This is a wonderful video clip that describes an option within the adoption path that may be the right path for some people to choose. Jerry and I were very frightened at first when we heard the words "special needs"; however, through much research and education we came to find that the needs many of these children have are manageable and/or correctable. Unfortunately, our agency does not have a special needs or waiting child program, so we continue to wait in line for the "non-special needs" referral that we originally sought.
If we do choose to adopt another child in the future you can be assured that that child will be one that is waiting on an agency list because we are no longer frightened of the many possible needs that we can meet.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
TB Testing Procedures and the CDC...
The CDC is responsible for new TB testing procedures, and they are supposedly rolling them out to the various consulates around the world, with the intent to make sure children with active TB do not come into the U.S. They recently implemented these guidelines in Ethiopia in March of this year; they are now active in all China adoptions, as well.
Our understanding of this is:
If the skin test is negative then you get the child’s visa and go home. If it shows positive then a chest x-ray must be done.
If the chest x-ray is clear then you get the child’s visa and go home. If it is not clear then a “sputum test” is done, and that culture can take 8 weeks to show or not show TB.
If the culture does not show TB then you get the child’s visa and go home. If it shows TB then the child has to stay in country to be medicated. The embassy site says six months, but it could be 9 months to a year of medication; perhaps they figure the child isn’t contagious anymore at 6 months? We don’t know. We just know that they say six months.
What does this mean for families? Even if the skin test shows positive then the x-ray probably won’t delay travel as long as the x-ray is clear.
But, if the x-ray shows something then we’re stuck in country another two months. And, if the culture shows TB then our child (and, we're assuming, at least one parent) must remain in country for another six months - for a total of 8 months after adoption.
What percentage of babies will have active TB? A very very small percentage, but it is possible as China is known for having a high concentration of TB cases.
It appears that the CDC is just trying to keep children who are infectious from coming into the country, not children with latent TB. They estimate that less than 10 children a year will require the six month stay in Ethiopia.
It also appears that some agencies have started having the children in Ethiopia tested before the family travels. That way the family doesn’t get into a situation where they can’t bring their child home for 2 to 8 months. We do not know if that option is possible in China.
Realistically speaking, this is yet another stressor in an already stressful situation, but the odds are that most families will only make it to the skin test or the x-ray stage and will not have to stay for the culture or the medication phases.
Unfortunately, one family has now realized the nightmare described above - the link to their blog is below:
http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/
There is a petition which one can sign to make their voice heard to the CDC that the implementation of these instructions is not in the best interest of these vulnerable children and should not be implemented for this population for many reasons. The link is below:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html
Please feel free to add your name to this list so that more families do not suffer through senseless restrictions during an already stressful time.
Our understanding of this is:
If the skin test is negative then you get the child’s visa and go home. If it shows positive then a chest x-ray must be done.
If the chest x-ray is clear then you get the child’s visa and go home. If it is not clear then a “sputum test” is done, and that culture can take 8 weeks to show or not show TB.
If the culture does not show TB then you get the child’s visa and go home. If it shows TB then the child has to stay in country to be medicated. The embassy site says six months, but it could be 9 months to a year of medication; perhaps they figure the child isn’t contagious anymore at 6 months? We don’t know. We just know that they say six months.
What does this mean for families? Even if the skin test shows positive then the x-ray probably won’t delay travel as long as the x-ray is clear.
But, if the x-ray shows something then we’re stuck in country another two months. And, if the culture shows TB then our child (and, we're assuming, at least one parent) must remain in country for another six months - for a total of 8 months after adoption.
What percentage of babies will have active TB? A very very small percentage, but it is possible as China is known for having a high concentration of TB cases.
It appears that the CDC is just trying to keep children who are infectious from coming into the country, not children with latent TB. They estimate that less than 10 children a year will require the six month stay in Ethiopia.
It also appears that some agencies have started having the children in Ethiopia tested before the family travels. That way the family doesn’t get into a situation where they can’t bring their child home for 2 to 8 months. We do not know if that option is possible in China.
Realistically speaking, this is yet another stressor in an already stressful situation, but the odds are that most families will only make it to the skin test or the x-ray stage and will not have to stay for the culture or the medication phases.
