No news yet!

So we've survived Thursday...no news yet! We're hoping we'll get a call to go to Charlottetown tomorrow, but we may have to wait until the first of the week.

Rumor Queen has listed many blogs of people awaiting referrals. Pictures should start popping up tomorrow. I've already seen a couple of referral pictures...most of the referral info I have heard so far is children with birthdays in December, February and March.

Stay tuned...tomorrow could be the day!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!

Oh my gosh, I can hardly believe this is happening. CCAA updated their site. It's official. They have sent out referrals for all files logged in before September 8, 2005. After waiting month after month to see that site change, it's simply surreal that it is now our turn!!

God, give me the strength to sit through my workshop today!!! If we get the call today, I'll post as soon as I can. Promise.

Uh oh, my stomach isn't feeling so good. Nerves...
Say a prayer everyone that we see that little face before the weekend.
I realize I'm rambling on...
I'll post tonight.
Bye for now.

RED ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, RQ just reported that:

"An agency tells their people that referrals have been mailed and should be here Thursday. I’ve heard this from more than one person from this agency."

Translation: Referrals are on their way. Only one agency is reporting this so far, but I'm going with it for now.

Yahoooooooooooooooooo!!!!

When will referrals arrive???

Rumor Queen gathers her information from adoptive parents (like me), who find out info from their agencies, then let her know what they have found out. Rumor Queen has a huge following from all over the world, so we have people from around the globe giving her information on what they have heard from their agencies. She then finds common threads in all of this information and bases her rumors on this.

Presently, there are "a bunch" of agencies expecting referrals to arrive this week! RQ reports that if they mail them tomorrow, they will arrive on Thursday. Ofcourse, if they mail them Wednesday, they will arrive Friday. I suspect that once they get mailed we will quickly find out. Agencies get tracking numbers and know that their are packages on the way. RQ will be all over that!

My cell phone is fully charged and in my pocket at all times. My staff is on high alert. I have lots of folks ready to take over my class if I need to leave.

Life is good. The next two weeks will be awesome. Did I mention, I can't believe this is happening???

Pictures of Mei Lin with Mommy and Daddy

Okay everyone hop on over to Natalie and Daniel's blog to see LOTS of pictures! I am so excited for them!!!!!!!!!!! And how cute is Mei Lin, sleeping with her daddy??? Love it, love it, love it!! Those pics made my day. Now I'm off to Moncton to see my daddy!

Update!

I e-mailed the province today and was told that there shouldn't be problem with us seeing the picture of our daughter as soon as it arrives! Yippeeeee! Then, they will send it off to our agency. I think our agency will then let us know her age and where she lives. So we shouldn't have to wait that whole extra week for a glimpse of our daughter, which is fantastic!

I will now be carrying my cell phone in my pocket at all times. Marvin and I will both make arrangements with work to be able to go to Charlottetown (about an hour drive) as soon as we get the call.

I fully expect it will be the end of next week(Dec.1) or first of the next week(Dec.4)

Can you believe it??? And yes, I will scan in that picture for you all to see ASAP!

What to expect in the next two weeks...

Thank you to Tammy for giving me the low-down on how the whole referral process will work when they finally do arrive:

Our referral comes directly to the province. They then send it to FOI (our agency in Ottawa) for translation. This takes about a week. Then it comes back to the province and then to us.

I guess I'm okay with waiting at this point. However, I don't really understand why they cannot scan the photo and e-mail it to us at least. I'm assuming that the reasoning is the provincial people want to go over the translated version and "okay" it before we see it. So be it. We will be patient.

If all goes well, we hope to see our baby's picture before the weekend of December 9-10. Just in time for my Christmas party with these great chicks:



Enjoy the weekend everyone.

The Countdown: Day 1

Well, we've finally reached it...day 1. Tomorrow is the day that we had set for our countdown goal. We hoped to know something by now. RQ is reporting that referrals may arrive next week. We're thinking sometime in the next 2 weeks we'll have Kennedy's information. It's a very emotional time. I'm trying to stay focused on the goal and stay motivated at work. It's been difficult, to say the least.

Can't wait to go to Moncton to see my Dad on Saturday. He's doing well and everything continues to go as planned. So glad. Can't wait to have him home safe and sound for Christmas.

Special thank you to my dearest friends and co-workers who have been counselling me on an almost daily basis for the past week. Emotions are running high. I have a few issues going on right now and I need everyone's good vibes coming my way to help me get through. Can't wait for Christmas holidays!

By the way, Dan and Nat have posted on their blog! They finally have Mei Lin in their arms.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Updates... The Countdown: Day 3

It's Tuesday evening. I'm going over finances, which is never fun at my house, while my husband is out shopping. So, safe to say, while I'm trying to find money, he's probably spending some. He is a man who loves to shop. One of the things I love about him.

