The Journey So Far
Welcome to our China Adoption Diary.
We wanted to keep an online blog of our journey so far. Lots of updates and comments to come!
To leave, or view, comments please click on the comments link below this post. Scroll down to see the most recent comments and the 'Leave a Comment' form.
Thanks,
Audrey and Doug Schell
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About Us
- Doug and Audrey
- My husband and I live in Ontario, Canada. I work as an advanced practice nurse and my husband, Doug, works as a foreman for the waste water plant for the local town. We live on a lively farm that we love. We are living life with our beautiful children. We have formed our family through adoption. Many thanks to our family and friends for their support. We have all been caught up in this amazing journey. Life has brought us together and love will carry us home!
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Map of China
60 COMMENTS:
Dear Mary.
My name is Kim and I am going to be your big sister. I will teach you all the tricks to drive dad crazy and get what you want. Lol. But on a serious note you are one very loved little girl and we don't even know you yet!!! Can't wait to meet you!
Love your big sister Kim
as much as the sky
Well today the CCAA has matched to April 21, 2006. This is four days closer to our beloved Mary. The Ministry wants another letter of approval so the paper chase starts all over! Somehow it doesn't seem like it was four years ago that we did this. Today we got a letter from our agency reminding us to update our letter. Ha, I guess they are really paying attention after all. Maybe this is our year! Lots of people waiting here. Come on China lets get these beautiful children into homes where they can be loved and cherished as all children deserve to be cherished!
June 19, 2010
This week we start vacation. Lots to do. Sent an email to Elly our social worker to update our home study. Fingerprints have been sent again. Medicals are done. Seems we are still healthy and criminal record free so onwards with the adoption. The Adopt Talk website is suggesting that the June 2006 referrals will likely start in October. We will be near the end with a June 22, 2006 log in date. I am expecting something near to December or early in 2011. I hope that you are safe and happy little Mary. I can hardly wait to touch your face and tell you how I have waited all my life for this moment. I promise to be the best mother you could ever hope for. Stay safe little one. We pray for you every night. Soon we will meet eachother.
This is just a quick update as we now have matching completed to May 23, 2006. The predictions are for our referral in Jan, Feb or March 2011. Likely travel will be in May or June 2011. The process has been very slow yet now I feel a bit overwhelmed with what is yet to be done. Need to strip wall paper in the baby's room and paint it. We will not know if we need a crib or a bed until the time of referral. So far lots of books and stuffed toys laying around. What does a baby/child need? Travelling in unfamiliar territory here! No worries though....Father says he has been down this road and not to get anxious. What we don't have we will buy. Easy for him to say....I don't know what I don't know and that is what makes me anxious. Control freak speaking here. Dear Mary, if you only knew how much commotion you are causing right now. You may not be dancing in my belly but you are dancing in my head and I am not sure which is worse! I bought you a white fur hat with two pom pom balls hanging down. It is so cute and I hope that you are able to wear it next winter. Somewhere you are sitting waiting, completely unaware of the plans I have or the things I hope to do with you. Stay safe little one, we love you and will come for you soon! Love Mom. Wow! Can you believe it?!
Well little one....it will soon be Christmas and not much happening here. I have some paperwork to do today and I hope to get our Passports updated in the New Year. The Rumor Queen site has no new news today so not expecting referrals yet. Any day now we hope to hear that the referrals are out and hopefully we will close off the year with May 2006 all matched. If we start into June 2006 in January we will hope to see our referral in the next four months. Lots of snow today. Yesterday we went to the cabin and sat by the wood stove. Nice and warm with the dogs all having a great time in the woods. Next year you will be with us! This is our last Christmas without you so we will enjoy the alone time with a nice dinner on Christmas Eve, a candle light church service with communion and then Christmas Day in the Cabin in the bush. I am setting my mind up to enjoy this time before the chaos. Soon life will be forever changed and THE JOURNEY will really begin. Merry Christmas little angel. May peace and happiness find you. We will be there soon to carry you home.
Happy New Year!
2011 will be our year..........God willing, no change in China adoption policy, natural disaster or impending war. We hope for a referral in the early spring. March would be nice! Chop, chop...things to do here. I bought a little kitchen activity center for you Mary. Will you be too young or too old to appreciate it? It has the little stove burners that light up red and make a boiling sound when you turn it on! What fun we will have "cooking" together. I also bought a Chinese cookbook with authentic recipes from the Holiday Inn in China. They should know how to cook. The book is not too big and everything is set out so beautifully. I wonder if we will see anything like it on our trip. I am not an adventurer when it comes to food so I will mostly eat the rice. Winter has set in and there is not much fun in trudging through the snow. No point in winter cold once Christmas is over. We spent Christmas day in the cabin and had cabbage rolls heated on the wood stove. It was a fun day but would have been better if it had been warmer and sunny. Next year you will be able to see our big tree and all of the ornaments that I have collected over the past thirty years. We will have to start a collection for you! Hugs and kisses baby girl. I hope that you are warm and full of holiday goodies. Your New Year is coming up soon. We will have to celebrate twice a year from here on in. Lots of holidays together. Love you little one.....Mom
Well last week I delivered the passport application with the updated photos to the passport office. My my my have I changed over the years. When I first applied my hair was really curly in a spiral perm. Now it is poker straight and very long and blond...always blond! The passports will arrive in about a week I was told. This past weekend I completed our 2009 income tax! Yeah....now all the paperwork is up to date and ready for inspection. Seems the referrals are slow out of the gate for 2011. No news yet or even hints of any rumors of referrals. We all are waiting with anxious anticipation of wondering if there will big leaps ahead in dates or the slow progress of two or three days at a time. I would be happy with one week leaps but do not expect anything at this point. Still stuck at referrals matched to May 29th 2006. Come on June lets go! It will be nice to have some indication of if we will be travelling in the summer or fall. Dad wants it to be cool weather but I think it will likely be a summer trip. Time will tell. Right now I would walk through the fires of Hades to get little Mary and Father will have to just put up with a bit of heat and humidity. We got a lovely CD from another family in our Group 268 at Christmas. It is a collection of "anticipation of joy" music. Lots of warm feelings and a few tears shed over some really moving lyrics. How wonderful to be thought of and supported by those who walk this wait with us. Mary you will be "Blessed" and loved by many people who are there supporting us and you as we form a unique family of our own. Friends and family are following along on our journey......can you feel the commotion Mary? Thoughts of you are fluttering through the air carried on the wind of destiny. Who, where, when all jumbled and tumbled up in my mind. Carried along in the moment. Five years of moments strung together. Five years of hoping, thinking, wondering, and fearing the wonder of motherhood. Will we bond? Will you attach? Will we enjoy each other's company. Will I love you? Will you love me? Will you be your Father's pride and joy? I know that no child has ever had this much thought, concern and worry generated in a mothers mind prior arrival. Such a huge responsibility. Such a wonderful anticipation of joy. Little Mary if you only could know what lies before you as you sleep in your little crib. Sweet dreams little one. Mom thinks of you every moment of every day!
