Contortions!

With all the waiting and paperchase over the past 3 years leading up to our adoption of little Katie, we feel like we've been bent into all sorts of odd shapes and contortions. Criminal background checks by the city police, county sheriff, state bureau of criminal investigation, and Homeland Security Administration; fingerprinted once by the sheriff and twice by BCIS; a home study done by a local social worker; monitoring Rumor Queen blog for ANY news about Chinese adoptions; bugging our adoption agency at regular intervals knowing that they don't know anything more than we do; and FINALLY last Friday night hearing the words we've been dying to hear for 3 years: "your adoption referral has arrived".

It's funny, but that sounds so clinical and bureaucratic, when what they really mean is: the little 10 month old Chinese abandoned orphan who has been living in a city orphanage all her short life has finally been allowed to join our family after a longer wait than anyone should have to endure.

Now we're scrambling to get paperwork together (and get fingerprinted by BCIS for the 3rd time), figure out what to pack since small town China may not have the exact style of Huggies that we prefer, and decide if we really want to visit 2 friends in northern China before we see Katie. At least it's not the mind-numbing wait we've been subjected to until now.

Anyway, in honor of our convolutions and contortions, I have uploaded a video of my nephew from a month or two ago doing a contortion act for his school variety show. He's pretty flexible as you'll see.



He is attending a Cirque du Soleil training camp in Montreal this summer, and hopes one day to be a performer in one of the Cirque touring companies. Being a perfectionist, he is not at all pleased by this video (even though he won the variety show with it and took home $100!), so he will probably be mad that I pilfered a copy from his house and uploaded it. Oh well, so sue me, little buddy!

While we were in Orlando together a couple of weeks ago, his gymnastics coach, who knows the Orlando Cirque head coach, got him a backstage tour between shows of La Nouba, and a chance to spend all afternoon at their weekly practice. He was really inspired by it, and especially loved the little Chinese girls who do the "Diabolo" spinning top routine. Which brings us full circle back to our little Chinese girl Katie.

I have a feeling I'll be able to bring almost any conversation full circle back to Katie, kind of like six degrees of Kevin Bacon.

BTW, shouts out to Chad and Holly who added another arrow to their familial quiver. He is Anderson Walter Macy, born May 8th, 2008, weighing 9.6 pounds, 20.25 inches long. He is awesome! Which reminds me, did I tell you about our awesome little girl, Katie?...