Today's Song

Sad broken hearted so often I've knelt
And I've found God's peace so serene
And all that He asks is a child-like trust
And a heart that is learning to lean

Learning to lean, learning to lean
I'm learning to lean on Jesus
Finding more power than I'd ever dreamed
I'm learning to lean on Jesus
- John Stallings

No Referral For Us In March

Referrals for the month of March came in last week. They covered 3 days instead of the usual 15, so we were not included. The last day of matches made was May 30. Noone dreamed that May 31 would be not included in this batch of referrals, so those families were devasted. We were 15 days away, so we knew it was iffy for us to be included this time. We were sure that if not in March, certainly in April, but now we're not so certain.

We have learned that May 2005 had an unusual amount of docciers submitted, so it is taking 4 months to get through them all. It generally takes 1-2 months to match one month's worth of docciers. We've also heard that May 31 has a huge amount of docciers, so it is a possibility that they will not get to us in April either. It helps to know why the process is slowing down, but I sure do hope that there aren't too many docciers between May 31 & June 9. We're June 9.

This old Andre' Crouch song keeps going through my head. It helps me.
"Through it all, through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all, through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His word."

We're hoping & praying for a referral in April - they usually come in around the 25th of each month. Please, won't you pray with us?

While We Wait

Jeff has been finishing Jade's closet. First he took down & reinstalled the frame of the closet door that was coming apart.


The guy who added the 2nd story loved to use pieces of wood & drywall, which is evidenced around the house. He pretty much finished the rooms, but the closets were left unfinished.

So, Jeff laid down some beautiful pine boards to finish the floor. After that, he cut & nailed in some light colored paneling to give the walls a nicer finish. It was just pieces of drywall with some good-sized gaps.

You can see here that I have a most important job - holding nails for Jeff & passing them to him.







We plan to install wire-coated shelving and hang up some baby clothes soon!

The New Bathroom Is Almost Completed!

If you've been in our home, you may remember that we had an unfinished walk-in closet at the top of the stairs that we called the "Cubby Closet." That closet has just recently been turned into a bathroom and has been fully functional for about a week. We love having a bathroom upstairs!

Our contractor moved a wall, closed in the door to the eaves, cut in a new doorway to the eaves on the landing, installed a shower stall, vanity, toilet, shelving, and a tile floor. We will finish it by painting, adding a border, and installing the mirror, medicine cabinet, towel rods, etc.

I'm on a mission to find a wallpaper border of Chinese calligraphy with English translation. You know, like "Love," "Double Happiness," "Tranquility," etc. Does anyone know where I can find some?

Stay tuned for more bathroom updates!

(That doesn't quite sound right, does it?)

P.S. I had to delete pictures to make room for updates.

Bringing Jade Home

Good Morning!

We are still in the process of building this journal, so we'll be posting updates before we can get some of the basics done. What I mean by this is that I am going to type an explanation of terms & how China adoption works, but first I want to tell you our current information.

In the meantime, please feel free to email us with any questions that you have about all of this.

Usually by this time of the month, there are rumors about when the next batch of referrals is going to come out, and what dates it will include.
(Referral = a baby being matched to a waiting family. Waiting family = us.)
We are hearing nothing but a few speculations from those who are also waiting. We suspect that agencies are hesitant to speculate with their clients because there was such a great disappointment last month when the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) gave referrals for only 12 days. Frankly, I appreciate my agency's refusal to speculate. False hope ain't any fun!

If the timeline remains as it has been for the last few months, referrals should come in anywhere from March 25-28. However, as I often say these days, There is no "should" in China. So we wait.

If the amount of dates in each batch of referrals remains the same (except for last month), we should be included in this next batch of referrals. But there is no "should" in China. So we wait.

If we do not receive our referral this month, we should be in the next batch which should come at the end of April. But there is no "should" in China. So we wait.

We are learning how to wait. It doesn't get easier. In fact, it get harder when you are in the "next" position and you are not next after all.

Our comfort in all of this is that, although it appears that our lives are in China's hands, they are truly in God's hands. We know that He has His best plan for all 3 of us, and that it is only for good. Sometimes delays & disappointments don't appear to be good, but God's will is always right...always good. He is the only one who knows which baby is ours & when she will be ready for us to bring her home. And we can count on His wisdom & His timing, and that is good. We know that the Lord is holding our little Jade in the palm of His hand. That gives me peace about the longer-than-expected wait.

Last night the leader of my small group mentioned giving us a baby shower as soon as we receive our referral (our referral will tell us her age, size, weight, etc.). That was exciting to think about, and is a very happy thing to look forward to!

Well, thanks for visiting us today. We will update this journal as often as we can and certainly with each new bit of information we receive. I am hoping that we will have BIG news to give you by the end of next week! In the meantime, I am going to try to post pictures of us, pictures of Jade's room as we are working on it, even pictures of our cats Jack & Baby, and lots of other things. I have the greatest picture of the cats on different levels of the changing table. It looks like they are breaking it in for her!

If you are someone that we know (and not just surfing the web), then you know that we love you dearly. Thank you all for your love and support and interest in our adoption.

Theresa

Welcome!

Welcome to our adoption blog! We want to share this wonderful journey with our family & friends. We will update this with each step we take in bringing our first child, Jade, home from China. We hope you will enjoy following our story.
God bless you,
Jeff & Theresa