Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a nice Christmas. While we missed Greg's dad greatly this Christmas, we were thankful for our nephew, Nathan, who always provides much needed comic relief for all of us.


We wish everyone a wonderful 2007 filled with good health, much happiness, and many blessings!

Cheers,
Greg and Laura

Hearts' Desire

We just wanted to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to our friends Joel and Misty on their recent decision to adopt! We are so happy for them and know they are going to be awesome parents. You can follow them throughout their journey at: http://desireofourheart.blogspot.com.

Here is a poem we came across recently (and love) that we would like to dedicate to them...

Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart - but in it.
--- Fleur Conkling Heylinger

Brought to you by the number 3...

Another month of waiting under our belt - we've been logged in 3 months now. Just yesterday we found out the CCAA had it's annual meeting last week and apparently will be implementing some new guidelines in 2007. Our agency told us that we shouldn't be effected since we're already logged in. One not-so-great piece of information that we heard through the grapevine is that referral times won't be shortening any time soon, in fact we've heard they are going to continue to hang around the 14-16 month timeframe. Needless to say, we are pretty disappointed by this bit of news. AAI is sending a detailed letter to their clients with all the new guidelines, so we'll know more when we receive it...but as mentioned we should be "grandfathered in". Now, if only we could make the referral times speed up...

Half the Sky

Half the Sky is a foundation that works to help children in orphanages in China. It was created in 1998 by adoptive parents of orphaned Chinese children. Half the Sky's mission is to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for the babies and children in China who still wait to be adopted, and for those who will spend their childhoods in orphanages. They establish early childhood education, personalized learning for older children, and infant nurture programs to provide the children stimulation, individual attention, and an active learning environment. They have four specific programs that they put into the orphanages - The Baby Sisters Infant Nurture Program, The Little Sisters Preschool Program, The Big Sisters Program, and The Family Village Program.

Their website, www.halfthesky.org , is loaded with information on each of the programs as well as where and how many orphanages they are working in, etc. They also have items for sale, volunteer opportunities in China, and many different ways you can donate to help further their work.

Below is a picture we found on their website showing one of the nurture care centers (playrooms). As you can see, it's a stark contrast to the pictures in our last post.

This is such a wonderful organization, hope you get a chance to check them out. Have a good weekend...

A Closer Look - Orphanages in China

While it's hard to find too many statistics on Chinese orphanages, we've been able to compile some information for you.

We read an article by Dr. Jane Liedtke - CEO/Founder of Our Chinese Daughters Foundation - in which she states there are approximately 1,000 orphanages in China. We have also read that, of these, only 250 are permitted to adopt internationally. There is speculation that the CCAA is working to get more orphanages up to standards, eligible for international adoption.

Life in an orphanage in a developing country can be quite harsh, and while some orphanages do a better job than others, overall, orphanages in China are adequate places staffed by caring people. Guess you could say that they do the best they can with what they are given. More and more children are now being placed in foster homes by the orphanages, giving each child more attention and care in a family environment.

Here are a few pictures of some orphanages. As you can see, the conditions can vary widely. For example, some might have cribs with bedding... while others just have boards.

Below is some rare footage from inside one of the orphanages in China. This video was taken by a parent while visiting the orphanage his daughter came from, an opportunity not granted to many who are adopting in China.

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

We have heard positive things about changes being made to facilities and a lot of those changes are made possible through the donations and contributions made by parents adopting children.

Hopefully this has given you a clearer picture of what the orphanages are like in China.

Stats what I figured

We've had a few people ask about the number of children that are adopted from China to the United States each year. With a little research here's what we found...

The U.S. Department of State website gives a list of immigrant visas issued to orphans coming to the U.S. From this we learned that the top four countries that U.S. families have adopted from since 2002 are: China, Russia, Gautemala, and Korea (in that order). The number of visas issued for each of those countries in 2005 was: China-7,609; Russia-4,639; Guatemala-3,783; Korea-1,630.

There has been a significant increase in Chinese adoptions in the U.S. over the last several years. Using INS immigrant visas as a tally, the numbers are shown in the graph below. Since 1985 there have been a total of 55,446 adoptions from China to the U.S.

