Define Stalking....

So, say hypothetically you called in advance to find out a FedEx delivery person's schedule and then were laying in wait when he arrived to deliver a package....is that really considered stalking???

I desperately wanted a picture of the person that "delivered" our baby. Tony asked our China Coordinator when the delivery would arrive. Sandy said that FedEx usually arrived anytime between 8:30 and 10:30. Naturally, I was in the agency parking lot at 8:00 am sharp! The only reason Tony wasn't there promptly at 8:00 was because he was at Chik-Fil-A getting me my iced tea fix.

Around 10:00 am a gray SUV pulled in the parking lot and a man wearing a blue FedEx jacket got out. An unmarked car....who would've thought? Maybe someone tipped him off that I was stalking him. Both Tony and I jumped out of the car and said, "Excuse me, sir." at about the same time. I think the poor guy thought he was about to be mugged. I asked him if he was making a delivery to Adoptions Together and a little hesitantly he answered, "Yes." Tony and I explained to him that he was delivering our baby. It was so funny....he looked at the flat envelope in his hands and then he looked at us like we had 3 heads! We took a minute to explain to him that we were adopting and that that envelope contained the most important gift we would ever receive. Once he understood the importance of what he was holding in his hands he was thrilled. John, the FedEx man, explained to us that this was not his normal route and he was only filling in. Then he shared with us that he was adopted and so were two of his siblings. He also told us that he had a nephew and a niece that were adopted.

John was so happy to stop and have his picture taken and told us that he would have a wonderful story to share this weekend. He shook Tony's hand and gave me a great big hug. Who would ever guess that the stork wears a FedEx uniform??

Pure Happiness

Yesterday was the most amazing day. To finally be able to see Lily and realize that we were right...our daughter really is in China...brought us an incredible sense of peace. I can't stop looking at her pictures. I look at her and to me it feels like coming home.

Last night we got both of our families together to share the wonderful news. We met at a small local Chinese restaurant and took the place over. We had so much fun sharing Lily's pictures with everyone. Lily will be the first grandchild on Tony's side of the family and the 10th grandchild on mine! If last night is any indication Lily's extended family is as crazy about her as her daddy and I are!

My family gave us so many really beautiful gifts! We definitely weren't expecting gifts...but it certainly helped us to realize that we haven't been the only ones waiting for Lily!

My sister, Mary Beth, gave us the most perfect gift. When we first started this adoption journey I had a dream about Lily and in my dream she was wearing a precious yellow searsucker sundress and white birdcage sandals. Last night Mary Beth gave us the exact outfit from my dream!! When I opened the package it literally took my breath away. What makes the story more amazing is that Mary Beth found that dress and bought it the day after I told her about the dream. That's been well over a year ago now.

After dinner was finished, John (our friend that owns the restaurant) translated some of the documents that were sent to us from China. One of the documents provides details about when Lily was brought into foster care. I still can't quite believe this but on that day Lily was wearing a white and yellow outfit!

Call it a coincidence, fate, luck...call it whatever you want. As for me, I say it's definitely a God thing!

The Best Feelings Are The Ones That Have No Words To Describe Them

We Welcome with Love Our Daughter...
Lily Katherine Yin Parrott

Chinese Name: Jia Yin

Date of Birth: June 24, 2006

Location: Hubei Province

Jia Yu County Social Welfare Institute - foster care program

Measurements as of February 7, 2007:

Weight - 19.8 pounds

Length - 26.77 inches

Lily's documents say that she is a healthy, happy baby! Other characteristics listed state that she is quiet, fond of listening to music, enjoys playing with toys, is sometimes impatient, and loves to be held. At 19.8 pounds Mommy and Daddy better get busy lifting weights!

I am at a loss to find the words to describe the joy Tony and I are feeling right now. It is so amazing to be able to see the face of the child we have loved for so long.

We are incredibly blessed!

We Have More Information!

Talk about a roller coaster of a day! We received an e-mail from our agency this morning that we would probably not receive our referral until Monday. To say I didn't take it well would be an understatement! Thank God my sister, Mary Beth, came to the rescue. The heck with tea and sympathy....how about Cabernet and Toasted Almonds! Mary Beth, Ryan, and I headed to Matthew's for lunch and a few drinks. While we were there and I was moaning about how I couldn't possibly wait another minute to see our baby's face Tony called to say that the REFERRALS WERE IN and we would receive ours TOMORROW AT 11:00 AM!!

We know a little more information about our sweet Lily, too. Lily's birthday is June 24, 2006. Lily was born last year while we were all together on our annual family vacation to the Outer Banks. Somehow that just seems perfect to me. My niece Katie wins the poll for guessing Lily's birth date. Katie picked June 21....her own birthday. Close but not exact. Now we will have 3 June babies in our family: Ryan, Katie, and Lily.

Lily is currently at the Jia Yu County Social Welfare Institute (aka orphanage). Apparently it is a very small orphanage and I haven't been able to find any real information about it online.

