Abby Update

NEW BLOG

2010-01-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

Due to technical difficulties in China, I cannot access Blogspot. Therefore, please bookmark this new blog for posts while we are in China. Sorry for the confusion.

http://www.babyjellybeans.com/web/do/site?ID=29408

Thank you for all your prayers. Happy Abby Eve (sent 8 p.m. 1/24 - China time)

What day is it

2010-01-22T06:48:00.000-08:00

After waking at 3 a.m. local time and watching two dvds it was time to get up and start our day. We had a brief discussion what day it was and experienced the full blown effects of "JET LAG". I had a cup of Folgers coffee that I brought from home. It was the best coffee ever. Then we had a lovely breakfast at the hotel. I had some bacon, eggs and french toast. I am not the adverturous type when it comes to food. Hoffman had some potatoes, steamed pumpkin and Chinese pancakes. It was very good. The high temperature today is supposed to be 25 degrees F so we added another layer of clothing after breakfast and headed to the lobby. We met Gary and headed to Tian An Men Square - a giant courtyard inside a wall. By the way did I mention the high today was 25? Inside the square is the Fobbiden City a series of gates and walls and snow covered courtyards - another outside tour. Did I mention 25 degrees and the snow was from over a month ago? The handwarmers I purchased at Academy worked well. After the beginning stages of frostbite started we headed to lunch (an indoor event). We were told it was a traditional Thai meal (Ratsamy you would have loved it). They had some dancers doing some traditional umbrella/belly dancing while we ate. Becky had her first Diet Coke in almost a day - her favorite part of the trip so far. After lunch we went to the Pearl Market. I captured an oyster with a net and "Alice" (again not her real name) harvested some pearls. There were close to 20 pearls in one oyster and we each got one as a souvenir. We purchased some items and headed to The Temple of Heaven - another outside event but I think we finally made it to 25 degrees and the Temple is beautiful. We are resting at our hotel now before dinner and a Kung Fu show. Thanks for the prayers. We are having the time of our lives."
Becky & Becky

Day 1 - January 20/21st

2010-01-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

Due to some technical difficulties Jinni will be our scribe for the first few days. Thanks JT!We travelled to Seattle next to a nervous woman who tapped her fingers on her tray and a man in front who snored loudly. It was great. We were upgraded to business class for the trip to China. That was awesome. We had a special dinner menu and our seats made into beds. I slept great.. We were met at airport by "Gary" - pretty sure that is not his real name and after an hour long drive we arrived at our hotel. We were beat and in bed by 8 p.m. local time. LeFan

Itinerary

2010-01-20T12:20:00.000-08:00

1/20 8:15 a.m. DFW to Seattle
1:20 p.m. Seattle to Beijing

1/21 4:35 p.m. arrive in Beijing
go to hotel Super House International

1/22 Sightseeing - Forbidden City, Tian An Men Square and Temple of Heaven
Evening - Traditional Hong Kong Fuoey Show

1/23 Sightseeing - Great Wall and Old Beijing Area
Evening - Chinese Acrobatic Show

1/24 10:50 a.m. Beijing to Wuhan
go to hotel Poly White Rose Hotel

1/25 Meet Abby

1/26 Adoption Paperwork and Abby Time

1/27 Sightseeing Yellow Crane Tower and Abby Time

1/28 Hubei Museum and Abby Time

1/29 Passport Ready
6:10 leave Wuhan for Guangzhou
arrive 8:05 go to hotel Riverside Hotel

1/30 Photos/Medical Examination

1/31 Relax and Abby Time

2/1 Visa Appointment

2/2 On our own - scary

2/3 Visa at 3 p.m. and Celebration at 4:30

2/4 9:30 a.m. Leave Guangzhou to Shanghai
6 p.m. leave Shanghai to Chicago
5:10 p.m. arrive Chicago
7:10 Leave for DFW
9:40 We are home!!

Request for Prayers

2010-01-14T04:50:00.000-08:00

My good friend Becky Hoffman and I leave for China in 6 days to bring Abby home. I would ask that you pray the prayer below for us every day while we are travelling that we may be safe and protected during our journey. Thank you again for your love, friendship and support over the past four years of waiting.

