You Know You're An Adoptive Parent If........

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss then goodnight has made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted one child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.
5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who've experienced the blessing of adoption.
6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about the adopted child's "real" parents.
7. You've been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth (2 years!).
8. You had no idea how you'd afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing that God provides (and HE does!).
9. You've taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met.
10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.
11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could every leave on this earth.
12. You know what the word "dossier" means and you can actually pronounce it correctly!
13. You've welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
14. You shudder when people say your child's so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you're the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

I did not write this, but read it on another blog. True stuff.

Caroline's Room

Baby Dedications

There was a baby dedication at church this morning. Normally, I love these events. It seems like I've witnessed more of these events in the last few months than I have in the last several years. That may or may not be the case....perhaps these events just have more of an effect on me now.......now that I'm WAITING for my little adopted one. Now it's rather hard to witness these dedications....I'm certainly happy for these new parents and their beautiful baby, don't get me wrong....it's a beautiful moment. But, it just drives home the fact that I have no idea when I'll be having my dedication for Caroline. So as not to end this journal entry on a downer (don't like to do that)....I'll just say that at today's dedication, the baby's big sister (3-years-old) decided it would be fun to run and jump around the front of the sanctuary during the ceremony. All of these family members were standing in front and were afraid to do anything about it. I will say that I no longer criticize this kind of thing because I know that one day my daughter will most likely decide to dance around where she shouldn't....and I'll have that same "I don't know what to do" look on my face. :) Sometimes you just have to laugh.

Comments following the performance

Yesterday I played the clarinet as the 'special music' at a local church service. For these kinds of performances I usually choose an arrangement of a hymn. Yesterday's selection was 'Blessed Assurance.' I'm quite sure that several of the young people didn't know this hymn because they usually sing only praise choruses (topic for another journal entry). Anyway, I gave a brief history on the hymn and the author of the lyrics, and spoke about the scriptural reference. I will say that the piece came together extremely well, and I feel that it was a worshipful experience. Following the service, I encountered three types of responses. First, several of the 'senior' ladies told me that the music brought them to tears (in a good way, of course); then, there were three young girls who came up to me and said "we play clarinet at school, but we don't sound like THAT!" And, finally, the adults that were about my age all said that their memory of the clarinet consisted of 'constant squeeking.' Well, praise the Lord that I didn't squeek. So I guess everyone enjoyed it.

Also at church, I got to play with a 10-month-old baby who was adopted at birth (domestic adoption). She is a cutie....round, rosy cheeks and chubby legs....and very happy. It was nice to get a 'baby' fix.

An Encounter

Yesterday, Mom and I went to Jefferson Pointe, Fort Wayne to endulge in some shopping therapy. We were just leaving the Vera Bradley story (a weakness of mine) when I spotted a caucasian couple carrying a Chinese baby (they had just entered the store). I stopped in my tracks, and practically ran toward the couple (I hope I didn't scare them) to find out if they, in fact, adopted from China. As it turns out, they had just returned with their 11-month-old beautiful girl two weeks ago from China. They named her Ridley. She was precious and very tiny, even for an 11-month-old. She seemed shy but gave her mommy and daddy a big smile.

I told them that I was currently waiting for my placement with a log-in date of 4/13/07. The mom very quickly said "Oh, well, you've got another 2 1/2 years to wait." She then asked me if I read the "Rumor Queen" online (sidebar......for those that are not aware, the Rumor Queen is a site where you can read about what the latest rumors are about China adoptions. While there is some truth in the Rumor Queen, it is not all truth). I told her that I chose not to read the Rumor Queen, but I was a member of an China Adoption email group. While I was thrilled to see this happy family and see this precious baby girl, I was just a little miffed. Now, I do stay current on the news about how slow China adoptions are.....I'm not so naive to think that I'll be traveling to China anytime soon. And, no one knows for sure just how long this will take. But, I choose not to focus on the negative in terms of wait time. This couple really wanted to focus on how LONG I would be waiting. I just wanted to bask in the beauty of this baby and talk about her.....how she was adjusting.....how was their trip, etc.

So, it was SO nice to see this beautiful baby who had just come home. She looked healthy and happy. And, I guess I'll choose not to infiltrate my head with negativity....or as this couple put it.... 'a reality check.' I'm in this China adoption journey for the long hawl. Whether it takes one more year or three years....I'll wait....because I know this is what God has chosen for me. It is my daily challenge to trust Him and his plan for me. The positive side of this wait is that it gives me more time to prepare....financially, and otherwise. Yes, I'd love to be planning that trip to China right now, but I can wait. Gosh, that baby was beautiful.

It's the February Blahs

Since I haven't written on the blog in awhile, I thought I better get going. Life has been quite eventful in the last several weeks. My children's choir was selected to sing at the Indiana Music Educators Association State Convention on January 19. The above picture show us relaxing just before the performance. It was a wonderful experience for the kids and for me....but quite stressful. The kids were terrific and gave a great concert. There were at least 350 in attendance, and that is great for this kind of event.

Since the convention, school has been difficult, but I'm hoping that things turn the corner. Right now, I pretty much dedicate my life to my students.....so when something doesn't go well at school I let it 'get to me.' I've taught for 27 years, and I still love it. And, every now and then there are difficulties to deal with. So... I've just gotten past one of those humps and I'm trying to focus on the rest of the semester with classes, wind ensemble tour to NYC and Washington, D.C. area. Something that has really been encouraging to me is the contact I'm receiving from so many former students on Facebook. It has been wonderful to get so many wonderful messages from them. I guess I've done OK by them.

One more attempt at adopting a 'waiting child' has passed. My name was not drawn "out of a hat' (so to speak) again. Sometimes my patience wears thin, but I've got to remember that I have put this in God's hands. That means that I can't go wrong, and God will bring Caroline to me in His time.