Unfortunately, one family has now realized the nightmare described above - the link to their blog is below:
http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/
There is a petition which one can sign to make their voice heard to the CDC that the implementation of these instructions is not in the best interest of these vulnerable children and should not be implemented for this population for many reasons. The link is below:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html
Please feel free to add your name to this list so that more families do not suffer through senseless restrictions during an already stressful time.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Referrals and Predictions for Next Batch...
July referrals came on 7/21 and went through 3/22/06. Only a dismal two-day batch...bummer!
CCAA Status
Reviewed through:
August 31, 2007
Placed through:
March 22, 2006
Based on that, the predictions for the coming months are:
The next batch of referrals will probably arrive the week of August 17th and hopefully it will be more than two days, but I'm not holding my breath since the next two days are quite large relative to LID's. We are still very hopeful that we will see our daughter's sweet face in the next 2-3 months with travel before the end of the year. We are coming due for our third round of fingerprinting which is so much fun, but it has to be done. Jerry, Justin, and I will make that wonderful trip to downtown Milwaukee to get that completed because we have to make sure that our prints are still the same...don't you know:)
CCAA Status
Reviewed through:
August 31, 2007
Placed through:
March 22, 2006
Based on that, the predictions for the coming months are:
The next batch of referrals will probably arrive the week of August 17th and hopefully it will be more than two days, but I'm not holding my breath since the next two days are quite large relative to LID's. We are still very hopeful that we will see our daughter's sweet face in the next 2-3 months with travel before the end of the year. We are coming due for our third round of fingerprinting which is so much fun, but it has to be done. Jerry, Justin, and I will make that wonderful trip to downtown Milwaukee to get that completed because we have to make sure that our prints are still the same...don't you know:)
Friday, June 26, 2009
Referrals, Predictions, and Next Batch...
June referrals came on 6/19 and went through 3/20/06.
CCAA Status
Reviewed through:
June 30, 2007
Placed through:
March 20, 2006
Based on that, the predictions for the coming months are:
When will the next batch of referrals arrive?
That is a very good question and here is how Rumor Queen attempts to answer that...The last 12 referral batches arrived at 28, 35, 22, 27, 37, 36, 18, 24, 39, 32, 47, 30 days.
The average is 31 days. The shortest interval is 18 days and the longest is 47. But, the 47 was hopefully an anomaly, meaning we should probably use 39 as the longest. (Though, with the current H1N1 rules still so undefined, it’s hard to say.)
That would mean the soonest we’d expect to see them would be Tuesday, July 7 and the latest would be Tuesday, July 28.
The most likely arrival date based on time between referrals would be Monday, July 20.
The most likely arrival date for those who believe they always arrive on the first of the month would be July 1. I’m not holding my breath on that one, though.
Of course, the July 20th date isn’t even as much of a “probably close” as I think it normally is. With the current pandemic stuff going on, things are even less predictable than normal.
These When posts are about managing expectations. If we expect them to arrive around July 20th then we’d probably start seeing early rumors as early as July 9th, and we’d see possibly accurate rumors the week of July 13th.
CCAA Status
Reviewed through:
June 30, 2007
Placed through:
March 20, 2006
Based on that, the predictions for the coming months are:
When will the next batch of referrals arrive?
That is a very good question and here is how Rumor Queen attempts to answer that...The last 12 referral batches arrived at 28, 35, 22, 27, 37, 36, 18, 24, 39, 32, 47, 30 days.
The average is 31 days. The shortest interval is 18 days and the longest is 47. But, the 47 was hopefully an anomaly, meaning we should probably use 39 as the longest. (Though, with the current H1N1 rules still so undefined, it’s hard to say.)
That would mean the soonest we’d expect to see them would be Tuesday, July 7 and the latest would be Tuesday, July 28.
The most likely arrival date based on time between referrals would be Monday, July 20.
The most likely arrival date for those who believe they always arrive on the first of the month would be July 1. I’m not holding my breath on that one, though.
