18 months

WOW! Holy cow! It has been 18 months today since we were LID! That is two pregnancies....unbelievable! We are 18 months closer. To those of you who are logged in around our time, we're closer,hang in there. Congrats on your major anniversaries.

Scroll down to the August 10 entry.

I wrote a draft that I can not move up. So work those fingers and scroll down to view it.

A cool invention

Okay, check this out!

800 days

Eight hundred days ago, we started this process for our daughter. Eight hundred days have passed. We signed that contract on June 1, 2005. It took us until Jaunary 15, 2006 to gather our dossier. It amazes me, because my doctor took 13 weeks to write my medical report. That put us behind what we thought was 3 months. It turns out now to be more like a year. Unbelievable! Well, no use crying over what's in the past. Just like Rafiki said (from the Lion King). It is in the past. Our daughter will be coming. I have seen it first hand with my friends. It really does happen. I am getting pangs of excitement thinking about what is our future. I firmly believe that we will be there by this time next year. I really believe that WORST CASE SCENARIO....we will be there for the Olympics.
Nonetheless, let's see how high that ticker gets by the time Flora is home. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? I am guessing 1108 days! Only 308 days left! We have passed the point of no return!

Diaper Bag Challenge

Ye ole' diaper bag.....One of my DTC January peers has started a cool little blog to keep us occupied. Packing lists challenge. First up the diaper bag challenge. What to put in the diaper bag for China. Let me start by saying I am a minimalist. The less the better. I am nearly always prepared, but at a minimalist level. For example, why would I carry nail clippers in my diaper bag? I can cut nails at home. If, IF there is a nail emergency....can you say Walgreens? Having said that here is my list.
First up: the Diaper Bag.

The changing pad is included with this bag.
Next, Diapers (4) and Wipes


Diaper ointment (I found that I didn't use it much, and it was heavy) So here is my solution.


Check out this web site for travel sized items. It is very cool!
Next, I keep one burp cloth for whatever. I found this fancy one at Target. It is part of the Amy Coe line.

A Bottle with many liners. My girls (and I) have always preferred the Playtex style (not the drop-ins, as I have found that they leak easily) bottles.

I love these scented dirty diaper bags. They are a MUST for China sans the holder.

A really cool blanket.

Shout Wipes for "accidents and spills."

Take and toss spoons that I won't toss, but if they are lost, I will not mind. A plastic knife and fork to cut-up food. I hear that they can be difficult to find as chopsticks are mainly used.



Oh, I forgot the cute bib. I am not so hot on disposable ones (not environmentally friendly you know).

I had purchased a thermos per all the recommendations. I have since decided against it and opted for this cool invention. It is lighter too.


Some things may be omitted or added, depending upon the age of our daughter. A younger child may warrent an extra outfit. An older child might warrant a sippy cup and/or child sized utensils.

My Referral Calculations

So I spent hours....H-O-U-R-S trying to predict the future. I want to know when that referral is coming. We want to repeat the vacation of a lifetime, the BVI, on a sailboat. Ideally, we want Flora to join us. We feel that it would be a fantastic trip with her, especially being recently home. Bonding would be great as it would be uninterrupted family time together. But the question remains, do we book? or do we anticipate a summer referral/travel. So I spent Monday morning figuring it out. Here are my predictions which are similar to RQ and Dave's. I used RQ's numbers and I used both to see if my numbers were way off. They weren't. I used formulas and I used dreaming to calculate my referral date. Here they are.....


ODDS: Likely, Hopefully, Dreaming
Sept: 24 Nov, 29 Nov, Finish Nov
Oct: 4 Dec, 9 Dec, 10 Dec
Nov: 8 Dec, 21 Dec, 20 Dec
Dec: 15 Dec, 5 Jan, 31 Dec
Jan: 26 Dec, 13 Jan, 15 Jan
Feb: 6 Jan, 24 Jan?, 31 Jan
Mar: 13 Jan, 4 Feb?, 15 Feb
Apr: 21 Jan?, 15 Feb?, 29 Feb
May: 29 Jan?, 26 Feb?, 7 Mar
Jun: 6 Feb?, 8 Mar?, 14 Mar
Jul: 16 Feb?, 19 Mar?, 21 Mar
Aug: 24 Mar?, 30 Mar?, 28 Mar

Disclaimer: Anything with a ? denotes no actual number info, but more based on formula and past records. I also do not claim to "take over" the RQ prestigious position and Dave's accurate formulations. I just want to know when, WHEN, W-H-E-N!!!!!

Some of the most exciting referrals yet!

I am almost over the moon to say that R. and T. (her friend I have never met, but feel connected to regardless) got the call. The stork has landed. The referrals have arrived. Check out these two absolute cutie pies! http://www.ourjourneytomeilin.blogspot.com/ and http://www.ourjourneytogracie.blogspot.com/. These little ones are so lucky to have inherited such great families, but these families are even luckier to have been entrusted with the care, well-being, and love of these amazing girls, MeiLin and Gracie! Cheers!

R.,RQ and Wren

I have not let this wait drag me down much lately. I am anxiously, ANXIOUSLY awaiting the referral for R. This is my last friend who is before me. I can't wait it should be anyday now!
The other preoccupation I have is figuring out about "when" our referral will arrive. I know you are thinking that, E., that is what you have been doing since 18 Feb 06. True, but it has changed. Now, as we are 13 (yes, 13) LID's from the top of our agency's LID list from reaching our goal. We are getting closer and therefore more accurate in our guesses. That is why I have been searching RQ's site for the guesstimate of our month of referral. I have also found this site http://www.curewitz.com/WrenSiteEstimates.htm which crunches numbers. According to this site, we are talking a May 08 referral. I have been checking out RQ's archives for her guess and I have yet to find it again. I will let you know what she says once I search more......it's alright, we have PLENTY of time!