Good news..Passports arrived on Thursday.....Bad news the Adopt Talk Website says that referrals are not likely to be sent till after the Chinese New Year mid February. How slow can they go. There are only three groups ahead of us now and it will take forever for them to move at this pace. Group 264 have arrived back home with their babies. We are group 268 and have to wait for three ahead of us. Our agency has groups logged in for May 30 (next batch of referrals), June 6, June 14, and us June 22! We are patiently waiting while nerves start to fray around us! One step ahead of the other. Breath in breath out. It will happen. It will happen. It will happen.
Good news! WE ARE INTO JUNE!!!!!!! We have referrals matched to June 2, 2006! There was speculation that there would not be any referrals mailed until after the Chinese New Year but they started making calls the end of last week. We now have only two groups ahead of us as May 30th saw another group from our agency get their match. The wait this time was for two months so matching of four days took two months of time. Rather grim stats I am afraid. I think that the non-special needs adoption from China may be on the decline. The trend is for more special needs adoptions. This is not such a bad thing since these children would not likely find homes in China. We are glad that our wait is near the end. Hang in there folks. This will happen and it just has to be this year! Hoping for a late spring or early summer referral. Motherhood is just around the corner. I can smell the dirty diapers! Father said that today he was feeling the excitement. Another chance to put some feet firmly on the ground. Do you have any idea little Mary how much you will rock our world? We are feeling you in our hearts. Blessings baby girl..I hope you are sleeping soundly tonight. In the distance do you feel us reaching out to you? Do you feel the little kisses on your head? Soon baby girl...soon you will never have to be alone. We will be a family.
Yikes!!!!! Without any warning the CCAA has sent another batch of referrals out. This is only three weeks since the last batch. We are matched up to June 9, 2006! WE ARE THIRTEEN MATCHING DAYS AWAY FROM OUR BABY!!!! Doug was so excited last night that he opened a bottle of wine. I can hardly keep my eyes off the posted pictures of the babies on the Adopt Talk website. They are all about a year old! One couple unexpectedly got a son. What would we do? Everything I have bought is PINK.....really.....PINK. I have white furry hats and white furry coats. I have baby girl clothes and toys and dreams of ballerina's. What will we do? I hope that we get a girl. Five years of thinking girl. I cannot control any of this and today I feel like I am hanging on to the tail end of a kite! Last night we talked with Tyler about a second name for his little sister. He likes Christine. Funny as that was one of my earlier choices. Mary Christine Schell? Maybe. Sounds nice. We will wait for the Chinese name to see if we can incorporate it into her Canadian name. Oh how the slow movement of time speeds up when you near the finish line! Last night I lay awake thinking of the responsibility. Has anyone else spent this much time planning for panrenthood? I worry about the paperwork and all of the things connected to the China trip. I must start a list to make sure that we do not forget anything! Hang on baby girl we will be there soon.
Well I have contacted our agency to see if we have to get anything else done before the trip. I faxed the Immigration information and confirmation of fees paid and WE ARE READY TO GO. Now we wait for the referral, send the information to the government and book our flight when we get confirmation of our appointments. We will be getting our package of what documents we have to take to China this week. Then we can start to pack, repack and pack again. The Rumour Queen says that March referrals should take us to June 14th and April to June 21st. That means we will have to wait till May for our referral. Hopefully she is a bit off and we get ours in April but I will count on May just to keep my heart still! Once we see Mary's little face we will decide on the decor of her room. Not sure if a nursery will be required, Disney princess theme or Justin Bieber! Dear Mary somewhere you sit unaware of what is happening. Even though we do not know you yet, we know that your life will change along with ours. Sunday your Dad and I went skating! I have not been on skates for 20 years but I will be ready to teach you. That is my job. I am your Mom and I will teach to to skate, to ride your pony, to sew on buttons, bake cookies, braid your hair and how to use an iron for your clothes. Most of all I want to teach you to be kind, to love animals, to appreciate our wonderfully created home......earth, to respect yourself, other people and to be a friend to those who need one. Your Dad will teach you how to fix things, ride a bike, drive a car, play music, and to sing what is in your heart. Oh yea and he can teach you math! Yikes! For now little one sleep tight. We are your parents and it is our job to make sure that your needs will be met and that you will be ready to meet the world. Hopefully the world will be ready for you! We will see you soon little one. Butterfly kisses on your cheek.
