Savannah's First Hockey Game!

Tonight marked Savannah's first hockey game! Okay, not really, but her photo was there! We hope we can take her to many games in the near future! Can anyone say Stanley Cup Finals? The Canes won in Savannah's and Ron Francis's honor tonight 4-1 over the Atlanta Thrashers. Well done Canes!

Happy New Year!

Okay, I know that for most of you this is about 27 days too late, but for the Chinese community January 29th is the beginning of the New Year and this year is the Year of the Dog. The Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries, which predates the International Calendar (based on the Gregorian Calendar) we use at the present day which goes back only some 425 years. The calendar measures time, from short durations of minutes and hours, to intervals of time measured in months, years and centuries, entirely based on the astronomical observations of the movement of the Sun, Moon and stars.

Today we spent the morning at the TACAS (see our links) New Year festival here in Raleigh. We gathered with many of our friends and their children to take in the beautiful sights and sounds, share so great food and to immerse ourselves into the culture that we will soon share when we travel to China to pick up Savannah! We cannot wait!

Mommy in Training!

We have had a whirlwind couple of days since we received our referral packet and are still recovering! Ann Marie and her Mom have decorated the houses with photos of Savannah (I didn't know you could spend that much money in a photo copier!) and the families are preparing for the new addition!

We want to thank everyone who has sent us notes of congratulations and called to let us know how beautiful our daughter is. We feel that we are truly blessed to have been chosen to be Savannah's parents and cannot wait until the day we hold our daughter for the first time.

On a side note, we wanted to document all the coincidences that have come with the referral of our daughter. First, I (Mike) had a dream a week before Mothers Day last year that our daughter was born somewhere in China and noted as much to Ann Marie in her Mothers Day card. Savannah's documented birth date was May 6th, Mothers Day was May 9th, pretty close to the dream! Also, she was born on the LID (log in date) for our dossier in China. Another was after we heard the referral process was slowing down I made a guess in my PC Outlook calendar that we would receive our referral on the 27th of January, it came on the 26th! One of our friends told us that the referrals would mail from China on the 20th of January, they mailed that day! Is all this coincidence? Maybe so, but I still think it was all meant to be!

Well, this is getting long and its almost time for the hockey game so I will log off for now. To end all I will say is the light is still on in the window and our hearts are still longing to bring our daughter home. We love you Savannah! Mom & Dad

Isn’t she beautiful!

It’s been an incredible, overwhelming and most of all emotional day here in Holly Springs! All over the world our friends are receiving the first photos of their adopted children and today it was our turn! Savannah is beautiful! We started the day at 6:00 am as normal, but the following hours were anything but normal! Ann Marie sat by the window for 3 hours waiting for the package to arrive and as if planned, it arrived at 10:25 am, 5 minutes before the deadline for FedEx! We were the last stop on the route! Can you believe it? After a frenzied set of photos with our awesome delivery guy Chris we tore into the house to open the new arrival! In front of the camera the emotions flowed and our lives were completed.

Savannah is a little over 8 months old now and she has hair (sorry about the haircut Savannah)! Her medical information looks good and she is said to be gaining weight, adding teeth, is very attentive, and shows great affection. And best of all she is a DEEP SLEEPER! We are so pleased with the advancement of her vital statistics and cannot wait to get her home!

Savannah is a “Southern Beach Baby” as her orphanage was located on the Southern coast of the Guangdong Province just off the South China Sea, so she should fit in quite well in the Kennedy household!

Well, we are off to make copies of photos for family and friends and to complete the paperwork to officially make Savannah our daughter. Today has started a new chapter in our life together and it has been a true gift. Look for more updates to come, its time to celebrate!

We love you Savannah! Mom & Dad

Thanks for the balloons Chris, Heidi & Chloe! What a surprise!

First comes the phone call, then comes the photo!

After nearly 15 months of paperwork, finger prints, home study visits, baby basic course, and answering questions about where our adopted daughter was coming from, the time has arrived! At 1:10 pm today, January 25th, 2006 Ann Marie received the phone call we have waited patiently, and sometimes impatiently, for! Savannah is one step closer to coming home with this call! The next step comes tomorrow with the arrival of the formal referral documents! Here is what we know so far:

Her Chinese Name is Zhan Ming Quan, (phonetically Chan Ming Chuan). When she comes home her American name will be Savannah (middle to be decided) Kennedy. She was born on May 6, 2005 and she is currently waiting for her mom and dad in the Guangdong Province of China at the Zhanjiang SWI. We will have much more information on Savannah and most important the first photo of our daughter! Be sure and check back with us then!