Of course, the July 20th date isn’t even as much of a “probably close” as I think it normally is. With the current pandemic stuff going on, things are even less predictable than normal.
These When posts are about managing expectations. If we expect them to arrive around July 20th then we’d probably start seeing early rumors as early as July 9th, and we’d see possibly accurate rumors the week of July 13th.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Happy Father's Day...
I'd like to wish my husband a Happy Father's Day! He truly is a wonderful dad to our boys and our daughter will be one lucky little girl to have him as a daddy!!! I love you, honey!
This day has also now become one of reflection for me and it goes without saying, there is a twinge of hurt wishing I could pick up that phone, just one more time...to say "hi Dad" and hear his casual and easy, "hey honey" or "hi daughter #2" in reply.
Today, I wish I could hear his voice as I remind him how much I love him and wish him a Happy Father’s Day. I hope he hears me, I hope his presence in my heart is as real as it was when he was with me in life. Something deep inside tells me there is some truth in that.
Happy Father's Day, Dad.
I love you. :)
This day has also now become one of reflection for me and it goes without saying, there is a twinge of hurt wishing I could pick up that phone, just one more time...to say "hi Dad" and hear his casual and easy, "hey honey" or "hi daughter #2" in reply.
Today, I wish I could hear his voice as I remind him how much I love him and wish him a Happy Father’s Day. I hope he hears me, I hope his presence in my heart is as real as it was when he was with me in life. Something deep inside tells me there is some truth in that.
Happy Father's Day, Dad.
I love you. :)
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
One Year Without My Dad...
Today is the one year mark of my Dad's death. It has been a difficult year for our entire family; we have all missed him so much. He was such an important influence in my life growing up and I have really felt his absence at times.
My sister and I drove up by my Mom and we spent time together as a family with my brother and his family. It was a nice day and in the afternoon we met at the cemetary to say a prayer and release some balloons with personal notes we had all written. When they went up into the sky they actually formed a cross! We like to think that was Dad's way of saying that he knew we were there. Then we went out to dinner and celebrated his life with stories and memories. He left a wonderful mark on this world in the family he created with my Mom and the many lives he touched through his friendships; we are all better people for knowing him!
Here is my Dad during the time he served in the Navy; I'm very proud of him!
Here is a picture of my Dad and me on my wedding day - I love this picture!
This is a picture of my Dad and our oldest son, Justin, just after he was born. He was his first grandchild - that is one proud Grandpa!!!
This is my Dad and me at Christmas when I was 5 months pregnant with my 4th child; we were comparing belly sizes:) He gave me a run for my money!
Here is one of my favorite pictures of my Mom and Dad.
Here is my Dad with my oldest son, Justin. They loved hunting together; he taught Justin everything he knows!
Here is a picture of the last time that I saw my Dad; it was my son Justin's graduation - this was the day before he died.
My sister and I drove up by my Mom and we spent time together as a family with my brother and his family. It was a nice day and in the afternoon we met at the cemetary to say a prayer and release some balloons with personal notes we had all written. When they went up into the sky they actually formed a cross! We like to think that was Dad's way of saying that he knew we were there. Then we went out to dinner and celebrated his life with stories and memories. He left a wonderful mark on this world in the family he created with my Mom and the many lives he touched through his friendships; we are all better people for knowing him!
Here is my Dad during the time he served in the Navy; I'm very proud of him!
Here is a picture of my Dad and me on my wedding day - I love this picture!
This is a picture of my Dad and our oldest son, Justin, just after he was born. He was his first grandchild - that is one proud Grandpa!!!
This is my Dad and me at Christmas when I was 5 months pregnant with my 4th child; we were comparing belly sizes:) He gave me a run for my money!
Here is one of my favorite pictures of my Mom and Dad.
Here is my Dad with my oldest son, Justin. They loved hunting together; he taught Justin everything he knows!
Here is a picture of the last time that I saw my Dad; it was my son Justin's graduation - this was the day before he died.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Finally, the Referrals and Rumor Queen Projections...
