Weekly Update January 16, 2009

I received my weekly update from CHI, and they say that we should not expect an answer, regarding the Waiting Child program, until after the Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year starts on January 26th and should end around February 9th - my birthday. The next Waiting Child list should come around the middle of February, so we could possibly receive the next list! Keep those prayers coming! Until next time...Peace and Grace to all!!

Update

I received an update from CHI, yesterday. Rebecca, my coordinator, said that CHI has sent their Hague certificate to the CCAA, and the Beijing office is waiting to hear if CHI will be allowed to receive the shared Waiting Child list. Since the most recent list just came out last week, we can probably expect the next list toward the middle of February. Please continue to pray that CHI will receive the next Waiting Child list. Also, my next semester at LU starts on Monday. I have been so blessed to be able to return to school and pursue a career in which I can make a difference in the life of a child. For those who do not know, I made the decision to change careers this past summer...I am going to be a K-6 teacher. "Thank you" to all my family and friends who have supported me in this important decision, for I feel this will be a better career path for Mia Claire and me. Until next time...Peace and Grace to you all!

2009 Could Be the Year...

Well Friends, CHI re-opens tomorrow morning from their holiday vacation, so I am eager to get an update from them sometime tomorrow. I just read RQ(Rumor Queen) and folks on there have gotten calls TONIGHT that their agencies have received a new waiting child list, and a couple have been matched with a child, TONIGHT!! From the reports on RQ, this is a partial list of 49 children, so there could be more by the time we all get to work tomorrow morning. CHI still has to send their official Hague certificate to China, so I would not expect CHI to get a list this time, but next month maybe. I am much closer to my daughter today than I was yesterday. Please continue to pray that this will be the year that Mia gets to come home. Peace and joy to you all!

Good-bye Christmas 2008...

I just love my peppermint candy wreath!

Mia's Christmas Tree

Mia's Christmas tree...complete with a gumdrop star and suckers.

Angie's Christmas Tree

I love Christmas, and it makes me so sad to take down my beautiful tree

The Journey Continues...

Since I have waited so long to start this blog, I thought I would give all of you a little more history. I currently have a 4/17/07 log-in date for China. For those of you who aren't familiar with "adoption talk," this is the "official" date that China (CCAA - China Center for Adoption Affairs) received my dossier (huge packet I submitted for my adoption). When I began the adoption process, it was estimated that the wait time would be 1 to 1 1/2 years until I received my daughter, but as we all know, that has not been the case. The wait times have become almost unbearable. Presently, parents receiving referrals have been waiting over 3 years, and the wait continues to grow, with no explanation from the CCAA I might add. So, almost a year ago, after much prayer and soul searching, I applied to the Waiting Child Program with China - China's equivalent to the "special needs" program. China's version of special needs and our (USA) version of special needs are completely opposite, but I won't go into the details. Needless to say, I felt drawn to these waiting children, and I placed my name on the waiting child list for six minor, correctable needs that I feel I can easily take care of as a single parent. As of three weeks ago, there are only 44 families from CHI who have applied to this program, so it is not unrealistic that I could get a referral (child) sometime this year...woohoo!