For our next couple of posts, we'll get into some specifics on orphanages in China. We'll talk about conditions, statistics, and other information that will perhaps answer more of your questions and hopefully add a little perspective. Until then, take care.

2 Down... too many to go.

Today marks our 2 month LID anniversary. Just kidding when we said 2 months ago that it would be 12 months... it's 12 months from now. Yes, the wait has continued to grow to 14 months, so... 2 down, 12 to go. There are still rumors out there that there might be a speed up, but for now it looks like we're on the slow boat to China.

Perfect Match

We thought we'd talk a bit more about the "matching" process and the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs). Here is a picture we found that shows dossiers that are ready to be matched in the matching room. Although our dossier hasn't made it this far, we'll be there someday... let's just hope they can find us (Where's Waldo?)!

Here is a simple breakdown of what will happen to our dossier: First, the paperwork is sent to China by our agency, it is then logged in (hence the log in date), at some point our information and pictures are entered into the database (this might or might not be part of the log in step), next... many months later... the dossier goes to the "review room", and finally enters the matching room. We've been logged in, and from what we've gathered our dossier is currently waiting to be reviewed.

About the Review Room: The CCAA updates their website periodically to let families know what LIDs have made it through the review room. Last we've heard, they had just finished reviewing dossiers with LIDs of 1/31/06... which means there are 7 more months worth or dossiers to be reviewed before we're in. Once we finally make it here, our dossier will go through an extremely thorough check to make sure it's accurate and complete. If necessary, they can ask us for more information... but we pray everything is smooth sailing. Once we've passed the review room, it's on to the matching room.

About the Matching Room: The CCAA does actually try to match you with your child. Each worker will have a stack of baby files and a stack of dossiers from each agency. For example, they'll take the 6 families in our group and look through our information and pictures and then try to make the best match with the files they are given. It can be based on appearance (yes, we've heard several families say they can see a resemblance), or maybe a hobby (both baby and parents like music, etc.), or sometimes just a feeling they get. They also try very hard to match you with the age you've requested. The CCAA also updates their website stating what LIDs they have matched through... currently they have placed children with families that have a LID through August 25, 2005... our log in date is September 12, 2006.

So, while we're still quite a ways from either of these steps, we thought we would go ahead and explain them so when they happen, you'll know. :-)

We've added a link to the CCAA (on the right side w/ the other links) in case you want to check out their website. The area where they show the review/matching room update is on the far right-hand side of the homepage, toward the bottom (called Documents Processing).

Whew... and that was the cliff notes version! :-\ Take care, folks!

Need a laugh?

We found these videos on a couple of other blogs and had to share them with you... (you might have to click the play button twice to get it started)






Don't you know these are two lively households!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Happy Birthday, Nathan!!

Sunday, Oct 22nd we celebrated our nephew's birthday. The big number 2!! Here are a few pics from the party...

(click on each picture to enlarge)

Make a wish, little man! Hope you had a blast on your big day!!

LID Anniversary - 1 Month Down

We have been logged in with the CCAA for 1 month today! It's actually been a pretty quick month... let's hope the rest are just the same.

Speaking of the rest, just how many more are the rest? That's the magic question..... One year ago at this time, referrals were arriving only six months after you were logged in. Since then the wait has continued to creep up and is currently at about 13 1/2 months. Wowsers! We hope and pray this stablizes and/or lessens. Why the longer wait time, you ask? There are many factors that have contributed to this, but it is primarily due to an increase in families from around the world who submitted their dossiers last fall (when the wait time was so short). There was such a dramatic increase in applicants that we are now apparently up against a bit of a backlog. This is not to say there is a shortage of children needing homes... that is certainly not the case. It all comes down to China's ability to handle the paperwork efficiently.

All too often we find ourselves focusing so much on getting "somewhere" or "something" and we forget to appreciate all that goes on while we're getting there... we forget to savor the journey. While this news of increasing timelines is kind of a bummer, we are really going to try to stay positive and enjoy every step along the way... HOWEVER long it takes.

