The Wait

So, how do we cope with the VERY long wait for our baby girl from China? When we started this process it was taking about 6 months from LID to referral. Now, it is taking about 30 months! WOW! That is a HUGE jump in wait times. Fortunately, we are very blessed in that we have biological children of our own and they keep us very busy. However, we are still waiting for our family to be complete, and that leaves sort of an Avery shaped hole. We are happy to get to know other Dillon families, other adoptive families, and are having fun researching our daughter's birth country. The Olympics were so eye opening and beautiful and magnificent. I will have to admit that when I heard the amount they spent on the Opening Ceremonies I couldn't help but wonder how many orphanages could have benefited from that $$, but that's another post for another time. At any rate, the Olympics very much helped us in our wait, renewed our excitement.

My husband and I used to have Chinese Fridays. We would order Chinese food and watch this show on CCTV about travel in China. We need to pick that back up. Our two older kids haven't found any Chinese food they like, so that's why we did Chinese Fridays while they were in school.

Our current bedroom situation has our two sons, ages 11 1/2 and 3, in one room together, and our two daughters, ages 8 1/2 and 11 mos., in one room together. Those are pretty big age gaps, right?! So, we are in the process of reorganizing rooms in our house so the two older ones have their own room and the two younger ones will be in a room together. Our formal dining room, which we never used (who really needs one, right?), will now become our home office (which we use A LOT!). Our old office, which is upstairs, will now be our oldest son's room. Then we will move our youngest daughter in with our youngest son. Ethan and Carlie are two years a part. This will then give Nicole her own room. Nicole has lots of Barbie pieces, Polly Pocket pieces, lip glosses, markers, and other small chokeable hazards in her room, not too suitable for Miss Carlie! So, even though we will have a little boy and a little girl in one room together, we think it will work out pretty good to have the two older ones in their own room. Now, Miss Avery will probably stay in our room for a little while, then we will just have to see where she will like to sleep. I'm guessing she may like the hub-bub of her younger brother and sister's room!

My heart longs for her when I read of other families getting their adopted children, when I see something on TV about China, or just trying to think about the future. She is VERY much a part of our family even though we've never met her.

And this is basically how we are coping with the wait!