2011 was great...2012 will be even better

2011 has really been great. Zane of course is the center of my life and he was of course the center of 2011. He got glasses this year and his first bicycle (although we still have a lot of work on both). We had Zane's first birthday party (age 4) with friends, bouncy house and all; it was a blast. And Zane started karate, something I think he will be doing for a while. He has drifted slightly from pirates, is full force on to Star Wars and his favorite toy is no doubt Legos. He is in the 3 to 4 year old class three days a week at our church and does well in school and has been mentioned by his teacher as being "all boy" but also compassionate to his classmates. What else could a mom ask for?

Mike and I went on our first weekend trip out of town without Zane this year. We went to Charleston, one of our favorite places to go, and we had a nice time but thought how we look forward to bringing Zane next time. We went on a family vacation with my SIL & BIL and Zane's cousins. It was a good time for them to spend together. We also took Zane to Disney for the first time this year and he loved it.

Zane is so amazing. He is smart and funny, very entertaining and dramatic. He makes everyone laugh with the crazy little things he says. He loves to be the director and the lead actor in our make-believe plays.

So on to Mia. We passed our 5 year LID mark but I am pretty confident in saying 2012 will be the year that we get our referral and bring her home. We have begun the process of renewing all our paperwork that is required by the US government and I am closely watching the referral batches, which once again have gotten smaller. The good news one of my best online buddies finally brought her baby home, so I know it does happen....and it will happen for us.

Hopefully with good referral news, I will post much more often this year. Year of the Dragon, I welcome you!

Happy New Year and Welcome 2011

Of course 2010 did not bring Mia home but we didn't expect it to when the year began. Never the less, it has been a wonderful year. Zane has changed so much this year. The age going from 2 to 3 is amazing! He has gone from a toddler to a little boy - a very independent, spirited boy! He is friendly to everyone and has no problem going up to adults and starting a conversation with them. It cracks me up! He had his tonsils and adenoids out this year which he did so easily and it has made a big difference in his health, his eating and his growth. He has taken off like a weed this year, especially since the surgery. People constantly think he is 5, then I have to explain his 3 year old behavior.

Zane LOVES pirates and we converted his room from a nursery to a big boy's room this year complete with a pirate boat bed. Another big boy change was potty training...and I can thank his teacher for that. We had been working on it but his teacher said he was ready so we tossed the pull-ups for good and there was no looking back! How nice is that! He also started his first organized sports - a 10 week soccer program for 3-5 year olds! He loved it so I see more soccer in our future.

Personally I met a long term goal and was accepted into graduate school at University of Central Florida into the Nurse Educator program. It will take years because I'm doing it one class at a time so not to interfere too much with family and work, but I'm on the road. Like our China adoption, slow and steady!

So speaking of China, this year's progress was better than last year's. They completed nearly two months of LID applications taking them to May 29, 2006....we still have 106 LID days to go (I think that's right). So they have to complete 3 1/2 months this year for us to get a referral in 2011. With the drop in number of applicants for the months of June, July, & August, it is a possibility we will see Mia's face this year. In the very least, she will be born this year if she has not already been born.

I hope to post more this year, sharing progress on our China journey. About 6 months before we expect a referral we have to start renewing our paperwork - more fingerprints, more social worker visits (although I love our social worker!) and more paperwork, but as long as we are getting closer, I'm ready to do the paperchase again!

Happy New Year to you all and t0 my fellow Sept LIDers, I pray for this to be all "our year"!

Stiiiiil waiting patiently

I can't believe it's been almost 6 months since I have posted. Not really much to post about regarding 'the wait' but things are moving along. April '06 referrals have gone almost twice as quickly as March '06 so hopefully that's a good sign. Maybe even a referral late next year but I've said that before. Zane is doing great. Two is fun, crazy and challenging! He is so smart (if I may say so) and very independent, but we saw that coming! I am still amazed by him EVERY day. Truly a gift from God. But life is busy, with Zane, work, and I just started graduate school! Am I crazy to take that on right now?! Maybe, but at least I may get a few classes in before I'm a mother of two. Wow, that sounds funny. I kind of feel this next year will go by quickly because this last year has FLOWN by. I hope Mia is 'brewing' right now and that we will have at least a referral next year and maybe even have her in our arms. That would be wonderful but either way, each month we are a little closer. And each month with Zane as the center of existence is wonderful.

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!

Goodbye 2008 - Hello 2009

I'm not the party type on New Year's Eve but I do like to look back and reflect on the 12 months that have past.  2008 has been full of wonderful firsts with Zane...first tooth, first words, first steps, first haircut, first birthday and a ton of other firsts in between.  This year has been so much fun!  I love being a mom and love Zane more than any love than I've ever known.  Zane is obviously the 'theme' of 2008.  While nationally and in our own lives there has been financial struggles (we even paid for more than $4/gallon for gas!) we hardly noticed with the joy that Zane has brought us daily.  We know how blessed we are and we thank and praise God every day for His gracious gift of Zane to us.

Some other wonderful news, I have seen several of my local and online friends bring home their children - by birth, by domestic adoption and international adoption from China, Taiwan and Africa - it's been so wonderful to see these families grow.  Unfortunately I also have 2 good friends that had adoptions fail this year - a heart breaking experience.

