Referral time is getting closer! Lots more excitement in the air. I keep being asked at work have I heard anything yet, and I think also as I’ve booked holidays both in August and September, to try and guess when we will be traveling, I’m also being asked if I need both sets of hols! Keep saying until we get the referral we don’t know when we will be traveling, and that we go, usually, 6 weeks after we get our referrals.
We spent 5 days in Edinburgh, a short holiday. Travelled by train, as I didn’t really want to drive all the way to Scotland, and we thought Gwion would love the train journey, and hoping he (and us) would survive the 5 hours we'd be on the train. Gwion was a star! He loved the whole journey and didn’t play up at all. He finally fell asleep 15 minutes before we arrived in Edinburgh! We had great weather the whole time we were there and explored the city fairly well.
Kirstin and Gwion in Edinburgh, May 2005
Rhodri spent one day on his own, for an article for work, so I took Gwion to Edinburgh Zoo, which we really enjoyed. Then I had a day to myself so I could go shopping and visit the castle. Rhodri took Gwion to a steam train ride, and on a canal boat ride. On our last day we went over to see the Forth bridge and take Gwion to the Deep Sea Aquarium, which Gwion really enjoyed, especially when he could stroke a python that they were showing! In fact, I think that’s what Gwion enjoyed best, as he kept going on about the “neidr” (welsh for snake), and in the gift shop all he wanted was this long green snake (neidr gwerth as Gwion called it), and he was delighted to have it as a present!
Gwion and the snake in Edinburgh, May 2005
A bit worried when the referrals came in at the end of May. They went up to LID of 19 Nov in the US, but when the UK referrals came through it was just up to DTC 26 Oct. None of the early Nov DTC’s got referrals, but then someone put a message on our UK Chinese adoption board, saying that they were DTC 5 Nov, but their LID was 21 Nov, I was a bit more relieved as it meant they were after the LID cut off point. So hopefully we are still on track for a July referral. Have to wait ‘til the June referrals come in for sure!
E-mailed BLAS to see if they knew where our dossier was, and when we’re likely to get a referral. Got told to be patient as the rest of November has to be matched. Our dossier is in review room 10 (what ever that is) and they also spoke to the CCAA about our request for a baby under 12 months. We have stressed this in our letter to the CCAA, as we really want at least an 18 month age difference between Gwion and the new baby, but with the last batch of UK referrals someone posted that they’d asked for an 18 month – 2 year gap between their 2 children, and got an 11 month gap instead. That really worried me. BLAS said that the “CCAA will do their best to fulfill my demands”! (I think they mean request!)
Have almost got all my quilt squares. Just waiting for my parents, both my sisters and Rhodri’s brother to send me their squares and then I can finally get sewing!
