WE ARE NOW A FAMILY OF THREE!

We are proud to announce the new addition to our family

Michael Charles Zapien


The Fed-Ex truck arrived right on time this morning at 10:00am, as we waited out on the front step with camera in hand. The driver laughed when she saw me take a picture of her truck. She asked if this was for an adoption, as she knew just by the look on our faces!

We couldn't have opened the envelope fast enough, to see these wonderful pictures of our adorable new son! We are absolutely totally in love with him already!!! Just look at that chubby face!!!

Some more details about Michael:

Date of Birth: March 31, 2006

Height/Weight: 31.5 inches/19 pounds (at last check-up in March)

He was taken in to his orphanage when he was just 4 days old. He is a deep sleeper (yeah!) and he knows the word "No" (although in Chinese! Guess we will have to learn that one!). As you can see in his pictures, he stands alone and can walk some. He can hold a pen and scribble (just like his Daddy!!). He can turn pages in a book.

His personality: he is active and loves to imitate (again, just like his Daddy!). He is fond of listening to music, playing with toys, and singing. He gets along well with others, loves picture books and playing games.

What else can we say! We think he is the most adorable little boy in the world, and now he is ours.

WE GOT THE CALL!!!! WE ARE PARENTS!!!

Do you know how long we have waited to say these words!!!???!!!!
At about 3:50pm this afternoon we received the call we have been longing for!
We are thrilled to announce that we have been referred a BOY! Yes, a BOY!!! We are so surprised it is a boy, as we had been thinking a girl since the beginning, and girls are more commonly adopted than boys. So this makes this gift even more special to us!

Here is what we know so far:
Chinese Name: Xu Xiao Lu
Birthdate: March 31, 2006 (he is 14 months old)
Province: Jiangsu Province

He has been at an SWI (social welfare institute), which is another name for an orphanage, his whole life.
We are told that he is adorable, with chubby cheeks and a beautiful smile.
We are waiting for pictures, which are on the way by Fed-Ex, and we will receive them sometime tomorrow morning. With those pictures will be more details regarding his medical history, which shows normal health.

We promise to post pictures as soon as we can tomorrow.
We cannot wait to see the pictures of our son!!! The agency tells us that in one of the pictures he is wearing a baseball cap and overalls. Too adorable! Brian is already planning to make him a great hockey player, or at the very least, a great golfer!!!

This all happened so fast today, as most of the day was quiet with no indication that referrals were going to arrive. Then all of a sudden, the phone rang and now we are parents. It is an indescribable feeling, and we are truly overwhelmed!

I'll post more tomorrow, including pictures and more details. Right now, we are over the moon and back excited, thrilled, and blessed to have a son. Now, we can't wait to bring him home!!!

Referrals Are Arriving!!!

Several agencies are reporting that referrals have arrived, and many have already received their calls from their agencies. Those receiving calls so far have a LID of November 7th!!!! That means we are in!!!!!!!!!!
Agencies reporting that packages have arrived are on the West Coast and East Coast. Our agency is in Oregon.
We have not received any word yet from our agency, but we hope to get our call either later today or tomorrow! Stay tuned!!!!!!
Can this really, FINALLY, be happening?????????

Monday Has Come and Gone

Well, Monday is just about over, and we unfortunately have no news to share. Not too much has hit the rumor mill today. We had a small bit of hope this morning that updates were to follow, as news surfaced that European agencies were claiming the cut-off of November 7th. But then the rest of the day was quiet. We are still happy, though, that they are still talking about November 7th, as that is our day.
Some other agencies are speculating that referrals will not come out until later this week, or even into next. We sure hope not!
So on this Monday night we are just about where we were this morning. But still hopeful to hear something this week! No news is GOOD news, right???

Thank you to everyone who have sent us comments or emails about this blog. I will do my best to keep it updated daily with any new developments. Tomorrow is another day.........

It's Monday Morning......

And still no news. I have a feeling it is going to be a long couple of days! The rumor boards are quiet right now. I had hoped to wake up today with at least news of a cut-off date. But nothing. Well, maybe no news is good news??? We shall see. Stay tuned!!

We Are Getting Close!

So when will this stork fly?? That is the big question on our minds this Sunday night. As most of you know, we have hoped and prayed for the day to arrive, and we are now very close to FINALLY reaching the day we have been anxiously awaiting. The PHONE CALL and OUR REFERRAL!! At the beginning of May, referrals came out and covered log-in dates up to and including November 1, 2005. With our LID of November 7, 2005, we are only 6 LID's away from referral. Rumors have been swirling since that May referral batch, indicating good rumors (June will get to the mid-teens of November) and bad rumors (June will only see a couple of LID's referred). The rollercoaster has been quite a ride this month, more so for us as we are right on the edge. The latest speculation? That June's referral cut-off will be November 7th. If true, then we are in!!!!! But as we have learned way too many times, there are no sure things during this adoption process, so we are still very cautious. However, we do know that the rumors and speculation will be replaced by fact, and we think that will happen in the next day or so. At this point (where it is 10:00am Monday morning in China), we have heard no news yet. But, we think that we will begin to hear something more concrete hopefully in the next 24-48 hours. Maybe?!? First we will find out the cut-off date for referrals. Then we will wait for the news that the "stork is in the air". If we are in, we will wait for a call from our agency, letting us know that we are parents! We will get as much information from that call as we can, and then the next day, Mr. Fed-Ex man delivers our package with more details, pictures and more. All of this will happen over the course of just a couple of days.

Okay, so I am not going to get too far ahead of ourselves right now. Trying to keep a level head, because we know that ANYTHING can happen. We are keeping the faith and hope that this will be it! Keep checking this site for more updates as we will keep you updated through here. And once we get pictures, we will put them here too.

Thanks for your support everyone!

"I haven't met you yet or seen your face, but in my heart you hold a place. My hopes grow with each passing day, even though you're miles away. I know you're there waiting for me, as I am here waiting to see, the child God has sent from above, to make me a mother and share all my love."
(Karen Cooper)