Dad is doing well. Everything is going as hoped so that's a good thing. I'm sure it's a long week for him. He won't be having any visitors until the weekend. Marvin and I are going over on Saturday. We will visit dad and probably...shop. I did enough shopping last weekend, so I may just hang out with dad and let Marvin do some shopping.

Absolutely no rumors about referrals circulating yet. I'm expecting rumors next week and referral the next. Day 3 on the countdown. Looks like the countdown will probably end with no real information to give. The countdown was really intended just to get us to the end of this road...and it has. We're up next for sure.

I know I keep saying this, but reality has not set in yet. I wonder if I'll faint when I see that picture? I just don't know. My emotions are playing tricks on me. I'm not in the mental place I thought I'd be. But when I sit down and think about everything that's happening, it's so overwhelming, so very overwhelming. The next two weeks will be interesting, to say the least!

Kennedy is now the proud owner of her first snowsuit. Chocolate brown with a pink and brown hat to match. Now I have to buy her the pink booties that I've been looking at...chocolate brown is my FAVORITE color (my bridesmaids dresses were that color). I hope Kennedy likes it too!

Renovations to our bedroom are almost complete. Walls are painted, floor is down and new furniture arrived. We just need some window dressings and a new comforter for our bed. What an improvement!

Unfortunately, there is no news from Daniel and Natalie yet. I'll direct you when I hear something. I've been stalking their blog for 3 days. I know internet can be sketchy in some places so perhaps they're having difficulty or maybe they have their hands full???????? A definite possibility!


Have a great week everyone!
Carolyn

L-o-n-g Day The Countdown: Day 8 (Single digits!)

What a long day it has been. Let's just say I could never do 12 hour shifts like I did today. I have a lot of respect for nurses!

Parent-teacher interviews are going along okay. Let's just say, for the most part, parents are very supportive of what we do in the classroom and were very open to hearing about their child's progress, both the good and the not-so-good. It's always so nice to meet the parents and have them share little tidbits about their child. After all, I spend 6 hours per day with their child, so it's nice for us to get together and talk about what's happening. Five more interviews tomorrow.

Dad had his surgery today. Mom just called. He's in a lot of pain, but that is normal at this point. He'll probably have a couple of days of being quite uncomfortable. The doctor did say that everything went well, so that's good. I'm glad it's over. Can't wait to see him on Saturday. Thanks for all the good vibes everybody!

Natalie and Daniel are on their way to China tomorrow to bring home Mei Lin! Stop on over to their site to follow their journey!

No rumors cirulating yet for us. The countdown is now into single digits. Here's to hoping we know something by then. Realistically, I don't think we'll actually have the referral in our hands until the week of December 4th. But I can wait because I know it's just around the corner!

Back into the hosptial...The countdown: Day 13

Dad got the call he's been waiting for to go back into the hospital for his second knee replacement (on the same knee!) We are glad it has finally come so that he will be home and have some mobility by Christmas. The hardest part is that he has to have the surgery done in Moncton City Hospital, as that is where his hemotologist is, and he wants to keep a close on on dad (because of his Hemophilia). I will be taking him and mom over on Tuesday, but won't be able to go back until Saturday. I find that very difficult. I like to be able to check in on him, just for my own piece of mind, but that's impossible with him so far away. For my blogger friends who live across Canada and in the U.S., the hospital is in another province and we have to pay a $40 toll to leave our island so it gets costly. The good side of all this is...Ummmm...I can do all my worrying in the same week???? Parent-teacher interviews, referral rumors and dad's surgery! Seriously, though, I know dad is anxious to get this done and please PRAY that there are no complications this time and he can get as much mobility as possible.

There are no real rumors circulating yet. Rumor Queen is predicting that referrals will start to arrive somewhere between November 27th and December 8th. Since this is when they may arrive, I'm thinking the rumor mill should start heating up the week of the 20th. OMG, I cannot believe it still!

The countdown is now at day 13. That would bring us to November 24. Now I realize it's VERY unlikely we will have our referral by then, but my goal is that we will know something by then.

I feel like I may be coming down with something. My chest is very heavy and my back is sore in that same area. I've had a headache for a couple of days which I think may be related to a bit of stuffiness in my sinuses. I really don't want to be sick this week. I know I'm under a teeny, tiny bit of stress, so who knows what is happening to my body.

So now, I ask you for all kinds of good vibes going to my dad. He is first on my list of concerns right now. Everything else will fall into place...

Mei Lin will soon be home!

Natalie and Daniel finally received their travel approval today! After months of looking at their baby's girl's face, they are 8 days away from leaving for China. We are so excited for them. They will be blogging from China, so make sure you bookmark their site and follow along starting next Friday, November 17. They will be returning on Saturday, December 2. Congratulations you guys!