Won't be long now! Sending hugs So excited! Joyce
Well dear little one we have more action happening! Last week Children's Bridge sent out the information packages of what is to happen when we get our referral for you. We have to meet with the social worker and our family physician to see if we have any questions. Then we send our acceptance back and get more paperwork to chase down! Visa pictures and then more waiting for the travel authorization to be sent. It is taking up to three months from the time of referral to when we actually travel. We are hoping for a May referral with travel in July but it may be a bit later from what I am hearing from them. I also asked about the age of the children and they said that some of the referrals were actually older than what the Ministry letter of approval was for. I guess when that happens they have to get another letter of approval sent with the age range old enough to be able to accept the referral. Hopefully that will not happen in our case as we are approved up to 36 months and we do not expect any referral much older than that. Apparently they have spoken to the CCAA and advised them that this does cause problems on our end so hopefully they will stick to what is accepted. I also now have a breakdown of what will happen in China from the time we purchase the tickets, when we arrive and when to expect the actual handing over of your care. Be still my heart! I feel more confident that we can do this as it was very nerve wracking to try to "plan" with no information. I am more confident of the next twenty years of being a mother than I am of the trip to China! Not much of a foreign traveler I'm afraid. I hate all of the anxiety of airports, fear of losing paperwork and missing connecting flights. Hopefully all this worry is for naught and we will enjoy a wonderful holiday with our new baby girl. Sweet dreams little one you will soon be waking to greet the day and we are about to lay our heads down. Kisses little Mary xoxo
Here we are waiting, waiting, waiting. Nothing, de nadda, Ho hum. We went to an information night last evening with the Children and family services of Chatham. A very good and informative night. We may look into fostering more children once Mary is home. More home inspections, police checks and medicals. Yesh you would think we had "passed" the test enough times already! There are no rumours of anything happening in China. We were hoping for a March "batch" of referrals and yet we are hearing nothing about matching having started. This means that maybe next week they will start to match and then in April they will send them out. Not very hopeful for anything to happen this month. It is very cold and we had a snow storm two nights ago. Seems spring and Mary do not want to come yet. Patience is not one of my virtues I am afraid! Making good use of my time reading about attachment disorders and hope for an easy transition to parenthood. Hopefully we will hear something soon! Warm days ahead Mary. I hope you are settling down for a peaceful sleep. Love you. Mom
One more day in March and still no news. Rumour Queen says that they have reviewed files to September 2010. I remember when our file was "reviewed" and we passed the scrutiny of the Chinese Government. How happy we were to be accepted. It seemed that our journey to Mary was almost over. That was four and a half years ago! Now that we are almost there......months away from seeing her face, it seems incredulous that people are still applying to adopt from China even though the wait could be seven years. My hope is that they have finished the reviewing of files and now are on to the matching! Either way we should have some news of referrals in the next few weeks. It will be a very long summer if they only send out referrals every two months. I expect there will be toys under the Christmas tree this year. The next group with our agency is logged in for June 14th and then we are next with a date of June 22, 2006. I will never forget the significance of that date! It is like a special anniversary. Pleasant dreams little Mary we will soon be there. Butterfly kisses on your cheek. Mom
Hip, hip, hurray! This morning it is posted that the matching has been completed up to June 15, 2006! That was a six day leap ahead! If they do a seven day next month we are in! This means that Group 267 will be getting their calls today!!!!! Now there are no more groups ahead of us with our agency. We are NEXT! We are so excited. I am so nervous that my stomach is flipping and I am not even getting the call! Oh happy day, oh happy day, oh happy day....this tune is stuck in my head. Glory be Mary, can you feel the excitement rising! We are family! Soon baby, soon!
We might be next, we might be next, we might be next.....Can you see me skipping around with my Easter basket. I have never felt so much like hopping around. I might be late, I might be late for an important date. All these cartoon character voices in my head. This seems surreal. I cannot believe that it is happening. It seems like we are in slow mode while spinning down a tunnel at warp speed. We are so happy, happy, happy and any one who doesn't feel it can just take a flying leap. Mary we are coming and you will be blessed. All that has ever been before will be changed. You will be loved as the precious gift of God that you are. You will have parents, siblings, a home of your own and all that you need to grow into a fine lovely woman. We are family. Kisses in the wind coming at you! Love Mom
Well Mary Sunday we are going to a travel seminar put on by Children's Bridge in Mississauga. We went about three years ago but feel that an update is in order. Things may have changed and I would feel better knowing exactly what we have to do, what to expect and not last or least, I really want to meet the people who will be here in Canada who can help us if in some way we get into difficulty. Today I bought two lady bugs for my charm bracelet. One little one, that is you ie the little bugger and one big one, that is me an even bigger bugger! Only kidding!!!!! You will find Mary that your Mother has a rather irreverent sense of humour. Every once in a while you have to drop a few jaws. I hope that you will absorb some of my sense of good natured, harmless, naughty fun! We will cause a few ripples! Me having reached the age where I could care a less what people think of me and you, hopefully a willing pupil. I will teach you many things little one.....some I may have to pay for but for sure ones that I will never regret. You go girl, the world is yours, lets see what you can do! Never surrender! Stand up for what you believe, believe in what you stand for and question everything you are told. Never accept things on face value and value the face of honesty. Your Dad will tell you to always look behind the curtain for the truth. For now though dear child....be a baby. We will protect you and love you until your little wings will carry you forward. Do not grow up too fast! I have waited forever to see your face and to look into your eyes. We are family! Next month may be the first time our eyes see what we have always known and carried in our hearts. Good-night sweet baby girl. We love you forever. Mom xo
The seminar was great! Lots of tips on what to expect and what to take. There was a couple there with their little girl "Jenney". She was as cute as can be and apparently had a cleft lip/pallet that had been repaired. The surgeon in China should apply for a job in Hollywood! No evidence at all of the surgery and what a beautiful ball of energy! We were very happy that we went as it cleared up some questions on what currency we needed, what to prepare ahead and even what formula to take. Assuming of course that Mary will need it. We will have to see what in fact age we are dealing with so that we can be prepared. Travel tip.....do not open the pack of diapers before you travel as they will explode into a much larger size and will be harder to pack and take up more room. Who knew that! Warnings about what bottles to take and to also pack sippy cups in case they will not take the bottle. Lots of good practical information. Also personal stories about Jenney only wanting to be with Dad and how crushed Mom was...waiting all those years to have a daughter who only wanted to be with Dad. Heart breaking to hear but of course happy endings. I made up my mind to enjoy the trip and if Doug has the pleasure of carrying Mary all through China in 40 degree heat.....oh well...good for him. Will also have to get an accordian folder labeled with all the paperwork filed for easy access. Too much paper to have to sort throught under pressure. Good tips and lots of information. Information is power and we are ready to go! Sit tight Mary...somewhere the finger of fate is ready to touch us all. The stack of files may be landing on someone's desk as I write this note. Soon baby, soon, you will find out who your parents will be. We love you girl and we "don't even know your name". Spring is in the air. New beginnings, new life springing forth, perfect timing for our little girl to arrive. Love you baby Mary!
Ahhhhhhh, I hate this middle of the batch place. Too early for referrals and nothing to look forward to. I always hope that if it takes a long time for matching that it will mean that the batch will be bigger! You would think that after five years I would learn. It really isn't the number of days that counts so much as the number of families that are waiting in that time period. It will likely not be till the second week of May that we hear anything about referrals, but it is rather hard not to obsess about what is happening, how far the matching will go and weather we will be included. I HATE THIS MIDDLE OF THE BATCH TIME PERIOD!!!!!! Every day I turn on the computer knowing I will be let down but cannot help myself. It is what the Rumor Queen followers call the "roller coaster ride"....hand on here we go again! I cannot imagine how those who have files logged in years after ours can feel knowing that their wait may be up to seven or eight years. No one can bear it. I am sure that by the time you have had parenthood elude you for years and then finally deciding to adopt and then the wait for seven years....unbearable! Our prayers are sent to those who wait in faith. You have to have the belief that it will happen some day. Anything can happen though to spin you off the rails. Who could have seen what is happening in the Middle East or the tragic events in Japan. I cannot even remember all that happened over the past five years but I pray that nothing will happen in the next few months to cause turmoil in China. Pray for peace, pray for climatic calm and stability of the earths geological plates. May the forces of nature stand still in anticipation of our great event! If everything rises up into chaos and turmoil upon our return home with our child so be it.....but for now dear God....."peace be still"! Tip toes across your heart Mary, we do not want to disturb anything till you are safe at home in our arms! Love you little lady bugger! xoxo on your toes and on your nose.
