I heard a rumor ...

This has been a totally wild week for referral rumors. My hopes and emotions have been up high and down low. I'm sure that will continue. However, since today is a holiday, I'm going to let myself have faith in the dream if only for a little while.

Come on, rumors!

Several days ago a rumor surfaced that CCWA was preparing paperwork which usually signals the arrival of referrals about two weeks later. Today Rumor Queen confirmed we should see cut-off date rumors by the middle or end of next week. This puts matters on pace for a quick referral batch, which can, unfortunately mean a small number of days referred. But, if the batch is the same size as the last (which was punctual) then we should be in!

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo is short for National November Writing Month. This refers to a challenge for aspiring writers to begin and finish a novel within the month of November. The challenge has been around for quite some time, but this year I figured I'd give it a try. For one reason, I figured the challenge would give me something to focus on besides the adoption.
The other reason is also related to the adoption. My beloved publisher, Storm Constantine has said that we should each write the story that we always wanted to read but couldn't never find. This is excellent advice, but it has taken me years to think of a story that I haven't already read. The inspiration came from discussions on Rumor Queen's blog about how badly adoption and/or being an orphan is so prevalent in children's literature and also so badly handled.  I decided to remedy that. I have undertaken to modernize a traditional fairy tale type story and treat adoption with the dignity it deserves.  I also modified the basic plot of the first novel I imagined writing as an angsty tween.
The challenge dictates that writers pound out 50,000 words in November. Since my story is aimed at young adults, I suspect I can get it told in fewer.  I also don't have any sincere expectation of finishing the project before my real life adoption comes through. But I am dedicated to starting the book and finishing it eventually because for the first time in years, the story is something I feel passionate about.

Referral Predictions

We are now approaching the climax of the roller coaster for waiting adoptive parents. The last batch of referrals arrived earlier than expected and included up to LiD Aug. 2nd. As always, the brilliant Rumor Queen looked at her poll data, statistics, and crunched the numbers. I am going to copy and paste some of the text directly below.

"My formula spit out August 7th [as the LiD the next batch will include up to] ...., but I came close to .... making it the 4th. That’s the difference between a Friday cut off and a Monday cut off, so not as big as it may sound. Last month I put the formula’s response of the 4th but said I came close to changing it to the 3rd. As it turns out, the cut off was the 2nd.
"The small window this month would have referrals arriving on or between Wednesday, November 23 and Monday, November 28.  The big window is between Friday, November 18 and Friday, December 9."

The more conservative China Adoption Forecast predicts we will get our referral on December 2nd.
Either way my hopes are high for seeing our baby's face (in a photo) before Christmas. I can't wait to post her picture and share her information with everyone.

Preparing

This afternoon Paul and I will be sitting in on a huge conference call about traveling to China to get our baby. I'm a little nervous about being overwhelmed with information and having a hard time understanding (the main presenter is Chinese).
In the meantime unconfirmed rumors report that CCWAA has matched to Aug. 2. Rumors also state that their computers were down for three days. I swear that place needs better IT because that seems to happen a lot! Anyhow, I don't know if this means they've gotten to the 2nd and are still going, or that they've stopped at the 2nd and will send these referrals out soon.
I'd been hoping they'd make it to the 4th or 5th to insure we'd be in the next batch. However, rumors also indicate that Aug.3rd had a lot of dossiers. Regardless, it's surprisingly early to be getting rumors this specific. I still feel confident we'll get our referral this year

Online Shopping is da Bomb!

Thanks to getting double cash back from Amazon this month, I've racked up some baby products that seem really nifty to me. From the Kai Lan collection, I've got a toddler cup with a straw (preferred by many Chinese kids to sippy) and an adorable board book with a pop out dragon. A chic splat mat for under the high chair, a towel apron (to keep bather drier than bathee), Chinese lullibies CD, and safety latches. Oh, and a compartment plate with a reservoir for hot water to keep the food warm.

Sunday Worship

Today Paul and I took a drive in order to preserve some photographic evidence of the glorious beauty of autumn in the Southern Appalachains. For those of you who've never experienced a truly scenic tour of fall foliage, you really should add it to your bucket list.
When you see the photos keep in mind each shot is not the most beautiful tableau, but the most lovely shot we could procure with relatively little effort and no planning. I think our pictures represent the everyday beauty we take for granted around here. We snapped pictures in an upscale subdivision as well as on the side of Blue Ridge Parkway, and even in a city parking lot.
I can only hope to have the skill to display the peaceful play of light and shadow in the woods, or the graceful twist of nearly black skeletal limbs stretched through luminescent leaves. No matter the sophistication of the hardware or the skill of the photographer, pictures don't convey the smell of the air, the warmth of the sun, or the softness of the moist earth. Perhaps we should have stayed out longer or ventured further, but The experience nearly became overwhelming at times because we were greedy to capture and share the glory of what we saw. Inevitably the most picturesque grouping sprang up in inconvenient places, and I despair of our ability to truly capture what I saw.
Dwelling on this I was inspired with the thought that the very definition of God could be the scope of a being who actually could See and Know all of this. I imagined how sublime it would be to see each leaf with it's tracery of veins and to have watched it from bright tender shoot to crispy dried ghost. To appreciate all the deep ruby reds, glowing orange, and shining yellows as they contrast with the vibrant blue of a cloudless sky and the verdant green of still-fresh grass. To see each frolicking forest creatures and each swooping bird. To watch the trajectory of each spiraling leaf in a shower of foliage. To appreciate each lush berry, each coy little acorn, and each fetching cluster of pine cones. To love the last bright flowers and the lace kiss of the first frost.
Such an entity would be glorious. And I don't see how such a god could want for more besides our love, respect, and gratitude for such gifts. Certainly, a being who beholds the breadth of such wonder doesn't require our petty prayers or shows of worship.