In less than 14 hours we will be able to see our baby girl for the first time. I am absolutely breathless with anticipation! Come on tomorrow!!!

It's Official

It's official! The CCAA updated their website yesterday to show that they have finished referrals for families with LIDs through October 24, 2005. With an LID of October 18, 2005....we're in!!!!!!! I tried all day yesterday to get onto CCAA's site because I wanted this screen shot and I couldn't get in. Probably all the other crazy adoptive parents like me were trying to do the same thing and brought their server to it's knees!

Now can we please just actually get the referral? Please...oh please...oh please!

About Hubei Province

So what do you do when the only thing you know about your child is what Province she is from....you spend the entire day reading about it online! Hubei is the province marked with the red heart. Hey, a graphic artist I'm not...but it's the best I could do!


Here are a few facts about Hubei from Wikipedia and ChinaTravelGuide.com:

• The name Hubei means "North of the Lake"- referring to Dongting Lake.
• The World Famous Yangtze Three Gorges Dam Project is located in Hubei Province.
• Hubei covers an area of 180,000 square kilometers (about 69,500 square miles).
• Hubei has a population of 60,280,000.
• The capital of Hubei is Wuhan.
• People in Hubei speak a Southwestern Mandarin dialect.
• Hubei has a subtropical monsoonal climate with a humid and hot summer, dry winter and strong sunlight in autumn.
• Most places in Hubei enjoy four distinct seasons, with the best times to travel there being spring and autumn.

The most important thing I know about Hubei is that is where our little one is waiting for us!

We Became Parents At The Build-A-Bear Store!!!!!!

Yes, you read that right! Today, at 1:25 pm, we received a call from our agency that we have a baby! Can you believe it??? We're parents....a family...this is finally really happening!! All that we know so far is that our daughter is from the Hubei Province and our coordinator thinks our baby was born this past summer. We will have more concrete information either Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. How will we make it until then??

So, what were we doing when we got 'The Call' you ask? Why we were building a bear, of course! Tony took today off because we were hoping we would receive 'The Call' and we really wanted to be together when we received the wonderful news. We decided we would spend the day doing fun baby things. My sister, Patti, gave me the great idea of buying a stuffed animal that has a voice recorder in it so we could record a message and send it to our little one in a care package. Tony and I went to Toys R Us and Babies R Us this morning looking for just such a thing. Clerks at both stores knew exactly what we were talking about but neither store had anything like it in stock. A clerk at the Babies R Us store suggested we go to Build-A-Bear and see what they had to offer. So, off we went.

When we got to the store we were greeted by the most delightful woman named Freda. I tried to tell her what we wanted to do but I got too choked up. Tony stepped in and explained that we were adopting from China and wanted to make a bear for our daughter. Tony told Freda, if possible, we wanted to make a recording to place in the bear to tell our daughter how much we loved her and couldn't wait to bring her home. Freda was so excited and got started helping us right away. Freda gave us the voice recorder and sent us to the restroom so we could have privacy when recording our message to Lily. How funny is that?! Anyway, Tony and I talked a little bit about what we wanted to say and then decided to just go for it.

Freda helped us stuff the bear and put two hearts in it (because we need to send our daughter extra love!). Freda made us promise that we would bring Lily in once we were home and settled.

Can I just tell you how perfect Freda was?! She sort of looks like Mrs. Doubtfire....and I don't mean that in a nasty way. She was sweet and kind and if you are going to receive the news that you are finally a parent in front of a complete and total stranger this is just the woman for the job! Sorry the picture quality isn't the best....I used my Sidekick.

We had just had this picture taken with Freda when my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number (it wasn't our agency's number) but I answered the call. Sure enough it was Sandy, our China Coordinator, saying "Congratulations Mommy!". I burst out crying in the middle of the store. Tony and I ran out of the store and sat down on a bench in the middle of the mall and put the phone on speaker. Sitting in the middle of the Columbia Mall we learned what little we know about our daughter. Sandy said we should receive more information either Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. Once again I find myself wishing life came with a fast-forward button!

Tony and I sat on the bench....hug, cried, and made a million telephone calls. I'm sure the people walking past us thought we were crazy!

Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people that cries pretty. You know, a little sniffle here and there. Nope. Not me. I am more of the huge red blotches, runny nose, gasping for air types. I'm sure onlookers thought we had just gotten the worst news...not the best news..of our lives! Tony and I stopped two young girls that were walking past us to take our picture. They were very sweet and acted like crazy people stopped them in the mall every day asking to have their picture taken!

Tony and I then went to PF Chang's for a little celebratory lunch and to let the news settle in. It still hasn't.

When we arrived home we found that my sisters had been here. They had left beautiful flowers, bottles of wine, and Megamillion tickets (after all...obviously it's a lucky day for us!)

I can't begin to describe how happy Tony and I are. At the same time we can't wait for Thursday or Friday. We so want to see our little one's face and know more information about her!

What a wonderful day it has been!