The Beginning

Our journey began in 2004 with "The Paperwork Chase"! There are tons and tons of paperwork and that alone was an exciting adventure. Bill and I learned a lot about each other as we were getting our documents together.

We chose China because we were told that from the time our documents go to China it would be about 8-10 months. Little did we know that it would take 16 months before before finally getting our referral. Referral is when you get a picture and a bio information.

Following is list of life events that happened while we were waiting for our daughter:

*September 2004 - initial paperwork began
*March 2005 - delay in paperwork due to medical issues that ended being nothing
*September 16, 2005 - documents went to China (DTC)
*October 18, 2005 - documents were logged in (LID) and the LONG waits begins!
*September 2005 - My little cousin had a baby boy
*February 2006 - Bill's two cousins had babies, both boys

OH BOY! ARE WE EVER READY FOR A GIRL!

*April 2006 - We moved into our new home on Quail Run.
*July 2006 - My mom passed away, had a 40th birthday party for Bill and my brother Steven
*December 2006 - My sister Susan came to visit for the first time. We also had Bill's mom and sister come for a visit.

*March 5, 2007 - FINALLY! WE GOT THE CALL AT 9:13 A.M. WE HAVE A BABY!!!!
We waited all day and finally got to see our Angelina at 6:15p.m. at Fay's (social worker from our agency). It was the most emotional moment of my life so far. She is beautiful and of course we were instantly in love with her.