Here comes April!

Well, there is good news and bad news! The good news is that China has given referrals to families with log-in dates to 4-3-2006. It is very exciting to finally have the month of April start to get referrals. The bad news is it was only 3 days with 2 of them being weekend days. That means they have referred a very small batch. We are anxious for the new year because 2010 will be OUR year! We just don't know when it will happen but we are so close! Our log-in date is 4-18-2006. Keep your fingers crossed that the next referrals will be for more than 3 days. Much love to you all!!!

The Box has changed!

Okay, this is very exciting! The box has changed again and now referrals have been made through March 31, 2006. It has taken a full year to get through the month of March 2006! WOW! What happens next? They will start to match families with April LID's (log in dates). This is where we come in! Our log in date is April 18, 2006. What we don't know is if the referrals that were just made are from November or December of this year. If it was from November, we might see some April referrals in December. If it is from December, we won't see referrals again until January of 2010. It's all a big waiting game! I know that this might not make much sense to some of you but just know we are very slowly inching forward to our China trip and meeting our little Emma! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers; you just don't know how much it means to us!

The Box

I thought I would explain what THE BOX is. We hold our breath anticipating what the next date will be in the box each month! Each month the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs; the government agency that handles the countries adoptions) matches waiting families with their children. This is called the referrals. That is what we are waiting patiently for. This process uses the log in date given to each family. Remember that the log in date is the date that China officially logs a family's paperwork file into their system. Our log in date (also called LID) is April 18, 2006. So, when CCAA matches families with children for referrals, they change the box date to reflect that. We used to be able to see the box on their website but for some reason, they now keep that secret. Many adoption families rely on Rumor Queen (you can find a link to her website on the left sidebar of this blog) to give us this information. Basically she filters all the rumors she gets and then only changes the box on her website when she is confident the information she has received is correct. When you go to her site, look for the box in the upper right hand side. Look for the date "placed through".

Well, the box has changed. It now reflects the date of March 28, 2006. That means we are almost at the end of March 2006. March has been a incredibly BIG month meaning lots of families had March as their LID. Next month should get us through the end of March and hopefully into April. We will be excited to see April 2006 in the box.

I feel like we are taking such baby steps but we are making progress. We will get there eventually. Thanks to all of you who have us in your prayers. We are thankful for that and for each and every one of you!

Quilt Squares I have received

I thought as I begin to receive the quilt squares from people, that you would enjoy seeing what everyone is sending. Thanks to everyone who is going to participate. It is really a FUN project for me!

From Carolyn (my mom) and Bob; Memphis, TN

From Casey the dog; Memphis, TN

From Glenn and Caroline; Northport, AL

From Uncle Charlie and Aunt Nancy; Concord, NC

From Mary Lea; Rural Hall, NC

From Dalton and Nancy; Lubbock, TX

From Doris (Great Grandmother); Atmore, AL

From Uncle Ken & Aunt Bettye; Pensacola, FL

From Richard and Amy; Lubbock, TX

From Tom and Patty; Norcross, GA

From Susan; Smyrna, GA

From Uncle DC and Aunt Nancy; Uriah, AL

From Sid, Susie and family; Overland Park, KS

From Ann; Smyrna, GA

From Velinda; Tyrone, GA

From Kathy; Smyrna, GA

From Aunt Barbara; Hunstville, AL

From Debbie; Smyrna, GA

From Gloria; Smyrna, GA

From Peggy; Smyrna, GA

From MJ, Carl and family; Smyrna, GA

From June; Smyrna, GA

From Douglas; Nashville, TN

From Erica; Nashville, TN

From Katie; Nashville, TN

From Will; Durham, NC

From Uncle Colvin & Aunt Faye; Bay Minette, AL

From Jared, Cathy, & Mia; Tigard, OR

From Aunt Frances; Auburn, AL

From Bill, Caroline, and Carrie; Auburn, AL

From Hal, Anne & Taylor Anne; Birmingham, AL

From Tommy, Liz & boys; N. Richland Hills, TX

From Memri; Atlanta, GA

From Mimi, Las Vegas, NV

From Roxanne; Smyrna, GA

From Seth and Linda; Auburn, AL

From Lela, Frank and Richard; Auburn, AL

From Mat and Catherine; Mt. Pleasant, SC

From Marshall, Claudia and the girls; Lakeside, CA

From Heidi; Mableton, GA

From Jodi; Port Charlotte, FL

From Tom, Usha and Dylan; Smyrna, GA

From Idealla and Bronte; Smyrna, GA

From Robbie and Barbara; Trevett, ME

From Charlotte; Hoden Beach, NC

From Jim and Frances; Burlington, NC

From Anne; Atlanta, GA

From Gisela; Smyrna, GA

From Jim and Jill; Smyrna, GA

From Jim; Houston, TX

From Jennifer; Houston, TX

From Katie; Houston, TX

From Meg; Houston, TX

From Jimmie; Houston, TX

From Carol; Smyrna, GA

From Carolyn; Robertsdale, AL

From Becky; Gainsville, FL

From Margaret; Houston, TX

From Katie; Littleton, CO

From Katherine; Alexandria, VA

From Charley, Beth and kids; Newton, MA

From Greg, Virginia and kids; Manhattan, NY

From Andy and Sandy; Fairfax Station, VA

From Laura; Hixson, TN

From Beatrice; McDavid, FL

From Tony; Auburn, AL

From Charlie, Teresa & Olivia Rose; Sherman Oaks, CA

From Tom & Ricki; Atlanta, GA

From Bob & Joyce; Atlanta, GA