IT CAME!!!!! IT CAME!!!


I'm am running around this office doing the happy dance!! Our 171 came today. This means WE ARE DONE!!!!!!! Wow - finally - we are done!! I have to get this notarized, certified, then authenticated, take some pictures, and fed ex everything to CCAI. OMG!! I'm soooo excited. The wait for our daughter will be long - but it will be so worth it! We are one major step closer to getting her.

No news...no news...no 171...this is sooooo frustrating!!! When is that little piece of paper going to come? We want to be DTC as soon as possible. With the wait times now pushing to 12 - 14 months, the sooner our paperwork gets to China, the better.

China closing it's doors to international adoption? Wait times of up to 14 months? Ok, wait just a minute here. I don't mind reading rumors, because, hey, they are just rumors - but when they start saying that China is going to close the doors to adoption and the wait times are going up and could reach 14 months, I start to get nervous!! Most of the time I don't pay any attention to them but these 2....jeez...I dunno!! So, I did some research, emailed some people, and was reassured that China is NOT going to close their doors anytime soon. Whew!! Now the wait time, who knows. It has taken them (CCAA) 3 months, yes 3 months, to get through the month of May. If this keeps up we might see our daughter some time in 2008!! I don't think that will happen. What I'm praying will happen is that people will start jumping the ship, switch countries, and then the wait time will go back down to where it was last year - 6 months. If you want to see some rumors check out the Rumor Queen blog under Fortunes Can Be Funny.

We still haven't received the I-171 yet. But today is another day!!

APC is stilling raging over the Washington Post article and some of them are reminding us "newbies" that our daughters will be just miserable here in the US because we ripped them out of their home country. They will be sad and hard to bond with. Good God people!! Of course she'll be sad - jeez we are taking her from the only thing she has ever known. Then we are going to fly her half way around the world to a place that looks and smells completely different. We expect her to experience some grief over this. And yes, our daughter will have to put up with some bullies at school, she'll have to put up with stupid remarks by strangers, she'll have to put up with sideway glances....but guess what? Don't we all put up with this in one form or another? At some point in our lives have we not all been made fun of, bullied, looked at strangely, ignored, etc? How did we handle this? Are we "Unhappy Adults" because of this? Don't think so. Our parents helped us through those times and taught us how to handle these situations. We are now teaching our kids - this is called parenting folks...seems to be a big word for a bunch of peeps.

-sigh-

Ok - off the soap box now - sorry folks. Adoption news - the homestudy agency has received THE letter and will mail the new homestudy to BCIS this week. That means we should have our 171 within a few weeks. Once we get that then we can send the homestudy and a copy of the 171 to be certified and authenticated. The last step will be to send the paperwork to our agency, CCAI. They will review it and send it to China (DTC - Dossier To China). After that...the long, long, long wait. 10 - 12 months from the LID (Long In Date). All this paperwork and the longer wait times are worth it though. Our reward at the end will be Tiana.

Pretty neat - this is a word cloud. You can create one too...just go here


Thanks for the neat site Karen!!

My neighbor has a 10 month old cutie pie little boy named Jason Jr. and a 3 year old little girl named Hope - which is one of my "red threads". Last night I was visiting and she gave me a bag of clothes that Hope can't wear anymore. It contained some 3T's, 2T's, 18 month and 12 month clothes and a pink pair of sneakers. Yeah!! All of them are in great condition so I'm going to keep them. I've got to get to Target and buy some containers so I can store them until T can wear them.

Here's an update on our paperchase. We finally got the letter from NY - jeez, what took a month to get should have only taken a week. I've sent that to our home study agency and need to send one more item which will get done today. Once they receive that then they will send our new homestudy to BCIS and we should get our 171H within the next week or two. Ok...so goodbye March DTC...hello April DTC!! We will get there eventually!!

By the way, there was an article in the Washington Post titled "Stealing Babies for Adoption". If you would like to read more about this article and some of the issues behind this report go here. Scott has an adorable little boy he and Tina adopted in September of last year. Or you can go to Brian Stuy's blog (which is also linked from Scotts blog) here.

Why adopt from China?

Watch this video and you will understand. This is just a taste of the lives of these young children. The young man in the video has started China Care and is making great strides in the poorer orphanages. Get some tissue ready and enjoy! This is just one of the many many reasons we have decided to adopt our daughter from China

http://www.chinacare.org/ChinaCareVideo-HiRes.html

Totally weird and proud of it!!

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. You're totally weird and very proud of it. Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way. Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

What American City Are You?

