I write this posting only to record the happenings and events that unfolded this first weekend because they are very important and never to be forgotten.
Celeste we are sending you an early Birthday present, we are putting together a little box that contains a blankie and a chick-a-dee bird that sounds like those that sit and chirp outside your nursery window. In the box will also be a button up jumper that Nanny knitted for you, a little outfit sent to us from Auntie Lou and Cousin Hannah, and a little outfit from Auntie Jill and Cousin Siobhan with booties and a hat.
Saturday afternoon we sent a piece of paper to China that will mean that our red thread meets sooner than later and that we will be a forever family.
On Sunday your new cousin Brian was born, just as Gran, Uncle Pearse, Uncle Mac, Auntie Jill, Aunt Brittany drank a champagne toast to you and to coming home soon.
Later the same afternoon Mommy was surprised with a shower and you have lots of wonderful new clothes, books, toys and your very own bath. All the ladies prepared all of your Mommys favorite foods and drink and over 30 ladies showered your Mommy and really surprised her.
It has been a fantastic weekend, but most important of all we are two days closer to all being together.
The Friend Family Adoption of our Daughter from China The Chinese have a wonderful way of explaining how people come together, all people. In their culture, long before we meet the people who will be the most important in our lives, we are linked with lengths of invisible red thread. A red thread they will tell us, joins us to our child. As a red thread crossed the Atlantic to join Taney to me the thread continues to China and to our daughter.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Celeste is beautiful.
4:30 this afternoon our friend Hillary at CCAI who has worked with us through the compilation of our paperwork called Taney to announce that we have a daughter.
In the following moments, the call explained that she is in a town called Chongqing a few hundred miles west of Shanghai.
In an instant our family grew by one adorable little girl who has pulled at our heartstrings for many months.
A single color photograph from China was scanned in Coloardo, emailed to Pennsylvania, forwarded to me in my office by 4:50pm, forwarded again to England and Wales to "Nanny & Grandad" and Uncle Kevin after I had an opportunity to take a breath from this great news.
Taney & I had an idea we might hear today, St. Patricks Day, but dare not to hope for the number of times the delays accrued for no apparant reason.
Yesterday we check with CCAI to discover that we had a travel group number assigned, this could only mean that our refferal had arrived and was being translated. Then we heard that there were 125 similar referrals at CCAI, we could only hope for a call.
Thursday, I headed off to work and Taney was up waiting for the phone to ring. With one phone line Taney could not be on-line checking the progress of referral announcements from the adoption groups that we belong to who have helped and supported each other during this long delay since January.
Periodically I monitored the Weararenext group on yahoo for news, then around 2pm referrals slowly started to be announced. I would call Taney on the cell phone to give updates, although information was scarce and the home phone refused to ring, and when it did it was Taney's sister Tabitha.
On one occassion I called Taney's cell only to hear the home phone line ring, my heart leaped three feet, but again it was Tabitha. Other referrals posted, many with our agency, sharing our DTC and LID dates. Why did we not have a call?
Then 4:30, Hillary called, Taney was in the midst of mopping the kitchen floor. The exchange of information followed and a photo was emailed of Celeste, a beautiful baby with soul searching eyes, that melt your heart on contact. She was wearing a white and blue jumper.
4:50, I got a call on my cell that I was carrying with me all day long, it was Taney "I have just sent you an emailed Daddy" she said. Technology could not work fast enough, in a blurr I opened the email and silently read the contents from CCAI. Not realizing that there was a photo attached. I could not open file, all fingers and thumbs. Then Celeste was on my computer screen looking back at me with those deep brown eyes that spoke "come and get me".
Taney relayed across all the info given to her by Hillary. I printed off as many of thi the little photos I could on the color printer and handed them out to the few co-workers left in the building. pleased as punch as I had just found out I was a new Dad.
Taney drove to Grans to inform her family, I recieved a call from Uncle Chris driving home and Taney, Gran and I headed to see Grandmere together.
The roller coaster had stopped, time to get off.
To celebrate Taney & I headed out to LaFontana the best Italian Restaurant in town, to toast Celeste with wine and good food.
So now at the end of the day we both are exhausted, we have updated Celeste's Story of me book from the goings on of today. Tomorrow and the next few days we start the important part of the journey getting things in order to travel to China.
Celeste, Mommy and Daddy are coming just as fast as we can. We will all be together very soon and we love you so very, very, much.
In the following moments, the call explained that she is in a town called Chongqing a few hundred miles west of Shanghai.
In an instant our family grew by one adorable little girl who has pulled at our heartstrings for many months.
A single color photograph from China was scanned in Coloardo, emailed to Pennsylvania, forwarded to me in my office by 4:50pm, forwarded again to England and Wales to "Nanny & Grandad" and Uncle Kevin after I had an opportunity to take a breath from this great news.
Taney & I had an idea we might hear today, St. Patricks Day, but dare not to hope for the number of times the delays accrued for no apparant reason.
Yesterday we check with CCAI to discover that we had a travel group number assigned, this could only mean that our refferal had arrived and was being translated. Then we heard that there were 125 similar referrals at CCAI, we could only hope for a call.
Thursday, I headed off to work and Taney was up waiting for the phone to ring. With one phone line Taney could not be on-line checking the progress of referral announcements from the adoption groups that we belong to who have helped and supported each other during this long delay since January.