Presenting Miss Megan Rylee!

Megan, exercising her lungs!

Me holding Megan

Proud Momma, Trudy

Trudy and Megan

Trudy, Megan and proud grandmother, Bev


Miss Megan Rylee arrived safe and sound on Tuesday, November 7 weighing 9lbs 5ozs. Her proud parents are Trudy(my friend and co-worker) and Trevor and her proud big brothers are Jordan (looking down from Heaven), Dylan and Brandan. We are absolutely thrilled to finally see her sweet face.

The countdown: Day 19...

It's Sunday evening. I've managed to at least get the names written on my report cards this weekend. So, that's a good start. I have a sink load of dishes to do, some school work to do and I need to have my nightly relaxing bath, but for now...it's time to do a little blogging :)

So, if we didn't have enough on our plates already this month...we decided to renovate our bedroom. And I mean ren-o-vate! The drywall is up and our seam-filler has been here a couple of times (Marvin loves to renovate, but seam-filling is one job he hates!)Marvin figures we should be painting the walls by mid-week. Then we need to lay the flooring and pick out a bedroom set. WE've been using Marvin's old set for the last 7 years. I would venture a guess that at least 8 of the 12 Clow children slept in that bed, so safe to say, it's time for a new bedroom set. It's the last room in our house that needs to be done over. It's taken us 7.5 years of a lot of blood, sweat and tears (mostly Marvin's) so it's nice be be almost done. We've also had our house completely re-wired so it is perfect timing for us to go into parenthood with very few renovations left to do!

Less than 20 days left on the countdown! Oh.my.god. I simply cannot wait to see my daughter's face. Everyone is anxious now. My mother is sporting her pin "I can't wait to meet my grandchild from China". She's proud as a peacock strutting around with it on. My sisters are ready to take me shopping in the baby isles, since I cannot figure out what I need, what brand I need and how much I need of anything:)

I think the fact that the wait is going to be over the Christmas holidays is turning out to be very good for us. It will certainly make things go quickly with all the holiday stuff AND I have two weeks off to get organized. I cannot even imagine how long it's going to take us to get packed...I'm not going there...yet!

My friend and co-worker, Trudy, is going in to have her baby girl, Megan, on Tuesday! We cannot wait to have our first play date with Megan.

Congrats to all the January LID's who are now out of the review room, especially our good friends Bryan and Angela!

If anyone is interested in seeing some referral pictures from this last group, go to this link and scroll down to the post entitled "BABIES". There is a whole list of sites that have referral pictures posted. I've looked at every one...they are all adorable!

Have a great week everyone!

We are sooooooooooo next!

Oh my good gracious! The CCAA did up to (and including) August 25(that's 16 days worth of files)! I can hardly stand it. When I checked the computer this morning, like I have been every morning for the last week, I was shocked to see that they completed the 25th. That means 26th...27th....28th....29th....30th....31st! They only need to do 6 days at the end of November and they'll be including us. Ofcourse, we want them to go much farther...and at least include September 5th. My dear friend Shea from Manitoba is in my travel group but has a LID (as do a few others) of September 5th, and we want very badly to keep our group together, so fingers crossed for that.

Okay, someone tell me how I'm going to concentrate at work today? I feel like I could cry at the drop of a hat lately, wonder why? And report cards? Well, let's just say I better hunker down for the next couple of weeks.

Have a great day everyone! I know I will!
P.S. Marvin shrieked in the shower when I told him the August 25 cut-off! He's so excited!

Thank You!

Just wanted to say Thank You to all those people who continue to cheer us on. EVERY SINGLE comment, e-mail, whisper, note-on-my-desk, phone call means a TON to me. This includes family, friends, co-workers, friends-of-friends, family-of-friends, people I have never met, my blogger pals...Never under-estimate the power of a kind word. I will never forget you for supporting me(us)through this emotional journey.

Tonight is just one of those nights where I'm feeling a little emotional. Lots of kindness flowing my way...and I so need it and appreciate it.

An Update and...The Countdown continues:Day 23

The latest update on referrals is that they are now enroute to agencies and should start to arrive tomorrow. Now, this is the "October" referrals and it is now known that they have reached August 24th for sure. The official cut-off date has not be announced, but I'm thinking August 24th is probably it.

You know what that means, don't you all? It is now NOVEMBER! This is the month we've been waiting for. Now realistically, because October referrals were a little late, November referrals could be a little late. It's hard to say really because as RQ reports, there's no real rhyme or reason to how they issue referrals. So we'll continue with the countdown and hope that we're somewhere in that ballpark.

I'm gonna just say it...

WE'RE NEXT!