Referrals Are In

YEAH!
The CCAA has officially matched families who had LID's between October 13th - October 24, 2005.

Though I've seen a few referrals for families with LID of Oct. 31, 2005, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why some have and others didn't. As is the case each month when referrals are announced.

So, that means only 95 more days of matching until our LID! Hard to even suggest a date for those when they ask. I generally like to say anytime between July - October 2007. A July referral would put us at 18 months from LID to referral with an October referral putting us at 22 months from LID to referral.

I am often asked "Why is the wait so long?" Is that the million dollar question or what! Today, I got a regular newsletter in the mail from our agency with an article that addressed this very subject. Keep in mind, there is no "REAL" guaranteed answer/reason ~ however, I found the information enlightening. Here are a few excerpts from it:

Dramatic Increase of Incoming Dossiers~The fast increase of dossiers in the past two years has surpaced available 'paper-ready' children by almost two-fold.

Hunan Baby Trafficking Incident ~ In September 2005, a local newspaper in Hunan Province carried a report exposing a 'baby trafficking ring' who offered abandoned children to a local orphanage for a fee, an illegal activity for both the orphanage who paid the fee and the traffickers who demanded 'reimbursement'. The provincial court issued a severe sentence in early 2006 to the wrong-doers...However, the legal consequences and the CCAA's orders left many orphanage directors with the pessimistic conclusion that it is not worth risking their lives to 'help a few children'. They became reluctant to report available children's files to the CCAA, fearing possible complications. As a result, the CCAA lost a great deal of support from the orphanages that they had counted on in the past for paper ready children.

Lack of Motivation among Local Officials ~ Guizhou is one of the least economically-developed provinces in China, with an orphan population in the thousands. However, each year fewer than several hundred children from Guizhou are adopted internationally. The problem lies with none other than the provincial officials in charge of international adoption. For them, international adoption is too troublesome and it adds unwanted extra work to their already-heavy workload.

I didn't say any of this information is "good news" or even "comforting", but if nothing else, I feel like I have a little better understanding of what's going on over in the homeland of my daughter. There still is so much we don't know or ever understand, but...if you want to view this article in its entirety, you may visit this link: http://www.chinesechildren.org/ and on the left side column click on CIRCLE NEWSLETTER ~ it's the January/February 2007 issue.

Thanks to those of you who are so patiently waiting with us on the news of our daughter!

13 Months and still counting

Happy 13 month LID Anniversary to me, Happy 13 month LID Anniversary to me...

February 27, 2007 ~ where has this month gone! I am excited to be welcoming in March and yet its hard to believe that the month of February has gone by so fast.

I should be mailing off all the necessary documents tomorrow to re-new our I-171h immigration paperwork and while we wait to receive once again another "approval from the US" to bring our daughter home, we look forward to hearing some news from CCAA on their next set of matches ~ every match is one match closer.

To all those who are enduring this process with us - Blessings!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007 it is, in a week where there will be no news what-so-ever about our adoption. You see, Chinese New Year , a huge celebration ~ was 2 days ago (2/18/2007), and all offices in China are closed for this entire week.

Nonetheless~ today was a treasure!

I had the honor of spending the morning with two dear friends who each have adopted their own daughters from China, and just being in their presence allowed me the opportunity to forget, or rather not focus on the incredible length of time we have endured through this adoption process. These days, it seems that I can spend so much time focusing on how 'LONG' the wait is/has been rather than keeping my 'eyes' focused on the 'why' of the wait. And as you can see from this adorable picture, it didn't take long to be reminded of the "why" I am waiting for.


In a few short days, we can officially say we've been waiting 13 months to receive our referral. Our agency currently says we can expect to wait 17-18months from LID, so another 5 (or maybe more) more to go. You know, when we started this process our anticipation, or rather hope, was that we'd receive a referral in 6 (or so) months. Information quickly changed with each month that went by that the wait was extending and that they couldn't forecast exactly what was going to take place, but that it was just going to get longer. We never expected at that point that we'd be waiting more than a year to receive word about our daughter. And it's funny, because even the mom of this beautiful little girl waited 14 months from LID to referral and I asked (wanting to glean all the information I could from those who are already 'experienced' at it) if with the extended length of time did she do more things, save more money, read more books about adoption? No. I guess I'm in the same boat. I suppose not knowing up front the wait was going to be this long might have something to do with it too. But, I will say I think the best thing I could have been told was the moment at which you receive the call & picture of your sweet daughter, it's almost surreal in that you don't remember the wait being long at all - almost as if it didn't exist. I long for that!

And for now, I will continue to wait...

A Ha..Ha..Ha...Choo Birthday?

Can I just say that when Mom is sick, the whole house suffers! No, really...it's true. My husband will even admit it.

I managed to some how get the "infamous" flu ~ the kind you get the flu shot for, of which I am certain now that I must have forgotten to check that off my list. I can honestly say that I am making my way to a full recovery, even if it took me a week lying in bed doing absolutely nothing!

And the worst part of it all...I managed to miss my son's 13th birthday on Monday. Not the "I forgot about it" missed it, but found myself in bed nursing the body aches and managing to whisper a simple "happy birthday" to him in passing.

So...that favorite meal/cake he asked me to make will have to be postponed for next week, along with the party, balloons and presents.

This post is for you Mr. T in celebration of entering the teen-hood.

Oh Happy Day!

I'm so excited I think I'll celebrate!

Well...it's official ~ the next batch of referrals are here. The CCAA has matched those families who were logged in by October 13, 2005 with beautiful babies. Congratulations to all of you! And a Hip Hip Hooray for those families who's dossiers are finally moved out of review and into the match room.


Just think...only 105 more days need to be matched until our LID of 1/27/2006.