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| Our Family's Journey to China (cont'd) |
| "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time;" - William Shakespeare's Macbeth (5.5.19-28) |
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| December 2000: This has been a very busy, hectic month, getting ready for Christmas, etc. We went to my mom and dad's on Christmas Eve, as we usually do, and again on Christmas Day, for dinner. Matthew had a wonderful time and received so many gifts, it's kind of embarrassing. He is truly a lucky, much-loved little boy. Everybody is looking forward to next year, when our little girl will be part of the celebrations. Cathy, my friend at school, bought a present for my daughter. It's an Asian Groovy Girl and it's so cute! I can't wait until my girl is old enough to play with it. My mom bought me a beautiful "baby book" with many slots for pictures. It has Noah's Ark animals all over it as well and ties up with a ribbon. My sisters are waiting until their niece actually comes home, before they indulge their desires to buy "girlie" things. Since we only have boys in the family, buying clothes and toys for a girl will be something very new! Happy New Year, my beautiful girl, wherever you are! May you be warm, well-fed and loved as much as possible, until we come to bring you home! January 2001: It's 2001-- the year our baby girl will come home! Yulin phoned me this month to say how much things have slowed down in China. She said the CCAA (China Centre of Adoption Affairs) is processing over a thousand dossiers a month, which accounts for the eleven - twelve month wait to referral, and that we probably wouldn't hear anything now until July or August. This was nothing new to me; I've been reading about the slow-downs and longer wait times on the August Dossier-to-China list. I just keep reminding myself that five months have already gone by since our wait first started. We will survive these next six - seven months, as well. Anyway, at least I think we've settled on a name for our daughter-- Jenna Faith (Chinese Name) McGhie. She will be called "Faith." It has my mother's seal of approval, which is difficult to get, as well as Matthew's. Also, one of my students printed out the Chinese characters for "faith" and gave them to me. When she pronounced the word in Chinese, I really liked the sound of it. (She did say, however, "Ah Miss, that's not really a name." ) It's a name that I've always loved and never thought I'd get the chance to use. Also this month, I bought three international, soft dolls from Pier 1 Imports. They are cuddly and beautiful. I got the Asian, Indian and African dolls. They're sitting on the shelf in Matthew's playroom, until their rightful owner comes home to claim them. The only other significant thing I've done this month is to start a new E-Group for Canadians who are in the process of adopting, or who have already adopted from China. I think there are more than enough Canadians to communicate with each other and it would be nice to have a list that focuses on and addresses Canadian concerns, government regulations, agencies, etc. The site is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canadiansadoptingfromchina |
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| Ontario Time Lines cont'd |