last marble!

We are NEXT!

Referrals came out yesterday and with a bit of a surprise, they went through 9/11!  That means we are in the next batch!  This is such a relief...rumor had it that the batch would go through 9/8, leaving us wondering if we will make it in the June batch or we'd have to wait another month but wonderful news came our way.  It is hard to believe, to conceive that after more than 5 1/2 years, we will see our baby's face, in about 28 days.  This is such an exciting time!  Our Mia's file is making it into the matching room...our dossier is being dusted off.  It is all so very surreal.  How can I know this is coming, pray for it to be here, cry over disappointing batches then seemingly all of a sudden it is our turn...we are NEXT!

It's our turn to get on the roller coaster!

September is on deck!

The great news has arrived...this batch finished August and September is next! There is such a buzz "in the air" with all of my September LID web-friends. Everyone is sharing their predictions, what their agency is saying, and what we are doing to get ready. Did you get that...getting ready, as in getting ready for a BABY! It looks like our referral could come in June...possibly even MAY! That thought is hard to conceive.

I've said for so long, trying to explain to others, that waiting is kind of like waiting in line for a ride at Disney. You can see how many people are in front of you, and the sign said how long you have to wait when you got in line, but the ride keeps breaking down, adding unexpected delays. But we are finally near the front of the line, watching those we waited with finally get on the ride. I can see the roller coaster...we are almost on!

There's a breeze in the air

When I named our blog "journey to Mia Jade", I had no idea what a journey it would be. It has been 6 years this month since our paperchase began to adopt from China; a process we expected to be 15 months. There has been little to celebrate regarding this adoption along the way - batch sizes that have halved in size over and over, batch sizes that went from 30 days per month to sometimes only 2 days, a month that took a year to complete referrals (March '06) and the realization that it was going to take 3, 4, then 5, and now 6 years complete. But we have continued to wait, mostly because my conviction that my daughter comes from China. We could have tried a second domestic adoption, Zane's went so perfectly, and maybe we should have, but I remember a wish, a whisper that my daughter comes from China.

So the breeze in the air? Rumors that this match, expected to be revealed next week, could be finishing up August '06. That means next are September referrals, showing up in April. Can it be true? Can it really be happening? We are September 12th. Twelve days, twelve marbles, twelve paper links, away from a photo of our daughter, Zane's sister, their granddaughter. Will it be in June? In July? Could a blessing of a big batch bring it in May? Whichever it may be, it is coming. The breeze is starting to fill my sails, causing motion, emotion. The next three or four months will be tough and exciting. There is so much to do, so many things to fear, changes that will take place for so many people, especially for a small child who is somewhere literally half way around the world waiting for her family. I know now that she is alive, a strange concept I often have wondered about as we got closer, but farther away from a referral. So stay tuned and pray. The time is coming, it's almost here...can you feel the breeze?