"Foreign adoptions from China fall" (USA Today)

While we are waiting for the next adoption status update to be posted (next week?), see this USA Today article for written word on the slowdown in referrals.

Doing some math... how sweet!

We're expecting!!

Look at it this way:

(1) If we get our referral in February, March, or April 2009 (15-17 months out, looking on the bright side of things), and

(2) If our child is about 8 months old at the time of referral, then ---

8 (months old) + 9 (months of the birth mother being pregnant) = 17 months, and

If (1) is true, then our little baby is growing inside her birth mother RIGHT NOW! Take care, little one and parents!

24 Eyes

I know what you will be thinking when you look at these family pictures. We have vision issues. Actually, all the glasses were found by my Dad, and we picked the cream of the crop from the collection to wear to our niece's wedding reception.

Here's brother Dig, DH Chris, and nephew Josh:

And here's Heather (Josh's GF), sister-in-law-to-be Sumie, and me:

"Favorable Determination" Once Again

Our Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition has been approved - again - resulting in our receipt of the I-171H document. The I-171H from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicates we are "able to furnish proper care to an orphan" and that we've been approved for one child up to 18 months old, either boy or girl (all that is exactly what we asked for), and the embassy in Guangzhou, China has been notified.

I say it was approved again because this is the second time we've applied. The approval is only valid for 18 months, and the fingerprint checks that are also required are only valid for 15 months, and, as many of you know, we started this process many moons ago; i.e., more than 18 months ago. However, the USCIS recently allowed those re-filing to re-file for free (once). That saved us a whopping $800 and change. Excellent.

If you are thinking ahead like we are, yes, we're most likely going to have to re-apply again before it's time to meet our baby. Time to start earning interest on that $800 saved!

Truth be told...

I am having "I want my baby" pangs. I want OUR baby, that is. More precisely, WE want OUR baby.

Our application was logged in at the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) nearly 17 months ago. At the time, the wait for a referral was expected to increase from a 12-month wait to perhaps a 14- or 15-month wait. Oh, the horrors, we thought. As time passed, the CCAA referred fewer and fewer children each month. Families who got their referrals this month waited 23 months.

The reasons for fewer children being available? As far as we know, the better economic situation allows more families to keep their children and more families to adopt domestically. Who can argue with that being a good thing for China's children? Not us.

And Chris and I have been grateful for "extra" time together as a couple, having the freedom to travel or sit on our tushies in front of the TV. We've even celebrated the anticipated arrival by buying a few baby gifts for our young 'en. (By the way, there have been quite a few boys referred lately.)

Every month we wait and hope that the CCAA will be able to match more applications than the last month. If the referral rate would be 1/3 month's worth of applications per month, and our application was received June 19, 2006 and they currently referred through December 8, 2005... that puts us at getting a referral in June 2009 - a three year wait. I keep re-doing the calculations in my head thinking there must have been a mistake. I keep hoping down in my heart that maybe some months will only have a few applications and possibly they'll refer an average of 1/2 month's worth of applications per month putting us at getting a referral in January or February 2009.

It just doesn't seem real (the wait, that is). Don't get me wrong, I don't hold the wait against China. I certainly don't feel entitled to have a child - much less from another country who has been so gracious to allow foreigners to take care of their own children. And we continue to be committed to adopting from China.

And then there always the possibility, as I said, of a speed-up in referrals.

If I asked you to be kind to us, that doesn't mean you would stop asking about our baby, does it?

And Happy Birthday to Dave!

Today's my nephew-in-law's birthday and here's a shout out to Dave! What you can't see in this picture is that, like in the picture of brother Mike, Dave is also holding a drink. Cheers to the birthday boy doubling as a newlywed!

Happy 50th Michael!

Happy birthday to my big brother, Mike! Thanks for all the memories (burying me in the toy box, the loud parties in your room when Mom & Dad were away and you were supposed to be baby-sitting me...) but most of all thanks for being a caring, always there for me, big brother! (Hey - what's that in your hand? Cheers!)

Adoption Status Update

Here's what we're expecting the CCAA web site to say any day now: "finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with their office before December 8, 2005." At least that is what the rumors are!