No news yet

It has been officially 55 days waiting for LOSC/LOA. I think China is taking a nap right about now. Everything seems quiet on all the adoption sites. I hope they wake up soon. The waiting is torturous! This seems to be the underlying thread with most of my posts. Waiting. I have come to realize I do not like this word. A little waiting is healthy. It makes you appreciate what you are waiting for. 18 months of waiting though. TORTURE!! WAKE UP CHINA!!!!

On a positive note, our updated home study is completed. Yeah!! I will have it ready to send to immigration with our I-800 package as soon as we receive LOSC/LOA. I was worried it would not be ready but it is. Thank goodness. I do not want anything else holding up this already long process.

Update, Update! Read all about it!

We received an update on Lily from our agency yesterday sent by her orphanage. We have 6 new pictures and a written update on her. I can't believe how big she looks. Her hair has grown (thank goodness, still needs to grow more for those cute pig tails to happen), she looks like she has put on some weight (mostly in her belly, too cute for words) and we finally have a clear picture of her repaired cleft lip. Looks like she will need some reconstructive surgery on her nose when she has her palate repaired. Anything this little cutie needs she will get. We can handle anything once she is in our arms. We can not wait to just love her up.

(You can not really see in this picture but there is a printed D&G on the front of her shirt. Dolce and Gabbana maybe? Girl after my own heart. Mother like daughter! What's with the scowl though? Come on baby girl, Dolce and Gabbana!)

Spring make over

Yes, I have given our blog a much needed face lift. With spring in the air, tulips and daffodils in bloom and warmer temperatures, I am feeling the need to enjoy this time. The old blog was feeling very "winterish" with its dark colors. I love the colors of the "new" blog. Lily's room has been decorated in these exact colors.

On the adoption front, still waiting for LOSC. It has been officially 45 days waiting for LOSC from our LOI. Some people have waited for 120 days. Yuck!!!

Finding Ad

We received Lily's finding ad today from Brian Stuy. Amazing! I am holding the actual newspaper that her ad is in. The date the newspaper ad was placed and published was on July 23, 2008. That is Sophie's birthday! Another coincidence, our LID is my father's birthday, September 10th. Coincidence or meant to be? I do not know, but it certainly makes you think.

She is so cute with her big round eyes. Oh how I wish she knew we were trying so hard to get to her. She has no idea that we even exist right now. I am hoping the photo album we sent reaches her soon. I want her to know we are thinking of her every minute of every day. We really are coming, stay strong Lily Mei-Ling.

The Endless Wait

Not much has happened these last couple of weeks. We are just waiting the endless wait. It has been officially 37 days since our referral for Lily. It has been 24 days since our PA (preapproval) from China. LOSC still could be weeks away from now. I am hoping we will get it sometime in April but may not be until June. So we wait...........

In the mean time, we are having our home study renewed. It is due to expire on May 5th so we need to have it updated. In Massachusetts home studies are only valid for one year. So more paperwork. More child abuse clearances, new CORI, meetings with our agency, letters stating any changes with our family, income, medical etc. When the knew home study is finished it then needs to be notarized, authenticated and translated. Have I mentioned I am just about at my limit with the paperwork? Well, I am. Come on now. Enough already! I am not delusional. I know there is lots more paperwork to come. I am just sick of it! The things we do for our children!

I am still waiting for Brian Stuy to send us Lily's finding ad. It was supposed to be mailed out on Thursday this past week from Utah. Hopefully we will have it by the beginning of this week. We can't wait to see another picture of her. All these little links to Lily makes the waiting a little less painful. So we continue to wait for LOSC, home study renewal, finding ad. Wait, wait, wait. While Lily waits for us...........

New Pictures of Lily

This week I have "talked" with 3 families that have recently adopted children from the very same orphanage where Lily is. How amazing! The orphanage seems to be a small one. It appears very well kept from the pictures I have seen. Most importantly, the families I have spoken with feel that their daughters have all been very well cared for and loved. One family even had pictures to share. Thank you Tracy! She emailed me some pictures and we think Lily is in one of them! She would be about 15 months old in the picture. It is amazing that I have found these families that have a link to Lily. Our daughters know each other. They are in the pictures together. Tracy has given us something so priceless. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I have also corresponded with Brian Stuy this week (The finding ad guy). He actually has Lily's finding ad photo. He is sending us the actual newspaper that her ad is in. I can not wait to receive it. Hopefully it will be here the beginning of next week. For those of you who do not know, China has to place a "finding ad" in the newspaper with a picture of the child that has been abandoned to see if the parents will claim them before they can be legally put up for adoption.

All these links to Lily have made the time pass a little faster and easier. It has already been almost a month since we received her referral. Come on China, we are still waiting for that darn LOSC!

Orphanage Picture

I am in the process of joining a yahoo group for families who have or are adopting from the same orphanage where Lily is. I can not wait to "talk" with families that have some knowledge of this orphanage. Sometimes other families will have info about your child because their children are the same age and in the same "group" as your child. It will be comforting to learn anything about Lily's life right now. When you do not really have much to go on, any little piece of info that links to her is precious. I did find a picture of the orphanage where she is. I found it on someones blog who has already adopted from Lily's orphanage. I just stare at the picture and imagine Lily in the window. It is so surreal that she is in that building. I know what the building looks like but we are half way around the world. I just want her to know we are trying our hardest to get to her. Hold on Lily, we are coming!