"Waiting For May"

At bedtime tonight, Jorie asked to read "Waiting For May", a great children's book about adoption. The story is told by a little boy waiting to travel to China to bring home his little sister, May. Jorie loves the story. She loves to hear how he waited for a long time and asks how much longer we have to wait. I love the part when the family actually travels to China to bring May home. I get a little teary-eyed every time I read the story, thinking about our own travel date and wishing Terra could be in our arms, but also knowing what an incredibly scary time it will be for Terra. Can you imagine if one day someone showed up at your house, picked you up with nothing but the clothes on your back and moved you to a completely different country with a new family that speaks a strange language?! How will her brain ever make sense of what has happened in her world? We've been trying to prepare Jorie for the prospect that her new little sister will probably be terrified of us and cry for several days (maybe weeks) before she gets to know us and decides that we're safe enough for her to love. Somedays winning the heart of a child seems like an insurmountable task, other days it seems like the most natural thing in the world. Whatever happens, I can't wait for the journey as we build our family of four.

Next Round of Paperwork Complete!

We finally made it through the three new folders of paperwork and mailed our signed copies back to the adoption agency yesterday - one step closer! :) The next thing we expect to hear is our official log-in date (which should be coming any day now). Our log-in date is the date that the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs officially processes our dossier and puts it in their cue for translation.
I'm continuing to work on Terra's quilt. I'm up to 35 squares - only 65 to go! I've heard from many friends and family that they'll be sending fabric soon, so I'm hoping I might get close to 100 squares.
'Til next time...

Ice Cream

After dinner tonight, Jorie's first question was, "Can I have ice cream for dessert?" She begged for ice cream cones at the grocery store today - she's had her share of ice cream in the past, but she's never had a cone. So, I figured we might as well give it a try. As you can see, she thoroughly enjoyed her first ice cream cone and went straight to the bath when she was done! All this left me wondering if Terra has ever had ice cream. I'm guessing she hasn't - one more thing we can introduce her to when she comes home. Let's hope she likes it!!