Happy Birthday To Me!!

With all the excitement of the last week, I almost forgot it was my birthday two days ago!!
You have to admit that I received the ultimate birthday present last week, so anything after that was whipped cream and cherry on my birthday sundae!! It was a quiet, low key celebration with ice cream cake, candles and all the people I love the most, except for one.

Update: We've sent off our acceptance letter, and our Visa applications and we now wait for the CCAA to issue us travel approval. Once we receive travel approval, then our agency can request an appointment for us with the American consulate in China. Once we have that appointment date set, our entire trip can then be planned. This entire process should take about 6 weeks give or take.

Next step, massive packing, shopping and "to do" lists. We're gonna take down the suitcases tonight!!!! I'm so excited!!!

So What Would You Like to Know?......

The UPS package arrived at approximately 11 am this morning.
I didn't even hear the truck pull up, I just looked up saw it parked across the street and let out a scream..."John, it's here!".
We ran outside, and impatiently waited for the UPS driver to get out of the truck. Lo and behold, two drivers exited the truck with our package. They crossed over and walked up our walk and John and I were like little kids on Christmas morning! One of the UPS drivers explained that he was training the other. We got two for the price of one today!!!!
John and I asked if we could take their picture as they were the "stork"! They said that this was a first for both of them. They agreed to the picture and were so nice, wishing us congratulations and good luck.
It's a huge packet with alot of information. It reminds me of the first package La Vida sent us almost 4 years ago. That was when the journey began. I was overwhelmed when I first looked at that packet, but was able to digest it bit by bit, and ultimately we finished our dossier which has led us to today. Our daughter and another packet, that is just as intimidating. But I know that we'll again, get everything done to bring our daughter home.

Well, here's some info on Renee Mei:

She now resides at the Social Welfare Institute of Guiping City (not Pingnan?!?)
and has been there since she was found.
As of early May, she was about 14 pounds and 24 1/2 inches tall.
She is a moderate sleeper.
She can hold her head up when she lies on her stomach.
She can roll from her back to her stomach by herself.
She can grasp a toy near her hand.
She can lcoate the direction of a sound or a voice.
She laughs aloud!
She follows you by moving her head from one side to the other.
She knows her name when it is called.
She is active and restless (oh boy!)
She has a ready smile!!!
She is quick in reaction and loves to play with toys.

Most important, she is now our daughter now and forever, and I can't wait to meet her to shower her with all the love that I have for this miracle that the Lord has blessed me with.

Update.......

The package made it Farmingdale, NY at 7:45 AM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It left Farmingdale, NY at 8:20AM and is out for delivery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woo Hoo!!
Farmingdale is 5 minutes from here! Don't know driver's route though, so again,
let's be patient if we can ;)

Tracking Our Referral Package

We got word yesterday that our referral package would be overnighted to us and arrive today!!!!
Needless to say as soon as I learned the tracking number, I've been tracking it on line.....
It made it to Philadelphia at 9:44 PM last night.....
It left Philadelphia at 10:16 PM last night...
It made it to Louisville, KY (Kentucky??, from Philidelphia??, ok whatever) at 12:02 AM ....
It left Louisville, KY at 4:52 AM....
It made it to Jamica (Queens!!!!!) at 6:41 AM.....
It left Jamaica, NY at 6:59 AM !!!!!!

OK, Jamaica is 45 minutes to an hour west of here....

A Big Decision Made

After much discussion and prayer, John and I made a big decision.
If you'll note above, we are no longer naming our daughter Marissa.
Although after my father passed away, we had decided upon Marissa Renee, before that it was always Renee. Up until Tuesday, everytime we talked about our daughter or prayed about our daughter, we still said "Renee". Her name has been Renee in our hearts, for almost four years. When we found out what name Renee was given at her orphanage, we thought that "Mei" which means beautiful, would be a perfect way to not only honor the memory of my father, but to acknowledge her past and culture.
So, my daughter will be named Renee Mei Sang "G"
My friend Diana who had redesigned my blog for me previously, made the above changes for me last night.
Thank you Diana, everything looks awesome.
We have a new ticker now....now it's days since referral and till we go to China to bring Renee Mei home.
I have some pictures of the baby's room to post as well as some pictures that John took of us while we were receiving the "call". Some are blurred, but the happiness shows through. I'll post them hopefully tomorrow.
Our Fedex package is due to arrive tomorrow as well, here's hoping I can catch a picture of the "stork".

It's A Girl!!!!!!!!

My hands are shaking....
We are so happy to announce the referral of our daughter...

Jin Mei Sang

9 months old on Friday!!!!

Birthdate: October 24th, 2008

Guangxi Province

Social Welfare Institute: Children Welfare Institutes Pingnan County

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord granted me my petition which I asked of Him."
1 Samuel 1:27

Latest News

The latest news: it appears that the cut off this month is 3/22. A two day batch. Many are not surprised as 3/21-22 were high volume log in days. I am so upset for my 3/23 and beyond friends. Missing by one day has to be really hard. Last month when the CCAA got to 3/20, we missed it by two days.
The last RQ update is that the 3/22 cutoff is an R4, which means we are almost certain this is the case. The highest rating is an R5. Also, an agency is reporting that they are waiting for a package today. Could they be referrals???
I've communicated with my agency to contact me when our referral is ready, then I'll call John and we'll both head home and call LaVida together. What a drive home that promises to be. Sure hope there's no traffic ;-).
We may hear today....wow, or tomorrow????
I'll keep you posted.......

Breathe, Breathe.....Breathe

Just checked Rumor Queen and latest rumor is that 3/22 has been matched!! I have to remember to breathe. Could this really be it???? I'll keep you posted.
I'm finding it a bit hard to concentrate at the moment :)

Waiting As Patiently As Possible!

John and I had chinese food last night, and oh how I would have loved to find the message above in my fortune cookie!

I have to say, this has been the longest month on record. At least in my mind. I have been so anxious, nervous and tired, oh so tired! Although, I also helped out all week at my church's Vacation Bible School, as well as working a full time job, so I think I've earned my "tired"!!

Based upon RQ's projections, the next batch of referrals should arrive around July 20th. As today is the 11th, that's about nine days from now. Nine days, nine days, nine days. Oh my goodness. We might receive our referral in about 9 days. Not 9 months, 9 weeks, no...9 days. What if we have to wait till August?? Well I'll deal with that if it happens.

And Now It's July!

It's now July, and there's a very distinct possibility that we will receive Marissa Renee's referral this month.

To say that I've been giddy....stressed.....anxious....excited....try all of the above!!

It's getting harder to concentrate at work. Which is not good as we are trying to put into place plans for when I'm on leave. "ON LEAVE" oh my gosh, that's actually gonna happen! I'm giddy all over again.

I'm trying to stay calm, but based upon Rumor Queen's projection that July referrals may arrive around July 22 (give or take a couple of days), then we are looking at approximately 20 more days till we see our sweet baby's face. 20 DAYS...oh my goodness!!

We've been waiting over 3 years, 3 months and 10 days. Actually, September will be 4 years ago that we started the paper work. So you would think that the next 20 days should be a breeze to get through, right...??? WRONG!

So, I'm continuing to pray for peace and calm while we enter this last leg of our wait. And as John and I have always done since the very beginning, we continue to pray for our little girl. Mommy and daddy love you sweet girl and we look forward to the day when you are put into our arms forever!