Ok so we got something that started with a 'P' this weekend though not what I really wanted and something I cannot believe we got. 


Meet the newest member of the O'Cain Crew:


 

Busy, busy we have been.
Three field days, one 8th grade cookout, a soccer party, 4th grade
American Days, 100 Book Club Celebration, Poetry reading, 8th grade awards and presentation and 3 end of the year class parties. Throw in work, drum lessons, a day at the lake with friends, and you can see why I am ready for
SUMMER!!!

So ready to sleep in everyday and just spend time with the kids.
We are going to have a great summer, even if the kids don't think cleaning out
the entire house for a massive garage sale is fun. ;0)
Seriously we do have some fun things planned.
And today we will start with a day at the pool right after school!

And I am so hoping to share some good news soon people!! Just waiting on a little thing the starts with P! (Woo Hoo)

We have been on a referral roller coaster these last two weeks with
many ups and downs. We have been LID since late April. Chi*na just failed to let our agency know and we didn't find out until I inquired (not just once) and when they contacted Chi*na they found out we had been LID for a while. We missed the last matching by just 6 days. There have been days I have felt confused, frustrated, sad, happy and sometimes all those emotions all in one day. But I knew in my heart that our child would be revealed to us in God's timing and that is what got me through it all. Faith.


So our Faith got us through and we hope to have a BIG announcement very soon...stay tuned.

Kelly and her husband are the brainchild behind The Sparrow Fund. I just recently learned of this
organization and its purpose. The Sparrow Fund was founded to provide grants to families that have received referrals and need to have financial assistance to have these files reviewed by medical professionals. It can be very costly for these files to be reviewed and there are times you may have more than one file reviewed. That cost on top of the cost of adoption adds up. What a great way for Kelly and her husband to give back. Right now they are having a Sparrow Fund Fundraising Blitz. They have some adorable shops that have gotten on board and are donating a portion of their proceeds this month to The Sparrow Fund. There are some great finds so check it out! Everything from clothes, jewerly and hair accessories.

Two years ago today I met the little girl behind the picture I'd been staring at for 6 months.
Not only was she our first adoption, she was 7. I had no idea what it would be like when we walked
into the Civil Affairs office that day.

But that day we met a little girl who was no doubt scared, she was meeting two strangers who looked
nothing like her, didn't speak the same language and they were taking her far, far away from everything she has ever known.


And she was brave. She never let on that she was scared and didn't want us to know. In those first
days in China I would hear her crying softly in her sleep.


In China she rejected us, preferring to hang out with other kids in our travel group and holding hands and talking to our guide. Thankfully, I had read enough and knew that she would come around and told John to just be patient with her.

I can still remember the moment she let go. Our guide took us to the airport to depart home for the US. Lily held his hand all the way to the last gate. They had grown fond of each other over the last 10 days and our guide had actually been a huge help to us with her. She was hanging on to the last familiar
thing around her. As he bid us farewell and we walked across the line, just the three of us, she reached over and grabbed my hand and never let it go. While traveling home over the next 23 hours we started to see signs that she was ready to start attaching to us. From that moment she allowed herself to become our daughter.


Things haven't always been easy, but they have always been worth it. Over the last two years she
has fallen in love with her family and her family has fallen in love with her.

For Mothers Day Lily made me a book. She is the most thoughtful child I have ever known.
In it she wrote...

"the most important thing about my mom is that she loves me"

People I cried, no bawled when I read that.

She just wanted a family and to be loved.

Lily Kate O'Cain,
You are the most amazing blessing and God sent us the most perfect daughter ever!
We love you, Happy Gotcha Day!
Your Family

You may remember a while back when I posted this about Lily. Well right before Spring Break we found
out Wyatt had been nominated and was selected as the Leader for his class for the 3rd Nine weeks.
We are so proud of him. Wyatt received the award for being a leader in his classroom by always working hard and finishing his work and staying on task.

We spent our entire Spring Break minus Easter Day camping. We are relatively new to camping as a family. I grew up camping quite often as a little girl. You know the real kind, a tent, a blow up pool float and a sleeping bag. My kids are doing the less roughing it kind of camping that momma prefers these days. A Pop-up, mattresses, blankets and ac/heat. We normally prefer to camp in the mountains but we shook things up this time and went to the coast. We are fortunate enough to live in a location about 2.5 hours from either. I just usually go away from the heat but this time of year the whether on the coast was PERFECT!!





And I tried hard to get a picture of all 5 kiddos in a huge Oak Tree but some little people would not
cooperate so I had to settle for this....




And this...


We spent time on a replica ship from the early Charleston settlement days...and a picture that I am actually in.




Somebody tolerated the picture taking well.




