61 months since LID

Can you believe it!

We will be announcing "A Chocolate and Coffee Party" to indroduce all our friends to a delicious free-trade coffee we are selling through Just-love-coffee roasted coffee as a fundraiser for our adoption from China. Please consider buying some and telling your friends about it. Every bag sold earns us $5.00 toward our China adoption. I have tried the sunshine blend and am working my way through some other blends. They are really good!
A BIG thank-you in advance.
Dave and Kari Speckman

Look to the right hand column for the link to Just Love Coffee Roasters - our personal family store.

We just requested paperwork from our agency to get paperwork updated for China....

Bjorn and Kaitlin- My 2 oldest. It seems like yesterday we were watching Carebears and playing with TMNT (teenage mutant ninja turtles). Today we are expecting a baby.

Tonight I anxiously await a call from Kaitlin. She is due to have her baby on Sunday. I know it could be anytime between now and 2 weeks from now. I don't wish that on her. She was late- 9 days late and I remember how miserable I was waiting for her. Although it was 90 everday and now the weather is quite tolerable.
However, there is a full moon tonight and that should get something started!?
Stay tuned...

Happy Chinese New Year 4709.

First post the new year- both the gregorian (western)calender and the Chinese calender. so- Happy New Year! which ever one you choose to recognize.

So- what does this mean? Why am I thinking about this blog?

Its been 18 months since we brought home Sasha and Masha.

They have adjusted well.

Yes, I have been very very busy and have little time to blog- or facebook or even check emails.

We are 4 years- 4 months and 2 days since LID! UNBELIEVABLE!

We have not completed THIS adoption process.

My child still waits in China.
Where is this going- I am not sure but my heart strings are being pulled very hard!
Stay tuned.

Happy Valentines

Day. We wish love and peace to all.

Happy Chinese New Year.

The Year of the Tiger.

Today marks 30 months LID.

We never imagined that our wait to adopt from China would go on this long. The sad part is that we may wait at least that much longer yet. There is no end in sight. With the CCAA only making 2 or so days worth of referrals every month, the worst case scenario puts us about 90 months away yet. I know this sounds morbid but I need to realize adoption from China may not happen for us.
That being said, I am very excited at our progress with our Kazakhstan adoption and thankful that we were lead to another progrom while we waited for China. Right now my energies and my focus is on that process and my hopes that we will bring one or two children home by the end of the year. Blessings to all and most especially to all those children who wait so patiently for a family of their own. They are the ones who we most need to keep in our prayers. May God work in the hearts and minds of those in control of the futures of those children in need.

28 Months LID
Well, we have now been waiting with our dossier in China for 28 months. Seems like forever. I am thankful we started a second adoption process from Kazakhstan. I would go crazy if knew I still had to wait another 2-3 years for children to be running around this house. The Kaz process has not been easy or smooth and the amount of paperwork is incredible, but we are getting closer and hopefully will have a child or two home by the end of the year.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

This is the year of the Ox. It is formally know as Ji- Chou. It is the year 4706 on the Chinese calendar.

Happy New Year!!

To all our friends and families, we wish you a very happy New Year!

This year we are hopeful that our Kazakhstan adoption journey will come to fruition.

We are hopeful that we will move significantly closer to our China adoption, but we are at peace as we wait.

We are hopeful that Kaitlin will have a beautiful wedding later in the summer.

We are hopeful that we will continue to be blessed in our marriage.

We are hopefull that we will continue to be successful in our respective careers.

We are hopeful that we will all stay safe and healthy.

We are hopeful that our pack of dogs and cats will stay healthy, especially Murray who's 13 years is starting to show.

Merry Christmas to all.
I am taking the time now to reflect on all that the last year has brought us.
We are in a new home; one with lots of bedrooms and sunshine and space for active playing children who's laughter we hope to hear.
I am driving a mini-van with room for 7. Yes Vicki-- me in a mini-van!
I am excercising and taking a dance class- which I LOVE.
I now have enough fabric for 2 OHGWQ (quilts)(read about in previous posts) plus one for Kaitlin representing her African heritage.
I have a space fenced out for a garden next Spring.
Kaitlin is engaged to Joey Morris and planning a late summer 09 wedding.
God has taken wonderfully good care of us all.
Blessings to all of you and your families.

Posting to this blog has been neglected. I admit it. Its just that there is nothing happening with our China adoption and probably won't for at least another 2 years. We never thought we would get 24 months post log in date and still not have a child. It is difficult but we keep praying that Gods plan is for us to have children and experience that joy together. We keep hope in the joy of other families bringing their children home and in being with each other and talking and planning for that wonderful day when we see our childs face. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Reminiscing
Its been almost a year since the family went to Makinaw Island for moms birthday. Today the weather felt a bit like fall. The maples leaves are beginning to change and I could smell the fresh apples at the Cherry street market and I felt like wearing my white turtleneck this morning.

Wow- I havn't posted since June.
Summer has moved by so quickly. We had a wonderful time hosting the agency picnic and have voluntered to help at the pumkin potluck next month- should be fun. We made a lot of new friends who are in the process or have been through the adoption process and I hope to keep in contact with them. Two families ( ours included) have LID's only one month apart so we will have that in common some day when we bring our children home. I have added a new tracker to the top left of the blog. It states how far referrals are. Currently, referrals have been made through Feb. 9, 2006. Check back monthly for updates. I will try to get some current photos posted soon.

Summer Picnic
We will be hosting the FAC summer picnic for waiting families on July 19th. We are planning burgers and dogs with other food items brought pot-luck style. I hope this will be a chance to meet some other families in the same slow boat were in as well as some adopting from other countries (not so slow). Either way it wil be a good time for fellowship with others.

Yesterday marked our 20th month LID! WOW, I never thought we would be waiting this long- and longer. We received our renewal Immigration pre- approval and now simply continue to wait. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and all things wil happen in the right time.

NPR correspondants Melissa Block and Robert Siegel are in China and covering the earthquake that devastated Sichuan Province. Follow their blog at this sight:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/

Here is a link to a map of China, the epicenter of the quake and the location of the orphanages:
http://redthreadmaps.com/sichuan_earthquake.html