Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Come On Stork!!

I'm chomping at the bit, waiting for my 2/17 blog friends and beyond (way beyond hopefully!) to finally receive word on their babies! The CC@@ must be done matching by now, right? Get that stork a flappin'!

I must admit (selfishly) that it's much easier to take when your referral comes as a complete surprise! Hang in there y'all!


I have no news except confirmation on a pre-travel meeting on the 9th. I sooooo hope to know travel plans by then. It feels like I've had Ellie's referral forever and good grief, she's waiting for her mommy people! In the meantime I've been using Stephe's travel list as a starting point for packing. Don't know HOW you're going COO (carry-on-only), PIPO! Crrrrraaazzzzy! =)

Gotta go and click back on to RQ now. Come on referrals!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Walk for the Animals 08

Thank you to all who donated to the VB SPCA and supported our team! We raised $400 for the animals! Plus, Kaitlin, Matt and I had a wonderful day out in the sunshine, walking along the boardwalk.

Hurry up and take the picture so I can pet the cute doggies!
Mile .2 of .5. Are we there yet?! =)
We stopped for a breather at the castle. Are King Frid@y and Queen S@ra in? Ok, I'm showing my age...
Still walking.

We made it! All for the animals!

Hungry mutts. Hungry Matt. Unfortunately we only had PE.TA faux chicken wraps and no-sugar pumpkin cookies on hand. McD's on the way home anyone? =)
Exhausted. A great day out supporting our friends the animals. *Thank you again to everyone who donated! xoxoxoxoxo*

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Matching and Donating


First of all, MATCHING HAS BEGUN for all my Febber buddies waiting not-so-patiently for the first glimpse of their baby! I am sooooo hoping that referrals come early next week for you all! The sixteenth and seventeenth should be shoo-in's but we need to get much much further! Bring on the babies! =)

"Team Shannon and Kaitlin" has dropped to FOURTH PLACE raising money online to help the VB SPCA!!!!!

We Walk for the Animals on Sunday the 26th! If you feel you can add $5 or so to support the animal shelter, please do! Kaitlin and I, and certainly the animals thank you! We'll post pictures of our walk on Sunday night.


SPCA WALK FOR THE ANIMALS DONATION LINK

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Happy Birthday to the Little Man!

My nephew, D, turned 2 today!!
We opened prezzie's first. Lucky boy!
Love the El.mo slippers!
Num! Num! He actually said this while we were singing the birthday song. =)
Love that frosting!

The Big Sister, behaving so nicely, and showing off her lack of front teeth!

No news on the pre-travel meeting or travel for that matter. Grrrrr. Mom is so worried the pre-travel (out of town) meeting will scheduled on the day of the shower. For now I'm trying to get lots of schoolwork completed so I can start really focusing on trip stuff and my Ellie!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Checking In


Today would have been LID Anniversary #32. Instead it is "the eve of 1 week since receipt of referral." Is there an acronym for that?! When does the imprint of that Log In Date on your brain go away?!
Still, to celebrate moving past the LID countdown? Well let's just say...







Soon all you other PAP's will feel the same way! =)

So on to a different wait. Next step is finding out the date of my pre-travel meeting in Wynnewood, PA. Anybody been there? My brother/travel bud is looking to order the perfect Philly steak sandwich. =)
I suppose after that, the next countdown becomes waiting for travel approval, consulate approval, and whatever other approval they throw my way. Bring it ON!!=)

In the meantime, Ellie and I have already received some wonderful gifts! My mom gave me this beautiful locket for Ellie J. Xingfu's photo. Have to figure out how to shrink my baby's head that small. Hmmmm. Weekend project.
My cousin Jenny sent me some "adopting parent essentials" which she says have already come in handy for her. Thank you, Jenny!

Ready for some rumors for the next batch...

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Referral Day Recap

Here she is in one of my favorite photos! (Ok, so all three are favorites!)

My mom emailed my agency to find out if I was receiving a call or a fedex. Fed ex it was so mom rushed up to my house to sit with Bernie & Gracie and wait for "the stork." This gentleman was nice enough to pose for a picture as my mom informed him to tell his wife he delivered a baby today. =)
Mom phoned me (at school)and said she was driving over with the package as I still had 2 hours of school to go. Shane (my brother) surprised me by speeding over to my school so he could be a part of and film the delivery. My aunt Jude texted me "Doctor and midwife enroute." Didn't get it til their arrival, but hey, I was out of sorts, ya know! Luckily I have a testing/planning period at the end of the day and we got to focus on the contents of the package.











It's a girl! Totally overwhelmed with so many emotions.












She's adorable!
Calling my Dad.






Signed acceptance letter. "Can we go and get her now?"
Finished up school and my mom and I drove straight over to the local fedex to ship the letter right back. I didn't know if my agency was open on Saturday and this guy used his fancy phone to call and check. So nice. The letter should have gotten there yesterday. Now we wait for the pretravel meeting (on a Saturday). Looks less and less like this week though.
We all went out for a celebratory dinner at our favorite Chinese Buffet. This is our favorite waitress. She read a bit of my referral to me regarding where my baby was found and what she was eating at 7 1/2 months! Fish soup. Not sure Lean Cui.sine makes that one...