Prayer for a Safe Journey

Lord, be with Becky, Becky and Abby. Be their guide and protector on their journey. Watch over them. Protect them from accidents. Keep them free from harm to body and soul. Lord support them with Your grace when they are tired. Help them to be patient in any trouble which may come their way. Keep them ever mindful of Your presence and love. Amen

Flights Have Been Booked

2010-01-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

Okay prayer warriors start praying now! Our flights have been booked. My friend Becky and I leave for China next Wednesday, January 20th. We travel to Seattle then on to Beijing. We will spend two days in Beijing seeing the Great Wall before travelling to Hubei to get Abby. We spend one week in Hubei doing the China portion of the paperwork and then travel to Guangzhou to complete the US portion of the paperwork. We then will travel home on 2/4 from Shanghai. It is our plan to blog as often as we can depending on internet connections so you will be able to keep up with us here on the blog.

Please pray for our safe journey!

Travel Authorization Received

2010-01-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Gladney called to inform me my Authorization to Travel to China had been received. The next step is to get an appointment at the consulate for Abby to get her Visa. My friend Becky and I have sent in our paperwork to obtain our Visas to travel to China and hopefully we can get those back and the appointment made so we can make our travel arrangements for China.

Keep praying. I would love to be able to be with Abby on her first birthday on the 30th of this month.

Thank you for your support,
Becky

Happy New Year

2010-01-04T05:40:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I am really excited about this year. I don't have anything new to tell you yet but I do covet your prayers as this wait seems long now that my sweet baby has a face. I am hoping to hear from Gladney today as to when we will have the travel meeting and when the travel authorizations will come in from China so we can prepare our Visa paperwork. As with everything else in this process, one piece of paper depends on the prior piece of paper being approved. I am hanging in there but would ask that you pray that I hear some good news from Gladney this week. I am really wanting to go to China before Abby's first birthday but with the Chinese New Year looming, it needs to happen pretty quickly. Please pray everything falls into place so we can travel at the end of this month. If we hit the Chinese New Year shut down, we won't travel until the end of February.

Blessings to you!

-Becky

Today is the day.

2009-12-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

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 . . .

2009-11-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-30T05:52:00.000-07:00

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 . . .

2009-07-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

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!

Happy New Year

2008-12-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

The CCAA has now changed their box to reflect they have matched families with LIDs through 2/28/06. February 2006 is done and now we will start 2009 with the CCAA beginning to match families with March 2006 LIDs - my month!! Yeah!! Let's pray the matching process continues to speed up and I can finally bring Abby home.

Another December Batch ???

2008-12-29T07:46:00.000-08:00

Early rumors indicate that the CCAA has now matched families through 02/28/2006. This is still not official yet but we should know in the next few days. If it is true we have now finished February and are moving into MY MONTH. That would be a wonderful New Year's gift! I will keep you posted. Keep praying!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

To those who are wondering and afraid to ask, yes, I am still adopting a baby from China. The adoption process has slowed considerably over the past three years. The reasons why are pure speculation and vary from adoption opening up to families in China who have been unable to have a baby, to more and more China families making more money and willing to pay the fine for having the additional child. Also, the Olympics in China earlier this year slowed the process considerably. And still I wait in 2008.

My paperwork was logged in at the China Center for Adoption Affairs (“CCAA”) on March 29, 2006. This is what is referred to as the LID. Currently the CCAA has processed the paperwork and matched babies from China with families who have an LID of February 23, 2006, or before. That means the CCAA needs to process 33 more days of LIDs to get to my LID of March 29, 2006. Thirty-three days of paperwork may not sound like a lot but the CCAA receives numerous applications each day and there may be 30 or more families with the same LID. That being said, they must have available babies to match to each family to process each day before going on to the next. My case worker predicted I might receive a referral in February or March of next year and travel in March or April. However, due to current slow down, we may be looking at spring or early summer but it will happen.

This has always been and continues to be a “God thing” for me. That being said, I must learn to be still and wait patiently for Him. (Psalm 37:7a) He has been involved each step of the way and has a plan for me and for Abby. (Jeremiah 29:11). Many of you have been praying for me and for Abby throughout this process. I truly appreciate your prayers and ask that you continue to pray as we reach what hopefully will be the final stretch of the waiting and the beginning of a new life with my baby girl. Hopefully next year I can write, “She’s all mine in 2009”.

Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years!

Another Small Month

2008-11-12T05:06:00.000-08:00

Well, only two days were processed in November. The CCAA has now processed through February 17th of 2006. Hopefully December will bring a record number of matches and 2009 will be a wonderful year :)

Mom and I just returned from Monterey, CA. I had to be there for work but we went in a day early to take in the sites. I will try to add a photo later today. It was truly beautiful.

