WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!!!!!!

I got the call this morning whilst I was up a ladder, doing a spot of painting at the kid's school. I have a sweet daughter, born January 14th 2007, so she is nine months old. Her name is Feng Xiao Ying, and, according to my SW, she is beautiful. I am completely overwhelmed. We will be getting photos this afternoon - keep your eyes on this blog!! Thank you to all of you who have been posting and congratulating us. It is wonderful to have so many friends who care.

WHHOOOHOOOO!!!!!!

"The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before June 30, 2006.

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

I was just hanging out on the RQ site, bemoaning the lack of information regarding referrals, when lo and behold, a lovely lady by the name of Lorraine (thanks Lorraine!) posted a message to say that the CCAA site had been updated!! I have never tried to load a web page so fast before in my life. The cut off date is confirmed as November 25th, which is a huge relief for our batch. Since two of our batch mates had this date as their log in (as opposed to our LID of the 22nd) we now know for sure that we will all be travelling together!! What it also means though is that we should have our news this week. The CCAA NEVER updates their web page until referrals are just about to arrive (or AFTER they have arrived) so I feel pretty confident that we should hear our good news sometime this week. YEEEHHAHHHHH!!!

The Big White Elephant in the Corner

You know the one I am talking about?? The one that sits there, large as life, yet no-one mentions it. What does this have to do with anything, you may ask?? Well Loyal Readers, in my family, the Big White Elephant in the Corner is our adoption. Today was Father's Day and I (very stupidly) agreed to host the traditional Father's Day Lunch at my house. Aunties, uncles, grandparents, cousins etc etc. And do you know what? In the course of three hours, NOT ONE of these people asked about how the adoption was going. Did this surprise me?? Not one little bit. When DH and I first let our respective families know about our plans to adopt from China, our parents were supportive, and that was where the support ended. DH's sister even went as far as saying 'Why would you want to do that? You never know WHAT you might end up with'. In the two and a half years since we made the decision to add to our family by means of adoption, it has been completely ignored. I have two cousins who actually roll their eyes and quickly change the topic of conversation if I ever dare to steer it to the unsavoury subject of IA. So there it sat - the Big White Elephant in the Corner, not being mentioned, not being acknowledged. I deliberately left our new high chair out in the dining area, thinking that it may have prompted a question or two. It was referred to exactly twice - both times in reference to one of the big kids sitting in it instead of sitting out in the patio area for lunch.

So here I sit, a bit disheartened and rather tired, with a mountain of washing up to be done. I am very thankful that the journey to Alice has provided me with some absolutely WONDERFUL friends who make up for my moronic family. Thank you all for your ongoing support - and here's to a VERY big week!!!

The Rollercoaster that never stops.

Wow - what a few days it has been on the rumour roller coaster. First the cut off is said to be the 24th November, then it is rumoured to be somewhere in early December (which would be nothing short of a miracle), then THE most exciting news came overnight. One of my November buddies posted on the RQ forum that her agency emailed her to let her know that a package had just left the CCAA (China Centre for Adoption Affairs) and was on it's way to the US. It should arrive by Tuesday, as Monday is their Labour Day holiday. As to what is in this package - I am praying that it is referrals. If it is, we should receive ours here in Tassie by later next week. The wait is almost over and I am very thankful for this, as the last week has been by far the hardest yet. I am very tired, sleep-deprived, stressed out and way too emotional. I was in Toy World today, helping DS to spend his birthday money, and I just about had a breakdown looking at the baby toys. I wonder if it's too early for a calming glass of red??? Anyway, I just want this wait to ber over - to be holding a photo of our precious babe in my hands, and to finally be able to put a face to the name. Hurry up Alice, Mama is waiting......

Sleepless in Spreyton (Alternative Title 'Can't Sleep - Clowns Will Eat Me')

Sigh. It's 1.39 am and here I sit at the computer, desperately trolling the rumour sites for even a hint of a rumour. So far - nothing. Not one lousy little peep. I have an overwhelming urge to simultaneously scream, cry and kick something REALLY hard. I spent today (or should that be yesterday??) wading through the mire that is the Immigration paperwork. What a gigantic pain in the butt it is. I woke at 1am, started thinking about all the mistakes I may have made and hence, here I am.