Dear Mary....yesterday we came to an agreement for your second name. I had wanted Angeliene but your Dad was not hot on it. The children next door want Lyn because they have nicknamed me "Lynical". Yesterday I remembered that my earlier choices were "Arwyn" or "Arden"......so we will name you MARY ARLYN SCHELL. When I told your Dad that name, he said that was it, without hesitation. He took to it right away and will likely call you Mary 'darlin when you are being good. He has a friend at church that he calls Marggie 'darlin so it comes naturally to him. We will still look to incorporate your Chinese name in some way but you will be our precious Mary Arlyn. I am off for two days to prepare for Easter. Lots of things to do here. I hope that you are well and maybe, just maybe our files are lifted from the piles and on someone's desk right now. Dear child may God move and guide the social worker in China to make our lives become one. The choice is HIS and the worker is simply the vessel chosen to place the files together. The choice will be perfect. Blessings for Easter dear one. We will see you soon. Love Mom
Well everyone another Easter is over and we only have a little bit of turkey to finish off. This year we only had Kim, Greg and the kids as Tyler had a wedding to go to. We had great weather despite the forecast and were able to look for the easter eggs that the easter bunny had left for us. We had a hot dog lunch at the cabin and Elyssa and Alex went with Grandpa on the four wheeler and found "dinasour" bones. Imagine their excitement! Looked like the remains of last year's deer hunt but then what would I know. We floated glove boats in the creek. These are the blue gloves that Doug wears at the waste water plant. Blown up and tied off they make great boats. In all a great day ended off with a great Easter dinner with everyone tired and happy. I have come down with a bad sinus cold since then and was only able to put in a half day on Tuesday and have been home ever since. I spent two days sleeping and thought to myself what a luxury I will not have when Mary is here. Kim and Greg have put an offer in on a larger house and they have an offer on their old house. Seems that they will be moving before Mary arrives. We will be very busy with all the moving. I have no more excuses so will have to start stripping wallpaper in Mary's room. I have just got an email from my brother that they plan a visit but only for a few days and they will not be staying here so we will have to get started on her room. I think it is safe to say that the next month or two will see our referral. How many times will I look back at these years of waiting and think of how much I could have/should have got done before Mary came. All is good though. We got done what we could afford and will get done the rest when we can. Life is a journey not a destination they say. A perfect house is not a requirement so the floor sanding and painting will wait till I retire. Good news Mary.....I have lined up a wonderful babysitter for you. Lisa is a great mom to three boys and will be very happy to have a little girl. I will have to put in a few more years to retire with full pension so it will be great to have you learn English from the boys. Hopefully you will enjoy being unique and special in that household, and I don't mean being Chinese! All for now, I hope to hear news of referral rumors soon! Love you baby girl. Mom xo
Darling Mary:
I'm climbing the walls here. This past week we had terrible tornado storms across the US. Somewhere unknown to us the Rumor Queen who keeps us up to date on what is happening in regard to referrals, has been affected in a horrible way. Her last post says she is safe with her family but that many of the homes around her have been destroyed. Yesterday the whole world was focused on the Royal Marriage of William and Kate. I was wondering if some news of China may be being missed and sure enough amidst all of the well wishers offering support to the Rumor Queen someone posted that they had received their call for a referral. They have a log in date of June 20th. I sent a note off asking if anyone else had heard anything and someone just responded that their sister has gotten a call with a log in date of June 19, 2006. I have no idea and asked is this with the special needs group or the non-special needs but as yet no one has answered. Oh Mary, maybe Monday my agency will open and find our package at their door! I suspect that it may be a cut off of June 20th but imagine if it is not!!! We will have to wait and see. If not this time than for sure we will be NEXT!!!!! Can you feel your mother's heart pounding. I am not looking forward to next week as I am way behind having missed most of last week with this darn sinus cold, but what if we get that call. I am too afraid to hope. What is another month in five years of waiting. I will savor the moment. Today I have stripped all the wall paper off so that I can decorate your room. What colour little one. So far I'm thinking pale pink, very light green or yellow or lavender. What say you little one. Soon you will be telling me everything you want and I will cherish each and every "discussion". This is going to be an even longer weekend than last one was for Easter! Blessings little peep soon I will hear your voice and see your drooling smile. Love Mom
Ok folks....so far it is non-special needs and calls include the 16th to the 20th at least. No way of knowing if there are more days so holding my breath that we make it to the 22nd. If not than safe to say that it will be our turn NEXT. WE ARE NEXT!!!! Sleep well tonight Mary, you Mom will not. Kisses little peep
Well it seems kind of official that the 20th is in but no other further dates. Sigh. But at least we know that we are NEXT! They have not matched only one day for over a year now so I think it is safe to say that we are next. It will be a long month. We have this batch 30 days from the last one so I hope that we will see referrals for the end of May or first week of June. Maybe June 4th, that will be our sixth anniversary. I feel the calm of knowing that we have to wait now and not the anxiety of what may happen tomorrow. I will get back to scraping the wallpaper off the ceiling. Slow and tedious job but one that I enjoy. Light work and you can see the progress, even if it is slow. Blessings everyone and happy May showers. Mary Arlyn Schell we will see you in a month. Kisses little peep. Love Mom
