Maya's fairy god-parents

Jim and Jill were married on 10/21/06 on the Disney Cruise. It was the same day as our one year anniversary of the LID in China. I was an honorary bridesmaid for Jill. She and I spent the entire year coordinating their special day. It was so much fun and it truly was an honor to be part of their special day. Patrick and I had already asked Paul and Kate Fiore to be Maya's god-parents when we have her baptized. However, since we live in Florida, we thought it would great for Maya to have fairy god-parents as well. So during my toast to the bride and groom--we asked them to be Maya's honorary god-parents and they agreed!
We are blessed to have such amazing friends who have supported us in our journey to getting Maya.

Happy Halloween

Patrick has already decided that Maya Lily will be a lady bug for Halloween next year!
We know she will be bootiful!!

Today we are at 375 days since LID--and the wait continues...

Happy Halloween to all of you!

Love Aleisa and Patrick

A poem for Maya and some updates

Patrick's Mom (Maryann) found this poem that an adoptive mother wrote to her daughter more than 20 years ago.
I thought it was very appropriate for our daughter and will share this with her when she is older. One more week til we are at our one year anniversary date for our LID. Our coordinator is hopeful that we should receive our referral at 13.5 months--which for us is Dec. 6th.
Thanks for being so supportive throughout this process.
Love,
Aleisa and Patrick

Once there were two women
Who never knew each other.
One you do not remember,
The other you call mother.

The first gave you life,
The second taught you to live it.
The first gave you a need for love,
The second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality,
The other gave you a name.
One gave you the seeds of talent,
The other gave you an aim.

One gave you emotions,
The other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile,
The other dried your tears.

One gave you up.
It was all that she could do.
The other prayed for a child,
and God led her straight to you.

And now, you ask me throught your tears,
The age old question through the years...
Heredity or environment?
Which are you the product of?
Neither, my darling, neither,
Just two different kinds of love.

Update from agency coordinator

Hello,

We just received an email from our coordinator regarding updating our information. Our anniversary date is 10/21--so we inquired about what steps we need to take now.
We were told that our paperwork in China is still in good standing. We wil have to re-do our I171-H, which is pretty easy to do. Our coordinator did say that since the current referral time frame is 13.5 months--we could receive our referral sometime in late November or early December!!!
This is so exciting!! We could be traveling in February or early March--depending on the Chinese New Year holiday. I want so much to be excited about this news--yet I have to protect my heart and not get overly excited--anything could change--as it has so many times throughout this journey.
We will update again once we hear any more news. Thanks again for all of your love and support.
We really appreciate it!
Love always,
Aleisa and Patrick