Immigration Approval

Believe it or not, we got an email from USCIS yesterday notifying us that our immigration was approved. Mind you, this is our second time to go through this process because the waiting time has...(what's that word our agency uses?? oh yeah) ....lengthened. All families adopting a child overseas must be approved to adopt through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration office (USCIS). You must provide them with a stack of paperwork including the previously mentioned home study that took 4 months to complete. To say I am relieved to have this phase of our adoption completed..AGAIN.. is an understatement.

What does this mean for our adoption you ask?
It means that our adoption agency will now allow us to be matched with a little girl that meets the criteria on our medical conditions checklist. When... you ask? Your guess is as good as mine.
It could be tomorrow... next week.. next month.. next spring. It all depends on the number and type of files that our agency receives and the order that our medical checklist was received. We are near or very near the "top" of the checklists received so I am trying to be optimistic. Hard to do when you've been waiting for 2 years already!!

But somewhere in the back of my mind I know that this WILL happen. Friends that have adopted tell me this all the time and I know it's true, but hard to believe when you are stuck in the midst of it all. Several times over the past 2 years I have tried to MAKE something happen.
I have asked myself (and God) countless times if this is the road that we are suppose to take.
I have also prayed for God to take this longing from my heart if this adoption was not meant to be. And still.... it's there...
the same way it was always there before we adopted Madeline.
the way my heart feels when I see Madeline sleeping at night
the way my soul tells me the love I have for my children is endless
the way my mind tells me that being a "mom" is the best thing I will ever do in my life
The way I KNOW that my little girl and our "little sister" is somewhere in China waiting for us.

First Day of School

Back-to-School 2010

Back to school time for the kiddos. Sigh... where did summer go?
Matthew will be in 5th grade and Madeline is in 1st grade. 1st GRADE!
Last year I cried every morning for 2 weeks when I dropped Madeline off for kindergarten.
It is so hard letting go and letting others care for my blessings. I remember feeling the same way when Cody and Matthew started school too! So far... I haven't shed a tear about Madeline starting first grade though. I know she is ready for school and wants to be a 'Big Kid'.
If only I was ready for them to grow up....
I am praying this school year is filled with learning and lots of fun activities they will remember.

Cody starts school on Monday. We went today to pick up his schedule and books. I officially have a freshman in high school. I don't think this has really sunk in yet. He is so smart and has so many gifts to pursue. I simply pray this school year is the beginning of a wonderful 4 years for him. He has so much to look forward to!
Did I mention I wasn't ready for them to grow up?

A Runner-Basile Reunion August 2010

I have shared with most of you the story of our trip to China to adopt Madeline back in 2005. That journey led us to our daughter AND our Friends-for-Life the Basile's. Virginia and Pete Basile are from Pittsburgh, PA. We met in the LA airport before boarding our flight to China.

Virginia and I had actually spoke on the phone prior to our trip (CCAI travel list) and discovered we shared quite a few things in common.

1. We both have 2 bio sons

2. We both had "horrible" pregnancies that led us to consider adoption

3. Both our husbands are engineers

4. Our girls of course were at the same orphanage in Guiping, China.

AND

our daughters were born one day apart!

Madeline's birthdate is Jan. 19, 2004 Francesca's birthdate is Jan. 20, 2004

The friendship that formed during that stay in China and afterwards is nothing short of amazing!

We have visited them in Pittsburgh twice, we met once in Pigeon Forge, TN for vacation and now they have made the trip to Mississippi twice now. The latest being last week. Whew.. the heat almost made them turn around and head back north... ha.

The girls have grown up listening to Virginia and I talk about them and know about the special bond they share. Madeline and Francesca (aka Frankie) have very different personalities... think "quiet,timid mouse" and "bull in a china shop" and you get the picture! But oh how they loved being together playing, laughing, bugging their big brothers, and pretending last week. Not one argument! The smiles I caught on camera do not do these two justice!!

I love these girls so much. Look what their little lives have done.. brought two different families... from two different parts of the country... together forever.

And it all started in a very far away place called CHINA.