Happy Mother's Day to me. Happy Mother's Day to me. Happy Mother's Day, happy Mother's Day, Happy Mother's day to me! Well Mary I'm a day late but yesterday did not have time to post on the blog. I spent time alone today and thought about your other mother. I am not sure if they celebrate Mother's Day in China. I wonder if she was thinking about you. I know that I was thinking about her. You will always have two mother's and I will do my best to give tribute to the woman who chose life for you. This is the first year that I feel a bit like a real mother. I have to go see about a crib after work and am almost finished your room. Tyler sent me a "soon to be mommy" card that was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. You will come to love your big brother very much. Your sister called and wished me a "happy Mother's and Grandmother's Day". You will be richly blessed with those who will love and nurture you. Your Dad gave me flowers and a card for Mother's Day with "Happy Mother's Day" spelled out in Chinese characters and he signed it with the Chinese symbol for "Mary". Everyone is picking up on the excitement of soon seeing your little face. How can I explain to you the hope and promise we will see in your little eyes. You will bring us so much joy and we will try to give you the same in return. You deserve to be loved and cherished as the special person that you are. We are so blessed and so near to you. I hope that you are well. Our files are likely on someone's desk right now. How moves the finger of fate. What turn of events will bring us together. It is a monumental event that will change all of our lives forever. I look forward to seeing your eyes. Eyes they say are the mirror to your soul. What will you see in mine. Blessings little one. We love you and will bring you home soon. Mom
Darling Mary:
It is May 18th today. According to the China Forecast site our files should have been matched on May 16th. I meant to post this note that day but was travelling back from New York as I attended your cousin Matt and Sarah's wedding. It was so beautiful and there were some Asian members of the church attending and as I watched their girls play I thought about you. Soon my little darling I will be sitting and watching you play. Next year is your cousin Dan's wedding to Jessica and I hope that we will be able to go to Florida together and attend their wedding. I am not sure how many will be attending but it will be one of the first big family events that you will see. I could not sleep on the night of the 16th. I am not sure if it was the exhaustion of the trip or the over excitement of thinking that we may have had our file picked from the pile and matched to you. We hope to hear soon that we are parents! It is that especially slow time when there are no rumours of referrals and the Adopt talk website is just about books, TV shows and stuff that I am not interested in. It is a very hard time sitting between the months and waiting. This time though it is our turn and we are so ready! I have attacked the wallpaper again and am determined to get it done this weekend. A few plaster areas need repair but all in all it looks pretty good. I have your crib and change table. Maybe we will not need it but I will feel more comfortable if you are safe for at least the first few months. I am so happy that we are so near to having you with us. Breath in and out slowly...I think I am in false labour. My mind aches with the contractions of my brain. Sleep tight little peep. Love Mom
The rumour mill is working again. Adopt talk has posted that one agency has stated that the CCAC has started to prepare to match the files. Another post has noted that the special needs list should be arriving on Tuesday next week. The excitement is starting to rise. Oh how I am so ready to see your little face. Perhaps we are already matched. What will I think when I see your picture? What will you think when you see my face. Your Dad is starting to get excited as well. We both check the website several times a day. We will have a visit tomorrow with your Aunt Edy and Uncle Bert...you will see them often. I will try to get some sleep and attack the wallpaper tomorrow. I hope to have the room ready to paint at the end of the weekend. Still undecided about the colour of the paint but I will likely decide when standing in front of the paint samples. Pink and green are holding most of my attention but still have not given up on the pink and lavender theme. Decisions that have to be made. Sleep well little one. I am anxious to know your size so that I can go shopping for your clothing. Lots of sleepers and fuzzy, snuggle bunnies for bedtime. Nite nite little peep see you soon baby girl. Love Mom
Dear Mary,
Your Aunt Edwina and Uncle Paul are eagerly awaiting news of your arrival. We never had a little girl, just two boys. Your cousin, Matt, just married Sarah, so I guess now I do have a daughter. We really enjoyed having your mom visit with us for the wedding. Thanks for holding off so that she could be here. We also got to spend time with your other cousin, Dan's fiancee. She was having a terrible time with her eye. We got to visit Boston together. Maybe some day your Mom, Dad and yourself will come see us in New York. Although, it is hard to get away from the farm. There are so many things to see and do.
hugs from your auntie, Edwina
Dear Mary:
The Rumour Queen site is a buzz with the anticipation of referrals! We are beyond excited and keep checking for news. We hope by the end of the week that we will get the call. Every time the phone rings I jump out of my skin. Your Dad is checking constantly for news on the computer. Soon baby girl I will be your Mom and you will have all the love in the world brought to you in my heart. Kisses little one you should soon be greeting the day and I will have to get to sleep. I will cherish the moment when I get the news. It is a story I will tell you over and over again.....the day we got the call and sweet Mary became our child. Love you baby girl...Mom
Another day with no new news. Seems that the matching has begun and we wait patiently for the call. We did get a call from Joyce in BC letting us know that she is waiting with us. So sweet and wonderful to hear her voice. If not for Joyce we may have missed this Journey. She has walked this path before us and encouraged me through the dark early days when it seemed like the wait would overwhelm us. Hopefully we will be able to visit with her in the future and share China stories. So many people to call and thank for their support. The end of another day. Good night sweet Mary, you will be greeting the morning. Likely the decision has been made and it is just a matter of time when the unknown is known. We will be family soon. Love your over tired, sleepless,anxious and excited Mom!
