Hannah's Chariot has Arrived!

2 weeks before heading to Disney I purchased a new stroller for Hannah on eBay. It hadn't arrived by the time I left so my friend Carol offered to keep an eye on the house and check for the delivery. When I called her to chat on Tuesday she told me it had arrived and that she would be picking up the box the next day. I was excited to learn that they didn't charge me duty at the border. Yeah! A nice treat! Thanks so much Carol! It felt good knowing that someone was coming and going from the house each day.

Rebecca was excited to see the large box waiting for us and she and Piglet were only too happy to help me open it up.

When she was getting ready for bed that night she asked if she could sleep in the box. Hey...why not? I remember doing the exact same thing with a fridge box when I was a kid. (Man did I learn how similar we are on this trip! She's a chip off the old block and it's fun (and scary! :o) to see the many similarities between us.) She gathered up some of her favourite toys and put them in another box at her head; we added a sheet, blanket and pillow and she was all set. After prayers for 'box girl' and taping up the top flaps she was all set! (I was only too happy to sleep in my own bed after being away for more than a week but it this was a fun treat for her!) Sweet dreams Boo!

This my friends, is Miss Hannah's new chariot! I love it!! It's a Peg Perego Venezia stroller which is brand new and was never out of the box but was purchased for less than 1/2 price because it's 'last year's colours.' Ummm...no problem! It's black and tan.

The option that I was most looking for in a stroller is shown here - the ability for the handle to flip from front to back. This was an easy option to find in the past but quite difficult to find these days. For a baby, if you take something away and put it behind your back it's not behind your back, it's just gone. The same can be with them in a stroller. When they can't see Mommy it's not that she's behind them pushing the stroller, it's that she's not there. Having the ability to change the handle so that she can see me when I'm pushing her was a very important feature as it adds greatly to the bonding and attachment that is so very, very important. Also, who wouldn't want the ability to look into her sweet little face when she's falling asleep? :o)

Oh, I dream of the day when Hannah will be riding in this stroller! Until then, I'll box it back up and store it in the basement for safe keeping until the day when that happens...which sadly seems to be getting further away rather than closer. After the announcements made by the China Center of Adoption Affairs last week I am now preparing my heart for a spring/summer 2008...UGH! referral and travel to China. Once again, relying on the fact that God's timing is always perfect and in some ways it's a little easier now that CCAA has said not to expect a speed up in the referrals any time soon and that they anticipate it continuing to take at least 2 months to get through each month of Log In Dates (LID's). They are currently placing babies with families that were logged in in September 2005. Since my log in date is March 23, 2006 that's 7 months worth of files ahead of mine. Allowing 2 months to place each of these 7 months I come up with a ball-park figure of spring 2008 for referral and travel late spring/early summer of 2008. Throw into that mix the Beijing Olympics in August of 2008 and not knowing how that might affect adoptions I once again have zero idea of when Miss Hannah will finally be in my arms. All I do know is that it will happen and it will happen when God says it is time! Until then praying....and pacing...and praying!

PS...Mission accomplished! She's just too cute!!! She went home 2 days ago and I miss her so much! Love ya Boo!!! Sweet dreams!