Yes. No. Maybe.

Just in case anyone thought that the picture of a roller coaster was an exaggeration, check this out.

Some things were coming together. Rumors held out the possibility of imminent referrals. Matches had been made (babies paired with parents.) Our agency took the unprecedented move of emailing us on Wednesday, indicating (albeit cautiously) that a package was on its way from the CC@@, and that they had reason to believe that it would contain our referral. They reiterated the general process: generally mailed on a Wednesday, received by Friday, followed by translation, etc. In short, get ready!

We woke up the very next morning to a post on Rumor Queen that European agencies had received word that the CC@@ will be making no referrals for the month of November - none, zero, zip. Rumored reasons included a newly installed head at the CC@@, end of the fiscal year, H1N1 concerns, etc. We contacted out agency, who said that they were following up, and would be in touch.

Last night we saw another post to the same general effect; i.e., no November referrals.

Today, our agency confirmed its understanding that packages were ready to be mailed on Wednesday, but were not, for whatever reason. They will be mailed, but when, no one knows. Ugh.

So here we are, tantalizingly close, just over four years after starting the process, and well over three years of working our way through the system in China. We are a family, if only on paper, and in our hearts. Will somebody pleeeeaaasssee drop that package in the out-going mail?

The Ups, The Downs, The Weekend

The ride continues, folks. Nothing new to report. More waiting and wondering. One thing is for sure - no changes today or this weekend.

We've got some great weather coming our way this weekend. Maybe we'll even cross a few things off that "To Do" list in preparation for Ella.

Until next week...

Stork Alert

This morning has us checking and refreshing the Rumor Queen website obsessively. Whether the stork is already in the air, or she's just stretching out her wings to fly our way - we do not know.

We could have another week of waiting to endure...or not. Never a dull moment and there's beauty in that - no matter how hard the waiting is at this 11th hour.

Stay tuned and thanks for joining us on this ride!

Buzzzzzzz in the air

Rumors are swirling that matching has begun. What does that mean? A pretty thorough overview provided by Rumor Queen on her blog is here

This morning, our agency tells us that referrals may be sent out 'mid month'. And although that isn't the specificity either of us are dying for, it gives us hope that we could be in China by the end of December to meet Ella...God willing and the creek don't rise.

Hold on everyone! Looks like we're in for a pretty spectacular ride!

Love, H&L