It was an amazing day and I was so exhausted after coming home. Such a rush. You can't really see it, but I was wearing my special "Mother and Daughter joined by the Heart" necklace given to me by Cari, my secret pal. =)
Since my referral came unexpectedly three weeks early my shower date had to be changed. My SIL D. is making gorgeous invitations and so on Sunday I registered. Oh. My. Goodness. That place is crazy. Especially when you have no idea what you want or if it's going to fit/work/be needed and are not a shopper at heart! Thankfully my mom helped me out and we got a few things scanned. This is in the second aisle before the ponytail, sweat and achy feet set in. =)

So as I mentioned, I am waiting...once again. But now I actually know I have a beautiful girl with the name Xing Fu Li waiting for me in China. Makes it both harder and easier. I am sooooo hoping the travel meeting will happen soon and that the agency can get us traveling in December. I would love to be with her for her first birthday.
I did get some interesting info about her name (thank you Nji13) and will probably end of using Xing Fu as (one of!) her middle names. Xing Fu means Happiness (as in an active expression of happiness). I love it!
Thankfully I've had Kay (a second time mom from my agency who was referred a real sweetie!) to fill me in on her previous travel experience. Sadly she is in the other travel group, but we'll meet up at the pre-travel meeting and maybe at the White Swan.
Thank you to everyone who posted their congrats and comments. They will be such a treasure to share with Ellie over the years.
I am also counting down the days til the next referral batch as I have so many bloggy friends waiting from this point on! Bring on the babies!
Just another version of her referral pic 'cause she's so cute! Oh, and Ellie is the "cover girl" on the Singles Adopt China yahoo group page. Thanks, Kris! I'm a proud mama! =)

By the way, I am so happy for the families in the process of adopting who will be grandfathered in with this I600 ruling. Ok, that's it for now.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Meet Xing Fu Li soon to be Ellie!!





She's soooo cute!!! Guess I didn't need any bows after all, Stephe!
These pictures are from the end of July. She'll be one just before Christmas and she's living at Xinfeng COunty SWI in Jiangxi!
I sooooo hope to have her in my arms before her birthday and Christmas! I have more to share but I am shaking as I type and my family and I are going out to celebrate!
Thank you all for your support and wonderful wishes! What a magical feeling that so many of you have and many more of you WILL be experiencing soon!

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Elena, R U?

Nothing Yet


Labor is going longer than expected. I heard that's typical on a first one?!! SO no news. I figured it would be tomorrow but still I was hoping. My emotions have been on the biggest baddest scariest roller coaster ever since I had an inkling I might make the last batch but didn't.

Totally tearing my hair out.


Of course you'd think I'd be rushing around trying to get all the things I was supposed to get done over the past 3 years but no, I'm sitting here at the internet looking for answers.
I'll let y'all know when I know. And thank you for all your kind posts and words (and screams!) of excitement and encouragement!

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

STORK FOR ME????


Is it true? Is the stork on the way with my Ellie? My agency just emailed and said they got their 2/16 referrals and I would get my info by the end of the week (they're slow like that...)
I don't know if this is a second batch or if we're stragglers from the last group or what...
BUT I MIGHT BE SEEING ELLIE'S FACE BY FRIDAY!!!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Please don't let this be false labor! =)

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

You all are the best!!


Thank you everyone, for putting "Team Shannon and Kaitlin" in THIRD PLACE so far for raising money to help the VB SPCA!!!!!
We Walk for the Animals on October 26th!


SPCA WALK FOR THE ANIMALS DONATION LINK

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Moon Festival 2008 and Referral Predictions

Still ecstatic about our current FIFTH PLACE standing in collecting donations for the SPCA ($200), my niece and I attended our local Families with Chil.dren from China Moon Festival. It was held at the Bot.anical Gardens which offers a special area with various fountains in which to play.
We couldn't pass up the face painting. That was first on our agenda. Kaitlin is going to be a tiger for Halloween and her new favorite color is pink.
Trying to be still.
The MEAN look. We're looking in a mirror so everything is backwards.
The just lost my two front teeth tiger look. The face painting artist is just amazing!

Then we walked through the gardens to the fountains where all the children proceeded to wash off their artwork within seconds!


Luckily it was a beautiful day and still just warm enough for fountain play.
When I got there I was asked if I had just received my referral. Ha! Missed it by one day, everyone! This is the fourth moon festival I have attended since finding a singles spot with an agency and starting my paperwork. Next year I WILL be attending with Ellie and my nephew, D as well as Kaitlin! YES!

And now for the RQ predictions:
My LID 2/16/06






Oh my goodness!!!I'M NEXT! I'M NEXT! I'M NEXT!! =) Sometime around Halloween/first week of November I'll be matched as a mommy!
And since this blog is for historical purposes, I wanted to add (courtesy of RQ) the following chart showing how referrals have decreased steadily over the past few years.


P.S. Please consider donating a few dollars for the SPCA! Thank you!
SPCA WALK FOR THE ANIMALS DONATION LINK