August 20, 2013--Countdown to Maddie!
Eight days until we leave for China, and about 11 days until we meet Madeleine. Hang on, Maddie, we're coming to get you!!!
March 31, 2013--Does She Even Know What Day it is?
We celebrated Easter today, and I couldn't help but wonder what Madeleine was doing today...does she know about God, does she know how important this day is, did the easter bunny visit her?
Last night, Regina said something that took my breath away. China, and specifically the Henan province, is 13 hours ahead of Chicago time, so usually each morning we will talk about how Maddie is getting ready for bed and at night we talk about how Maddie is getting her day started, and the girls get a real kick out of the flip flopped schedule. Well, yesterday evening (Easter Eve) we were talking about how Maddie was waking up on Easter morning, and the girls were commenting on what she was doing, things like: "I bet Maddie is opening her Easter basket" and "She is looking for her Easter eggs now", and then Regina blurted out "I think Maddie is saying, 'Where are my parents'"? Well, that actually stopped both Ryan and I in our tracks. Does she wonder where we are, and why we have not come to get her yet????????????
February 27, 2013--Maybe Soon!
The six month referral estimate has obviously come and gone. However, we are making progress in moving through the referral line with our agency, and I really think we are getting close. By my best case scenario estimation, we will get a referral call in late March. By my worst case scenario estimation, we will get a referral call in June. Either way, that puts us traveling to China in late summer/early fall! A lot has changed with our situation since I last posted in September. We had decided on staying in our current house, remodeling the basement to create more living space for us, and then selling in a few years. Then literally, the same day we had a few contractors through the house to assess the basement and provide estimates, I received a call from the owners of our beloved "Blue House" that they were interested in selling! Fast forward through the details, we ended up closing on that house in December, and plan to move in sometime over the summer. My hope is that we will move before Madeleine comes home, but if there is one thing I have learned through this process, it's that I have no control over this process!
Stay tuned, hopefully I will be announcing our good news soon!
September 21, 2012--Can't someone make this wait go any quicker???!!!
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| Madeleine |
We have officially been waiting 3.5 months since we submitted our Medical Conditions Checklist to our agency. They quoted us a time frame until referral of about 6-8 months, so in theory we are half way to referral. I'm praying that we can see her face before Christmas. Although if I see her, and she becomes more tangible to me, knowing she is without me during Christmas might just kill me. I have joked with Ryan that if we pass a major holiday (Christmas, birthday, etc) without her home, I might hire Seal Team Six to swoop in and get her for me! Our basement reno is moving v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, but I hope to have it totally completed by the time Maddie comes home. In the meantime we have had to update our paperwork (Home Study, Immigration, passports for Keegan and Regina, etc), so that has provided some diversion from the waiting. I used to be somewhat complacent with the wait, but now my feelings are more on the side of anger...why does this have to be so long???? She's there needing a family, we're here needing a daughter, JUST LET ME GO GET HER ALREADY AND END THIS MOTHER'S HEARTACHE.
June 8, 2012--We are Getting Close!!!
So elated...just received word from our agency that we are getting close....! They gave us an estimated window of about 6 months, also saying it could be as soon as tomorrow or as long as 18 months. We have not actually received a referral yet, but our agency also said she will most likely be from the Henan province in China. So much to do in the next few months to prepare for our new addition: 1) Fix our basement, 2) Sell our house, 3) Find a new house, 4) Buy a new car 5) Learn Mandarin! This is SO EXCITING!!!!!!!
January 26, 2012--A Brief History of our Adoption Adventure
After about a year of "paper-chasing" (the process of gathering endless paperwork both for the United States government as well as the Chinese government to ensure our family is suitable to adopt an orphan), our official log in date (date we got in line) is November 10, 2010. The pace of referrals has really slowed in China, so right now families with log in dates of August, 2006 are traveling to China to take home their daughters (yes, they waited over 5 years!). Do some rough math, and you will find that we are really far from receiving a referral. Our adoption agency or any experts will not put a timeline on anything, but if one were to do some quick stats based on the history of the rate of referrals and pull a linear regression (my stats degree finally comes in handy!), then I predict we will receive our referral around 2018. HOLY SMOKES!
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