One More Down

Edward and I finished our finals last week... finally. Now we can focus on Christmas, family and getting some things done around the house before the madness begins again.

We're still living a bit of the adoption dream vicariously through our friends in China. Every day there are more beautiful pictures of Ava Mei, happy pictures. It's hard not to get excited when you see a baby grinning at you with chubby cheeks and sweet dimples from halfway around the world.

Our agency still does not have their license. That's frustrating, but part of the process. We cannot start to collect our dossier until they have that license, which means we are basically at a standstill. We're still waiting for our 171-H from CIS. Until our agency gets the license, we can write the letters that need to go out, but we can't send them.

Frankly, I'm sorry there isn't more to report. But in a little over a week, we'll be playing with our silly, amazing nephews. And skiing. Can't go wrong with that.

On the Other Side of the Globe

Today, I logged onto our friend's blog and was able to see a very long-awaited event. Our friends received their beautiful 8-month old daughter in China today. She is amazing!!! She's so big-- 20 lbs. and has an incredible smile. Ed and I were so excited to see this family united for the first time! It makes waiting for our Addi a little easier. That moment is coming for us and we have all of these adoptive parents to share it with. But today, we're sending kisses to Ava Mei's sweet chubby cheeks on the other side of the globe. We can't wait for you to get home McMahon Three.

Woohoo!!! We're so glad you found your family Ava Mei!

Around the World

I can't help but feel emotional today. We had a lot of great news today in the adoption department. They weren't related to our adoption, but it doesn't make any difference to me at this point. Friends of ours arrived in China for the pick-up of their little girl, Ava Mei. And our dear friends, Josh and Kristin, received their I-171H approval today. This means that their baby girl, Reagan, does not have to wait for that step to be completed. This step had us a little worried because they're utilizing the Atlanta CIS office and they're running very slowly... like Chicago. If it took much longer for this approval, Reagan's adoption in Guatemala could have been held up.
I couldn't stop myself from welling up in joy for Josh and Kristin. What a blessing! The sooner we get her home, the sooner Kristin can get those bows in her hair and big brother, Ryker, can start loving on his Rae-Rae. Congrats KW and JW!!! And finally, our friends Dave and Christy are patiently awaiting the arrival of their first child... if she'll ever go into labor.

One thing I love about the adoption process is the excitement it generates. Births and adoptions are two pretty purely joyful occasions. Obviously, adoptions have more potential for unpredictable heartbreak. But my mom says that heartbreak is just part of the deal of being a parent. It breaks for all of the good moments and all of the bad. Lately, I've had several opportunities to share about our experience and answer curious well-wishers' questions. I can't think of a better way to pass the time between now and meeting our Addison. And people are so excited for us and anxious to know who she is... not more than we are of course. But it's nice to share such a joyful event with others, rather than commiserate about stress, bad weather, finals, etc. So, thanks to everyone who has so kindly rooted for us in this process.

On the List

We have good news as of yesterday! We're officially on the list to receive a referral behind 5 other families. This is incredible-- mainly because if we were with a larger agency, we could be waiting behind 25-50 other families. We love our agency, Worldwide Adoption Services, because of their personal attention, experience and compassion. Our agent is very quick to respond to questions and is very sympathetic about our impatience and excitement.

We also found out that our homestudy has been sent to CIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) and we can expect our travel approval for Addison in 8 weeks. We have to have this in order to get her visa when we're in Vietnam to bring her home.

And, finally, I had lunch on Tuesday with two women who are in the process of adopting from Vietnam. It was pretty amazing to have an opportunity to talk to others face-to-face about the experience, adoption issues, and their experiences adopting their other children from different countries. I have been fortunate to have several friends who have gone through or are going through the process of international adoption. Unfortunately, we aren't geographically close, so we share on the phone or over email. I look forward to getting to know these women and celebrating together when our babies come home. And our kids will have built-in friends when they get here. Could it get any better than that?

More to be thankful for this year!

Today we traveled north to finish our last step for the I-600A-- our fingerprints. The third set, mind you. Anyway, a painless step has passed. There are far too few of these painless steps and we celebrated with lunch and the purchase of our nursery furniture.

While we were at CIS, a woman and her three-year old daughter came in. They sat in front of us and introduced themselves. Grace was from China and just had her birthday. Her mother told us they are returning to China for her little sister. She was darling and a reminder of why we are going through this often frustrating paperchase. She and Edward locked eyes and Grace immediately started flirting with him. Edward was smitten. If this is any indication of how crazy he'll be about Addison, I'm in trouble. I may never see her.

When we returned home, he immediately assembled the crib and changing table. He said that he didn't have time, but I sure had a hard time getting him to do anything else. It took Edward a lot longer to get excited about this adoption than it did me. I love every moment that it becomes more real for him. Men and women certainly approach starting a family differently. I had no idea how true this was until we experienced infertility and decided to adopt. We don't process at the same speed or in the same way. But we end up at the same place. This has taught me patience and appreciation for our differences.

Next year, there will be more than enough memories and moments to be thankful for. This year I am extremely thankful for the adventure to Addison. I hope you all have the opportunity to see what blessings you have in your life. Happy Thanksgiving!

Home Again

I just returned home from a lovely trip to Miami for a conference. Three friends joined me and it was nice to get some sun and warm, fresh air. It was not easy coming back to 40 degree weather after seeing the ocean on 80 degree days. But, as they say, there's no place like home.

I think Izzy and Edward were conspiring against me in my absence. She's decided that she's a daddy's girl. Parenting, even parenting dogs, isn't always fair. I guess I should probably get used to it. Because when Addi lays eyes on her daddy, she'll be a goner. I don't have a chance. Oh well.

The plan for this Thanksgiving week is to complete our CIS fingerprints and pick up the nursery furniture. Once the fingerprints are completed, our 171-H can be processed. The wait for this is considerable out of the Chicago office. It could take as much as 3 months. We're in the waiting mode, so we aren't too shaken by this. Besides, we don't need the 171-H until we actually travel to get our little girl.

That's all for now. We'll check in later...

A Beautiful Day for a Giant Step

We found out today that our state background checks went through. We're happy to report that we passed with flying colors. So, our homestudy is basically finished and our agency should have their license from Vietnam in less than 10 days. At least, that's the word on the street. We'll take it. Anything that gets us closer to Addison! God bless!

Vietnam Time

What time is it in Vietnam?

Check the Block

We had our final meeting for our homestudy today. This was to fill in any holes and make any final changes. It was uneventful and we have the best social worker ever! She's made everything so easy. We're thrilled to have one more block checked toward bringing our baby home... stay tuned.

Halfway through the Beginning

It seems like years now since we decided to adopt. We're finally on our way! Our homestudy is almost complete and we're about to do some serious paperchasing... We hope to bring our little Vietnamese beauty home in May 2007.