Silence...

I've been quiet, RQ has zilch to report and nothing is coming out of the CCAA. We have had a busy month with preschool ending and my sister in law (Meg) graduating college. Congratulations Meg!! Meg leaves in August for China!!! Megan has decided to go to China (Inner Mongolia) for a year to teach English. We are so proud of her and so honored that she will have a year to immerse herself in her goddaughter's culture. We are hoping that she can meet us in China when we finally get there and have a few days to spend with us and Lily.

There are no Rumors this month and it is killing me! We have heard that 1/23/06 will not be included, but that is not a surprise. We should know something on Monday and hopefully I will be sane enough by then to hear what the results are. Here's my breakdown:

If they get to 1/20 then I feel 90% sure that we will have a referral in July.

If they get to 1/19 I feel 70% sure we will get a referral in July.

If they get to 1/18 then I feel I have a 50% chance of a July referral.

If they don't get to 1/18 then there is no way it's happening in July.

So, I don't know how to feel right now, except very anxious for Monday!

Earthquake

As most of you know China is dealing with the aftermath of a massive earthquake. There has been a huge loss of life; including as many as 900 school children . Non profit organizations working in China have reported that many of the orphanages in the area were able to evacuate and are dealing with only minor damage. There are still a few more orphanages that they are waiting to hear from. Donations are being collected for all the children who will be affected. The organization I like to donate to is http://halfthesky.org/

Many people have asked if we know where Lily is. This is a question we can not answer. We assume she has been born but we do not recive any information until we receive our referral. We have no way of knowing if she is the area affected by the earthquake but we are praying that Lily and all the children in China are safe right now.

Projections

RQ posted her projections today. When I looked at this chart my hear skipped a beat and I am holding the tears back in my eyes. Her horrid case is Jan. 23rd! I was thinking it would be great if they could get to the 19th BUT if the CCAA gets to the 23rd then we are defiantly in for July. In 4 weeks I could be saying, "I am next!". I am tyring so hard not to get my hopes up but I have been let down every month for 27 months that I know I can handle disappointment. I really can't believe that this journey will really be over soon!

Next...

The CCAA confirmed that the official cutoff is January 12th. Our agencies 1/10/06 group received referrals and we are the NEXT LID group with our agency. We are finally next for something! It will probably take 3 months to get to 1/26/06, although I am really praying for only 2 months. The phone calls started coming on Friday and it was so exciting to read all the messages as people received their referrals. It is really hard to believe that we are so close and that this is going to happen for us. I find myself thinking a lot about the baby that will become our daughter. I know she is born and I pray that she is being well cared for. She is not waiting for us, she does not know that her world is about to change in a few more months. I hate to wish time away but I really hope the next few weeks go by fast!!

Makeover

New Look!! I had a makeover done by Sarah at Blogoverers with Love and I LOVE it! The money I paid all goes to my favorite charity, Half the Sky. I needed something fresh and new to look at for these last few months of the wait and I think Sarah, from Blogovers with Love did a great job.

Referrlas have not arrived yet but we expect them either today or Monday. I am so excited for my friends Susan and Hope who will be seeing their daughter's face for the first time!

January 12th

Not official, but we are pretty confident that the cutoff is this month is January 12th. 3 days is far from great BUT this is what I was prepared for. The 12th was a really big day so I am not surprised they did not get any further. The CCAA is now 14 days away from our 1/26/06 LID! Four of those days are weekends, so really 10 days! We are 2 or 3 months away from a referral. I think there is a 50 / 50 chance that we could see a referral in the beginning of July. If we do not get a July referral then I don't know what will happen. There are rumors that the CCAA will not give referrals out during the Olympics. I really hope they send referrals out at the end of July right before the Olympics, but then I expect we will be unable to travel until September. Part of me can't believe how close we really are and then I also feel like we will never see Lily's face. I think I need to start a "to do " list because I would hate to be unprepared after all this waiting!

Another Place for Toys...

Another place for toys, the last thing we really need! However, I have been looking for something to keep Lily's toys in and this was exactly what I wanted. Most of the toys are in the basement and then we have a toy bin for the boys. Over the years, the boys toy bin has become a holder for every small toy in the world (legos, crayons, small figurine's). I wanted something for Lily that I could keep in a different part of the family room and that still looked somewhat stylish. I have already filled the baskets!! The hope is that referrals will be sent next week. The CCAA is closed for a holiday next Thursday and Friday and they have always sent out referrals before they leave for vacation. Hopefully only one more week until we know the cutoff. My head says the cutoff is the 12th but I still hold out hope for a few more days.