The CCAA released referrals on May 21, 2009 and they went through March 14, 2006. This was actually better than expected since March 14 was such a large day (for LID's) based on the poll numbers. However, since the referrals were delayed the question remains as to whether or not June referrals will be on track to be released in the next two weeks or if we will have to wait another month for them to come out. Based on the history from the SARS pandemic, referrals should get back on track and another batch should be released in another two weeks or so.
And here are Rumor Queen's projections.....Remember, our LID is 4/4/06, so based on these projections we could see our referral in July/Aug if the future batches follow the same size as the batches which had been referred in the summer 2007. However, that is most likely not going to happen. We are still hopefull for an early fall referral (September/October).
And to end this with her standard disclaimer: As always, projections are based on the CCAA continuing to do what they have been doing. There is nothing to say they will follow their recent behavior. They could choose to do a lot less, or a lot more.
And here are Rumor Queen's projections.....Remember, our LID is 4/4/06, so based on these projections we could see our referral in July/Aug if the future batches follow the same size as the batches which had been referred in the summer 2007. However, that is most likely not going to happen. We are still hopefull for an early fall referral (September/October).
And to end this with her standard disclaimer: As always, projections are based on the CCAA continuing to do what they have been doing. There is nothing to say they will follow their recent behavior. They could choose to do a lot less, or a lot more.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Our Baby Turned 7 Today...
Today, our youngest son Colin turned 7 years old. It is hard to believe that he is growing up so quickly. We had a birthday party with his friends from school and a family friend this past Saturday; the theme was Baseball. It was a fun day - there were about 10 girls and boys and we played games, ate hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch, did a craft, had cake and ice cream, and had a pinata. The kids had the most fun with the pinata! He received some very nice gifts and it turned out to be a great day!
Today, he brought monkey face cupcakes to school for his birthday treat. Last night he helped me make them which was fun for both of us. Unfortunately, I could not find the black gel that I bought last week so I had to improvise with some brown frosting for the nose and yellow and blue dots for the eyes. This made them take a little longer to decorate, but his classmates really liked them which is all that matters:)
Monday, May 04, 2009
Friday, May 01, 2009
Bad News and Possible Delays...
Below are postings from the Rumor Queen website - we hope to know more after the long holiday weekend (Chinese Holiday).
Bad News
April 29th, 2009
A few European agencies are reporting they have news that the CCAA is not sending referrals at this time due to the swine flu outbreak. They may revisit things in 20-30 days to see if the swine flu cases have leveled off.
CCAA Notice
April 30th, 2009
The CCAA has posted a notice on their site. It can be found here.
As usual, it’s a contradiction.
In one place it says, “Adoption agencies are required to counsel the adoptive parents who have received Notice of Coming to China for Adoption to postpone their trip to China for the registration procedure. “.
But then later it says that when you come you should follow “the arrangement of local registration authorities and cooperate during the entrustment of child for the harmony period and the adoption registration process“.
And then it says, “If adoptive parents feel unwell during their stay in China for the registration procedure, they shall go to the hospital for medical checkup in time and report to CCAA about relevant situation“.
So, I think they are saying, “We’d rather you didn’t come, and if you want to wait that’s fine, we’re extending the TA’s expiration by two months so feel free to wait. But, if you do decide to come anyway, follow safety instructions and by all means get to a doctor if you feel sick.”
Bad News
April 29th, 2009
A few European agencies are reporting they have news that the CCAA is not sending referrals at this time due to the swine flu outbreak. They may revisit things in 20-30 days to see if the swine flu cases have leveled off.
CCAA Notice
April 30th, 2009
The CCAA has posted a notice on their site. It can be found here.
As usual, it’s a contradiction.
In one place it says, “Adoption agencies are required to counsel the adoptive parents who have received Notice of Coming to China for Adoption to postpone their trip to China for the registration procedure. “.
But then later it says that when you come you should follow “the arrangement of local registration authorities and cooperate during the entrustment of child for the harmony period and the adoption registration process“.
And then it says, “If adoptive parents feel unwell during their stay in China for the registration procedure, they shall go to the hospital for medical checkup in time and report to CCAA about relevant situation“.
