A Ray of Hope

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.Dale Carnegie

Based on the volume of email we are receiving we know that many people are awaiting to hear news on our situation. Although we are not out of the woods yet, there seems to be a glimmer of hope for Elainea.
The preliminary results are back and they are very favorable. We still are waiting for a DNA marker test which should be back in about twelve hours. When these results come back things are going to happen in rapid fire succession and so we may not be able to post the results for a while. If the results come back negative then we will be able to bring Elainea home with us. If they come back positive then we will need to spend several hours "undoing" paperwork before hopping on a plane home.
We just received word that Grandma made it home safely and that helps us feel better. Hannah misses her Grandma and can't wait to see her at the airport. Speaking of Hannah Joe and I have to say that we have an awesome kid. She has been so understanding of the circumstances and has been so brave about everything. She flairs up every once in a while, but for the most part she has handled this situation with a strength and courage that is not typical of a four-year-old.
As far as Joe and I are concerned we are doing as well as can be expected. Between crying a river of tears, fighting back nausea and praying on our sore knees we are working through this whole thing. In the mean time Elainea is blossoming. She has the funniest personality! When she smiles she does it with her whole face bringing happiness to those around her. Her laugh is totally contagious and she looks up to her big sister and tries to do everything that she does.
Elainea still eats her weight everyday, but there is small gaps between the perpetual snacking now. She is getting very picky about what she eats and so we are going to have to reel her in once we get home (hopefully).
We have packed our bags so we can hit the ground running tomorrow. We strategically packed Elainea's things on top so they can be gathered to go back with her if need be. We love her so much and can not picture our lives without her at this point. The Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs is asking us some very heavy questions such as: "Would you like to stay for another three weeks to get another referral", our resounding response is 'no'. If it comes to that we need to come home and regroup and continue on from there. We need to work through what will be an unconsolable loss of one of our daughters. We thank all of our family and friends and look forward to seeing you soon.