Today is the day.

It has been one amazing day. I woke up after not enough sleep to snow covering the ground. I was running late but checked the rumor site to find the following note: R-5 - Cut off Date March 31st. I immediately called my friend Becky to tell her. She was so excited. On the long (1 1/2 hour ride to work - Texas drivers and snow) I texted family and friends to tell them "it could be today. Say a prayer and stay tuned." When I got to work I had an email from Gladney that referrals were on the way and I would receive a call when they arrived. My case worker had told me the usual time for calls was our 3:30 our time. I almost made it but around 2 I finally emailed her to ask if they had arrived. Then, at 2:49 p.m. Wendy from Gladney called to tell me about my little girl. It is all a blur right now but she did say she would send the photos after she hung up. I hung up and everyone standing around my desk screamed. The executives came in to hear the news and we all waited for the photo. She is absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait to hold her. God has blessed me so richly. Thanks for hanging in there with me and stay tuned for further updates. Travel is expected in 6-8 weeks.

Still we wait . . .

Still waiting - they placed babies with families with login dates through 3/28/06 on 10/12/09. Logically now they are working on 3/29/06 (my day). They were averaging sending out referrals once a month but last month took 52 days. I am hoping for sooner rather than later but no rumors yet so I don't know. :( I will keep you posted. Keep praying!

Looks like we missed the cutoff

Well, apparently referrals are on their way to the US. Unfortunately, they only matched through March 28th. This means I missed the September (actually mailed in October) referral cutoff by one day. Hopefully, they will mail another group in October but there is no guarantee. I will keep you posted. Keep praying.

August Update

China has officially processed families with Login Dates (LID) through March 24, 2006. The 25th and 26th were weekend days which usually don't have LIDs so we only have three more days of paperwork to be processed to reach 3/29/06 - my LID. They have processed two days per month over the last two months so if they keep up the current rate, I should receive a call in October and travel in December. It would be nice if they could go ahead and get to the 29th in September but it is probably not likely. Keep praying. All things are possible.

The best of intentions . . .

Well, I was reminded a week or so ago that I hadn't updated the blog. (Thanks Grasshopper!) I noticed I completely skipped the JUNE post. It was a crazy month. I celebrated my last birthday :) - turned 39! Next year I would like to be on a beach with friends to celebrate the first anniversary of my 39th birthday, of course, with Abby in tow.

As for referrals - the CCAA has matched through March 20th. Still nine more days to get to my date. The good news about the delayed post is that it is already (or finally) time for the next group of referrals. Early news is saying they have made it through the 22nd. Just to keep everyone on the same page, on the March 2006 calendar, the last date referred was March 20th which was a Monday which makes the 22nd a Wednesday. The latest poll from chinaadopt.com has the next few referrals days listed as really big days - meaning there were large numbers of family logged in on the last few days of March.

March 21 - 52 families
March 22 - 49 families
March 23 - 37 families
March 24 - 40 familes
March 25 -Saturday - CCAA Closed
March 26 -3 families (this was a Sunday - so probably not accurate)
March 27 -40 families
March 28 -35 families
March 29 - 62 families (one of them is me :))

The point of this is to show that if they only do two days they have still referred 101 babies in a month and hopefully at that rate, they can get to me by September or October and I can finally have Abby home for Christmas.

I will try to update again at the end of the week to let you know the official cut off for the month.

Keep praying!!
With love,
Becky

May (or April) Referrals

In case you haven't heard, we finally received referrals for April - which actually occurred in May. Now the CCAA has matched families with log-in dates (LID) through March 14, 2006. That means they have 15 days of matching to get to my LID of March 29, 2009. By the way, four of those days are weekend days :). The really good news is the CCAA has matched several Gladney families this time and I'M NEXT! - next with Gladney anyway. The next LID at Gladney is March 29, 2006 - my day!!! Now as you have seen it can take several months to get through 15 days of referrals but this is the first time I can say I am next.

As excited as I got about being next at Gladney I cannot imagine what it will be like when I get my referral and see the photo of my baby for the first time. Then, we will all need to pray as I wait for the long 6-8 weeks to pass until I get to travel to China and hold Abby for the first time.

I cannot say thank you enough to all of my family and friends who have continued to support, encourage and pray for me during this long wait. We are on the home stretch so keep praying.

March Update Continued

Well, the box has now changed to reflect the latest batch of referrals. The CCAA has now matched families with an LID of 03/07 and 03/08. There are also rumors of some of the 03/09 families receiving their referral. So, we are only 21 days of paperwork away from seeing Abby's face. Keep the faith and thanks for your prayers and support.

As a side note, this weekend I am off to see my friends Mashell and Kirk and their beautiful baby Lexi. I cannot wait. It will be so nice to see them and hold little Lexi for the first time. Also, of course, I need to snuggle the furry member of the family, my little Peanut. Now if Thursday afternoon will just hurry up and get here.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend! Our Savior lives!!

March Update

The CCAA box has now been updated to show matching through March 6th. The current rumor is the CCAA processed paperwork for March 7th and 8th of 2006, however nothing has been confirmed. We are inching closer to the end of this wait. Thanks for hanging in there with me. If the rumor is true we are only 21 days of paperwork away from seeing Abby's beautiful face. Please keep Abby in your prayers that she will be safe and come home soon.

February Update

Nothing official yet but it appears the CCAA has now matched families with LogIn Dates "LID") through March 6, 2006. Only 23 more days of LIDs to get to mine :)

January Update

Happy Chinese New Year! It is the year of the Ox and hopefully the year I bring Abby home :).

The latest referral news indicates families through March 2nd, 2006 have been matched with their babies. Only 27 days to go! Keep praying!