No News

(I wonder how many of my posts have had that same title? It does seem to be a recurring theme, doesn't it?)

Anyway, we have not heard anything. I was really, really hoping to get our TA (Travel Approval) last week, because that would have meant that we still had a chance of traveling in September- assuming, of course, that we could get a Consulate appointment. But, no such luck.

I should clarify that no one ever actually said that we would travel in September; our agency told us that our TA probably wouldn't come for 7 weeks, which would be the week of September 13th. Then there would be no way to travel and be home before October 1st, which is when we have to be out of China because that is when the country shuts down for their big holiday. But I have had the idea of traveling in September in my head since March, when we first got our referral; I knew it was possible, and I somehow assumed that if I thought enough positive thoughts and willed it to happen, the stars would align and it would work out for us. Silly me.

I heard that the Consulate in Guangzhou opened up some more appointments for September, which is great news for all those who now get to travel, but the reason behind why they opened up more appointments is actually bad news for us. Apparently they realized that October AND November were going to be very difficult for travel due to not only the Moon Festival the first week of October and the Trade Fair in Guangzhou at the end of October, but there are other festivals and such during those 2 months as well. So the Consulate opened up more appointments to try to get as many people as they could through before all the conflicts began.

But what happens to those of us who are not able to get in before the conflicts begin? Now I'm beginning to wonder: if we can't travel in September, will we have to wait until DECEMBER? Is there a chance that Caitlin will not even be home in time for Christmas? I had never even considered that to be a possibility; I had assumed that 2010 would be our first Christmas together. I really can't stand to even think about that, so I try to keep the negative thoughts out of my mind.

OK, enough gloominess and grief...

My very first adoption friend, Rochelle, told me way back at the beginning of this journey (2-1/2 years ago) something that I will never forget. I was freaking out for the first time; I mean, this was the very beginning of the process- we were just starting with the preliminary paperwork. I don't even remember what it was that had me so upset, but now that we've been through all that we've been through, I'm sure it was nothing compared to what was to come. But I was freaking out, and Rochelle wrote me that adoption is a leap of faith; if you know in your heart that it is right, then you have to close your eyes and take a leap. Rochelle, if you're reading this, you have no idea how much those words have helped me, or how many low moments they've gotten me through. Thank you!

Updated Information on Caitlin

We got some updated information on Caitlin this morning from Ann (the wonderful lady who helped us send the 2 care packages to Caitlin). Apparently Caitlin is up to 23.3 lbs. and 30.3 inches tall. This puts her pretty much smack-dab in the middle of our 12-month clothing sizes, so she's petite!

I'd set aside mostly 18-month clothes to take to China, but now I'm thinking I need to reconsider that. The International Doctor we talked to on the day we were matched back in April warned me of that even back then- she told me not to bring a lot of 18-month clothes (assuming we would travel in August-October) because she guessed Caitlin would be petite.

We didn't get any pictures this time, unfortunately.

Bad News??

I just read on Rumor Queen that the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou is backed up. This means that families are being delayed on traveling because they can't get a Consulate appointment right now.

Fantastic.

Happy Birthday, Caitlin!

OK, so maybe it's not an actual birthday, but our baby girl turned 18 months old today! I'm very sad that we were not able to celebrate with her, but hopefully we will be with her very soon. And she has a lifetime of birthdays yet to come for us to celebrate together!

Another Care Package for Caitlin

Since we still are not sure when we will be traveling, we are sending another care package to Caitlin. It is not big since we were limited on size and weight (it needed to fit in a small box, and not weigh more than 4 lbs.), but we fit in as much as we could!
I am sending it to Ann with Red Thread in China. She is the wonderful lady who sent our last care package, and got us pictures and updated information of Caitlin within days. She is wonderful! I can only get the package to the local JinJiang City post office by myself; Ann can get it directly to the orphanage's door. We decided this was the best option to ensure the package actually gets to Caitlin.

In the package we included:

*Another letter which Ann will translate for us

*A recordable book from Hallmark; Paul and I recorded ourselves reading the story which will, hopefully, help Caitlin to recognize our voices when we finally meet

*An adorable ladybug "lovey" (thank you, Auntie Julie!!)

*Cookies for the nannies

*A super cute ladybug photo album (thank you, Mandi!!),

which we filled with more pictures of our house and family. Our next-door neighbor, who is studying Mandarin, translated the pictures for us.

Caitlin

We learned last week that Caitlin may possibly have also had her palate repaired at the time of her lip repair surgery. This was unexpected, and very unusual since in China they do not usually repair children's palates until they are older. However, if it is true it's wonderful news since that is one less surgery that we will have to put Caitlin through, and the sooner the palate is repaired the less chance Caitlin will have of speech and eating difficulties.