Still no referrals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still no updates on the CCAA website and none of the agencies have received referrals. I'm checking the RQ site constantly (I don't care that nothing good can come of it, I'm already a little freaked out so what's the harm) and some agencies are telling people that the CCAA is having "internal issues" and these are causing the delay. Nobody knows what these internal issues are and the CCAA is very secretive so nobody knows what's going on. It's all very disconcerting. I think everyone could handle whatever the wait is if they'd just tell us what's going on and how long they expect things to take. It's the not knowing that has everyone really freaked out. Just give us some info, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hurry up China!

The CCAA has still not updated their website with the new cutoff date for this month's referrals. This is getting really frustrating. I waited anxiously all weekend expecting it to be updated this morning and then nothing. :( The rumors are saying the cutoff will be between August 23 and August 28. I would love it to be the 28th but that's probably too much to hope for. Last month they got up to August 9th. Our LID is December 9 so we're exactly 4 months (122 days) of LIDs away from our referral. The rumors are all over the place (yes, I went back to the RQ site this morning right after checking the CCAA site). A lot of agencies are telling people the wait is going to stabilize at 14 months (where it is now) and then other agencies are telling people the wait is going to keep getting longer and longer. Right now it's taking 2-3 months to get through one month of LIDs. If that trend continues, it will take 12 more months to get our referral. I really like the first rumor about the wait stabilizing but I don't want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed. I'm just so ready to bring our daughter home. China is 13 hours ahead of us so it's already night there which means we have to wait until tonight or tomorrow morning (our time) for the site to be updated. Please hurry China!

Relapse

I've been so good the past few months avoiding the Rumor Queen site and now I'm afraid to admit I've suffered a relapse. For some reason I've been an emotional wreck this week and I keep searching for info on referrals. The last few months referrals have been sent by about the 25th so I was expecting them this week. Now they'll come out Monday at the earliest. I keep hoping things will speed up at least a little. I hadn't checked the RQ site since April but today I've been on there at least 4 times. I really shouldn't have looked. Now I have the knots in my stomach that were ever-present for several months before I forced myself to avoid the rumors. There was a really good rumor on there that I wish would be true. Of course it won't and now that I've seen it I'll be disappointed when it's confirmed that it isn't true. Ugh! Why do I do this to myself?

Must....stay....strong....avoid....rumors....

Wishbook

I finally finished Ming's wishbook (all of the wishes that came with the fabric for her One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt) last night. It's a really big book. My mom and I joined about 7 fabric swaps between the two of us plus the fabric/wishes from friends and family so there were a lot of wishes. I had a lot of fun putting the book together. I used the scrapbooking paper I've been collecting from the dollar store. I knew I was going to need all of that paper. I spent hours organizing the wishes by color and/or theme and choosing just the right paper for each wish. The only wish missing from the book is the one from her daddy. I told him he needs to get busy and come up with a wish for her. He said he wants it to be just right and he can't rush it. He's a cutie. He was very impressed with the wishbook. I actually got a few oohs and ahhhs out of him.

My mom is working on the quilt. It works out really well that she's a quilter. She's making hearts for each block and then she's going to use the red thread poem for the center block. I can't wait to see the finished product. It's going to be so cute.

I can't wait to show Ming the quilt and wishbook someday and show her how many people were thinking about her before she was even here.

CAWLI Mom's Shower

Yesterday some of the other CAWLI waiting moms and I got together and threw ourselves a baby shower at PF Chang's. It was a lot of fun getting together. It's nice to see some other people who are in the same boat and who understand all the frustration I'm feeling with the excrutiating wait. The food was great and I got some great gifts for Ming. We did a yankee swap (the nice way). I drew last, which worked out great because I got Kristin's gift. I got 4 books for Ming's library. One of them was a book on baby sign language. I've read about that so I was very excited to get that book. Whenever I get a new book I practice reading it to my hubby. He's a good sport about it.

I just found the best (or perhaps it's the worst) site yesterday. I had heard of youtube before but didn't really know what it was all about. Yesterday I got bored and checked it out. I watched some skating videos (of course) and then I started wondering if there were any China adoption videos. They have over 100 of them. These are videos that families have made of their adoption trips to bring their precious children home. They're so sweet and touching. I watched a couple but I had to stop because I was at work and it's impossible to watch those videos without crying. That site is addictive. You can find pretty much anything that has ever been caught on video. I'm hooked.

We went to New York City for the weekend and had a great time. We explored Central Park and I got to play with a couple of dogs. One was a Westie and I stalked him for a bit before getting up the courage to ask his owner if I could take a picture of his dog. He probably thought I was crazy but he was very nice (maybe because he thought I was crazy). I was really wishing Ming were there with us. We saw Spamalot Saturday night. It was really good. It was the funniest show we've ever seen. We laughed through the whole thing. On Sunday they shut down 6th Avenue for several blocks for a flea market kind of thing. We found the cutest sweater for Ming. It's pink with little animals and a sun. Very cute. I love buying things for her. I didn't even look for things for myself (other than scrapbook stickers). It's just so much fun buying baby things. It reminds me that I'm really going to be a mommy soon (hopefully). I can't wait to take her on trips. I hope she loves to travel as much as I do. My mom and I have had so much fun travelling together. I want to have the same experiences with her.

I'm getting very frustrated about the wait. I keep hearing rumors that it's going to extend to 18-24 months. We thought we would have been to China and back with our daughter by now but we could be facing another year. It's already been 10 months and we still have 4 more months of LIDs to get through before it's our turn. I just wish the CCAA would give us some information. If it really is going to be 18 months or longer then they should just be upfront with us. I wouldn't be happy about it. There would be a lot of tears but at least I'd know what I was facing and I could accept it. I just want my daughter home!!!!!!!!!!!!!