Do We Know Who Our Daughter Is Yet?

We constantly get asked if we know who our daughter is yet. The answer is no. In about 18 - 20 months, we will get something called a referral that will have information about our new daughter including her birthday, height, weight and any medical information that they may have. Also in the referral will be pictures of her.
We have requested a baby between the ages of 6- 12 months old. The youngest that I have ever seen come out of China is around 7 months old. Most of the babies seem to be more around 10- 12 months old for those requesting a 6- 12 month old. However with that said, we qualify for a child between the ages of 0-24 months old and the final decision is with the CCAA (the Chinese government who is in charge of the adoptions in China.)
There is a large Chinese adoption community on the web and I am trying to keep up with a couple of Yahoo groups during the wait. I don't have time to post much on these sites, but do try to read the emails so that we are fully informed about this process especially by those who have already adopted from China. The people that I have met on these sites have been wonderful and some of the most patient people that I have ever met.
The wait time has increased drastically since we first began discerning whether God was calling us to adopt a child. When we first looked into adopting, the wait time from the log in date (LID) was only six months and not the 18 - 20 months that we are now facing. As our little John-Paul is a very active almost three year old, we are kind of thankful that our little girl has not arrived yet. We know that God has chosen the perfect daughter for us and it will be in His time when we get to bring her home.

We Got Our Log In Date Today!

We finally got our Log in Date today. This is a very important date as this is what the CCAA uses to officially start your countdown to your referral. So our official LID is 4-13-07! I just read information from our adoption agency that says the wait for referral is currently 18 - 20 months long. We are hoping that the wait decreases, but will be planning on the wait to bring Elizabeth home to be at least that amount of time. Please, please pray that it doesn't take that long.

New Log In Dates Came in Today

Just found out that families who had dossiers sent to China on March 22 just got log in dates. Hopefully, ours will be soon. I was hoping that it would be this week, but it will probably be more like next week.

Happy Easter, Elizabeth! Jesus Christ Has Risen Today! Alleluia!

KISSES IN THE WIND

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.
--- Unknown

Elizabeth's Family Celebrating Life!