Gertisquidge - thank you for your tag. I read about it, and freaked out when I realised that my middle name has NINE letters, and I couldn't think of anything interesting or witty to say. Sorry for being such a wimp!!!

Will try to get some sleep now, but I fear that it may be all too elusive. I guess this is nature's way of preparing me to parent a young baby again. I remember when I was pregnant with DS and DD that the last week or so of the pregnancies sucked big time - being too big to sleep comfortably, having to get up every five minutes to pee. Perhaps my RRI (referral related insomnia) is the adoption world's equivalent of this...

Now, as to the alternative title to my post, my sister's husband actually has a legitimate phobia of clowns. My sister bought him a T-Shirt with the logo just like the one in the picture, and I thought it was kinda funny. Strange what the brain thinks about in the wee small hours of the morning.. Fingers crossed for some referral rumours VERY soon, or I may very well go mad.

A Rumour, a Rumour!!!

At long last a positive rumour has arrived!! In the November room on the RQ forum, someone has posted that their agency has been told that referrals are sitting in China, all done and just waiting to be signed. This means that they could be arriving in the US as early as late this week, with them touching down in Oz early-mid next week. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I am so happy and sleep deprived I don't know whether to cry or scream with excitement!

So very quiet..

Rumour wasteland again. There is NOTHING out there. I am thinking that referrals will start arriving in the US late this week or early next week, so we should (hopefully) hear our good news by late next week. Tick, tock, tick, tock.....Has someone added an extra few hours into the day?? Sure seems like it. I know I shouldn't be wishing my life away, but HURRY UP REFERRALS!!!!!!

The Day After

Well, the Big Birthday went off with a bang, and His Majesty had a fabulous day. Unfortunately for his parents, the day started at a disgustingly early hour (5 am) and he just kept on going until we told him that we had to go to bed (due to extreme exhaustion) at nine last night. As per usual, the grandparents spoiled him rotten, lots of cards were received in the mail (causing great excitement) and the infamous SpongeBob cake went down a treat. It even tasted OK - that is, if you are partial to cake with fluorescent yellow icing....

So now it's the day after, and I am back to calendar watching again. The latest from RQ is that this month's referrals may well include up to November 29th. As to when the referrals will arrive - I am hopeful that we will start seeing them in the US mid to late next week. Unfortunately it often takes a few more days for them to arrive Down Under, but once they begin showing up in the States, I will be beside myself!! Can anyone say 'Cristina needs Valium'???!!!

Our Last Anniversary!!!!!

Today is Wednesday, August 22nd, and it is now 21 months since our file was logged in at the China Centre for Adoption Affairs. And this will be the LAST of these 'anniversaries' that I will have to celebrate - WHOOOHOOOO!!!!! By the time our next one arrives, we should have Alice's referral in hand, and will be busy booking flights, getting visas and packing suitcases. Today is a very good day!! On a more serious note however, tomorrow is DS's 8th birthday. When asked what kind of cake he wanted this year, her replied 'SpongeBob!!' So today, as well as going to school to watch my gorgeous kids strut their stuff in the book week parade, and attending the soccer break up and medal presentation, I have to create SpongeBob from a sponge cake. I actually had nightmares about it last night. If it turns out OK I promise I will share some pictures - if not, it will never be mentioned again....

This ride is hotting up!!

Latest from Rumour Queen this morning is that the CCAA has matched up to November 25th. WHOOOHOOO!!! If this is true, all my batch will be included, which is VERY exciting. Guess our expectations have been lowered considerably during the course of this roller coaster ride, as I am thrilled at the possibility of a four day batch... But the really cool thing is this - if matching has been done up to the 25th November, our file is sitting on a desk at the CCAA alongside the file of our precious little one. The thought that the match has been made is truly amazing and awe-inspiring. Now roll on the first week of September!