Where Are the Referrals!?!?!?!?!?

We are expecting our referral any day now so everytime the phone rings or an email comes through, we get excited. I am expecting the referral on Monday, just because it is my mother's 65th Birthday! Let's keep our fingers crossed!! In the meantime we are still working on the baby's room. Here are some pictures:

Closer and Closer

Our referral is so close now! Everyone around us is so excited for us! The best estimates we can get is that the referrals will start coming out next week some time. Even though it has been a year since we started this whole process, it has gone pretty fast!

The baby's room is almost finished. Lisa, my sister, is coming over to paint a mural on the wall on Saturday. We are also picking up the bureau/changing table on Saturday. Hopefully the carpeting will be installed next week. I will be sure to post some pictures once the room is complete. Right now it looks like a baby warehouse!

Baby's Room Update

The room is coming along. We finished all of the painting last weekend and picked out carpeting. The room is pinkish/lavender so we chose a pearl gray carpet. Hopefully the carpeting will be installed next week. My sister Lisa, is coming on Saturday to start the mural painting. She is going to do a tree in one corner and then we are going to stencil some butterflies, ladybugs and other nature characters on the walls. Once we get that done, we can finally start to set up the room!!

Officially in the Matching Room!

We got an email yesterday from our agency that said we are officially in the Matching Room. The Matching Room is where the CCAA matches the baby with the parents! We have probably been there for a while, but now at least it is official.

Our agency also sent us our "Referral Packet". This is loaded with information with stuff we have to do to get ready for referral. This is sure to keep me busy!! I love lists!

God willing our referral will come by the end of August! This past year went so fast!

More tomorrow.

Well It is Finally August!

August is here! This is the month we are supposed to receive our referral. It was one year ago yesterday that we were accepted by our agency, Great Wall http://www.gwca.org, to start the process of adopting from China! It really doesn't feel like a year. We were kept busy gathering our paper work and doing everything you need to do with it. Time seemed to go really fast.

We are also one step closer to getting the baby's room done. Yesterday we primed and painted the closet. Tonight we are supposed to stop at a carpeting store to look at what they have and hopefully pick something out. Once the carpeting is installed, we can finally start setting everything up!

More tomorrow.

Referral Time Is Getting Closer!!!

I can't believe it.. after all these months, we can finally say our referral is almost here! It is always hard to tell how the CCAA will run, but we should be getting our referral sometime in August! We still have so much to do to get ready. The baby's room isn't finished: we need to paint the closet and get a new carpet, and, buy some clothes! We can't buy clothes until we know the baby's size and age!!! I guess we go from being excited to nervous all in the same day. I know everything will work out in the end!

Main Table!

Basket of Favors!

Candle Centerpiece

Friends & Family

Friends & Family

Beautiful Travel Dress

Little Dress

More Gifts

Opening Gifts....continuted

Opening Gifts

Cake

Doll with Homemade Outfit

Surprise Baby Shower

Well, my family surprised me with my baby shower on Saturday, May 28! They held the shower at the Rose Briar restaurant in Holmesburg, Philadelphia! The shower was so beautiful! We had a lovely meal! The favors were chocolate covered fortune cookies with a little silver lady bug charm tied with a "It's A Girl" Ribbon! Guy and I got so many beautiful gifts for the baby. We are blessed to have such a wonderful family and good friends! I will try to post some pictures of the shower!

Chocolate Covered Fortune Cookie Favor from My Baby Shower