So, I think they are saying, “We’d rather you didn’t come, and if you want to wait that’s fine, we’re extending the TA’s expiration by two months so feel free to wait. But, if you do decide to come anyway, follow safety instructions and by all means get to a doctor if you feel sick.”
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Too Cute!
I received an email from a friend with this video clip and I think I could watch it all day!
Enjoy!
2 Year Old Sings the Lords Prayer - The funniest videos clips are here
Enjoy!
2 Year Old Sings the Lords Prayer - The funniest videos clips are here
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
A Visit from the Tooth Fairy...
Our youngest son, Colin, lost his fourth tooth yesterday and was so excited to receive a visit from the Tooth Fairy! I told him that I recently saw a picture of the Tooth Fairy's home :) I saw the pictures posted by another adoptive mom and thought that it was so cute!
Colin asked me how the tooth fairy could fit in there; he was referring to the Tooth Fairy A.K.A. "Molinator" from the Santa Clause movies - too cute!
Here are some pictures of the Tooth Fairy's home:
A close up view...
There is a "TF" insignia above the door -
Looking through the door one can see some neat details; A bag for "TEETH", coins, toothpaste & brush,tooth-pattern wallpaper...
Looking left...
Looking right...
Saturday, April 04, 2009
3 Year LID Anniversary!!!
I saw this posted on someone else's blog and laughed so hard because I truly understood every line! I had to post it on my blog in hopes of providing a little more understanding to my friends and family who are following us on this journey -
You Might Be Adopting From China If...
~You know that I-600 & I-171 aren't highways...
~You've been expecting a baby for over 3 years...
~You understand that it's 2006 in some parts of the world...
~You've "paid for" 3 citizenships, but never brought anyone into the U.S...
~You know that waiting for China has nothing to do with Dillards or dishes...
~Your homestudy is followed by a number (i.e. #3 or #4)...
~You never know how many days next month will have...
~You know that babies come in batches...
~You've been fingerprinted three times, but never committed a crime...
~You automatically assume everyone who is expecting is having a girl...
~You own new clothing in 3 little sizes for all 4 seasons (because you don't know when or how big)...
~You look twice when you see a lady bug...
~You're more interested in what will happen in March 2006 than in March 2009...
~You know people who understand when you talk about 2 day months & 5 day months...
~Your due date hasn't changed by days, but by years...
~You know who the Rumor Queen is ... AND ... you don't know who she is...
~You know that forecast doesn't have anything to do with the weather...
~You've waited so long, they re-checked your fingerprints to see if they changed...
~Trying to understand why they're printing you again, you study your own fingerprints and wonder if fingerprints grow wrinkles...
~When you speak of "that time of month" you're talking about CCAA updates & referrals...
And finally...You might be adopting from China if you love someone you've never met with all your heart!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Spring is in the air...
It's officially the first day of spring and it feels good to think of the seasons changing and warmer weather coming. It has been a long winter with approximately 82 inches of snow to date. The boys are getting anxious for school to end and summer vacation to start. I am completing the last two classes of my bachelor's degree and am looking forward to graduation on May 16th. I started taking classes about 14 years ago, but stopped about 2 years into the program because we moved and I started a new job. I did not return to school until 2006; I figured I wasn't getting any younger and it was a good way to pass the time while we waited for our referral. I also wanted my boys to see that continuing education is very important. It has not been easy carrying 12 credits a semester while working full time, but it has been very rewarding. My only regret is that I did not finish in time for my Dad to watch me receive my diploma. I'm very happy that my Mom will be there and I know my Dad will be watching me from Heaven above.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Projections...Continued...
Hello,
A couple of months have passed since our last post. We have been busy shoveling out of this winter and are anxiously awaiting spring!
Recently, projections were posted on the Rumor Queen site and our LID (log in date) actually appeared within the projections! It is a wonderful feeling to think that this may actually be our year!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Latest RQ Predictions...
And here are her projections.....Remember, our LID is 4/4/06, so based on these projections we could see our referral in Apr/May if the future batches follow the same size as the batches which had been referred in the summer 2007. However, that is most likely not going to happen. We are still hopefull for a late summer/early fall referral (August to October). And to end this with her standard disclaimer: As always, projections are based on the CCAA continuing to do what they have been doing. There is nothing to say they will follow their recent behavior. They could choose to do a lot less, or a lot more.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
January 1, 2009 Is This the Year???