While waiting for something I started playing around with the kids and gave them an emotion or situation and asked for them to make the appropriate facial reaction, it was so funny. These are a few of my favorites.

Finally!!

For anyone following who does not know what that means well, it means Dossier To China!
All the hard work over the last 6 months or so was finally sent to China. This means we will receive a Log In Date (LID) and hopefully receive a referral very soon. We are so excited! and were actually DTC yesterday, our agency forgot to call and tell us that minor HUGE detail!

I don't encourage my children to have crushes but when this came home in Wyatts' book bag
the other day I thought it was so sweet! How sweet of someone else to recognize how great he is!

I rarely remember my dreams but lately I have been having some pretty crazy ones.

Last night before bed I was online reading about Chinese Adoption (surprise,surprise) so it is no surprise that I had a dream about our daughter.

I received an email that we had been matched. She was 22 months, cute as a button and I remember her special need was something that I thought ok, no biggie. You see we had to specify which needs we were willing to accept for our next adoption. Lily's special need is still basically a mystery but honestly y'all she is the healthiest thing ever! So for this adoption we had to specify ahead of time. That folks is scary! But we knew what we could handle and as my dear son reminded me we are all created by God, and of course that reminded me of someone who I heard speak recently that said, "God created everyone, and God don't make no junk!". So part of me is scared of what need our daughter will have. It could be one of many. And even though we said yes we can do that, we never have. It is a gigantic leap of faith. I know you've heard the saying, "God don't give you anything you can't handle" and well I believe that! So I digress... Ok, now back to my dream....

So then the email said to go pick her up at the airport the very next day. WOW, how convenient. But it didn't say what airport. Well using my sleuth skills I decided based on the wording of the email that it was Owens Field. Yes, because all flights from China land right into Owens Field (haha- it is a very small airport people).
SO we go there and there are all these planes landing and little Chinese girls are getting off the planes and into the arms of their new mommies and daddies. We waited but our daughter never came. Thinking we are at the wrong airport we go to another and still nothing.

Well of course we are upset so we go back to see who sent us the email (if you know anything about adoption you know this story is just crazy! of course we would know in real life) After a little research I find that it not the agency we are signed with but the agency who did our homestudy, weird.

Well we meet with them and I give them a piece of my mind! and she tells us, our daughter has already left to go back to China because we didn't pick her up! (imagine the panic feeling I had here, you know those kind of dreams). At that point I would have swam to China to get my daughter but luckily the caseworker got on the phone with goodness knows who and then looked at me and smiled and said, "they are on there way back and you can pick your daughter up at 1:15 at the Columbia Airport". Whew!

That is all I remember. (sorry if I bored you )

We are reaching a point in the process where hopefully we will be matched soon. Possibly as early as May and I am starting to think about it a lot and the kids ask about her a lot too. We are ready. We cannot wait for the day we really get to open that email and see her precious face for the first time but of course we'll have to travel to China ourselves.;0)

Bobo (Wyatt) had his very first soccer game. He just understands sports well, plays well and plays hard. Those things made for one great game Saturday. It is soooo fun watching him play. He came home with a huge smile, both knees skinned and fell fast asleep on the floor watching TV. He scored 7 goals out of the 8 his team scored to win the game. He had a great time and we were so proud of him!

This is Wyatt after his game. I only took my point and shoot so I didn't get any good action shots, maybe next time.




And Lily experienced another first, her very first slumber party. She was so excited she was invited and so was I.  I knew the girl was sweet to Lily, I know her parents and they live just down the street in case Lily needed me. But need me not, she had so much fun she didn't even come home until around 5 the next day!
Even though she had fun she stayed closely connected to me. I received a million few phone calls from her while she was gone. Asking what I was doing, could she play with makeup, etc but my favorite call was to tell me goodnight. Lily had a blast and it is obvious my little girl is quickly growing up. I'm enjoying the days while I still hold the number place in her life!

And now for a real update....

WE RECEIVED USCIS APPROVAL ON FRIDAY!!!!!!!

that means in just days our Dossier can be on it's way to China!!

And what does that mean?

We are one step closer to our daughter!!

Yippee Jesus!!!

This really is just an update to tell you that nothing is new. I am STILL waiting on our 1800a approval.

I am frustrated. We sent our application back last year (oct or nov). And this has been a big hangup for us.

If we get it in the next day or two then we will have a chance to be DTC (Dossier to China) and then LID ( Log in Date-required for referral of most children) so we may be matched with our little one in April.

I got to say. I. Am. Ready.

Ready to see her face, know her need and prepare to bring her home!

My mind knows that there is a big picture and that our paperwork isn't ready because our daughter isn't ready. Trusting in God that our sweet daughter is not available, yet. But my heart says it is time to know and time to go! This momma is ready to see her daughters sweet face and bring her home!