I've been thinking and praying a lot about the different ways families are formed. Our family's future is being stitched together by God through birth family, social workers, loving nannies, governments, judges, and notaries. Thank you to every one who is helping us and praying for us down the road to grow a family.
Today I received the e-mail from our agency that I've been waiting for. The conservative estimate is that it will be two to four more months for our referral of a healthy infant girl. The storks have been delivering a lot of baby boys lately, so the "blue list" has been moving much more quickly than the "pink list." This news is pretty much exactly what I expected to hear.
I first heard of Bubble Tea (also called Boba tea) while reading a Taiwan adoption blog. (Obviously, I do a lot of that nowadays.) Anyway, I've always wanted to try it, and decided to order an at home kit that we'll make when we celebrate our referral. Never heard of bubble tea or boba tea before?According to Wikipedia: Bubble tea is a tea beverage that originated in Taiwan in the 1980s. The term "bubble" refers to the tapioca balls in the drink. These chewy tapioca balls, or "pearls," are consumed along with the beverage through a wide straw. Bubble tea is extremely popular in Asia, California, and Canada.I've purchased two bubble tea kits, one for our family, and one for the gift basket for the winner in our "guess our referral date" game. That way, you can celebrate along with us from wherever you are. You'll have everything you need for a little bubble tea party: flavored mixes, two kids of tapioca balls, special cups, and wide straws.
I called our agency this week. All families are supposed to be getting updates soon. I've read on message boards that there's been a lot of infant boy referrals lately. That could push our time line back a little bit. We'll see. The waiting stage now is fine. I'm sure it's much worse for families after referral when you have those baby pictures and just want to hop on an airplane now to go see her/him and kiss those sweet baby cheeks.
The polls will close at midnight this Monday, June 25th in the "guess our referral date" game. I've made a calendar that you can click on to see where everyone's guesses fall. Just click on the image to see a larger size. I'll post a picture of the prize after the polls close... but let's just say it contains a bottle of wine and other food goodies from Indiana, and a children's book with a Taiwan theme. Something for adults and little ones! If you can't figure out how to post a message in the comments section (That's you, Dana! *haha*), then send me an e-mail at journeytohannahclaire@gmail.com and I'll add your date to the calendar. Locals can just tell me at work too. You know where to find me at work this weekend!
"No licks!" is a phrase that you'll hear around our house a lot these days. We're trying to break Sedona of her licking obsession. She doesn't lick herself, just people. She'll lick your toes, your face, your ankle, your hand, and even the pillow that you sleep on because it smells like you. If you lay down on the floor, she thinks it's time for a "lick fest" and that you laid down just so that she could lick you all over. I really don't want our baby learning to crawl, walk, etc. to be subjected to these "lick fests." Sedona is really a good little dog, minus the never ending supply of kisses. We're just too well loved by our dog. Suggestions welcome.
Our next door neighbors have four wiener dogs. Well, they did have four daschunds until yesterday when Moo their long-haired had four puppies, three girls and a boy... now totaling eight wiener dogs under one roof. Moo's a first time mother and freaked out a little bit when she went into labor, but those mothering instincts kicked in full gear between delivering puppy 1 and puppy 2. She cleaned them all up and is very protective, growling when the other adult dogs come near their pen. Moo hates going outside to do her business, wanting back into the house and back to her babies right now! What's really interesting is that Annabelle, one of the other dogs, is pregnant too. Annabelle has a huge belly, and should be due in a few weeks. Annabelle wants Moo's babies. Annabelle would steal them if she could... wanting to run off with Moo's babies and mother them. What do breeding wiener dogs have to do with adoptions from Taiwan? I'm not sure... but I found their behavior pretty interesting! I haven't started barking at other people's children wanting to carry them off in my mouth... yet. And if you know anyone that wants a daschund puppy, let me know!
We went out to dinner last week with a family with two cuties from China, ages 4 and 5. The little girls wanted to go to the local Chinese buffet. We discovered that both of our families are very fortunate to developed great friendships with the owner, Susan. My favorite parts of the evening involved talking with their youngest. She told me, "I like Tigers! Roarrrrrr!" and showed me her tiger claws. I asked the girls if they helped their mommy out at home. Here's the reply: "Yes." What do you do? "We polish the floors." Oh, really? Do you do them by hand or help mommy with a machine? She gives me a funny look and replies, "We don't use our hands, we use a cloth!"
I would like to dedicate the 100th post of our adoption blog to my husband and best friend, Kevin. You're going to be such a great dad to our child. Sedona and I love you!
In order to play, just post a date as a comment to this post with the date that you've selected as the big day. If you don't have a blogger account, be sure you leave your name and e-mail address. I will send a special care package prize to the person who selects the closest date. Entries must be submitted in the next two weeks, by June 25th. No cash value, and need not be present to win. (joke) I'll e-mail you to let you know that you've won, and to get your snail mail (real) address to send you your prize.
This is it, the Hannah Banana onesie. Well, Gymboree calls it Monkey Island - Tropical Monkey bodysuit, but I know it's really the Hannah Banana onesie that they made just for me. It's inevitable that anyone named Hannah will be called "Hannah Banana", right? How many words can you think of that rhyme with Hannah? I've been wanting some clothing with bananas on it too. Even better... my dad used to turn my plain white 70s disposable diapers into my "monkey pants" with little Sharpie marker and a whole lot of humor. I have a feeling that Grandpa Roy still has talent to make more pairs of monkey pants for Hannah Claire.
I've been thinking a lot about our daughter... at the stop light, as I lie in bed trying to go to sleep at night, and as I pull grassy weeds that creep into the mulch. Has she been born into this world? It's likely... but maybe not quite yet. I look at cans of formula at the grocery store and wonder what kind she's eating... milk based, soy? Does she have reflux and spit up a lot? What does her birth name mean? What things do her nannies whisper into her ear and sing to her as they comfort her cries?