Happy New Year!!!
It has been a long time since I last posted to our blog; primarily because the wait had become too painful to continually focus our attention on so we decided to work on other areas in our lives while we waited. I have returned to school to complete my degree and will be graduating in May and we have been working on projects around the house to prepare for Jadyn's arrival. This past year has also been a time of healing as my dad passed away in June and it took us all by surprise. We miss him terribly and are saddened that he will not have the opportunity to meet Jadyn. However, we believe he will certainly know who our little one is, possibly even before we do.
We are excited that my mom will now be traveling to China with us; she is very excited to be there when we meet our daughter and her granddaughter for the first time. She has been very excited about our adoption from the start and is looking forward to taking in some of the culture from her granddaughter's homeland.
The most recent referrals went through February 28, 2006 which leaves 35 LID's until they reach our date of April 4, 2006. This could take as little as 6 months or as many as 12 more months to get through depending upon how many days are referred each month. Hopefully, there will be one more batch prior to CCAA breaking for the Chinese New Year Holiday and that will help to see how the upcoming months will go. March 2006 is a very large month; however, there has apparently been some attrition due to the extended wait times, as well as, people switching to special needs adoptions. None of this necessarily means any speed up in referrals; only the coming months will tell how many more months we have to wait, but we are hopeful that 2009 will be our year!
It has been a long time since I last posted to our blog; primarily because the wait had become too painful to continually focus our attention on so we decided to work on other areas in our lives while we waited. I have returned to school to complete my degree and will be graduating in May and we have been working on projects around the house to prepare for Jadyn's arrival. This past year has also been a time of healing as my dad passed away in June and it took us all by surprise. We miss him terribly and are saddened that he will not have the opportunity to meet Jadyn. However, we believe he will certainly know who our little one is, possibly even before we do.
We are excited that my mom will now be traveling to China with us; she is very excited to be there when we meet our daughter and her granddaughter for the first time. She has been very excited about our adoption from the start and is looking forward to taking in some of the culture from her granddaughter's homeland.
The most recent referrals went through February 28, 2006 which leaves 35 LID's until they reach our date of April 4, 2006. This could take as little as 6 months or as many as 12 more months to get through depending upon how many days are referred each month. Hopefully, there will be one more batch prior to CCAA breaking for the Chinese New Year Holiday and that will help to see how the upcoming months will go. March 2006 is a very large month; however, there has apparently been some attrition due to the extended wait times, as well as, people switching to special needs adoptions. None of this necessarily means any speed up in referrals; only the coming months will tell how many more months we have to wait, but we are hopeful that 2009 will be our year!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Something to Pass the Time...
Hope you have fun learning a few phrases!
A wonderful site for learning Chinese is http://www.mandarintools.com/ .
Hello Ni hao (knee how)
I am (name). Wo shi Suzanne. (Woh shee Suzanne.)
Goodbye Zai jian (zy jee an)
Good Morning! Zao shang hao (zow shong how)
Good evening! Wan shang hao (wan shong how)
Thank you xie xie (shyay shyay)
You're welcome Bu yong xie (Boo yong shyay)
See you later. Hui you jian (hway too jee an)
How are you!? Ni hoa ma? (Knee how mah)
I am fine. Wo ting hao de. (Woh ting how der)
I have a question. Qing wen. (Ching wun)
Please speak a little slower Qing shuo mian yi dian. (Ching shwo mee an yee dee an)
I am glad to know you. Wo hen gao xing ren shi ni. (Woh hun gow shing run shee knee.)
I'm Sorry. Dui bu qi (Dway boo tchee)
Excuse me Bu hao yi si. (Boo how yee see)
Congratulations! Gong xi ni (Gong shee nee)
Chinese currency Renminbi (run men bi)
Chinese dollar yuan (you wen)
China Zhong Guo (jong gwo)
America Mei Guo (May gwo)
Little sister Mei Mei (may may)
A wonderful site for learning Chinese is http://www.mandarintools.com/ .
