16 months and yes, still counting

The new referrals will be coming this week and CCAA did matching only for people from Oct 27, 2005 - November 1, 2005. That means I still have a ways to go but at least I can now say that they are working on November applications (mine is 12/22/05). In the meantime, I am trying to continue to stay busy. I have been to a couple movies, enjoy dinners out, and always shopping. For Easter we took a trip to Chicago to spend the holiday with my sister and brother in law. It was a lot of fun and we were lucky enough to get last minute tickets to see Wicked. It was an awesome show and we had seats all the way up front but to one side. You could see all of their emotions and facial expressions. As for the wait for Malia, maybe God is just trying to make sure we don't have to travel to China in the heat of the summer. 100+ degrees plus add in major humidity... Yuk! My best guess at this time is that I will receive a referral in the fall and travel hopefully before the holidays. More updates next month (and lets all pray for a bigger batch of referrals that time)!!!

Walk for the Cure - Mother's Day

I am going to do the Race for the Cure 5K walk on Mother's Day this year. If you are interested in donating, you can follow the link: http://www.active.com/donate/komentc07/MAnders71

Spring is here!!!!

It is almost April and the snow has almost all melted (except the plow piles). It was another quiet month unless you count the back to back snow storms a couple weeks ago (hence the snow piles). I am continuing to try and learn Mandarin but it is a really hard language to learn. Yesterday was exciting. I went to travel orientation at my travel agency with my parents and it makes it more real that we will be traveling this fall to get Malia. Today was also a lot of fun. It is Garrett's first birthday (my nephew/godson). I have attached a couple pictures.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Well, I survived another month during the wait, another birthday, and we have crossed in the "Year of the Pig" according to the Chinese calendar. As I feel that I am getting closer to Malia, I have renewed my efforts to finish projects, including the inside of the dollhouse and her room (see pictures of both above). This month, I also found out a friend is pregnant and is due in August. I guess we are now both pregnant together, in a manner of speaking (ha, ha, ha...). Next month continues to look busy so hopefully that means that the wait will be easier to take. I also hope we start to get nice weather, especially after the foot of snow this weekend:)

Welcome 2007!!!

The new update is that CCAA is completed matching children to families that sent paperwork up until 10/13/05 (and mine is 12/22/05). They have been matching around 2 - 2 1/2 weeks of paperwork each month. At this pace (as long as it doesn't slow down), I am estimating that I will get a referral in June or July. As for January updates, it was pretty quiet again. However, I have had some events with other singles that are adopting. We went to a China exhibit at Minneapolis Institute of Arts and recently had a brunch with a couple friends from the adoption group (see pictures of their children). Now the plan is to spend the next couple months getting organized and complete the nursery, work on house projects, etc. I will keep you posted on progress. Enjoy the Chinese New Year which starts on February 18th.

Christmas Arizona Trip

I got the chance to visit my grandparents for Christmas this year. I went with my parents and grandma and we went to Arizona. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Well, I was hoping to be able to post more information on the wait but the CCAA (China Center of Adoptive Affairs) is still working on the referrals for December. Even with the wait I still had a nice Christmas with family and friends. In December the CCAA announced that starting in May 2007 they will no longer accept single applications for adoption in China. Therefore I consider myself fortunate that I started the process when I did and got my paperwork to China. I continue to use the extra time to have some fun and prepare for Malia. Also, in December I had other single friends bring their daughters home. It helps to know that it does happen. I wish everyone the best in 2007!!!

November Update

Well, it has been a quiet month. The China Center of Adoptive Affairs is done matching kids with families that sent paperwork up thru Sept 8th of 2005 (and my paperwork was received Dec. 22, 2005). This means there is still a long wait. Based on their progress, I would guess I will get Malia's picture in June or July.

As for November, I have other single friends that either got their daughter home or the picture of their daughter. It is fun to see the girls and know that my turn will come. I also received some neat gifts (from Grandma Bev, Tracy (adoptive mom), and my adoption group secret pal).




























Finally, I have been practicing my baby skills watching Garrett.

10 months and still counting...

Well, it has been more than 10 months since China logged in my application. Even though I still don't have a referral, at least my application was officially approved. The past month has been busy. My INS fingerprints expired so I had to get them redone and was yelled at again since my fingerprints are apparently wearing off. My first set was declined and when they did the second set they also had me sign a sworn agreement stating that I am not a criminal. I also had the bachelorette party and wedding for my friend Renee, and the wedding for my cousin, Don. Now that the holidays are approaching, I am hoping the wait seems to move faster. In the meantime, I will try to keep busy and keep optimistic. Thanks again for the support and good wishes.

Officially Approved!!!

Well, I am now finally officially approved to adopt per the China Center of Adoptive Affairs. This is a big step and one closer to Malia. This month has been busy, busy, busy. Work is going well with my new role but as we get close to our date to turn over documentation to IT is has been crazy. As for my personal life, it is also on the go. This month has been wedding showers (for a friend and Amber (future cousin in law)). I started a tap dance class through community ed to keep active and to make the wait time go faster. There were also the birthdays for my brother in law and sister in law. As busy as September was, October seems on track to be just as much fun with the upcoming bachelorette party, two weddings, and other events. This year is sure flying by which is great until Malia is here with me. I hope everyone is doing well and thank you for the prayers to get Malia home sooner rather than later.

Summer's almost over.....

So much for the quiet summer. We found out this month that my mom has breast cancer. On Thursday she had the surgery and everything went well. We even were able to go to the State Fair for a couple hours on Saturday. On another note, I recently got a promotion at work and the extra money will be nice. As for the wait time for Malia, it continues to increase. Right now they are at a 14 month wait from log in date to referral but they expect the wait to continue to increase before it gets better. I have switched my mind to a June or July referral next year at this point. Oh well, nothing I can do to change it and it is more time to prepare for her arrival. My friend Tracy is in China right now to adopt her daughter so I know it will eventually happen. Let's just enjoy the upcoming fall weather!

