6 Month LID-versary

We've officially been "paper pregnant" for 6 months today, although we actually started the process a year and a half ago. If this were a traditional pregnancy, we'd be moving into the 3rd trimester and preparing for the arrival of our little one. We'd be registering and decorating the nursery. Instead, we have no idea where the light is at the end of this tunnel. The "speedup" that was expected for the summer/fall has not come to pass. I'm still holding out hope that it could still happen, but all the changes and measures that were supposed to cause that speedup were put into place over 9 months ago, so we should be seeing some sign of the fruits of those efforts by now.

In the past 6 months we have only moved through 16 days of LIDs; we still have 1,093 to go. China skipped a month of referrals due to the Swine Flu, then we had 2 "decent" months of referrals (6 days, which was more than we'd seen in awhile, so everyone thought it was a sign of the speedup that we were promised), but then we went back to 2-day referrals. At a time when things were supposed to be picking up, they came back to a screeching halt.

The worst part about this wait is the lack of information. We have no idea what's going on, or what's to come. All we can do is sit and wait.

BUT, we still feel sure that this is what we are meant to do. We will continue to wait, for however long it takes, until we can bring our daughter home.

Chinese Proverb

I thought this was appropriate! It's a Chinese proverb, basically their version of "The Tortoise and the Hare":

"Traveling at such a slow pace,
Do you think you can ever get there?"
A fast steed asked a lame turtle.

"Yes, as long as I keep going," said the turtle.

More Ladybugs from Japan!

We got another surprise package from my sister-in-law in Japan today! Inside we found the cutest little ladybug outfit for Caitlin, and a ladybug mug:The mug cracked us up because it was apparently translated from Japanese; written on it was (and I quote exactly from the mug): "Everyone loves ladybirds. Because it's small, colorful, and cutty". I love the grammar, but mostly we wondered what "cutty" means. We guessed probably "cuddly", although "cuddly" is not exactly the first adjective that comes to mind when describing a ladybug! I love it!

Also included in the package was what Meghan says is called a "Daruma":She says that you are supposed to make a wish, then color the right eye. When the wish comes true you can color the other eye! I don't know if we are supposed to keep the wish a secret, so I'll just say it was related to Caitlin... and we hope we can color the left eye in very soon!!

Thanks Meghan! (and Greg, and Cora!)