A Poem From Maelin's Auntie.....

"I found this poem. It was originally by Author: Teri Harrison. I changed a few things in it.I didn't have anything witty to add to your blog, but I thought this poem was nice. To Maelin .Love Aunt Carrie"

Longing for a child to love,

I'd wish upon the stars above.
In my heart I always knew,
a part of me was meant for you.

I think how happy we will be,
once I adopt you and you adopt me.

I dream of all the joy you'll bring,
imagining even the littlest things.
The way it will feel to hold you tight,
and tuck you in every night.

The drawings on the refrigerator door,
childhood toys across the floor.
The favorite stories read again and again,
hours of games with make-believe friends.

The day you take my outstretched hand,
a journey ends, but our lives begin.
Mesmerized by your sweet face,
and warmed inside by our first embrace.

I promise to give you a happy home,
a loving family all your own.
A house you will make complete,
with laughter, smiles and tiny feet.

A parent is one who guides the way,
know I will be there everyday.
Rest easy as each night you sleep,
a lifetime of love is yours to keep.

It's so strange that even without saying anything, or having to explain anything ~ without a doubt,...a Sister knows, and understands.
There's something very special to be said about the connection between two Sisters...
I hope someday, Maelin will have one too! Love you Carrie, XOXXX

Moncton Couple Are Counting Down the Days!!!

Only 13 days left until Bryan and Angela will finally hold their daughter, Ella for the first time ever!!!
We are so excited for you guys!!! After waiting so long, it must all seem like a dream!!!
We can't wait to see her when you get home,
Best Wishes from Mike and Cheryl

Congrats to everyone who is out of the Review Room!!!

This is exciting news for everyone who has been logged in for 2006!!! (and 2007~ they're going to be on their way to the review room next!!)

I was looking at the graphics of the "review times" on Rumour Queen, and couldn't help but notice that March was the longest....and (surprise, suprise) ~ that is our Log In month!! I can't help but wonder how long it will take for CCAA to get all of those referrals out??? Anyone dare to guess??

(Above shows a copy of the table...)

Something In the Air Again??

"The soonest I’d expect to see them this month is Tuesday, April 29 and the latest is Friday, May 9. The most likely arrival based on the average would be Monday, May 5."(from Rumour Queen's webpage)

Looking for Some Suggestions...

We have been starting to compile a list of food items that we can take when we travel to China (for us and Maelin as well)~ a bit premature, but we like to feel like we're getting ready for our trip!...We are hoping someone may give us more ideas for some comfort foods....

Our list so far:
(For us)List of food to take to China:


Dried oatmeal cereal
Peanut butter
Packaged soups (Mr.noodles)
Protein bars
Powered Gatorade (haven’t seen yet)
Crackers
Anything you just have to add hot water to IE:easy mac,some soups
Bottled water for plane.


For Maelin: (We didn't include the obvious things, like formula and cereal that we will be taking...just wondering about things that she may like that we didn't think of~ first time parents' syndrome!!)

Cheerios
Mums
?poptarts (not the most healthy thing, but if in a pinch and she isn't eating well??)

"The Waiting Child's Lullabye"

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

No New Rumours On RQ....

Well, all is quiet on Rumour Queens' site, nothing new "buzzing around"...In the meantime, the temperatures are warming up here in Moncton, and we see a few plants starting in the yard ~ so we'll be busy starting to clean out the flower beds soon!!
And working some more on our packing list. We've got alot of our things for our trip, but I'm thinking some things may expire before we actually go to China, so we may be purchasing them again...we'll have to keep an eye out for expiry dates!!!

This is so Sweet, I love it!!!

Maelin received a gift last night from Ella's parents, who are travelling very soon to China where they will finally hold their daughter for the first time!!!

I thought this was so sweet, I had to put it on here!!! (Thanks again Bryan and Angela.)

More Referrals Released!!!

We received the following message from our facilitator today!!! Things are moving ahead!! So, this means CCAA has done 5 days worth of referrals so far for the month of April. I'm not sure if anymore will come this month, but it's progress!!


"Hello everyone,

Referrals of children have been released by the China Center of Adoption Affairs to families with a registration date of January 5, 2006, to January 9, 2006.

When I have any information about the next batch of referrals to be released by CCAA, I will be in touch."



Congratulations to all the families who will see their child's photo for the first time in the next few days!!!

Interesting Info re: Matching Babies with Families...

I have heard different things regarding how the CCAA chooses a family for each child, but had not realized how many factors come into play when they are doing so...I found this very interesting:


"First, they review the baby dossiers and make sure there are no issues with them. We are told that they then count up all of the baby dossiers that are eligible for matching that month and then look to see how far this stack will go in the parent dossiers without sending out a partial day, and they pull all of those parent files. That is the likely cut-off date. Sometimes something happens and they don’t get this far. Sometimes something happens and they get farther.

Next they match orphanages up with agencies. This orphanage has six babies, this agency has six families. These two orphanages are in the same province and have a total of 12 babies, this agency has 12 families. When they are through with this is when (I believe) some agencies start to get information about the cut-off date. Or at least it is when they used to start getting information.

And then they start matching individual babies to individual families. At some point during this part of the process most agencies used to hear from their person in the matching room to let them know how many referrals they will be receiving and from what province(s). Some agencies shared this information with their clients. Some chose not to. Recently I’ve gotten the feeling that many agencies are still getting this information but they are being given orders by the CCAA to not share this information with the families.

Just as in the review room, each matcher is assigned certain agencies and is responsible for communicating with their agencies. Some matchers tell their agency the cut-off date, some matchers tell their agency “you have X number of referrals arriving”, some matchers give their agency a list of that agency’s families that will be receiving a referral. And some matchers don’t say anything at all to their agencies.

The next question that comes up is generally how the matchers match families and babies. I’ve heard from several people who have had the opportunity to speak with someone who works in the matching room. The various conversations seem to all agree that they first look for something that stands out: a matching birthday, a baby who looks a lot like a parent, or a baby who likes music and a parent who teaches music. Several matching people have stated they match by bone structure of the baby’s face and the parent’s faces (this is why they need our passport photos, so they can compare our mug shot with the baby’s mug shot). Some have stated that they used Chinese astrology, also. Once they’ve matched the obvious matches they then start to look at things like age of child requested. The age requested is not a priority for them, they feel they are matching families and not filling orders. And I have to say that they’ve done a wonderful job matching us and our Big Girl, and now I trust they will do an excellent job matching us with her little sister."

Rumour Queen is Saying..."Something is in the Air!!""

April 2nd, 2008

"A few people have been notified by their agency that something is in the air.

Not enough agencies reporting it yet to give us an idea of cut off from that information just yet."