P.S. For those of you who were curious, moon cakes must be an acquired taste. Maybe moon pies next year... mmm... marshmallowy goodness!

The Name Game

It seems the question, "Have you thought of a name yet?" is happening more and more these days, so we thought we would let you all in on a little secret.......... We're working on it!

You didn't think we were actually going to tell you right then, did you? Suckers!! :-)

We've spent the last few months tossing around names and have pretty much narrowed down the first name to one we really like. The hard part has been the middle name, which we want to be a Chinese name... as one way to preserve her heritage. This obviously becomes a little more tricky. Not only do we want a name that "fits" with her first and last name, but it's also important that it be a proper Chinese name and have a good meaning.

The meaning of a name seems to be of extra significance in Chinese tradition. It is common to combine two shorter names into one. And the names, when put together, take on a somewhat varying meaning than the two separate. Also, depending on how it's arranged, the name could have a completely different meaning.

Some of you might be wondering, "Won't she already have a name when you get her?" The answer is yes, she will. However, it is likely that this will be a name given to her by the orphanage director, and might only mean something about the location of the orphanage itself. It is our feeling that this won't carry the "specialness" or distinctive quality that she deserves. Of course, we will always hold close to our hearts the name she has when we first meet her. But our wish is for our daughter to have a name that was chosen with love, and especially for her.

We've been doing a bit of research on Chinese names and have a few ideas that we are talking about. Currently, we're in the process of consulting some Chinese sources to make sure the name(s) we like are acceptable and have a meaning that we are happy with.

We feel like we're pretty close to a final decision, so we'll try not to leave everyone in suspense for much longer. On the other hand, what's the rush?... It's not like we're running low on time. :-)

Cheers,
Greg, Laura and ????

Got Moon Cakes?

In China there are many festivals that are celebrated throughout the year. The second most recognized, after the Chinese New Year, is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Also known as the Moon Festival, it is held every year on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. This usually falls somewhere between the middle of September and the middle of October... This year it takes place on October 6th.

The Moon Festival is a time when family and friends get together to give thanks for the summer harvest and admire the mid-autumn harvest moon, which is supposed to be brighter and fuller than any other time of the year. The traditional food enjoyed during this festival is the moon cake, which is a sweet round cake stuffed with a variety of things such as lotus-seed paste, fruit, nuts, ham, or egg yolk.

This will be the first Chinese festival we've celebrated, so we're planning a small get-together with our moms to enjoy some Chinese food and moon cakes. We ordered our cakes from a great Chinese cultural "store" called China Sprout... who has them shipped from a bakery in New York's Chinatown.

Happy Moon Festival Everyone!

Put a LID on it!

Good news first..... we found out our LID today!! For the lingo-challenged people, this is the date our paperwork was officially logged in over in China.

The not-so-good news..... it was just last week. 9/12 to be exact..... 26 days after our dossier was shipped off to China. All summer the time from DTC to LID was taking 3 to 10 days on average. So this is a little longer than we expected. BUT... at least we're in, and for that we rejoice. That's all, just wanted to let everyone know that we're officially in there, baby! Now the countdown to referral begins...

Cheers,
Greg & Laura
LID 9/12/06

Lucky Bugs

We thought this might be a good time to explain the significance of ladybugs in Chinese adoption. Ladybugs are considered to be a symbol of good luck in the adoption community. The story goes something like this: Many years ago in China, as the international adoption program was beginning to take off, there was a fall season where the ladybug population grew unusually large. This was thought to be a lucky charm for those who were adopting, so now whenever ladybugs are seen, it is said that more beautiful children are being referred to waiting parents and families.

As we were gathering our paperwork this spring, we started noticing a curious number of ladybugs everytime we were outside (not just our imagination). I'm sure scientists have a perfectly "scientific" explanation for it, but we choose to think of it as a sign of good things to come. So, when we were out looking at some baby stuff recently and came across this little bear with a ladybug on its chest, we had no other choice but to buy it.

P.S. For those of you wondering... still no LID, unfortunately. :-(