I just love watching those pregnancy tickers. Congratulations on making it to six weeks! For me that was always a turning point. My six week motto is, "Let the puking begin!" Here's to a puke free pregnancy for you!


I know I haven't posted much lately. Things have been so very, very crazy here. Jerry mailed in his grad school application Monday. We are so excited that he is getting to do this! They are talking with him as if the application is more of a formality at this point, but I guess he could still get rejected. That would really stink.

While he's been putting all of that together, I've been filling out the application for our adoption and getting tons of information to see if it is feasible or not. Have you ever tried to get a hold of a live person at the immigration customer service line? If you never have, you should try just for kicks! I have a feeling that there are actually no live people working at immigration. It's just a theory, but I have talked to a few others who have the same theory, too... Over the weekend, Jerry and I decided that if we are really going to adopt a little girl from China, we'd rather do it sooner than later. We really have no interest in putting off starting what is a three year process any longer. But because of the qualification that your youngest child has to be at least 12 months old at the time the dossier is logged in China, we either have to get the dossier done before this baby is born, or wait until this baby is 7 months old to begin the whole process. I prayed over the weekend that God would pave the way for me to find out whether all the things we have to get done that are out of our control are actually possible in our time frame or not. I made a list of all the agencies I would have to call to ask timeline questions to, and got on the phone Monday morning. I called our insurance company, the home study agency, immigration, my doctor (I have to have a letter from him to send in with my application), and the vet. Okay, so the vet isn't for the adoption, but it had to be done. The really cool thing was that I got a live person, without even waiting on hold, at each place I called. I got all of my answers and in every case, it was the best possible answer I could have hoped for. I actually got an appointment with my doctor that afternoon - and not an "I'm so sick I'm going to have to go to the ER if I cannot come in and see you today!" appointment. Just a non-sick, I need a letter typed up appointment! After all my phone calls, I called our agency to talk it over with the lady I have been working with there. I let her know everything I had found out and the time lines I had been given. She felt that if we began right away and were diligent, we could get it done before our due date - and with time to spare. I wish there wasn't actually a qualification that the youngest child in the household be at least 12 months old to qualify to adopt in China, but there is. I think it is possible. The agency we are working with, CCAI, also thinks that it is possible based on the answers I got through all those phone calls. So, before we chicken out, we signed the application tonight and wrote the check for the application fee and it is off to the post office tomorrow! Now the praying begins... We really feel like God has opened up every door. Everyone we have talked to has been super supportive and had only good things to say to us about the idea. We both have peace, although we are understandably nervous. Our children want us to go right now and get her! We need prayer that things go smoothly and quickly. We need prayers that my baby stays inside me until the dossier has made it to China. We need prayers that God continues to provide for us financially so that we can pay for the adoption. We need prayers that I won't be a nervous wreck wondering if all the paperwork will come in on time. And we need prayers that God will work out all the details so that the little girl who is supposed to be our daughter (who isn't even born yet, or probably even thought of by her mother yet) will be ready for us when our dossier comes to the top of the stack in China. I'll update this as each step happens. The next step is actually getting accepted by CCAI. And then the fun begins...