May Referrals

The JOH monthly newsletter arrived announcing program III had seven referrals in the month of May (4 girls and 3 boys!) So, once again we climb higher on the list. I really think we are near the top now and I am very much hoping to hear some exciting news for our family in the next six weeks. I want everybody to be thinking positive happy thoughts for us! [ and I thank you in advance for that : ) ] but more importantly for our little girl and for her birth family. We hope all of them are healthy and being well cared for at this time. Congratulations to all the JOH families who have received great news in the last month on referrals, hearings, rulings and travel plans!! We look forward to joining you all on cloud 9.

Six Months and Counting...

June 3rd marked the end of sixth months of waiting for the referral of our little girl. We really do think we are getting close now. JOH told us to expect a wait of about 6 to 8 months and, based on past referrals, they seem to be quite good at predicting time lines. We really hope we get a referral before August so that perhaps (just maybe) we can have our daughter home by Christmas. Chinese New Year is early this year on January 26th and travel becomes more difficult and expensive during this holiday season. So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We know our program received at least 2 girl referrals in May so we are moving up the list. Summer is almost here and we hope all of our friends and family have a fantastic season!

[Post-note written 08-30-08]: As I am sitting here re-reading old posts, I realize that this one was written on the day our beautiful baby girl was born. This was posted at 9:43 in the morning on June 5th which means it was 11:43 p.m. in Taiwan. Our darling Kathryn Pei Jung was born about 45 minutes later in the early morning hours on June the 6th. Kate, I so wish I could have been there to watch you take your first precious breath. I cannot wait to hold you in my arms sweet girl and once I get ahold of you I will never let you go. Please know how desperately I wish I had been with you always. All my love to you, mom

Welcome Baby Michelotti!!!

We are so happy to announce that our dear friends, John and Lori Michelotti, after a patient 14 month wait, just accepted the referral of their beautiful little girl from Korea. We can't wait to welcome Hee Yoon Lee, born November 25th 2007, into our lives! We hope our little girls will be close in age and able to grow up together. Congratulations John, Lori, Rosie and Nick!! Your family of five is now complete!

Behind the Scenes

Part of the international adoption paper chase is to ensure that forms get to where they are suppose to go. It used to be that the I171-H (permission to adopt a foreign born orphan) was sent directly from the INS to Taipei Taiwan. The U.S. govt recently changed the rules so that everything now goes through the National Visa Center in Portsmouth New Hampshire. On the advice of our agency, I spent an hour on the phone today making sure that our physical file had been sent from Portsmouth to Taipei. It was fun to find out that it had indeed been sent on April 15th. (tax day! I wonder if that means anything???) It was exciting to learn that things are going on behind the scenes even when we don't know it. So, hang in there little girl, between ourselves, multiple agencies and two governments we are preparing to come get you! Yay!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mothers! Whether you are holding a child in your arms, womb or heart, you deserve recognition because it is a wonderful but complicated road we have headed down. One of our favorite blogs is titled "China Baby: The Sweet and Sour of Parenthood". An apt title, which always serves as a reminder of how lucky we are. For the past six years, people have wished ME a Happy Mother's Day, a mere neophyte, I realize compared to those who have been parenting for 20 or 40 plus years. Still, although we have been blessed with more than our share of sweet, it hasn't been without it's sour moments. The first year I felt like a fraud in the parenthood department, unworthy of any special treatment. The second year, we were told on the Friday before mother's day that our only child at the time had a serious neurological disorder and might never have a "normal" life. I will never forget the overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude I experienced when we found out a month later that his diagnosis was incorrect. As a result, this is a day I always reflect on mother's who are parenting special needs children. I have the greatest respect and admiration for those who dedicate their life and resources to lovingly raising children with greater obstacles than most. These are some of the heroes among us and I always think of them on Mother's Day. I know that many of these mother's don't think they are doing anything special, but I know differently. They are doing perhaps the most challenging and compassionate work on earth and on this special day, I salute them.

Done With Service Plan!!!!

Hurray Hurray it's the first of May and I'm happy to say we're done! I went to the post office today and sent our service plan to Oregon. The service plan is another educational piece required by our agency to help us prepare for our adoption. It included researching Taiwan and it's culture, interviewing people from Taiwan, interviewing people who had raised adopted children to adulthood both internationally and domestically, writing book reviews, preparing our children for the adoption, beginning a life book, educating extended family about adoption issues, writing out a trans-racial plan, attachment plan and researching medical information on international adoption. It was a lot of work, but very interesting and certainly worthwhile. So, twenty seven single spaced type written pages later, we are all done and far more prepared than we were two months ago. Hurrah!

When It's Hard to Wait...

The domestic duo, Luke cooking and Sam cleaning

Boys camping in the back yard

...I have to be careful not to lose sight of the immense riches we already have right here at home. Here are a few pictures of our darling boys. How fortunate we are!