Shopping

Big T and I were talking this weekend about taxes and what we were going to do with the refunds. Guess what he wants to do? PAY BILLS!!! Imagine that!! I asked about a new vacuum cleaner and he said I could spend up to 500 on one. That should get me a nice one - at last!! I think that we have spent over that now by buying the cheap ones that just don't last over the years. Anyway, while we were talking I mentioned that I haven't bought anything yet for our daughter. He asked what she needed and I said I didn't know, maybe some clothes, shoes, toys, etc. He mentioned the thrift shop and my neighbor for hand me downs, then chuckled and said I could buy our daughter what she needs just to not go overboard! Yeah!!! I've been given the okay to shop! So, while I was at Wally world (listening to commercials/music in spanish - but that is a different post!) I found this cute hooded towel - and it was a ladybug!! Now, don't get me wrong here folks, I don't really buy into this "ladybug" thing that a lot of people believe in, but it was so darn cute I just had to have it!! That towel was the only thing I bought for her, but I was excited just the same. I also got a plastic tub to start storing her items in. I've put the gifts from the cyber shower, the ladybug towel, the 3 hats I've made, and the blanket I've crocheted in it. This way I can keep everything together. My neighbor is going through her daughter's clothes and the ones that don't fit her she is going to give to me. I'll probably buy more tubs as I gather different size clothing. I'm not sure how old she'll be or what size but I feel I can buy 16 month on up clothes and be pretty safe. Time to keep my eyes open for sales!

I was surfing around the net today at lunch reading up on some of the other blogs I follow. One of them had this in it....cute. At least I haven't lost all of my "northern talk"!!

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

15% Yankee

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I called on Monday the 27th to see if the commissioner had mailed out the needed letter. His secretary had no clue what I was talking about. I called them 3 weeks ago and nothing had been done. I once again gave the secretary the needed information and she said she would look into it. I called back yesterday....nothing had been done!! Huh??!! Don't these people know this is holding up our adoption?? So I explained once again the importance of this and she said she called the clerks office and was waiting to hear back. She then did a search and couldn't find anything!! OMG.....it's like I'm banging my head against a brick wall!! She gave me the clerk's number and I called her. Guess what? The chick at the commissioners office had just called her about a half an hour before I did. Hmmm.....someone isn't telling me the truth! Anyway, she said that she will have to go down to the basement. She isn't even sure she will find anything. She (Debbie) will call me back if she does. If I don't hear from her by Monday I'm to call her. I then called our home study agency and spoke to Helene. She is so helpful! I explained what was going on and she said just write everything down. If we don't get the needed letter then she will put in the home study what we did and that will be just fine. whew!!! I've been sooooo stressed over this!! I just wish they would fax that letter to me so this part of the paper chase will be done.

KISSES IN THE WIND


I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that’s how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are… what’s taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin…
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I’m doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you’ll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.
— Unknown

People Just Don't Get It!!

I was looking at one of my adoption forums this morning and I saw this post about an anti-adoption site. (Thanks Donna!) They are so quick to judge. There are so many little ones who need a home, who need a mom and dad, who need to be loved and cherished. Yes, they are loved in an orphanage, but its not the same. You and I both know it. We are not buying our daughter, we are not "saving" our daughter, we are not doing this because it is the "trendy thing to do". We are going to adopt a little girl to give her the love, attention, and support that every child deserves. Why should she sit in an orphanage if we have the ability to meet her needs? Why should she be scared and lonely, to suffer a life where she will not be able to realize her full potential? There are over 1 million little girls missing in China each year. Over 1 million! The people at the anti-adoption site are selfish. The children that are adopted have been left in front of police stations, on the side of the road, in front of orphanages, on the bus. The penalty in China for having a second child is extremely high. They are fined almost a years worth of wages, the children can be denied residence, food rations, and even schooling.

We are not taking these girls away from their heritage, away from who they are. We are going to love and support them. We are going to dream with them, cry with them, and laugh with them.

Cyber Shower

On Saturday, the 25th, I went to my first cyber shower. What is a cyber shower? It is where a group of us get together on line, send each other a gift, then meet on a scheduled date and time and open up the gift you received. It was a bunch of fun! I met 2 people who are just a few months behind me in the paper chase and they live out towards Raleigh! My gift came in the mail a few weeks ago and has been sitting on my counter teasing me! When I opened the box there was some confetti, a piggy bank with the Cinese symbol of love on it, some Chinese candy, a pretty purple blanket with a butterfly and dragon fly on it, an adorable panda bear that had a message recorded on it, and a book that I can put our pictures in and and send to China. She also sent a card that she made which was so sweet. I'll take a picture and post it so everyone can see it.