Hello Ni hao (knee how)
I am (name). Wo shi Suzanne. (Woh shee Suzanne.)
Goodbye Zai jian (zy jee an)
Good Morning! Zao shang hao (zow shong how)
Good evening! Wan shang hao (wan shong how)
Thank you xie xie (shyay shyay)
You're welcome Bu yong xie (Boo yong shyay)
See you later. Hui you jian (hway too jee an)
How are you!? Ni hoa ma? (Knee how mah)
I am fine. Wo ting hao de. (Woh ting how der)
I have a question. Qing wen. (Ching wun)
Please speak a little slower Qing shuo mian yi dian. (Ching shwo mee an yee dee an)
I am glad to know you. Wo hen gao xing ren shi ni. (Woh hun gow shing run shee knee.)
I'm Sorry. Dui bu qi (Dway boo tchee)
Excuse me Bu hao yi si. (Boo how yee see)
Congratulations! Gong xi ni (Gong shee nee)
Chinese currency Renminbi (run men bi)
Chinese dollar yuan (you wen)
China Zhong Guo (jong gwo)
America Mei Guo (May gwo)
Little sister Mei Mei (may may)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Review Room
We've made it through the Review Room!!! This is the last step of approval in the process to adopt from China - Here is a little more information on how the Review Room works:Each agency has their own review person. They know how to put a dossier together based on how their review person wants to see it, and based on the things their review person will approve or deny.
Each review person has their own assigned agencies, or maybe their own assigned country.
Sometimes one review person has twice as many files to review as someone else does that month, but the next month they may have half as many.
This means that one reviewer could be several months ahead of another reviewer, and may stay that way until their agencies have a big month and they get slowed down again. It is normal for one reviewer to still be working on February while another reviewer has made it to April.
The review room notice on the CCAA site won’t show that a month is complete until all reviewers are through with that month.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
One Year LID Anniversary!
We finally made it to one year of "official" waiting!!!
We are very excited, but unfortunately, it doesn't appear that we are that much closer to receiving our referral. One year ago we did think that our 1-year anniversary would have only meant a matter of months until our referral, but we now know that we will have another 10-12 months to wait.
We have purchased the bedding for the crib and a couple of pictures for the walls, but I don't feel a strong need to paint the room yet. I think it will be too difficult to have it ready for so many months before our daughter arrives. We continue to stock up on clothes and other odds and ends and we hope that we are guessing on the correct sizes:)
We continue to pray for peace during this long wait and we remain faithful that this is all in God's timing and He knows who is meant to be our daughter.
On a positive note: A friend of ours that we "met" through an adoption forum recently received one of the greatest miracles - their daughter, Brea who was adopted from China last October, received the heart transplant that she has been waiting for! She became ill 7 weeks ago with a virus that attacked her heart and she was in desperate need of a new heart. She received that new heart on March 30th and is doing extremely well. We continue to pray for her recovery and for the donor family that made the difficult decision to provide life for another during their time of loss. Please keep both of these families in your prayers -
We are very excited, but unfortunately, it doesn't appear that we are that much closer to receiving our referral. One year ago we did think that our 1-year anniversary would have only meant a matter of months until our referral, but we now know that we will have another 10-12 months to wait.
We have purchased the bedding for the crib and a couple of pictures for the walls, but I don't feel a strong need to paint the room yet. I think it will be too difficult to have it ready for so many months before our daughter arrives. We continue to stock up on clothes and other odds and ends and we hope that we are guessing on the correct sizes:)
We continue to pray for peace during this long wait and we remain faithful that this is all in God's timing and He knows who is meant to be our daughter.
On a positive note: A friend of ours that we "met" through an adoption forum recently received one of the greatest miracles - their daughter, Brea who was adopted from China last October, received the heart transplant that she has been waiting for! She became ill 7 weeks ago with a virus that attacked her heart and she was in desperate need of a new heart. She received that new heart on March 30th and is doing extremely well. We continue to pray for her recovery and for the donor family that made the difficult decision to provide life for another during their time of loss. Please keep both of these families in your prayers -
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