Have a great day and keep praying.

September Update - Happy Fall

2008-09-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Happy National Day - October 1, 2008
This year marks the 59th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.
On the downside, this a week long holiday celebrated in China and the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) will be closed and not processing any paperwork.
On the upside, the CCAA has now processed paperwork through 2/15/2006. There are only 41 days of paperwork to process to get to Abby's Log In Date (LID) of 3/29/2006.
Additionally, there are only 2 LID groups ahead of me at Gladney, consisting of 8 families (2/24 - 3 families and 3/14 - 5 families). That means there are only 8 Gladney families ahead of my group, which consists of 4 families. I think this adoption may actually happen. :)
My case worker feels like I will probably get a referral (a document containing a photo and medical report of Abby) in February of 2009, which puts my travel to China in March or April of 2009. This, of course, is just a feeling and all depends on how many days the CCAA processes each month between now and then.
Prayer Requests: Please pray that Abby is safe and well in China. Please pray for blessings on her caretakers and that they are seeing to her needs. Please pray for her parents that had for one reason or another give up this precious child. Please pray for me that I will continue to wait on the Lord to bring to pass all that He has planned for me. Please pray for big batches over the next few months. The last two months have been 9 and 6 days (as opposed to the 2 or 3 days batches earlier this year).
Thank you for your love and support over the last 3 years. I know they have helped me get through this long wait.

July Update

2008-07-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

Only three weekdays were processed in July. We are now up to January 25th.

June Update

2008-06-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delayed posts. There were only 3 days matched in May but June brought 8 more days of referrals. China has now matched children whose paperwork was filed through January 20th, 2006. There are now 76 days of paperwork to process to get to my day - March 29th. As of last night there were early rumors that China has began matching for July. This will hopefully mean referrals early next week. This may be a big batch as no paperwork was processed during the Chinese New Year 2006. The holiday began January 28th and lasts for approximately 10 days. I will post an update as soon as the next batch comes out. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

As for the rest of my life. . .my niece Savannah turns 2 next Monday. I cannot believe how fast time flies. My brother and sister-in-law found out they were pregnant after I began the adoption process in 2005. I have had so much fun watching Savannah grow and cannot wait for her to play with her little cousin, Abby.

Have a wonderful day!

Calling All Prayer Warrior

2008-03-27T06:14:00.001-07:00

The rumors have started concerning the next batch of referrals from China. Start praying now for a big batch and let's bring Abby home SOON!

Early Rumors

There is a rumor that matching has begun, but I haven’t been able to trace back to figure out where the rumor came from originally. So, an R1 (no confirmation) on that one. Odds are that they are probably matching by now, though. And then I see rumors of a cut off for anywhere from the 10th to the 13th. I’ll just lump them all into an R2 at this point. Keep in mind, some of them aren’t “this is the cut off”, but “this is my LID and my agency says I’m in”, which of course is not their agency saying what the cut off is.

The lastest the poll numbers show the following number of families by date:

01/05/06 24
01/06/06 28
01/07/06 2
01/08/06 3
01/09/06 22
01/10/06 29
01/11/06 23
01/12/06 55
01/13/06 31
01/14/06 3
01/15/06 5
01/16/06 33
01/17/06 18
01/18/06 7

Keep in mind this is a poll so it will not include all families, just those who chose to participate in the poll.

The important thing to remember right now is that these are early rumors.
Taken from http://chinaadopttalk.com/

Just start praying. If we can get through two weeks even that would show a definite positive movement from what the CCAA (Chinese Adoption Center) has done in the recent past.

Thank you in advance for your prayers,
Becky

The Official Word

2008-03-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

The official email came for the month. This morning, the CCAA workstation is updated and states the following:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with their office before October 31st, 2006.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with their office before January 4, 2006.

Thank you for your prayers. I think 8 days is pretty good since they were closed for half the month due to the Chinese New Year. Keep praying maybe next month will be a big batch.

Blessings to you all.

Prayer Request

2008-02-26T06:51:00.001-08:00

Okay Prayer Warrior:

It is that time of the month again. The Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs is preparing to send out this months matches. This is one of the last pieces before traveling to China. A match means you have been matched with a child in China and a photo and medical report are on the way. Last month matches were made through November 27, 2005. If you recall batches have been containing 5-7 days of matches. I would ask that you all say a prayer that we will have a big batch of matches this month, and can move in to 2006. Again, my Log In Date (LID) is 03/29/2006 and we have a ways to go but the bigger the batch the better so start praying.
Thank you so much for love and support during this long wait. I couldn't do it without your encouragement.