Saturday was also my birthday and big T surprised me with a quick beach get-a-way! The boys went to their friends house and after the shower we took off for the beach. It was very nice! The weather wasn't very cooperative, but just to get away was fantastic. We didn't do much, just went out to dinner, then back to the condo to hang out. In the morning we went to breakfast then came home. I know, like I said we didn't do much. It was nice all the same! One of his friends has this condo for 5 or 6 months so when the weather gets warmer we are going to take the boys down for the weekend. We are not beach people but it will be a mini vacation for us and the boys will enjoy it.

Adoption news - the latest referals were sent out and go through the 25th of May. Looks like we are going to have a 10 month wait until we meet our daughter. I also have to call NY again to get them to fax me the needed letter so we can finish up with the paperwork.

We still haven't received anything from NY. If we don't today I'm going to call again and have them fax the needed paperwork to me. This is just hold us up!! I'm climbing the ladder and I'm almost at the top rung, just about to step into that light....then boom...I'm knocked back down.

I know, I know...all in due time...but I'm so frustrated! Everything that happens has a reason, yes, I do believe that. Last night we could have won 1000 in a reverse drawing, but the number that we get each year was given to another couple. That's okay - that couple must have needed the money more than we did. It took a year for big T to finally say yes to adoption, that's okay too. I was a peace with it and knew that he would when he was ready. Now...it's taking 4 months to get this paperwork done and becasue of this last fiasco we probably won't be DTC until the end of March!!! I was hoping to see our daughters face by Christmas. Unlese CCAA speeds up the referrals, this won't happen. The agency is saying a 10 month wait. That means January of 2007!!! ugh!!

Curious About George

This is Curious George. There was some discussion on one of the forums I'm on about whether or not a 3 yr old from China should see this. Now you may ask yourself what is there to discuss about this. It seems that there is a scene where the man in the yellow hat allows George to be captured and sent back to Africa. So, what? That is considered to some an abandonment issue! I know, I know...I don't see the problem here either. I mean, its a movie folks! I want to protect my daughter too, believe me I do, but I will refuse to hide her away from these so called "issues". The posters were saying that their daughters were very sensitive. hmmmm....we adults read too much into EVERYTHING!! I took a 3 year old last night to this movie. We had the whole theatre to ourselves. Was she upset when the mean guys came and put George back on the boat? Was she sad? Did she ask her mommy why the man in the yellow hat was abandoning poor George? Did she just fall out and cry her little eyes out? Nope. Ya wanna know what she did? She ran all over the theatre, hopping up and down the steps, getting stuck in the seats, and just having the best time sitting in all the different seats. She hardly even watched the movie, let alone become upset because George was going back home. Did she understand this so called abandonment issue? Nope, she's only 3!! All she knows is that she got to go see a movie on a real big tv, eat some popcorn and rasinets, play with the folding seats (help momma, I'm stuck!), and hop up and down the stairs.

I will protect and love my daughter, but I will not keep her so closed up that she is not prepared to face what is outside of our safe little family. If you have a little one, take them to the movie. Enjoy how they react to the "big tv". Enjoy the "help momma I'm stuck", enjoy each and every laugh, each and every tear, each and every moment, because they grow up way too fast!

Doing the Happy Dance

Can you see me? I'm going around in circles with my hands in the air and my head back just screaming and laughing!! I got the 10 documents back on Sunday from the assistant stork. They have all be authenticated by the Chinese Consulate!! That means that all we are really waiting for is our marriage certificate (which I have to send out yet) and the 171H which will hopefully come when they get our new homestudy. If feels so good to have most of this done!!

So, while I've been waiting for the paperwork to be ready I've tried to keep myself busy doing other things. So far I've crocheted a nice size blanket for T and I'm working on a smaller one. I'm going to go to Michael's tonight and see if they have a bag of cloth tags. If so I'm going to sew them to this smaller blanket and make it a "tabby blankie" for her. I've also knitted 2 hats and I'm almost done with the 3rd hat for the kids at the orphanage. I might do some scarves too. I sure do have plenty of time!! I wonder how many blankets, scarves, and hats I can make in a year!! I think 6 months into the wait I'll start on her "corner nursery".

We talked about digital cameras and laptops this weekend and what I planned to bring with me. Big T questioned why I would need a laptop and I said "Don't you want to see our daughter placed in my arms for the first time?". He said of course he want's to see that!! My heart just fluttered! I hope that the wait times creep back down because I sure would like to have her by this Christmas!!

