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Been home for a while.  Things have beens somewhat...hectic to say the least.

Today

Today is the day that we've been waiting for.  We finally leave for China.  I am such a whirl of emotions that I don't even know where to start.

I can't believe this day is here.  On Monday we will meet Lily. On Tuesday she will become ours forever.  While I am excited to see what these two weeks bring I am even more excited for the return home so we can finally begin our lives as a family.

Hang on tight baby girl!  Mommy and daddy are on their way!

Travel Dates

We have our travel dates!  We leave Canada August 8th and return the 22nd.  We still don't have our itinerary for China but I am guessing Lily day will be the 10th or 11th.  I think we should be getting our itinerary in the next week or so.  We got direct flights which is good. I don't like transferring and this will make things much easier.  On the way back home we opted to fly business class.  The cost difference was minimal and having the extra room with Lily I think will make for a better flight home.

I've been looking for information on Shihezi, Lily's city.  There isn't a lot of information out there.  It's waaaay out there in the province of Xinjiang.  Population is about 650,000 people.  There is a big university that has a student population of about 40,0000.  Cotton is the main economic driver in the area.  Textiles also plays a big role.  It's been said Shihezi is a Shining Pearl in the Gobi Desert.

Can't wait to go and pick up our beautiful girl!

Referral Formally Accepted

This week we met with our social worker and formally accepted our referral.  We signed all our paperwork and faxed them back to our agency before mailing off the originals.  We've also requested that our agency try to get updated information on Lily, hopefully that will include updated pictures as well.

Now we wait (again) for ministry approval and then off to the C3WA for approval. Once we get our LOI we can FINALLY confirm flight dates.  If we can't go before the end of August then we have to wait until after the LNY celebrations which this year will be September 10th.  Please keep your fingers crossed that we get the earlier date.

People have told me before that this part of the wait was difficult.  This part is excruciating.  I just want to go to Shihezi and get Lily, hold her in my arms and let her know that she is a part of our family forever.

In Search of Advice

Well we are finally coming back to earth after the referral of our daughter and realize we have a lot to do in these next few weeks.  We were told we would be travelling in the next 9-10 weeks.  I have a few questions from BTDT parents and hope you can answer some of them.

1.  Baby carrier: Which baby carrier did you use?  Was it good? Did your back hurt after a while?  Lily is a bit older but a wee little thing so we're trying to figure out which carrier would be good to use.
2. Stroller: Did you use a stroller?  Did you bring one from home or buy one in China?
3. Gifts: What kind of gifts did you bring for the orphanage? Did you buy it at home or in China? For those who had kids in foster care, what did you bring for the foster family?
4. Carrying cash: How did you carry your cash into China?  Did you use a money belt or just left it in your carry on?  What type of money belt did you use?
5. Bonding and attachment tips: We've read a lot about bonding and attachment but just looking to see what worked for you? My good friend Catherine has given me a lot of great tips, use the baby carrier, bottle feed and feed with fingers.  Anything else?

That's all I can think of for now.  May come back with more questions later.

And her name will be...

We finally decided on a name!  Shi Wen Yu will now be known as Lily Justine Shi Wen Yu.  Still so over the moon thrilled!

Here She Is!

It is with great pride that we announce the referral of our daughter!  Her name is Shi Wen Yu and her birthday is December 28, 2012.  She is from the SWI in Shihezi City in Xiajiang in northern China. She is from the Han ethnic group, which apparently is unusual.  She is currently foster care and likes to go outside.  We have a Canadian name in mind but will post that later.

It looks like we will be travelling in August to go get her.  We are just over the moon thrilled!

Here We Go (Again)

On RQ and on FB there are rumours that there is now a new cut off date of December 6th.  Once again that includes us.  Trying hard not to get too excited because of what happened last month but I can't help but have a huge smile on my face as my tummy is doing flip flops.

Our co-ordinator doesn't work on Fridays so I don't think we will hear from our agency today or even next week to be honest.  They don't like to give out information until they have referrals in hand.

All this is going on as we are renovating 3/4 of our main floor, including our kitchen.  At least things will be ready for when our little one arrives.

Fingers crossed it's true this time.

Hear that sound?

That is the sound of nothing.  Thirty two days since the last batch of referrals.  One HUGE typo. And now, crickets.  GAH!  

I heard there was a system update at the C3WA, last year it was over two months before they figured out the bugs and no referrals were made during that time.  

This just sucks.

Typo

It has been confirmed that the C3WA has updated and corrected their site to say referrals have been made to December 4th.  I guess we will continue to wait since we don't have a choice.  Next time, I will definitely be much more cautious, even if someone confirms the site has been updated.

Jumping the Gun

It looks like an agency in Spain is now stating that referrals have NOT been made up to December 6th.  It might have been a typo on part of the person updating the site from the last batch of referrals that went up to December 4th.

We are both disappointed but really, what can we do?  Just sit and wait.  We've gotten really good at that.  I can tell you this though, when there is a rumour that December 6th is in, I will be a lot more cautious about believing it, even if it looks like it's coming from the C3WA.

Is is okay to...FREAK OUT?!?!?