Periodically I monitored the Weararenext group on yahoo for news, then around 2pm referrals slowly started to be announced. I would call Taney on the cell phone to give updates, although information was scarce and the home phone refused to ring, and when it did it was Taney's sister Tabitha.
On one occassion I called Taney's cell only to hear the home phone line ring, my heart leaped three feet, but again it was Tabitha. Other referrals posted, many with our agency, sharing our DTC and LID dates. Why did we not have a call?
Then 4:30, Hillary called, Taney was in the midst of mopping the kitchen floor. The exchange of information followed and a photo was emailed of Celeste, a beautiful baby with soul searching eyes, that melt your heart on contact. She was wearing a white and blue jumper.
4:50, I got a call on my cell that I was carrying with me all day long, it was Taney "I have just sent you an emailed Daddy" she said. Technology could not work fast enough, in a blurr I opened the email and silently read the contents from CCAI. Not realizing that there was a photo attached. I could not open file, all fingers and thumbs. Then Celeste was on my computer screen looking back at me with those deep brown eyes that spoke "come and get me".
Taney relayed across all the info given to her by Hillary. I printed off as many of thi the little photos I could on the color printer and handed them out to the few co-workers left in the building. pleased as punch as I had just found out I was a new Dad.
Taney drove to Grans to inform her family, I recieved a call from Uncle Chris driving home and Taney, Gran and I headed to see Grandmere together.
The roller coaster had stopped, time to get off.
To celebrate Taney & I headed out to LaFontana the best Italian Restaurant in town, to toast Celeste with wine and good food.
So now at the end of the day we both are exhausted, we have updated Celeste's Story of me book from the goings on of today. Tomorrow and the next few days we start the important part of the journey getting things in order to travel to China.
Celeste, Mommy and Daddy are coming just as fast as we can. We will all be together very soon and we love you so very, very, much.
Friday, March 11, 2005
March 11, more hurry up and wait...
The end of another week and the news from CCAA suggests that after the general slowdown for Chinese New Year holidays, much like December here, followed with training for CCAA staff, this has compounded the delays in matching and sending on referrals.
Wishing and praying this last week did not measure on this occassion as nothing has been mailed to America for us this week. It is possible that referrals may be mailed next week, although they take 3 days in transit and then the agencies sift through before reporting to the waiting parents.
So, it is possible that our referral will have left China by St. Patricks Day next week. It is possible but not probable that we have any quality information before the start of the following week!
This is a rollercoaster of wait and testing of patience and emotions. After the disapointment of last week, this week somehow does not feel as difficult with the wait. Nvertheless we continue to wait and now understand that the group we were split from are heading out to China to bring their daughters home. We are next, we are and we keep reminding ourselves. Yet as I know first hand when dealing with government it is a case of hurry u and wait.
Wishing and praying this last week did not measure on this occassion as nothing has been mailed to America for us this week. It is possible that referrals may be mailed next week, although they take 3 days in transit and then the agencies sift through before reporting to the waiting parents.
So, it is possible that our referral will have left China by St. Patricks Day next week. It is possible but not probable that we have any quality information before the start of the following week!
This is a rollercoaster of wait and testing of patience and emotions. After the disapointment of last week, this week somehow does not feel as difficult with the wait. Nvertheless we continue to wait and now understand that the group we were split from are heading out to China to bring their daughters home. We are next, we are and we keep reminding ourselves. Yet as I know first hand when dealing with government it is a case of hurry u and wait.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
March 6, Referral due within days.
It is a little over six months and a couple of days since our dossier was logged in with CCAA in China.
Taney & I have patiently waited, worked on the nursery and since the end of January been caught up in a split of referrals that now places us very close to the end of a six week wait for news of referral.
We cannot wait, we are simply set to burst as we are instructed that referrals should be in our hands by mid-march.
The wait is hard for all three of us, it seems as if our lives are on pause waiting for news to progress further with the next stage of the process and making plans to travel and bring our daughter home.
I have made many predictions in previous months, yet the closer we get the less certain things seem to be, nevertheless, my latest predicition is a call from CCAI before Friday to tell us that referrals have been mailed from China. With the time difference if this does not happen by Thursday then we have another weekend wait and this has been a very long weekend, following February that seems the longest month of the year. With the trade show in China in April, and the Mayday holidays in early May, I predict travel within a couple of days either way of May 7th.
Check back soon for the next posting later this week.
Taney & I have patiently waited, worked on the nursery and since the end of January been caught up in a split of referrals that now places us very close to the end of a six week wait for news of referral.
We cannot wait, we are simply set to burst as we are instructed that referrals should be in our hands by mid-march.
The wait is hard for all three of us, it seems as if our lives are on pause waiting for news to progress further with the next stage of the process and making plans to travel and bring our daughter home.
I have made many predictions in previous months, yet the closer we get the less certain things seem to be, nevertheless, my latest predicition is a call from CCAI before Friday to tell us that referrals have been mailed from China. With the time difference if this does not happen by Thursday then we have another weekend wait and this has been a very long weekend, following February that seems the longest month of the year. With the trade show in China in April, and the Mayday holidays in early May, I predict travel within a couple of days either way of May 7th.
Check back soon for the next posting later this week.
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