Nothing else has been happening. I'm waiting on something from NY so that Nathanson's can finish up our homestudy. - again! Come on NY...you do everything else fast...let's get off your can and get going!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that is frustration you see!! T took me aside when I got home Friday night and said "we have a problem". Seems his clearance came back with something on it. Never mind that nothing is suppose to show up, or that this was suppose to be expunged, or that it was 27 YEARS ago....it still showed up. Now we have to do a horse and pony show for Homeland Security, and I still haven't heard back from our agency. (I called them on Friday after he told me.) I'm going crazy here pulling my hair out. It is 10:30 in Colorado...why haven't they gotten back to me? We are so close to completing the paperwork....

Ok, now I'm whining. I'll wait until 2:00 here and if I don't hear anything back I'll call them again. If we have to do another home study and I got to find the place to get records then I want to start now...not tomorrow.

I just checked on line and I saw where the post office tried to delivery my package to the A.S. but they left a note...huh?? I did sign the waiver of signature.... I also emailed her on Friday and again today but she has not acknowledged either one but I'm sure she will today. She's been very helpful thus far so I'm sure I'll hear from her soon.

So Close!!

I just sent off 10 documents to be authenticated to the Assistant Stork. She will walk the documents to the state department and to the Chinese embassy for a moderate fee.

Documents left to be certified:

1. Homestudy
2. Marriage Certificate
3. 171-H

Documents sent to the Assistant Stork

1. Financial Statement
2. Employment verification – T
3. Employment verification – C
4. Police Clearance – T
5. Police Clearance – C
6. Adoption Petition
7. Physical – T
8. Physical – C
9. Birth Certificate – T
10. Birth Certificate – C

Rumors are flying around the different boards. Some say that CCAA is going to pick up the pace and send referrals from the 2nd half of May all the way into the middle of June. Some say that referrals will not even come this month and when they do come next month they will only be for the last half of May. Some agencies are telling people they will have an 8 to 10 month wait, others are saying 12 months. Good grief!! I'm trying so hard to get DTC by the end of the month dependentependant on the 171 coming....and I don't expect it until the end of this month.

Waiting...I'm not very good at this waiting game...what am I going to do while we wait? T will keep busy with the boys, this isn't the front runner in his head but it is mine!! I've already crocheted one blanket and I've started another one. We are only doing a corner nursery so that project won't take a bunch of time. I don't want to go shopping for clothes or baby items until I know how old and what size she will be. Any ideas?

Just some thoughts

A quick update on the paperwork. I received most of the paperwork back certified from NC. I have not received T's employment verification back. I checked the USPS website but the confirmation number I have but it is not in transit yet. Wonder what's going on with that? Oh, and our marriage certificate came back again!! Jeez....duh C!!! You weren't married in Onondaga County...you never LIVED in Onondaga County! Now I got to send it back for the third time to get it certified. In the meantime I'm going to use the assistant stork and send her the 7 pieces I have now for authentication.

I got an email from our agency after they reviewed the homestudy. There are 5 changes that will need to be made then it will be all set. A few of them are about our parents health. They don't want anything in the home study talking about heart disease (T's dad and my mom). So, the sw will take that out. She will also have to change the financial information to match what our petition says...which is what I told her to begin with!! Anyway, I emailed the home study agency with the changes and they left a message on our answering machine stating they should have it changed in the next week or so....no!!! I don't think so!! If we don't get it back by Friday I'll make a phone call. I've heard nothing but good things about this home study agency but my experience has not been the best. The communication between them and us is horrible. I have to call and leave messages and call again to finally get some answers to my questions.

So, we decided on the name of Tiana Claire. Pretty, yes, I agree, but the more I think about this other name in my head the more I really lean towards it. It doesn't roll off your tongue like the first one does but everytime I say it I think of both my mom and grandma and just smile. The name is Tommiann. Yes, one word, maybe with a dash, like Tommi-Ann. The middle name would still be Claire along with her Chinese name. Writing it with the dash seems to look better and would stand a better chance to be pronounced correctly once she gets to school Alot of people have been talking on APC about 2 middle names and the pros and cons of them. There was also a post about an older girl being adopted and how she couldn't understand why the Americans chop up the Chinese name. For example, the name could be Fu Hong Lei. Fu is usually the orphanage name or the directors name. Hong Lei is the girls name. A bunch of families would just keep the Lei. The girl said that would be like having the name of Karen and just using Kar. So, we will probably keep her whole Chinese name...which will make her name even longer!! Tommi-Ann Claire Hong Lei .....she'll probably cuss us out everytime she has to fill out legal documents or get her driver's license!!

We hoped to be DTC by the end of this month but it looks like it will be March. So with the current time lines I think we'll have her picture by November or December and then travel next year. It seems sooo far away but it's already February....come on time...keep flying by!!!!