Ages ago...before Claire came home...I stumbled upon some bloggers who used every Thursday to post about something they were thankful for. I thought, "What a great idea!" And then promptly went off and did something else. Since I do tend to get distracted by all things shiny, I've decided to dedicate my Thursdays in November as Thankful Thursdays.

I would like to spend my first Thankful Thursday thanking all those who helped to bring my two beloved daughters into my life. I know I'm going to miss somebody...if I do you have my permission to smack me the next time you see me.

First up is God...because He is the one who coordinated this giant insert your own expletive here that involved two governments, more government agencies than you could shake a stick at, an adoption agency, numerous law enforcement personnel, and enough other humans to make your head spin.

Thank you to the Wadsworth Police Department and everyone that ran background checks, fingerprinted, and of course for me, fingerprinted again, wrote letters, and were just plain helpful and decent no matter how many times we had to ask them to do it again. You rock.

Thanks also to our fire department who had to come out and inspect our home to make sure it was safe for two baby girls to live in. Again, the same sweet man came both times and was NOTHING but gracious, polite, and friendly.

To all those who prayed us through that part of our journey...too many to mention...and I'm sure some I don't even know about. Somehow saying Thank You doesn't seem enough.

To my Jennifer...who I've thanked before...and she usually just tells me to shut up...but I'm going to do it again. I would NOT have my girls if it wasn't for her. I grew up in a home where being different was "bad". If you didn't share the same beliefs, ideologies, and skin color, you didn't exist, were looked upon as nuts, or otherwise made fun of or mocked. Thank you precious girl for opening my eyes and showing me that none of that matters when you truly love someone...and I love you!

To all those who wrote letters of reference for us...in no certain order other than how I am remembering them at the moment! Larry and Jackie, Bonnie and Brad, Holly and Dave, Carol and Donald, Kevin, Lily, Patricia, Carol and Tom, Jean, and Helen.

A SPECIAL thanks to Bonnie, Helen, and Holly for NEVER asking where we were in the process. Instead they always said that they knew if something new had happened I'd let them know. They were right.

Dena...our angel of a social worker...thank you for taking what Garry and I both thought would be a nerve-racking situation and making it downright pleasant. You are a treasure and I'm so glad that TPTB assigned YOU to our family.

To dear Fred and Doris for notarizing every single piece of important paperwork we needed to bring those girls home...for free. And to Fred for making sure Claire made it home safely...from his patio...in Heaven.

Judge John J. Lohn and everyone at our county courthouse. Wow...you know even after satisfying two governments we had to readopt both of our girls for the state of Ohio? Both Garry and I have been raised to believe that if you have to go to court, you have done something bad...and that's how we felt going into the whole situation. Yet Judge Lohn immediately put us at ease and made BOTH times stress-free. Shoot, he was giving the girls M&M's the last time!

To Carol and Helen for taking care of both Hope and ME while Garry was in China and for always being there in an emergency when we need someone to watch both girls.

To Tom for keeping the driveway clear of several feet of ice and snow...during both trips.

To the incredible people we encountered in China who were so very happy that our girls were going to have a good home. Some of these amazing folks couldn't speak a single word of English but they let us know nonetheless that they approved!

And finally, to my girls' birth mothers. I think of them both so often...how they must wonder where the girls are...if they were adopted...if they are loved...if they are still alive... These women did what they have been taught to do for centuries. It seems wrong and horrible in our eyes...but what they were doing was giving those two precious souls a chance at something better. I've said it before...you can't tell me that their hearts weren't shattering into a million pieces as they walked away from those two perfect, wiggling little angels. You just can't. Both of my girls were placed in busy, populated areas on busy streets. Their birth mothers WANTED them to be found and taken care of. Thank you with my entire being...the gifts you have given me can never be repaid.

Until next Thursday!

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...