February Update

2008-02-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Happy Monday! Today was another conference call with Gladney. They are now in the process of matching our families with a 12/20 login date. There are seven families in that group and I know they must be very excited after waiting 25 mos. to see a photo of their baby. The CCAA has now matched through December 27, 2005 so we are three months and two days from my login in date of 03/29/06.

At the current rate it is taking about four months to complete one month of log in dates. That would mean another year of waiting. Hopefully things will start to speed up soon but not until after the Chinese New Celebration which closes most government offices (including the CCAA) from now until the middle of next week. Keep praying!

January Update

2008-01-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

The CCAA has now matched families through 12/19/2005. It seems they only reviewed 5 days of paperwork in December. Hopefully they will review more in January. Keep praying

December Update

2007-12-05T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't have the heart to sit through another conference call this month and I skipped the call on Monday. I did just check the CCAA website and see that they made it to December 14, 2005. That means that they did 6 days of paperwork in one month this time and continue on the trend of a week of paperwork per month. I am trying to stay positive and hope and pray that things will pick up soon.

I know God's timing is always perfect and I am again thankful of the extra time I am spending with my nieces and nephews. I am also wrapping gifts and preparing for the holidays. I cannot wait to spend them with my baby girl but until that time, I am thankful for all that I have and all the people in my life. God has blessed me in so many ways. Please continue to keep the situation with Abby in your prayers and have a very Merry Christmas.

November Update

2007-11-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

Well again there is nothing really new to report. The CCAA has updated its website to include placements through December 8, 2005. That means they processed 7 days of paperwork in the last month. We are about 20 weeks until my log in date which if they continue to process one week a month could mean almost two more years of waiting. Gladney is still waiting for their next December referral group which is 12/20, which in today's call they were not expecting until January. There is further speculation that the summer olympics in China and the Chinese New Year could further delay the process. I have to keep reminding myself that God is in charge and His timing is best but I long for the day that my call comes in.

China has made it to November 30th

2007-10-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 30, 2005.

To keep up with the timetable in China you can go to http://www.china-ccaa.org/frames/index_unlogin_en.jsp.

The first section is the date through which documents have been reviewed and the second paragraph is the date through which children have been placed. Again, placement is when you receive the photo and information on your child. When that date is March 29, 2006, I will have a photo to share with you all.

Thanks again for your continued thoughts and prayers. The waiting is definitely a faith thing which strangely enough was the topic of this week's sermon yesterday. Coincidence? I think not. :)

Have a blessed week and keep praying. God is alive and active and at work.

October Update

2007-10-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

Today was another conference call with Gladney.

For those of you who only have a minute the short version is: there is really no new news on the wait time.

For those of you wanting the full story: The government has apparently informed several of the officials that they need to enforce the one child law. The doctors/nurses/hospitals have been informed that they must notify the police if a baby is abandoned. Many have taken it upon themselves to find good homes for the babies which is illegal in China. It is also illegal for someone who finds a baby to raise it as there own. This has made an impact on the number of babies available for adoption. The real problem comes when the children are of school age and are not registered with the government and therefore cannot attend school. In the long run this will perhaps make more babies available down the road but I am not sure if it will impact my group or not.

Next, we were informed that China was on a holiday from October 1st through October 7th which means no paperwork will be processed this week. I took the liberty of searching the web to find out about the holiday and here is the scoop:

Oct. 1st is China's National Day. It is a festival of great importance to the people nationwide and they celebrate it with great felicitation. In the early morning, numerous people arrive at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to see the ceremonial raising of the national flag. This is followed by a great ceremonial review of troops on the Tiananmen Square and various festive activities are held in different regions. When evening comes, fireworks are set off to illuminate the sky brightly and gallantly.

In 1999, the Chinese government decided that the three days designated for the National Day celebration be combined with the two weekends on either side, thus giving people a seven-day vacation. Also because of the great indulgences during the week, it is regarded as another Golden Week for the Chinese people when they can go out to visit some long-cherished tourist attractions or doing other things people like to do.

So, we will continue to wait for our paperwork to be matched and more news on Abby. Until then, keep praying.

Referrals Have Arrived

2007-09-05T18:01:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! Here is the official word from the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs)website:

"The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 25, 2005."