The obvious sad news is that we are only 71 referral days closer to Mia than last New Year's Eve.  "The wait" will reach 3 years in March.  We can easily imagine it reaching 4 years by time we see our referral.  Will Mia be born this year?  Will she even be conceived this year?  Of course we won't know these answers until a referral which we do not expect to see in 2009. Hopefully 2010?  2011!?  But as I said to Mike the other day, God always had a plan for Zane to enter our lives, He has a plan for Mia and we will continue to trust (and try not to question) His plan.

For now, we celebrate the goodness of 2008 and welcome 2009.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Surprise...one more batch in 2008

Today a second December batch appeared and included those through February 28, 2006!  I'm so excited for these families.  So that gets us to March - unfortunately a HUGE month of dossiers.  It may take 6 months or more to get through all of March '06.  But one step closer and the good news, we are less than 200 referral days away.  Officially 196 days.  One more milestone.  

66 Days

I make a safe assumption that the referrals for 2008 have come to an end.  As I count up the number of LID days given referrals for the year, I see it is a total of 66 days - just over 2 months.  Ugh.  There are all kinds of ways to look at our progress (or lack of) but this is the most relatable to watch our progress toward the front of the line.  We are still just over 200 referral days out.  66 days in a year... do you see where I'm going with this.  It's hard not to get frustrated.  Another Christmas, another birthday, another day, month, year without Mia.  I continue to have faith in God's plan but it can be trying at times.  I can hear myself telling people when we started about how stable China's adoption program is.  Ha.  I have heard so many rumors, so many theories, so many predictions and no answers.  It's very defeating to know we are looking at a new year and basically zero chance of seeing Mia in 2009, even unsure it will be in 2010.  But I do see beautiful new referral pictures each month, tuck my son in bed every night and know it's the right thing for us to continue this wait.

Where is any good news from China?

I'm feeling a bit down about our wait for Mia.  Referrals have not picked up since the Olympics, the total numbers for adoptions over the year is the lowest its been in years and we just passed 2 years waiting with no end in sight.  The last batch only covered 2 days and March '06 (the month they are entering for referrals) is one of the biggest months there has been.  It could take most if not all of 2009 just to get through the month.  We could be waiting another 2-3 years.  I never imagined this is what the wait would be.  Ugh.

Oops!

I just realized the long delay in posting - I've been so busy!  At the same time, I'm almost ignoring "the wait" for Mia.  There has been no good indication from recent referral batches that there will be any speed up in referrals.  In fact, the last batch was only 2 days - a low point also seen in April 2007.  So many have thought the slow down was associated with the Olympics but maybe once again that thought was wrong.  We have made progress 2+ years into our wait for Mia but looking at another 2 or longer years of waiting.  Ugh.  But we have Zane and we are so very blessed with him in our lives - he is the center of our life!

Zane's First Birthday Party!

Zane's birthday is Wednesday the 22nd but his party was this weekend.  He had a great time with the smash cake as you can tell.  It didn't take long to get a hang of it.  He wasn't quite sure about opening gifts but I'm sure he will figure it out by next year.  And now his is WORN OUT. With family and cousins in town for a couple of days, he had much fun and now some good sleeping.

Please Pray

I'm sending out a prayer requests for my friend Carole's son who was in a tragic accident this past weekend. He is an adorable 3 1/2 year old that they brought home from Ethiopia just a few weeks ago. You can visit her blog at http://paul-samuelphillipson.blogspot.com. They are a wonderful family that need much support and prayers right now.

1/2 way there???

With the latest referral batch, Mike and I have 209 referral days between most recent batch (2/15/06) to our LID (9/12/06). When we started, back in fall of 2006 we had 417 days between the batch and our LID. So mathematically we are half way there. Does that mean time wise we are also half way there? The big question. Either way, I know God has a plan as He did with Zane. But another milestone to mark off, we'll take it! Besides, Zane is keeping us VERY busy. I don't know if I could handle another one right now!!

2 Year LID

We just pasted our 2 year 'anniversary' of our LID. Who would have known that 2 years into our wait, we still wouldn't have an end in sight. But as I have said before, if it weren't for the crazy long wait for Mia, we would not have Zane. God really knows what he's doing! This 'anniversary' passed with little to no fanfare...not sure if we should celebrate it or ignore it.

Goodbye Olympics

I feel very torn about the Olympics being over. Most of me is very happy they have finally past - I pray that the theory of the Olympics slowing down referrals is true and we will see a speed up of the pace finally. But a small part of me is kind of sad.   First off, I love sports and I love to see the athletes, especially the ones that are not going home to a pro career, that have spent their lives for the dream of the Olympics, lay it all out there for a once in a lifetime experience.  It is all very moving to me.  I loved watching all the sports and learning about the athletes. But also, I felt closer to China in a weird way watching every night. I so look forward to going to China; of course to meet our daughter but also to see her birth country. I have fallen in love with China over the last couple of years and want to be a part of it.  I have loved the coverage of the Olympics as they also showed the country, the people and places around Beijing.  I am proud of the great Olympics that the Chinese people put on.  But now come on referrals!

Trip to the Zoo - take 2!

Mike, Zane and I headed to the zoo again (the first trip was when Zane was 4 months old) and it was so much fun! Zane is getting old enough to see the animals and enjoy them.  Mike and Zane feed a giraffe, which was very cool, but the winner was brushing the goats.  Of all the wild beautiful animals, the goats made him laugh the most.  Of course it was the one thing he could touch.  What a great family day!

Mike and Zane at the same spot - what a difference 6 months make!