The past couple of days have been a bit on the stressful side, just some family stuff going on that has been taking it's toll on me.  I came home this afternoon ready to take a long nap to catch up on some long lost sleep.  That plan went completely out the window.

I opened my email and saw a notice from my F@cebook group for Nov/Dec LIDs.  An announcement was made that referrals have been made up to December 6th.  Our LID is December 6. The air went out of my lungs as I read, then re-read that. I promptly went on to RQ and even though she has all but abandoned the site, the forum is still kicking and sure enough there was an announcement there as well.  To say I am freaking out is an understatement.  I am FrEaKiNg OuT!  We weren't expecting a referral for another few weeks, especially since the last referrals were made just last week. This has caught us completely off guard.  You would think that after 7.5 years we would be ready for this but nope.

The next couple of weeks should be...interesting.

What Not to Say

I know as someone who has been in the process of adoption for many years we have gotten all kinds of weird, inappropriate comments.  Everything from "Wouldn't it be too different," in reference to adopting from China to "You will get pregnant once you adopt," as if adoption is a cure for infertility.  Someone posted this video on F@cebook and I thought it was amazing. Just click on the link below, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

If you wouldn't say it about a boob job...

For Some Fun

I added a poll to the right to add some fun to this otherwise pretty pessimistic blog.  When do you think we will get our referral?  If you participate, leave me a comment.  I'm toying with the idea of doing a draw once we have our referral for those that participate.  Don't know what I will give away yet, maybe something I've been knitting these past few weeks.

Here's some information that may help with an educated guess.  We are now two days away from a referral.  In the past 19 months there has been an average of 2.05 days of LIDs covered, not including weekends.  Including weekends the number is 2.57.  There have been six months with no referrals but the next month there were either a larger number of days covered than normal or there were two referral batches in the month.

I look forward to seeing the responses!

Ever So Close

As we inch our way closer and closer to our referral, it looks like there has been a surprise batch of referrals made that have caught many off guard, even agencies, just 17 days after the last referrals.  The latest batch covers up to December 4th.  With the way referrals have been coming out, I thought for sure it would only cover up to December 1st.  They have covered three days worth of LIDs and two days of weekend.  This now means we are two days away from a referral.

Does this mean we will get our referral in the next batch? Maybe, unless they do only one day again.  It is very surreal knowing that we will be getting our referral in the next few weeks.  I am still trying hard to not get excited.  Last year at this time no referrals were made for over two months.  I really hope that's not the case now.

I guess we should start looking at getting things organized, like baby's room, clothes, car seat and of course, choosing a name.  Let the fun begin!

One week to go

As I track the rumours that are emerging it looks like referrals have been made again. Only one day though.  That brings us to November 29th, 2006 that have been covered.  Since January, there have been eight days of referrals made.  Looks like this trend of an average of 2-3 days per month is here to stay.

For us that means we are now officially one week away from referral.  Seven days. If things don't change, I still think we will get our referral in June, potential travel in August/September.  I am still having a hard time getting excited.  After almost 8.5 years of waiting (including the year we spent paperchasing) I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that in a few months we may have our referral.  It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that there is a child on the other side of the world, waiting to be matched with us. Fingers crossed things stay on track.

The Countdown is On

It looks like referrals were sent out today.  Six days (four LID and two days of weekend) were covered.  No referrals were made last month and only one day was covered in January.  I think the new trend of 2-3 days of LID's being covered in the new norm.

What does this mean for us?  Well, we are now 8 LID days away (including two days of weekend).  If my guess is true where 2-3 days is the new norm, I believe we will get our referral in June, if nothing changes.  The countdown is really on.  I'm still hesitant to get excited though.  After waiting almost 7.5 years for a referral it's hard to believe it might actually be around the corner.  Only time will tell.

Ministry Approval

It looks like we received our Ministry Approval (again) for our adoption.  Hopefully this will be the last time we have to update it.  By my calculations, if things continue the way they have been, we should receive our referral by May or June and maybe travel in August.

Here's how I figure it will be May.

In the past 13 months (January 2013-January 2014) there have been 2.84 days covered.  With 14 days left, we should get our referral in 4.9 months.

That will make our wait, 7.5 years since we were logged in and 8.5 years since we started the entire process.

All this math is hurting my head.

Out of Curiosity **UPDATE**

Is anybody still reading this blog?  Can you leave me a comment if you are?  Just debating if I should even bother to update if/when we get our referral.  By my estimation, that will most likely happen either in May or June, should things stay the same.

Thanks.

**UPDATE**

After writing this post, I saw on the RQ website that referrals have been made.  Only one day of referrals.  This however, does bring us to being 14 LID days away from a referral.  Only time will tell I guess.

Seven Years

Our 1-2 year wait has turned to SEVEN years.  This of course doesn't include the months we spent paperchasing either, which makes it closer to eight years.

That being said, we're told we are to expect our referral in the next 5-7 months. Seeing as the new pattern since August is 2 referral days a month, I think we'll get our referral in 8 months.  That will probably be the next time that I post on this blog.

There's nothing more to say until then.