Celebrating 29 Months Closer to Hannah!!

Another month has sped by and oh what an exciting month it has been! CC*AA has completed matching files through January 2006 which means next month we'll see LID's for February 2006. Wow....they're matching the month before mine!! I get goosebumps realizing how close it's actually getting! After almost 2 1/2 years of my file being in China, 9 months seems like so little and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Add to that the excitement of watching the Olympics in the country where my daughter is probably already living almost takes my breath away! It's been so neat to meet the people of China and see the beautiful country via the special interviews as well as the sports venues. Did you see the triathalon? The swimming portion with the beautiful pagoda in the background was gorgeous! I also enjoyed seeing all the jumps in the equestrian events. LOL...I think I might have been the only person who was enjoying the beauiful jumps almost more than the horses and riders jumping them.

So today I celebrate one more month that my file has been in China and one month closer to my sweet baby girl!

Mommy already loves you so much Hannah!!! I can't wait for the day when I hold you in my arms and together we visit parts of the beautiful country that you now call home!

Please Tell Me I'm Not Alone

Now that I've finished watching the opening ceremonies I have a couple of questions to ask of you.

1. Did anybody else sit in their home and make those butterfly hands with the ladies in white at the end? I didn't until I saw those sitting in the stands doing it and the athletes so decided to give it a try. Lets just say none of those ladies were in jeopardy of loosing their job with my sorry attempt!

2. Does anybody else have part of their bladder behind their eyes? I teared up a number of times during the ceremonies. Just watching so many people working together as a team to create such beauty made me tear up. Watching some of the athletes walk into the stadium. The precious little 9yo girl who was involved in a few places. Lighting of the torch...just to name a few.

I found watching the ceremonies to be a very emotional journey too as I was once again reminded of the beautiful people that live in the country where my daughter will be born. Maybe she is already born? I won't know that answer until next year.

To see a people so proud of their country yet so humble at the same time is inspiring. I am so excited to see the country of China highlighted over the next 2 weeks and to learn as much as I can about Hannah's birth country. I tell you, I can't think of another event that causes a country to be featured so much as the Olympics. I want to soak in as much about her birth country as I can so that someday I can share these memories with her.

Once again my heart was opened to the thought of the precious baby girl who God is preparing for me. It will be so neat in the future to share with her how I was feeling as her birth country was opening it's arms and welcoming in the world! Mommy loves you Hannah!!

I love how the Olympics draws so many people together with a common goal. The goal to do their very best and those of us on the sidelines, to cheer each and every one of them on!

What will be your favourite events to watch? My faves are:
- Gymnastics
- Rhythmic Gymnastics
- Diving
- Swimming
- Syncro Swimming
- Kayaking
- Canoeing
- Trampoline

I enjoy most of the others too but these are my faves to watch.

What parts of the ceremonies were your faves and what events are 'must sees' for you?

Choosing to Celebrate!

As you can tell by this picture, you won't need a calculator to count the number of day's included in this month's referral batch. But that being said, I am still super excited for a couple of reasons that even 2 little glass beads are moving from the left jar to the right.

First, as I know you are well aware, today begins an exciting time when China welcomes the world to the 2008 Beijing Olympics! I'm a huge fan of the Olympics and look forward to 2 weeks of wonderful entertainment by the world's best athletes! Go CANADA!!

It was not that many months ago that rumours abounded about how the Olympics might affect the CCAA and referrals. A year ago there were rumours that they could be closed for up to 4 months around the Olympics. The fact that referrals were mailed yesterday, the day before the opening ceremonies is reason to celebrate in my books! This batch may 'only' cover 2 days but the reality is that is covers 2 days! Yes friends....2 days closer to Hannah and celebrating!!!

For myself this means that there are now 55 days of referrals before they get to my Log In Date of March 23, 2006. I'm still guesstimating a Mother's Day referral next hear and travelling to China in July! That's only 9 months away friends!! Could it be that I'm finally 'pregnant???' lol!

Secondly, I'm excited to be celebrating with friends Alyson and Ford as they will be receiving their referral for their daughter Alyzabeth An early next week!! After 30 long months of waiting it is their turn!! CONGRATULATIONS friends!! The other neat thing about Alyson and Ford's referral is that they will be able to introduce me to their daughter (at least by picture) next week when we have the opportunity to meet in person. I'm sure I'll be able to tell who they are at our meeting place purely by the glow coming from their location in the room!

Choosing to celebrate these 2 days of referrals as it means many people around the world will receive their referral of their precious children and it also brings me 2 days closer to Hannah. That works!!

One other thing that this referral batch does is that it now brings us up to the dates that covered Chinese New Year 2006. As far as we can tell, little or no files were logged in between January 28 to February 5, 2006. I would like to think that next month will jump us well into the beginning of February LID's but if there is anything I've learned in my journey to Hannah is to expect the unexpected! Only time will tell.

Congratulations Alyson and Ford and to all those others who will be seeing their sweet baby's face SOON!