One day closer....yet still not close enough. Good night Savannah, Mom and Dad will be there soon.

The Stork is in the Air!

With the coming of the dawn came the news we have waited for nearly 8 months, our referral is on its way from China and our baby daughter will soon be revealed to us after our agonizing wait. It is miraculous to read the posts on the websites and feel the rush of anticipation coming from the soon to be parents and the utter despair from the parents who’s log in dates come just past the dates released by the CCAA. I hope that the mothers and fathers who offer these children up for adoption know that the love being shown to them is equal to that left behind. Will she be tall or short? Will she be thin or as plump as a butterball turkey? Will she as bald as her soon to be father or have a thick black head of hair? The days between now and the fateful FedEx delivery will be slow and painful, but so worth the wait. Till then, Ann Marie and I will live our lives as normally as possible and prepare for the change that is soon to come! Check back with us daily so you do not miss the joyous moment when a little piece of our Savannah comes home. Till then, sleep tight little one, Gotcha day is one day closer. Love, Mom & Dad

The Light in the Window

If you drive by the house these days you will notice a small pink light in the foyer window on the second floor. This is the light we have placed for all to see to remind them, as well as ourselves, of our daughter who will soon be coming home. This light will burn each night until Savannah is safe and sound in her crib right here in Holly Springs. We hope that somehow she can see the glow from this light and will realize that we will soon be there.

In other news, we are waiting as patiently as expected parents can for any confirmation from CCAA that the referrals for our LID have been released and are on their way to the anxious families all around the world. So for those of you who tonight sit by the computer tonight, logged on to the countless websites awaiting that word, know that the expectant father on this end of the internet, along with one sometimes impatient, but truly optimistic and loving mother share your every waiting moment. The PC will be on all night and to end, we love you Savannah.....see you soon. Love, Mom & Dad

For the one who waits, every moment seems like an eternity.....

I read this quote off one of our boards and felt it was the God's honest truth. And, happily, this morning, it appears that CCAA has updated their website:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office in June 2005.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before April 25, 2005.

Now, perhaps this is fate but two totally unrelated people have told me that the 20th of this month is our day. Last night, our good friend Susie who is also adopting with us, dreamed her little girl Sara was in the Guangdong province and her husband told her a year ago that on the 24th of January, it will be a special day. As I write, rumors are flying that the referrals will be sent tomorrow (the 20th!) and that the cut off is either May 10 or May 12. That would mean we could get the call on Jan. 24th! I find this all too much of a coincidence to not be true. Please say a prayer for us all over the next few days.....

Until more is known, our red thread holds strong!

Well, when is next???

Normally, I don't rant but this time, I will break my rule. What do we know? We know we are an early LID for May (May 6). What else do we know? That our agency has pretty much confirmed that we will not be getting our referral in January. They are still working on the travel authorizations for the previous referrals and they won't work on another batch until the TAs for the previous group are complete. This is not the best news and definately not what we wanted to hear. With the CNY starting on the 29th of Jan, we can pretty much look for a late Feb/early March referral. And then, with a referral that late, we have the high likely hood of having the April trade show impact our travel. Just when you feel that you are on the upswing, it seems like yet another road block or slow down is thrown in front of you. I find myself wondering - is it possible to be pregnant for 15 months? God knows, when we started this process in October of 2004, I thought of myself as pregnant. While not in the phyisical sense, definately in the emotional sense. My child was there and my attachement to her was growing everyday in my heart. Now, I find myself anything but excited about my child and tired of everyone saying silly things like "well, not much you can do about it" or "your child is just not ready" or "in God's time". These sayings really don't do much to improve my mood or provide any bit of encouragement. You know, just say - "I'm sorry it sucks. We are here for you" and call it a day! If you asked my when I started this process if this was easier than fertility treatments, I would have said yes. I think I will recant that. This is worse by a long stretch!

Until we have more positive news we will just keep holding on to our red thread and burn our candle in our window until our little girl comes home.