As We Wait...

The "rumor" is that the CCAA is matching this week, and we hear they may get past the 3rd. I don't believe they will make it all the way to the 7th...so we are setting our sights on an April referral ~ May at the latest.

In the meanwhile, I received this INCREDIBLE email from our amazing Social Worker, that I absolutely HAD to post on my blog...Enjoy!

You Might Be Adopting From China If......

~You know that I-600 & I-171 aren't highways....
~You've been expecting a baby for over 3 years....
~You understand that it's 2006 in some parts of the world....
~You've "paid for" 3 citizenships, but never brought anyone into the U.S....
~You know that waiting for China has nothing to do with Dillards or dishes..
~Your homestudy is followed by a number (i.e. #3 or #4)...
~You never know how many days next month will have...
~You know that babies come in batches...
~You've been fingerprinted four times, but never committed a crime...
~You automatically assume everyone who is expecting is having a girl...
~You own new clothing in 3 little sizes for all 4 seasons (because you don't know when or how big)...
~You look twice when you see a lady bug...
~You're more interested in what will happen in March 2006 than in March 2009...
~You know people who understand when you talk about 2 day months & 5 day months...
~Your due date hasn't changed by days, but by years...
~You know who the Rumor Queen is ... AND ... you don't know who she is...
~You know that forecast doesn't have anything to do with the weather...
~You've waited so long, they re-checked your fingerprints to see if they changed...
~Trying to understand why they're printing you again, you study your own fingerprints and wonder if fingerprints grow wrinkles...
~When you speak of "that time of month" you're talking about CCAA updates & referrals...

And finally...You might be adopting from China if you love someone you've never met with all your heart!!!

~sent from America World Adoption

How does the CCAA Match?

WE COULD BE IN THE PROCESS OF BEING MATCHED with Addie!!!

We request and covet your prayers right now. The CCAA has returned from Holiday, and they will begin matching babies with families for the next batch of referrals!!! That could be us!!! If not this time, then definitely next.(4-8 weeks) Please pray the the Lord guides them to the baby that He has for us. We are believing that she will be the one God has ordained to be in our family.

How the Matching Room Works:
(from China Adopt Talk)

First, they review the baby dossiers and make sure there are no issues with them. We are told that they then count up all of the baby dossiers that are eligible for matching that month and then look to see how far this stack will go in the parent dossiers without sending out a partial day, and they pull all of those parent files. That is the likely cut-off date. Sometimes something happens and they don't get this far. Sometimes something happens and they get farther.

Next they match orphanages up with agencies. This orphanage has six babies, this agency has six families. These two orphanages are in the same province and have a total of 12 babies, this agency has 12 families. When they are through with this is when (I believe) some agencies start to get information about the cut-off date. Or at least it is when they used to start getting information.

And then they start matching individual babies to individual families!!! At some point during this part of the process most agencies used to hear from their person in the matching room to let them know how many referrals they will be receiving and from what province(s). Some agencies shared this information with their clients. Some chose not to. Recently I’ve gotten the feeling that many agencies are still getting this information but they are being given orders by the CCAA to not share this information with the families.

Just as in the review room, each matcher is assigned certain agencies and is responsible for communicating with their agencies. Some matchers tell their agency the cut-off date, some matchers tell their agency “you have X number of referrals arriving”, some matchers give their agency a list of that agency’s families that will be receiving a referral. And some matchers don’t say anything at all to their agencies.

The next question that comes up is generally how the matchers match families and babies. I’ve heard from several people who have had the opportunity to speak with someone who works in the matching room. The various conversations seem to all agree that they first look for something that stands out: a matching birthday, a baby who looks a lot like a parent, or a baby who likes music and a parent who teaches music. Several matching people have stated they match by bone structure of the baby’s face and the parent’s faces (this is why they need our passport photos, so they can compare our mug shot with the baby’s mug shot). Some have stated that they used Chinese astrology, also. Once they’ve matched the obvious matches they then start to look at things like age of child requested. The age requested is not a priority for them, they feel they are matching families and not filling orders. (Or...the Lord leads them to the baby He has created for our family...:)!!!)

Where??? When???

It is now February, and the CCAA has Matched families waiting for babies up to March 2, 2006. We are LID March 7, 2006. We are only 5 LID's AWAY!!!!! That means that we could be NEXT, as in...we could receive a picture (referral) in the next 3-4 weeks or in the batch after that 8-9 weeks!!!

We will be in China either the end of April, or May (June) at the very latest!!!

The lists have begun. Oh have they begun: Items to pack, Items to pack for Addie, Items to buy in China, Where to visit in China, Gifts for orphanage directors, etc...., Items left to do in the nursery, items babies need, breathe, eat, make more lists...oh and we'll have a baby: what exactly do babies need these days anyway? I need a class on how to strap them in to the 5 point harnesses that has been instituted since Alec was a baby - I don't understand all those straps. How many places can you strap around a baby anyways???

Who is she? Where is she? What is she doing at this moment? How old is she? I am the one who doesn't mind being told the "end" of movies...by all means TELL ME!!! I want to know before I see it. I also read the last chapter of every book I read (it drives my author friend crazy!) I don't enjoy being surprised, so you can imagine what this is doing to me!

I woke up this morning wondering HOW I was going to fit all my stuff AND Addie Grace's stuff in 1 suitcase weighing under 44 lbs.!!! ( there is a fee for more than 1 checked bag when traveling within China once there - which is minimal compared to the 18,000.00+ that we are about to spend) I just may have to pay the fee. This southern girl's need to pack more than 1 pair of shoes!!! I am the one that gets the "Elephant" sticker on my bag, and stares as my suitcase bulges from every side as it looks like at any point "it's gonna blow" as I roll it down the airport...that's why I am making a list. It's gonna take some creativity. And yes, I am in denial that this is the thing I am worried about the most... :)

This is an amazing transition in our lives, and regardless of all my crazy fears (luggage, where?, harnesses, 18k)...when they hand her to us and I get to kiss her cheeks and squeeze her tightly and shower her with love, and make her giggle, and give her a mommy, daddy and brother...none of those fears will matter. I love her already.