Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's hoping 2006 is also the year we hear "Happy New Baby!" As I sit here watching the Tournament of Roses Parade, it's amazing, overwhelming and a bit daunting to think that next year, God and CCAA willing, we'll be watching the parade with little Piper. Or should I say we'll be watching Piper hopefully watch the parade. Who am I kidding? It will more than likely be like this:

"Look Piper! It's the Disney float! It's Mickey! You love Mickey! No, Piper - over here - see Mickey...put the breakable vase down, sweetie and watch the pretty parade! Oh, you want to play with the box your Christmas present came in again? Okay...okay...well, see Mickey? In the parade...? Honey? Sigh."

To that end, we have some news on the referral front, not much, but some - and it's somewhat encouraging. To begin with, on Friday, the CCAA posted on their website that they've completed the referrals for dossiers logged in before April 25. That's 11 more days worth of families this month, which isn't much, but it certainly is more than we were expecting when they said they were only matching half months each month.

Also, I think I understand the "not enough babies" issue a bit better. I read that they don't have enough babies with paperwork to go with the number of families wanting babies. Apparently March and April were big months for dossiers to China, so there's a logjam, so to speak, of families and not enough processed babies to go with them.

I've also read that they usually send out a big batch of referrals in January and right before the Chinese New Year (on Jan. 29), so there's a chance we might "catch up" some in January. All this is great, but so discouraging when you realize that last year, families with an LID in late June got their referrals in December.

I'm sure we'll have more news and updates over the next few months. Someday, all this referral watch bruhaha won't mean a thing and we'll be posting more interesting tidbits like how we're expected to pack everything we need - which apparently includes an entire pediatric clinic - in luggage we can carry that only weighs 45 pounds. Thanks for sticking with us through all of this and for all your support and encouragement - you are all wonderful!