Waiting 4 Baby Rock: July 2009

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Congrats to families!

We are so happy for those receiving news of their child today! Families with LID of 3-21-06 and 3-22-06 are officially matched. We always feel elated to learn of referrals being sent, to share the joy of those patient parents and to know we are moving closer to our day. We had hoped for more LIDs to be included...just two days is disappointing...but we also know that the March log in numbers are huge. We truly believe that we'll see a fairly drastic speed up after March is matched. Some families are sharing their info/baby pics through the China Adopt Talk site. (See our links section if you'd like to visit the site to check out the babies!)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Gruzin's new style

He's just special; we've always known it. He knows when we need a walk or when we need a "lean." He knows when a young one is a little nervous and needs a little space; he knows when a young one is fearless and ready to play. He even waits out the storm with patience when a little, furry ball of energy is hanging off his tail! Todd decided Gruzin was just too wonderful to keep to ourselves and spent spring in various training and testing sessions with him. Those of you who know Gruzin will not be surprised to learn that he passed immediately and has been sharing his wisdom, energy and that Golden Retriever "lean" with others ever since. His hospital "'jacket" arrived last week, making it official. He's too modest to show off to all of you, so we're doing it for him!

Tara's "Good and Good for You" Pick for July

I have to give credit to my amazing cousin Jenny for this fantastic recipe! ASIAN LETTUCE WRAPS: To make the filling...Saute 1# ground turkey, chicken or pork in 1-2 T. oil until nearly browned. Add 2 cloves freshly minced garlic, 2 T. freshly grated ginger, 1 c. finely grated cabbage, 1 can water chestnuts-diced, 5 scallions-sliced; saute. Add 3-4 T. Hoisin sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Serve on lettuce, add sauce (following) and wrap. To make the sauce...Combine 2 T. Hoisin sauce, 2 T. seasoned rice vinegar, 1 T. soy sauce and a splash of sesame oil. I think this recipe will soon be a favorite in your house (if it isn't already)! The filling and sauce also work well on top of a bed of lettuce if your lettuce isn't up to the task. Enjoy!

Greetings, Guests!

We will use this blog to share news as we move one step closer to Baby Rock each day.

For those who need a bit of background...
We decided to adopt a baby from China in September/October of 2005. After completing mountains of paperwork, background checks, fingerprinting, etc. (collectively called the dossier), we were officially on China's waiting list on April 14th, 2006. This moment of acceptance is called the log-in date (LID). This date is quite significant because families are matched with children according to LID. If you follow referral dates (the date a waiting child is matched with a waiting family), you will be able to see how close we are to being matched--at least in theory. When we started the process three and a half years ago, China was matching month for month, meaning one month of LIDs were taking one month to match. Now, unfortunately, one month of LIDs is taking about four months or more. So...we wait...we vent...we cry...we breathe...we hope...we believe.

*To our family and friends-
A huge hug and thank you for sharing our frustration and our joy as we practice patience and faith, knowing Baby Rock is just over the horizon.

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