The news is in...We missed receiving a referral this month by One Day. One Day. The cutoff for matching babies with parents was September < ...

This week’s “Chidbit” (as I goof-called it to Nathan the other day) has to do with what time it is in China:

The next batch of referrals is rumored to arrive in the states this week. There is still a possibility (however small) that ours might be incl ...

Just to get us all prepped for when the referral call does come--either this week, next week, or next month...here is how the process goes.< ...

Seven Things that Make Me Happy This Thanksgiving Day:

Given our recent adventures with potties, this week’s China Tidbit is related to that:

I finally decided that since we have now sent $1490 to the USCIS (immigration) in Cleveland, all for a silly one-page document, that *I* was go ...

Our chances of getting a November referral are about 20%; 80% for December. So I am going to practice being optimistic and think of the…

I try to keep a 90/10 ratio when I post. 90% whining, 10% rejoicing. It’s a good balance. A person wouldn’t want to rejoice any more than that, I say.

There’s a little known syndrome among waiting adoptive parents. It’s called Post Referral Batch Blues, PRBB for short (Try saying “PRBB” with your lips…and be f ...

China is starting a new work week. It’s time for them to begin working on the next set of referrals—one of which might be ours.

Have you ever bought a new car? The best part of the whole thing [certainly not the bill] is driving the vehicle home, struttin’ it around town, showing it off ...

“Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd ...

I figure there are about 4-10 weeks before we receive our referral. To help pass the time, I am going to start posting a weekly “Teeny Tiny China Tidbit” for yo ...

Here’s this month’s update. The CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) has matched paperwork that was date-stamped through August 25, 2005. Ours bears the ma ...

Since I spend the bulk of my time making guesses about my future, you might as well join in on the fun too.

There’s a Shel Silverstein poem whose illustration shows a rather forlorn looking child holding onto his hammock that happens to be tied to only one tree. No othe ...

Give me SOMEONE SWEET to MEET!!!

Thanks to my friend and future-travel-mate Jennifer for forwarding this devotional on to me. I have added some bold font and my comm ...

This is NOT our month for receiving a referral; I can tell you that for sure. The October bunch has not yet arrived, but should be delivered any day now. The bi ...

First, let’s have a little class on the I-171H. The USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) issues this humble looking document to every [approved] pare ...

Today is Cameron’s fifth birthday. It’s also the fifth anniversary date of

I am starting to have hope that we did not just hallucinate and think we had filled out and submitted all that paperwork to adopt a child from China. Our agency just sent us the followi ...

For a few years now, I’ve been keeping a mental list of things I’d like to accomplish in my lifetime. One of those is: Adopt a child from China. Clos ...

While Lisa was away this past weekend, it was just us guys at home to fend for ourselves. Three whole days of zero female influence!

My mom used to sing a little ditty to us as we’d drive home under the big bright moon. When *I* sing the tune to *my* kids, it comes out something like this: 

Ode to the Squash

There once was a squash we named “Siste ...

In whatever century we receive news of our referral, we plan to send a care package to our daughter’s orphanage. I’ve already assembled the goods together—all I needed was a letter explain ...

The whole adoption process is one of learning to let go. Could I control when others would do their part on my paperwork? No. Do I know how long we’ll have to wait?

I’ve had friends tell me that it was their third child that sent them over the edge. Not that child specifically, but the fact that the parents could no longer play on ...

Before I begin my tirade, let me give you a brief overview of what a typical China-adoption-trip looks like, most of them lasting about 15-17 days:

The boys and I went pumpkin shopping the other day, and like a good mother, I let them pick out their own. I didn’t even make any stipulations on size, which is a major accomplishment for ...

One of the great reasons to have children is it gives you an excuse to be a kid again. There is a great new product line called “Taggies”, blankets and toys and such with all kinds of tags s ...

The China Center of Adoption Affairs matches parents with their babies based on the date their paperwork arrived at the CCAA office. Our date is September 9, 2005. They have just finishe ...

Who do the clothes at Carter’s have to be so stinkin’ cute? It’s just not right. I have been to their outlet store numerous times since this adoption process has started. One time I succ ...

The September batch of referrals (sent from China) is supp ...

Every so often, between wrestling matches and gun fights, Cameron (4) will say to me “Mom…thanks for giving ...

I haven’t posted in a few weeks. (Gee, no one has said anything!) I’d be lying to say that I feel positive ...