Here is the latest news: Rumours say that the matching started on Wed past, that they have matched to June 30th and that the packages of referrals have been sent out of China. Good news for us as we now expect that calls will be made on Monday to Wed next week. This is great as the ten day jump means that at least 90 families will be getting referrals. This is the largest one month group in over three years. Maybe good news for those who are behind us. We are beyond excited. Lots of warm and fuzzy moments between this pair of expectant parents. Mary your little photo is winging its way towards us right this moment in a plane headed to Canada. Both your Dad and I are very anxious to see who you are and where we will go to find you. What a Journey it has been so far. Very appropriate words chosen by your brother Tyler. Little one the decision has been made and we will soon see your photo. Something to cling to while we wait for the actual trip to hold you in our arms. I hope to get most of your room done this weekend as far as preparing the walls to paint. Will wait to see your age before the final decision and then also be able to decide on setting up the single bed or the crib! Oh little peep it will not be long now. Love and kisses to you, we will soon be able to pick you up every morning and help you greet each new day. Love Mom
Mary it's your sister Kim!!! Elyssa and Alex are getting so excited to meet you. Just last night Elyssa started planning a sleepover for you. Apparently the two of you will be sleeping in the princess tent in the backyard. She is sooooo excited and she told me to tell you not to worry about bears because there is none in our country. (lol). Oh the stories and adventures the three of you will have. I am looking forward to meeting you and spoiling you rotten. As much as the sky Mary! Love your big sister
Rumour Queen site is off line...some kind of data base error. This has happened once before. Really bad timing but I guess she will only be telling us what we already know. Would be nice to hear that calls are being made in Australia and Europe. Not sure if anyone works the weekends. Quite day here. Plan to finish preparing the nursery room for painting. It takes so long just to get it ready to paint. Lots of little plaster imperfections that I need to mud over and sand. Will take a day just to do it and then the sanding. It will look very nice when it is done though. Last night Mary, I got an email from friends Suzie and Mick in France. They are asking about you and wanting to know how close we are to going to pick you up. Hopefully some day we will be able to visit them and enjoy the French country side. You will see and do so many things little one. Lois and Bob called as well to see how much longer. It is great to have so many friends walking this journey with us. It is a gray and rainy day here. Hopefully sunshine is setting as you settle in for the night. Grey matches my mood. Just in limbo while we wait for the call and the sight of your face little one. Your sister posted on the blog very early this morning. What was she doing up at 5:20 a.m.? Maybe she cannot sleep much either! By the time we get your information we will all be exhausted. Hope to see you soon little peep. Love Mom
Yippee, I have successfully posted this blog on the Adopt talk website for the link to post our referral photo. I am such a ludite that I was not sure if it would work. All thanks to Tyler for creating this blog....I may need his help to get the photo posted but at least we will be able to share our baby with those still in line and hoping. If not for the Adopt Talk website I think we would have given up. Once we found it and watched in anticipation of the new baby faces, I promised that I would do the same for those in line behind us. It is soooooo worth it! Soon everyone can come here to see our new little daughter! Blessings little peep we will hold our breath till the phone rings....well we will need to take a few till then....but soon baby girl we will see your face. Love Mom
Mary, the locust trees are blooming here in New York, and the smell is glorious to drink in. I hope some day soon we will be able to sit together on your porch and soak up all the beauty around us. Of course, we may end up with kitterkats on our laps and dogs at our feet, but so much the better.
hugs little one,
Aunt Edwina
Darling Mary:
This may be the last night that you are a thought in my mind. In all likelyhood the phone will ring in the next day or two and you will become a solid fact that we will be making plans to pick up. How long this journey has been so far! Many things have happened and many things yet to come. Tonight is stormy and threats of tornadoes in the air. Just as my mind is a whirlwind of emotions right now. I will go to work tomorrow but will carry my phone with me at all times. We may hear that calls are being made in Europe by morning! I cannot tell you little one how much I want to wrap my arms around you and protect and love your for the rest of my life. We will do our best to make your life a happy one and one that will set your feet firmly on the ground. You will bring us so much joy and we will love you for the special person that you are. God speed little one, wing your way towards our destiny. I cannot tell you how long a night this is going to be. Rise up and greet the dawn little peep, your life is about to change! Love Mom
Monday morning and no news yet! I will be leaving for work soon and will carry my phone with me at all times. Doug and I have agreed that even if our agency does email a scanned photo, we will not open it until we are at home together. I hope that this day brings peace and the quiet excitement of knowing that indeed there is a Mary in China waiting for us. To our friends and family who have supported us and continue to keep the flame alive....blessings to you, you are our cheering squad and we will soon have won the game!
No news yet! Man this has been one long day!!! RQ site says that Europe has gotten calls but no real news just that the packages have arrived. I am emotionally exhausted...how long can you sustain this level of anxiety! I emailed my agency and they have not responded....unusual for them. I think they are just holding me off till the translations are back. They obviously will not be giving us any preliminary hints of what to expect. Patience is not one of my virtues I am afraid. After five years of waiting you would think that I would have had some practice at it! I will check my gmail again later but they will not send me any news via that mode. Have to wait for the call. This is agony! Where are you Mary? Mommy hears you calling but cannot find you...I think I am having a Mother anxiety attack! What are the next twenty years going to be like?
Okay Mary enough is enough. I feel like I am sitting outside the delivery room waiting for an update and all I get is 'she's still pushing - no baby yet'. Today better be the day we hear all about you. Elyssa and Alex ask about you everyday and I am hoping today is the day I can answer all their questions. I hope we get to see your face soon.
Love your big sister.
As much as the sky
I am emotionally exhausted and pushing is out of the question. I think a C-section is going to have to be done. Labour is not progressing as it should and we may have to take drastic measures. Hopefully both the mother and baby will survive this "birth". No news at all. The day is ending and I am very anxious that we may have another long night ahead of us. I may have to knock myself out with a glass of wine tonight. Cannot sleep more than two hours at a time. I am doubful that tonight will be any different. Man this translation stuff takes way too much time. We need to hear something or this mother is going to expire! Mary where are you? I feel like you are being held hostage. Soon, hopefully very soon we will hear something! Hang on everyone we will let you know when we hear anything!
Mary your Dad says this has been the longest day of his life. He says this is worse than that of any hospital delivery. He is emotionally exhausted and is more than a little fed up with the process. He feels that the past two days have been worse than the past five years. He just wants to see your face and know who you are. I cannot believe that my mountain of a man is starting to struggle with the strain of waiting. Hopefully we will hear something tomorrow. Seems to be the theme on the Adopt Talk web site although someone says that referrals have arrived for two six month old girls in Canada. Soon little one we will be busy with planning to pick you up.
Just checked in with one of our group members and they forwarded an email that told them the referrals arrived in the office on Tuesday. The letter was one full page and outlined in detail what would happen ie who does the translation and when they expect to make the calls (Thursday). This news has upset us to no end. I cannot imagine that they just forgot to send us the letter! We are now worried that our referral may not have come. I have emailed our contact at the agency asking her to clarify for us if the referrals arrived and if we are included. It is a very hard end to a very long day! Doug is more than a bit frustrated and cannot believe that we were overlooked by the CCCWA in China or that our agency did not see fit to let us know. Hopefully there is some reasonable explanation and tomorrow will be a better day. I cannot even begin to speculate as the five year wait, the excitement of the past few days and the bitter disappointment of this new news is too much to bear. Good luck to everyone tomorrow and those who have already gotten the call. I will try to figure out this latest turn of events in the morning. It will be a long sleepless night!