Happy July

Well, things have really quieted down in July (personally and with the adoption). The wait time to get Malia's picture has extended to 13 months from 12/22/05 (my log in date with China). Therefore, I took advantage of the time and took a vacation to Florida/Disney World. I heard that Mickey missed me and wanted me to visit, again! It was a nice trip with my parents and Susie (my sister) also joined us. Weather basically cooperated (except one day with 10+ hours of rain straight). Now, I am tearing apart the house to baby proof and upgrade. The current project to JUST put a wall around an existing railing seemed simple until we started it. It was a lot of work but all that is basically left now is to paint. Next, I will have new carpet installed in August for 75% of the upstairs area (living room, dining room, hall, and stairs). I can't believe it has been almost one year since my home study was approved by my adoption agency so I guess I can wait longer to still received the picture of Maila. Here's hoping this fall goes as quickly as this summer has been passing (It is August next week!!!!).

First Day of Summer

Well it was the first day of summer on Wednesday and I have passed another month of waiting. I finished Chinese II and am enjoying have some more free time. I will start back up in the Fall with the intent to actually practice more outside of class this time :) I am taking the time to continue to prepare for life with a child and decided to trade in the Mini Cooper for a more reliable family car. I got the Toyota Corolla about 2 weeks ago and love it. Also, I took a road trip to Chicago with my parents last weekend to visit Susie and Ryan. We had fun and celebrated Father's Day and my mom's birthday. Thanks to the people who have started to send quilt squares. They are so much fun to receive and I can't wait to see the quilt all put together. Finally, the wait to referral is still around 12 months and may get longer in the coming months. Only time will tell when we will all see a picture of Malia but in the meantime I hope everyone enjoys the summer!!!

May Update

The wait continues to be around 12 months now for referral and I am now 5 months into the wait. My agency gave an update and they are unsure what will happen with the wait time over the next several months. The key right now is to keep busy since I can't control the wait time. I had the baptism for Garrett and I got to be godmother with Amy's aunt. Also, my goddaughter & cousin Rebecca had her confirmation and got her drivers license. Finally, my friend Valerie had a new baby girl Gabrielle. On top of all that, I have been still taking Chinese class, going to dinner with the waiting family group, and enjoying all the other stuff that might be harder to do once my daughter would be home. Thanks to everyone for the continued prayers during this difficult waiting time.

Keeping Busy

Well, it is hard to believe that it is almost May. Four months have passed since my paperwork was received in China. The wait time is still 10-12 months to get the referral. At this point I am praying that I know who my daughter will be by Christmas. At lot can change over the next couple months (faster, slower, or the same). In the meantime, I have been keeping busy with various activities. I am now in Chinese II class and it is still a really hard language to learn. Also, I have been in a secret plan exchange with other December waiting families. Below is a picture of the cute outfit I received in April. I just went to the Lucy Kaplansky concert last night. Her Red Thread CD is wonderful and she told many stories about her daughter and the adoption. The wait continues for Malia but each month I know I am one step closer to her.

I am an aunt...

I am now an aunt and I can enjoy the baby while waiting for my own child to be here. Garrett William Anderson was born Saturday at 8:18 pm. He is 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long. He is beautiful and I am so happy to finally see him. Here are pictures of the new addition to the Anderson family. Also, here is the link to Garrett's blog (http://baby-garrett.blogspot.com/)

Congratulations Jeff and Amy!!!

Three and counting

It has now been three months and no sign of the wait time decreasing. I guess there were a large amount of people who sent their paperwork May and June of last year and that volume is slowing down the normal process. My agency is still saying to expect a 9-10 month wait to be matched to my future child. So, I continue to find ways to pass the time and learn the value of patience.

Here are a couple pictures of the nursery. I am still working on it but it is looking pretty fun so far.

Two months down...

Well it has been two months since the China office officially logged in my paperwork and the wait continues. According to my agency the current wait time between log in date and referral continues to be 9-10 months. I still hope and pray that it speeds back up this spring but either way every day is one closer to seeing my daughters picture. Now that I am soon going to be an aunt I can look forward to seeing a new baby. I am also using the wait time to read books, set up the nursery, and other fun activities. Here's hoping that there is great news to report in March.

Dollhouse

The dollhouse is finally completed. This was a long project but I think the end result was worth it. I will be so happy to tell my daughter that I made this for her while I was waiting. The exterior and the interior walls are even painted. Next I need to add flooring inside, with assistance from my dad. Also, my parents found the dollhouse furniture I had growing up so I am going to fix it up some and use it in this dollhouse for another cool memory.

Chun Jie Kuai Le (Happy Spring Festival)

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Yesterday was the kick-off for the 15 day celebration for the Spring Festival. I celebrated with my family by attending the CAAM Chinese Dance Show. I was fun seeing the event and emotional thinking that by this time next year I will be home with my daughter.

As for other updates, I just started taking a Chinese language class. Right now it seems like a difficult language to learn. The pronunciation is important since many words can sound alike. I think I know about 5 sayings right now but at least need to know the basics like hungry, thirsty, tired, bathroom, and of course, shopping.

The latest information on the wait time for the referral is 9-10 from my agency. However, the last group was closer to the 9 months. If they stayed at this pace then I would be hoping for a referral in September. Keep in mind that over the last year the wait time has increased and decreased so we won't know for sure until we are a little closer.

Well, I want to wish everyone a happy new year and good luck in the months ahead!