Sad day...

Today seems like a "sad" day. Reading the rumors out there are enough to drive a person crazy!! We are so used to having control of our own destinies. When a woman is pregnant she has control over how she treats her body and some control over the outcome. At least there is a timeline that you can pretty much follow. In this process, the timelines are jumping all over the place. We have no idea when we will get to China and our daughter. The guess now is 12 months from LID to referral. We shall see. I just wish that we hadn't told anyone!! When we started the process, it was a six month wait and we felt that we needed to tell people. Now the wait is indefinite and instead of that excited answer "we are going very soon!!" when people inevitably ask, it is the stock answer of "we aren't sure, maybe another year, maybe longer!!". All of that said, we will get there.
It is really a "sad" day because two of my close friends from childhood have lost very close family members in the last two weeks. There is a memorial service today for my friend's uncle and we wish we could be there. Living so far away, it is difficult to give you both the kind of support that we would like to but you are in our thoughts every day. We love you guys.
So, we are almost at the three month point of waiting (tomorrow) which is great. Every day is one day closer to going to China. We are renovating and getting ready for the new addition in our lives!! We hope that there are not too many "sad days" ahead.

100 Good Wishes

For anyone who tried to leave a comment, I am sorry. We are so new at this and I have changed the setting so you should be able to now. I had a few emails from people who had tried. I had to add this photo as this I am typing with one hand with Camie on my lap right now!!
For those of you who have asked about the "100 Good Wishes" quilt, it is Chinese tradition in Northern China. I have a volunteer right now who is from that part of China. She explained that not only do they create quilts but they also make food and deliver it to the new family with their special wishes. This makes sense to me as a new mother really doesn't have that much time to cook!!
In my family, I have made special quilts for each of my nephews and niece(s?). My sister is expecting at the end of June but we are not sure the sex of the baby yet. I think that my niece Emma, would love a little sister but only time will tell. I had just finished the new baby's quilt and washed the material for Isabel's quilt however, just before I started to put it together, I read about the 100 Wishes quilts. I had no idea that they existed but it all seemed just so perfect.
So, my request goes out to family and friends. To welcome and celebrate the new member of our family I am requesting pieces of fabric from each of you. Along with the fabric please enclose a card with a wish and a piece of the fabric attached. Your wish can be a simple sentiment, a favorite quote, a poem or lyrics from a song. The fabric can be new or from something you already own and it can be of any size. The idea is that Isabel will be surrounded by all of your love and wishes when she is wrapped up in her quilt. It is an incredible testament to how much she is loved and wanted. If you have any questions, please let us know. This and the renos should keep us busy for a while!! We are looking forward to all of your thoughts and wishes!!

The First Butterfly kiss...

When I was a little girl, my Mom and Dad always said goodnight with a hug, kiss and a butterfly kiss. This is where you place your eyelashes on the cheek of the other person then open and close your eyes. We also gave "Eskimo Kisses" which I would now call Inuit kisses where you rubbed noses with the people you love. I decided to call this blog "Butterfly Kisses and 100 Good Wishes" because I can't wait to have that special time with our daughter to say goodnight with butterfly kisses under her 100 Good Wishes quilt that I am starting to plan and think about. I have read everywhere that ladybugs are a sign of good luck and believe me, with an LID of 03/01/06, I am keeping my eyes open but butterflies have always been my favorite. I love the fact that they start out as little caterpillars then cocoon themselves to break out as amazing butterflies. My husband and I feel that this is an apt analogy to adoption. You start out crawling with all of the paperwork, you cocoon yourself to get through the waiting and end up flying high with a new, beautiful child. In our minds, it is an incredible metamorphosis. So, to pass through this stage, the cocoon, we will post our thoughts as they come.