Sunday, September 11, 2005

Thank you...

God for blessing us with one perfect precious daughter of China and the promise of one more.

Bonnie, Helen, & Holly for not asking us every time you see us if we've heard something new. We so appreciate your "I know if you hear something you'll tell us" attitude.

Everyone who takes the time to check in on the blog and let me know you've done so.

For those, strangers or not, who feel the need to ask us questions or offer comments of a deeply personal nature...it is from these encounters that we are learning GRACE!

1. "Don't you want to have 'one of your own'?" and "Aren't you pregnant...well you look like you are!" I combine these because they came from the same person. Hope is our own...we aren't babysitting or just marking time...she is our very own daughter sent from God Himself. The pregnant comment bothered me immensely...but then I had someone tell me this last week that I looked too thin so I guess it's all in one's perception.
2. "What mix is she?" Thankfully this one was not said to me because I would've said, "German Shepherd and Golden Retriever."
3. "She's just a big toy." I have no smart remark for this one...I'm still working on it.
4. "You're doing such a noble thing saving these children." We are not saving them, they are saving us. Yes, Hope was living in a children's welfare institute. We had a chance to visit this wonderful place and meet the incredible staff members. If she couldn't be with her birth mother, and she couldn't be with me, THAT is exactly where I'd want her to be. I believe it was our neighbor, Theresa, who also has a beautiful daughter of China, who said it best. She said, "Some of us are lucky enough to have our families close-by. However, some of us need to travel a little farther to complete the family God has chosen for us." That's what we are doing dear friends...we are not saving Hope or Claire...they are saving us from a lifetime without their smiles, laughter, tears, and the sound of their little voices saying, "Mama! Daddy!"
5. "How do you know there's not something wrong with her?" My response, "How would we know that there wasn't something wrong with any biological child we might have?"
6. "When are you going to get Claire?" This one, perhaps is the one that strangely bothers me the most. We don't know. There is no way of knowing. We knew 5-6 weeks before we traveled for Hope I can only imagine it will be the same with Claire. We were told we would wait 12 months for a referral with Hope and it was 8. We've been told we will wait 6 months for a referral with Claire. It could be 4...it could be 6...it could be 8...it could me 12 or more. It will be when God knows Claire is ready and not before...hey! I like that answer! Our precious friend Holly said it very well this morning at church when she said, "It must be like being pregnant and being way past your due date." Exactly...we don't know...we appreciate your interest and I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but we don't know.
7. Right after that one comes, "Well what's your best guess?" Please see response for previous question.

For the online message boards that are brimming with information. These are truly a double edged sword. I've joined a half a dozen or so all having to do with adopting from China. Quite often I find wonderful tips, information, sources...you name it for just about anything having to do with China, adoption, post adoption issues etc. I recently joined an August DTC group. As you remember we are August 9th DTC (documents to China). Many, many people in the group have started posting their LID's (log in dates). In some ways it is very funny and in just as many ways sad...China has no more rhyme or reason of doing things than does the U.S. government where this process is concerned. I have no idea what our LID is yet as we haven't been notified. We were told it would be somewhere from 10-14 days after our documents were received in China. I am seeing people on this board with DTC dates within 1-2 days on either side of ours who have received their official LID's. Some are 10-14 days after their DTC; some are 3-4 weeks after their DTC; one person's LID was the DAY AFTER her DTC. I'm going to stop reading these boards for awhile, let God do what He does best, and enjoy my life with my family!

Until next time...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The answer to "She's just a big toy" Is a very heartfelt "Oh NO!, She's a real live human being!"

Most of what I get is that she is just a doll, but it works for that as well.

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