Well a bit of light at the end of this tunnel....seems the letter went to the two other couples in our group but one of them has been notified that their file is not in the batch. They have been in the process of figuring out what is up and so far it is CCCWA"s error. They expect that the error will be corrected soon and hopefully they will still be able to go with us. That means that perhaps they got the letter intended for us. It is a hope but I have left a phone message with our agency asking them to please call us to confirm that our file was included. I am beyond exhausted and hope to be able to get to sleep now. I am so on the emotional roller coaster right now. More news tomorrow when I get things straightened out. Baby posts are starting to arrive on the Adopt talk site! Mary do you hear me calling for you? Just a blind alley...I will find you in the maze soon. Love Mom
Woke up this morning with a headache and cannot decide if it is from the heat, the stress or the poor sleep. The first thought in my head though was the song "This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made....., I will rejoyce and be glad in it". A very positive sign. It was six years ago today that my Mother died and it will be a day of remembering what a special mother I was blessed with. I hope to at least be half the mother that selfless woman was. Today I hope that the confusion and angst of yesterday will be put to rest and I can start to make plans for mothering Mary. Dear child, if you only knew how high the yardstick of mothering is for me. My mom was beyond measure and I will strive to be her best! Blessings to you this day Mary as you lay down your head to rest. Sleep sweetly little peep, we will be your parents! Just another bump in the road. Love Mom
What a whirlwind of change that has blown in over the last day! Doug and I have had to spend some time together in quite reflection. Dear Mary this is the last letter your Mom will be sending you. Yesterday at 10:20, June 1, 2011 I got THE CALL. I was knocked right of centre and way out into left field. You see dear Mary the referral is for a BOY! Ling, Chasheng 21 months, DOB August 29, 2009, Shangrao City, Jiangxi province. We have been given a son and we have been totally blindsided. For five years little peep you have been the daughter of my mind. We have asked for a girl, planned for a girl and expected our precious "Mary". In one second I was expected to forget about you and accept this son. I felt like I had been called to make funeral arrangements for my daughter. The joy of the referral and the dismay of this change of events. Forgive me dear child as my love for you is as real as the beating of my heart. I cannot express to you the depth of my angst and pain. So many plans I have had for you. So many things that we were going to do together. All lost in the beat of a broken heart. Total chaos. Your Dad and I rushed home to be together during this period of confusion. What a life changing turn of events! I needed to spend time thinking about being a mother vs having a daughter. How would this change the role of your Dad. We had never discussed his willingness to parent another son. Our agency was very supportive. What were our options, do we look for another referral, do we accept this strange son that we had not planned for? What about the girl room, girl decor, girl clothing and toys? Mary it has been a very difficult time for your Mom while she searched her heart and soul for the answers. You see dear Mary I have seen you in my mind riding your pony Rocket Man with your arms outstretched wide learning your balance. I have seen your raven hair glistening in the sun as we sit and fly our kites in the hay field. I have heard your giggles and squeals of laughter as your Dad chased you up to bed for bedtime stories. I have imagined your graduation and wedding day. Dear child you have been a child of my heart and mind....and yet now this. How can I let you go? You have walked with me in my head for five long years. You are so real and yet you are my created fantasy. My perfect girl child. The wonderful imagining of my soul. I have to let you go because you are created in my mind and not to be. Shattered broken glass. Your Dad says that is the beauty of it, the fantasy perfect, the reality might not have been so much. Dad says that those you have lost will sometimes visit you in your dreams. Come to me sweet Mary. Just drop in for a visit. We can sit and laugh and talk about the life that we might have had. I will dream of you as a child, I will dream of you as a young girl, I will dream of you as a young lady full of the promise of womanhood. My life has been so blessed with the thought of having been your mother and you would have been loved beyond measure. But dear Mary you are my fantasy daughter and now I look at a very real little boy that needs his mother. What a sweet child. He deserves parents that love him completely and he will be loved. He is precious and perfect and I will grow in my love for him. I do not know him as well as my lovely Mary but what a joy to see what he will become. We will call him Mark. He will be our son and I will make plans and dream dreams of his future and our future together as a family. What an honour to be given a son by the Chinese. Such a rare event. We believe that all things happen for a reason. We did not plan for a son but this child's future has been placed in our hands. What an adventure!....
...! Dearest Mark when I look into you eyes, I see a mystery and depth that I never imagined with Mary. You dear son are my reality and I will be your Mother. I will embrace motherhood with enthusiasm. Your father will teach you music, fishing, hunting, four wheeling, Nascar, karate and how to fix almost anything. I dear son will teach you to love animals, to be kind and patient, to appreciate who you are, to have a deep and comforting faith and to respect women. Dear son I have a lot of catching up to do. The last five years have been consumed with the thoughts of Mary, the next five years will be about my handsome son Mark. Dear son as you rise up and greet this morning may you feel the peace that you have a Mother who loves you already. You are a fine young man. Thank you for the dozen red roses with the card "Mom....looking forward to seeing your face" You are so much like your father already! Kisses on your head dear son Mark you are loved beyond measure. Good night sweet Mary perhaps you will visit tonight! Love Mom
Dear Mary we too are grieving the loss of a sister, sister-in-law, aunt, friend and little playmate. We have shared stories with both Elyssa and Alex about what you may be like and had planned many tea parties, sleepovers, dress up parties and camping trips with you. Little did we know dear Mary that you were not to be but dear sweet Mark has been sitting patiently for the last 21 months waiting for a place to call home and a mom and dad to love him. Well dear Mark you have been found and what a wonderful addition to our family you will be. Alex has been gathering dinosaurs for you to play with today and he even says he will share his trucks with you. As your sister mark I can say when I first saw your face I fell in love and you brought tears to my eyes. You are loved already and I can't wait to meet you and wrap my arms around you or watch you and Alex get into trouble together. All my love Mark I am so proud to be your sister. Dear Mary you will always be in our hearts.
As much as the sky. Kim
As much as the sky.
That was so sweet Sis! We have a new brother on the way! So excited.
Dear Mark,
While we were stunned to find out that we are getting a nephew, I must admit that we had such a peace in our hearts that God picked you as a perfect fit for my sister and her husband. They have waited so long for you. You weren't born yet when they were approved for adoption, and while they planned for a girl, God had already decided you would grow up on their farm.
We will not try to force you into our mold of what we think you will be, but be sure of this, your mom and dad will give you every opportunity to try just about anything and everything you want.
Your cousins, Dan (and his fiancee, Jessica) and Matt (and his wife, Sarah) are so excited and can hardly wait to meet you.
I really don't know how your mom and dad will be able to wait until the end of July to hold you in their arms! You are adorable.
