So......What Do You Do When You're Waiting For A Referral????

It'll be many months now until we hear word about the referral of our child. We still have not been informed that our dossier was logged in at the China Center for Adoption. It was sent on March 8, so hopefully we'll know soon. In the meantime, what does one do when waiting for the referral?

We joined a group of Central Florida Parents of Children from China. Our first event with the group was a Chinese New Year's Celebration at the Crazy Buffet in Altamonte Springs. The place was swarming with little Chinese girls and we met some families who have gone through the adoption process. One family lives in our area and they have just returned with their second daughter from China. They published a blog site and we followed them every step of the way, even while they were in China for the required 2 week period. It was encouraging to live through the process with them.

We rented an old film starring Ingrid Bergman called 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness".

Based on the true story of Gladys Aylward, a British maid who became a missionary in China. As the hostile Chinese begin to trust her -- and even a powerful mandarin converts to Christianity -- there is one more difficult task for her to accomplish: to guide 100 children through enemy territory and into safety during the Chinese-Japanese war.
Filmed in 1958, it reminded me of "The Sound of Music" - only in China ---- and with unusual music.

We also went to a few 'date movies' - "8 Below", "The Shaggy Dog", and "Chicken Little" just to rehearse for the real thing when it happens. Maybe we should take a few kids with us next time.

We'll post the dossier 'log in' as soon as we have word. Then, we are told, the average wait is 9 - 10 months. Thanks for keeping up with us on our journey.