Celebrating

September 17, 2007- That is indeed the day that we begin the countdown. For those of you who are not familiar with the adoption process, the first most anticipated day of the process is the Log In Date(LID). This is the day your dossier is officially checked in at the CCAA in China. This is truly a milestone in the long and winding road of adoption, and a day worth celebrating. It's the first day you really feel like this will actually happen. Although we know the waiting period for a referral for Chinese adoption is longer than it's ever been, we know it's worth the wait.
In the meantime, our daughter Gusta is educating us on the Chinese culture. We have been on the receiving end of two authentic Chinese meals prepared by her. If Gusta is a representation of what the Chinese are like, then we can say they are very hard-working,and non-procrastinating. We have also learned that they are very disciplined in their school work and chores. We look forward to learning far more from her in the next 8 months.
Please join us as we countdown to referral day in about 20 months. We have placed the timing in God's hands, but continue to covet your prayers in the months ahead. Blessings to you all who are making this journey with us.

Now We Wait!

The Dossier paper chase is now just a memory. Although we don't have an actual login date as of yet, we expect that it will be soon. We received word last week that our Dossier paper work was handed over to the translation department at CCAI, and should soon be on its way to China. This truly is a huge victory, and an instrumental step in the process. Our next big hurdle now is patience. For reasons unknown the referral time is continuing to grow. In the first week of September, 29 families having login dates of November 2005, received referrals. If you do the math, that comes out to nearly 22 months from login to referral. Our concern is that this is a continuing trend. However, we remain optimistic that with the restrictions that the CCAA put in place in May, the times may get shorter. Again, we are leaving this one up to God.
In the meantime, we have a new addition to our family. We have welcomed Xinyi Liu from China into our home. Her American name is Gusta. She has been with us since August 22, and will be with us until the first part of June. We are taking this opportunity to learn about the Chinese culture. Gusta is a very polite, respectful, and very smart young girl. She will be attending Swan Valley High School for the school year, and they have welcomed her very graciously. For our close friends, hopefully you will have the joy of meeting her before June.
As I said earlier, we have made huge steps to our ultimate dream of having our own daughter to love. As with anything in life however, waiting with patience can be very difficult and stressful. We have felt the prayers of our family and friends all along the way, and ask that you continue to pray for patience in God's perfect timing.
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