Dearest Audrey and Doug, I am so thrilled for the two of you. He is so precious. My sister Ruth in Montreal that I talked to you about called me and told me she saw your blog on RQ. Congratulations and enjoy your journey as a family!! Love Sylvia
Dear Mark:
Today we went to the zoo and you came too! I carried your picture in my purse and put it on the dash of the car so that I could look at it all the way to Toronto. When we started for home your Dad said "Where is Mark's picture?" So I had to dig it out of my purse again and put it back up on the dash so we could look at it all the way home. We got boxes of clothes and coats for you from Alex. We also got cards and a very nice gift of clothing that you will wear when we come to get you. I hope that we are able to go again next year and that you will be with us. On the way home your Dad and I talked about how we felt looking at all of the pretty little Asian girls and how we still missed the thought of Mary. We will carry her in our hearts for a long time. Today though I spent some time really looking at the little boys! They are pretty cute too! Dear son you are fine and you are handsome! I can hardly wait for next year when I can carry you or push you through the zoo in your stroller with everyone saying "what a wonderful little boy"! I will be so proud to show you off. Mark I want to tell you something that I have not shared with anyone but your father till now. About a month ago I met a young man at work who is training to be a therapist. He had a lovely name and we fell into conversation about how I was waiting for a little girl from China to add to our family. He caught my eye as he was very well spoken and very professional but there was something more. I had a sense that there was a depth in him that was rare. I told him about how I would try to incorporate Mary's name with her Chinese name. His name is Joe Song. I laughed and said how did you get that name as he is Asian and he said that he is Korean but born in Canada. I told him that Song would be a great second name for Mary if that were part of her Chinese name. We had an inspiring visit and I told him that I felt that we had fallen into conversation for a reason. He told me that his Grandmother was a Christian, that he was very close to her and that she had told him that life for her and other women was much better after the missionaries came to her village. I was very moved by this young man and I have to find a way to tell him how much our visit helped me see that some day my son could be as fine as he was. That visit between us was a gift. A foreshadowing of the turmoil that I was to face. Now looking back I see how much comfort that visit gave me in seeing how wonderful boys can be. You see Mark I am coming to realize that we will be as close as a mother and daughter would have been. I will make plans for you and we will do many things together. We will love each other and it will all be for the good. Get up and greet the day my son...I have to say good-night, it has been a very long day and tomorrow I will try to find Joe. I have something I want to tell him! Love Mom
Hello Audrey and Doug,
I am Sylvia's sister Ruth and I just wanted to let you know how happy I was to hear about your new baby boy Mark. Congratulations!
My husband Mark and I went to China twice to adopt our daughters Anna and Leah. We love RQ for all the information etc. If you need any information or I can be of any assistance, please feel free to email me at R.Burrell@videotron.ca
Ruth
Thanks Ruth! Sylvia has told me lots about you and all of your experience with adoption. We are busy trying to get the paper work back but with the changes at CB it has been a bit confusing. New staff and a bit of overlap and not clear at times but we will get it done and soon be on our way!
Audrey
Well darling Mark we have sent the adoption paperwork back to Children's Bridge and they have to forward it on to the Ontario Ministry of Children's services to get final approval. Once this is back the CB will send it on to China to get the travel authorization documents that we need to get the China Visa's to allow us entry to China. Only a few more steps and we will be there soon. Our expectation is that they are trying to set up travel for August 5th. I hope that it is no later as we will then have to have your second birthday party in China. I really hope that we are home for that. Today we got a rather large box of clothing, toys and neat things from Debbie and Jasper. You have some really nice outfits to show you off in in China. I hope that you are the right size. Hard to guess as I am not sure that you will be the same size as the two year old boys here. If anything they may be a bit big but better that than too small. I will have to plan for the time off work but so far I cannot apply for parental leave as we have to have the documents from China first. Everything seems in limbo right now. My handsome son it will not be too much longer now. We are looking forward to holding you in our arms. Your Dad says that he is going to bolt a car seat to the tree stand so that you can sit in the bush and look for the turkeys and deer. I have made it clear that you will not be hunting if your Mom has anything to say but he assures me that it is only to sit and talk and watch the wildlife go by. We will see my son. Soon you will great the day and we will sleep and dream of when we can get on that plane! Love Mom xo
Darling Mark:
Today is very hot! I have been getting your room ready. What a fine little nest you will have. I will paint it blue and green and we are going to put up wild animals and make it look like a jungle with vines. I hope you will enjoy the natural look it will have. Endangered species room I call it. I have packed up all of the girl stuff and removed it from your room. Today Dad said that we will keep it and maybe the opportunity will rise later for us to pull it out again. We will see. Out of sight, out of mind. I have all the wallpaper stripped off and most of the plaster cracks are repaired. A little skiff of drywall mud and some sanding and the paint will go on. We are really getting anxious now. The flight is booked for Aug 5th so it looks like we may see you on August 7th. We will loose a day travelling to China. Son we have sent you our pictures and hope that you will be able to recognize us when we arrive to pick you up. Any little opportunity will be used to make the transition smooth. I have so much stuff for you! My goodness I have filled up one very large box of toys and am on to the next one! We will have to get one of those very large toy boxes for you! I have boxes and bags of clothing that appear from everywhere. I sometimes go to my desk at work and there by my desk is a large bag of clothing, toys or books for you. I will have to pick up your bedroom furniture later. For now we will put you in a crib as that is what you are currently in. I will feel much safer if you cannot amble about the house. This is hoping that you do not climb out of the crib. So many things to worry about now! Lots of things that need to be put up or out of the way. Dearest so it will not be long now. We are soon on our way! Rise up and greet the dawn my son. You have no idea how your life will change. Kisses on your head dear boy. Love Mom.
SURPRISE!!!!! Mark it looks like we were able to pull one over on your mom!!!! Ha ha. When you get older I will teach you how to do it!!! Lol Mark I hope you will enjoy all the wonderful things you received today at your shower. You are sooo loved! Soon I will finally get to meet you little brother!!! Love you!!! Love Kim
Well mark they are on their way. Very soon now little brother you will meet your mom and dad. I hope you know how much you are loved! Sleep tight little man very soon we will all be family.
Love your sister Kim
Ps. Dad may be like a fish out of water over there so please take care of him for me. Thanks xox
Mark, we have been praying for your mom and dad as they journey to you. Could it be that tomorrow you will be in their arms. I pray that you will fall in love with them as much as they love you and we love them!
Hi Audrey, Doug and Mark!
We've been waiting anxiously and praying that all would go well for you. The pictures say it all! Want to reach into the screen and give you all a great big "Northern Hug". We couldn't be happier for you.
All Our Love
Jim and Susan
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