Gladney received nine referrals this week for the nine families in the 11/22/2005 group. I know 11/22/05 seems a long way off from my 03/29/2006 group but with each set of referrals I move a little closer. There are approximately 22 more people in the December, January, and February groups at Gladney and then 13 people in the 2 groups in March -- but, one of those 13 is me. Our next group is December 20th and it took a couple of months to get through November so keep the prayers coming that things can move a little faster and we can get to my group soon. I am ready to bring Abby home.

As always thanks for keeping us both in your prayers,

September Update

2007-09-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well, as tomorrow is a holiday, there will be no Gladney conference call this month. The next call will be in October. As of Friday when I checked the CCAA website, China is still placing babies from November 2005. Hopefully we will get some referrals soon for our November group, but it is still a long way to the March 2006 group. I will definitely update the site when we receive the next group of referrals. With every group of referrals, I move a little bit closer to bringing Abby home.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 100 Wishes Quilt. It has turned out to be 100+ Wishes. If you still wish to participate, please send your wish and fabric. I will add squares to the back of the quilt for anyone who still wants to be part of this wonderful project. It has been so neat to sit back a read all the good wishes and blessing that are wished for Abby. I cannot wait for her to get here and meet all of you.

Please continue to pray for Abby and for me as we wait to become a family.

With love,

Becky

Nothing New

2007-08-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I have not had any updates this month. China has currently placed children with Log In Dates (LID) through November 21, 2005. The next group with Gladney is November 22, 2005 so hopefully the next group will be getting there referrals in the next week or two. Again, my LID is 03/29/2006. It looks more like I will be receiving my referral in the first quarter of 2008, unless things speed up soon. I am continually amazed at all God has shown me during this time of waiting and I look forward to the day I get the call. Keep praying !!!

By the way, I have 80 Wishes so far in the 100 Wishes Quilt. Thanks to everyone for your participation.

Love,
Becky

100 Wishes Quilt Update

2007-07-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who has participated and who is going to participate in the 100 Wishes Quilt -- only 40 more to go. Thanks to Steph I have now received 60 wishes. Please get you wish in soon. Abby's quilt won't be the same without YOU!

Here are some more samples:

July Update

2007-07-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delayed post. There was nothing new to report on the July conference call from Gladney. The next group from Gladney is around the 22nd of November 2005 and they have yet to see their referrals. I did check the adoption website in China and see that they have now placed babies through November 14, 2005 so hopefully we will get to our next group in the coming weeks. Then we only have the groups for December, January, February and one group from March ahead of my 03/29/06 group. I know the process is taking long but the time has really been flying. I appreciate all the prayers going up on Abby's behalf and mine. Please keep praying for Christmas. My love to all of you.

Another Update for June

2007-06-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today Gladney received 6 referrals which will cover the 11/07/05 LID group. That moves me to approximately #34 on the list. KEEP PRAYING.

Here is the email:
Today, June 5th, we received 6 wonderful referrals for our 10/19/05 DTC group (log-in date 11/7/05). The 6 children are currently residing in the Yong Jiang Social Welfare Institute and the Shuang Pei Social Welfare Institute in the Hunan Province. The girls range in age from 6-12 months old and are all adorable!

Read "June Update" Below

2007-06-04T19:09:00.001-07:00

Mary Arango' Wish

2007-06-04T18:49:00.003-07:00

Mary your scarpbooking abilities are amazing! Thanks for being a part of the quilt. I really appreciate it!

More Wishes

2007-06-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

A wish from Bobbie Shiro. A family friend from before I was born. Thank you for sharing you wish with me.

Aunt Mashell's Wishes for Abby

2007-06-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Mashell your friendship is such a gift from God and I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me. Your wish is perfectly you.

Samples from the 100 Wishes Quilt

2007-06-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

Alyssa Jurek a good friend of mine shared this idea with me. Thanks Alyssa for your wonderful wishes, love and support through the process. I appreciate it more than I can say.

June Update

2007-06-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It has been a while since I have posted an update but there is really nothing new to tell. The Gladney call today was pretty much the same as last month. We are still waiting on referrals for the 11/07/05 referral group. Gladney is hoping for them sometime early this month. The process is taking abou 19 mos. now and if that stays the same, the March 06 Group would expect referrals around October of 2007. The estimation is still that the wait time could increase and the March group may not receive referrals until Spring 2008 but I am hopeful. I am praying for Abby to be home for Christmas and an October 2007 referral would mean just that (as travel time is 6-8 weeks after referral). Keep praying.

