Happy New Year!

Chinese New Year begins today. Year of the Golden Boar. I'm lighting a red candle and keeping up positive thoughts that finally, this will be the year our baby is born. I also find myself thinking of her first parents... knowing that our joy will unavoidably be connected to their loss and grief. Mostly today I'm contemplating questions that can never be answered in a closed adoption. Is someone walking around in China today, pregnant with the girl who will eventually become our daughter? Is she young and single, or older, married, and already has a child? And her father, is he struck with sadness or the sense that one must do what needs to be done? I guess all we can do as adoptive parents is be grateful that they will have made the choice to put their baby somewhere safe where she could begin her part of the journey to our family.

Well, before I embark on a totally self-indulgent soliloquy, I'll just end here and say Happy New Year to all those who celebrate!

Dandies are Dandy!

Those who know me know I have a special place in my heart for Dandie Dinmonts, and that I'm not just jumping on the bandwagon since Bill Cosby's little guy won Best of Group at Westminster last night. I fell in love with one last year who took 2nd place in another show. Their curmudgeonly old man looks, the barks that are five times their size. Totally irresistable!

Does he have a chance for Best in Show, or will the ridiculously coiffed Toy Poodle take home the prize? (I promise, Sophie will never, ever, EVER look like that. Ever.)

Under Review

There are some days when I hate the rumor mill ("18 more months to go before referral!") and other days when I like it ("After March '06 LIDs, there's a big drop in dossiers!"). Of course one has to take it all with a grain of salt. Especially when two completely opposing rumors surface at the same time.

Today, though, I choose to embrace the following rumor: May '06 LIDs are in the review room! I'm sure we won't hear that we passed review for ages, but when we do we are SO opening the $50 bottle of wine somebody gave Mike at work last year. Here's hoping it hasn't gone totally putrid by then. (Uh, and that we actually pass review, too...)

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Month

That's right, referral time! Current cutoff date: Oct 13, 2005. It's about 2 weeks worth of log-in dates. Not spectacular but at least it doesn't indicate any further slow down. If it continues at this rate, we've got 14 months to go.

Congrats to all the new parents!!