On a side note. . . the 100 Wishes Quilt (see below for description) is going quite well. 10 squares of fabric with 10 wishes have been received. Keep up the good work. I mentioned in a email today that my birthday is two weeks from today and it would be very special to receive your fabric and wishes for my birthday. That would be the best gift ever.

Thanks as always for your continued support and prayers. God is so good! He has blessed me with an amazing support group and I am thankful for each and everyone of you.

Blessings to you!

More Waiting

2007-05-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

There was a conference call with Gladney today but no real news. The wait time increases with each call. They say my group may be waiting until Spring 2008. I am not giving up hope and will continue to pray that Abby is home by Christmas.

The positive news is that all dosiers have been reviewed (in China) through 03/31/2006, which includes my group (03/29/06). This is the first time my group has been mentioned in the discussion so it was a little ray of hope. The process in China apparently is: (1) documents are logged in (creating the LID date); (2) the documents or dossier are reviewed; (3) the documents go through final approval; (4) the dossier is matched with a child resulting in a referral. At least I made it through one more step and only two to go. It is hard to believe those last two steps could take a year. I know that God is in charge of the timing so I will be waiting on Him.

Have a blessed week.

Good News!!

2007-05-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today I received the following email from Gladney:

. . .May 1st, we received 5 wonderful referrals for our 10/7/05 DTC group (log-in date 10/28/05), including a boy and a set of twins! 3 of the children are currently residing in foster care in Jiangxi Province and the twins are in the Nanjing Social Welfare Institute in Jiangsu Province. The children range in age from 8-11 months old

I have now moved up the list (Gladney's list that is) to approximately #40. That is a 10 spot jump in one day and any movement is great news to me. So there are approximately 39 waiting families ahead of my group (03/29/06 LID). The next LID group is 11/07/05, and then there is another November 2005 group with an approximate November total of 15 waiting families. That is a pretty big group to fill but hopefully we will get more referrals in a quicker time frame and we can move on up the list to my group. Keep praying. God is in charge.

Gladney has been so great to keep us updated as the changes and events occur. They will have another conference call on Monday and I will update the site with any changes but for now, I remain hopeful. Please keep praying that Abby can be home for Christmas.

Thanks for all of your love, support and prayers. Keep up the good work.

100 Good Wishes Quilt

2007-05-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Many people have shown an interest in the 100 Good Wishes Quilt but were overwhelmed by the instructions so in an effort to encourage your participation, here is the thumbnail sketch:

The tradition: To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. These 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contribute a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

How can I contribute to the quilt? Pick a fabric that represents you or baby Abby – this is completely your choice. It can be new or "used and meaningful" fabric. The fabric should be 100% cotton, washable fabric that could work for a girl.

Ask the fabric store for one fat quarter (18 inches by 22 inches).

The wish. This is the fun part. On a card or sheet of paper as small as 4"x6" or as large as 8"x10" write a good wish (or poem, lyric, quote or any words that come to your mind) for Abby and attach a scrap of the fabric you picked (glued to the paper). These written wishes will be placed in a 12x12 album so that your wishes will always be remembered.

Where do I send my fabric? If you would like to participate in the quilt and would like to mail your fabric, contact me and I will send you my mailing address. If you are in town and would like to give us your fabric, you may contact me by phone or email and set up a time to meet.

Abby Update 04/30/07

2007-04-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends:

I appreciate everyone's continued support and prayer as we journey through the waiting process to bring Abby home. I decided to use this format to keep everyone updated instead of trying to remember not to forget anyone on the email. I will try to keep this updated at least once a month or more often and additional news is available. Thank you again for the prayers -- keep it up. It is a big encouragement to me.

I have no new news to report. I am still in the waiting process. Apparently there has been another delay due to the Chinese New Year and associated holiday but hopefully things will get back on track soon. There is no real estimation of time when I will get the referral (photo and information on Abby) but it is estimated that once I receive it I will travel approximately 6-8 weeks later. Please keep Abby in your prayers and pray that she gets to come home for Christmas. There are still several groups ahead of my group. My LID is 03/29/2006 (LID - date documents logged in China) and last I heard they were working on October of 2005. Gladney is very good at keeping everyone in the know and schedules conference calls once a month. The next call is 05/07/2007 and I will post an update after the call. Thanks again.