Subliminal influences

This is one of those 'too weird to be true' things.

Last night I caught the last hour of my favorite holiday movie, White Christmas. Very kitschy I know, but I love it.

There's a scene in the movie with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Vera Ellen arguing and I tuned out a bit. But then I saw something on the wall behind them. A familiar print/ picture.

The very same vintage balloon print I put in the nursery! I swear! I even ran the film back twice to look at it again. There were two of them on the wall; one definitely was this print:



So, did I fall in love with these prints because I'd been staring at one every year when I watched White Christmas?



m

Nursery Update - Part 1

At the end of the summer I painted the nursery.

Once again I reminded myself that I really don't like painting. Really. And it's a pretty small room. Like a good, over-protective not-yet-parent, I selected a no VOC paint. At least it smelled nice.

Here is a picture of the new wall color. I like it, but it's a bit brighter than I expected.


And surprise, surprise, I finally found a rocking chair. It's in great condition, very sturdy and the upholstery goes with the new paint!

The rocker is vintage so it sits rather low to the ground, but with my short legs it's easier to rock. For once my feet completely touch the ground!

Here's the new chair:


The chair, combined with the rematted prints and new wall color, is a good start.

m

School's out!

It's all over - all of the papers, late-night assignments, too many textbooks, and no free time.

Done, kaput, finito!

Yes, my graduate school experience is finally, finally finished.

I'm thrilled but oh so tired. I'm looking forward to weekends and lots of extra sleep. I don't think the enormity of it has hit me yet.

So pop open the champagne!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled baby watch . . .


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Absence makes the heart grow fonder

No I'm not going on vacation (oh vacation sounds nice!).


Today marks the start of my last quarter of grad school. As this quarter is the fulfillment of my capstone/ thesis I've a lot of work over the next 12 weeks.


So, unless something monumental happens on the adoption front, I will be sadly neglecting this blog for the next 83 days.

And maybe for a few days beyond that while I wildly celebrate the completion of school. : )


Talk to you after Thanksgiving!




m

Three years

Today is the third anniversary of my Log In Date (LID).

Enough said.


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I love beautiful things

A much loved friend and her husband gave me the most beautiful gift for Beach Baby today.

It is a simple and elegant baby rattle, carved from a solid piece of cherry. It is so, well, perfect.

In this world where poorly-made furniture and goods are constructed with cheap materials and ultimately destined for the trash pile in a few years, it is wonderful to know that craftsmanship like this still exists.

The rattle is from Mossy Creek Woodworks. I did a little research (don't I always) and this company's work has been displayed at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

This is going with me to China, as the first toy I give to my little one.

Thanks J&D!

m

Living vicariously through others

My friend L, mentioned in my last post, is currently on a flight to Beijing, just days away from meeting her daughter for the first time. I am so excited for her (and I will admit, a little bummed for me; I so long for it to be my turn)!

I have been somewhat living vicariously through her for the last few weeks: looking at her travel itinerary, listening to her plans, and seeing all the love and support she is so fortunate to have. I am even tracking her flight today via the internet. That isn’t weird, right?

She is hoping to post on her blog while in China so there will be more information and photos to pore over. The last friend who took this trip to her child did so a few years ago; I’m interested to see the change in the experience from L’s point of view.

Speaking of living through others, here is the latest update on referrals; “referrals have issued for families with dossiers submitted on or before March 20, 2006.” There should be another batch in the next week or so. Everyone pray, wish, hope, and psychically force the next batch to be a big one with weeks and weeks of dossiers.

m

It's nice to know it happens for some families

My friend L, after 38 months of waiting, has been matched to a daughter. (No, that isn't her baby in the photo.)

I'm so happy for the creation of this new family! Best wishes go out to baby, mommy, and extended family!

A link to her blog can be found further down this page on the left.

Let's all believe that this miracle is the start of a speed up in the process!

m

H1N1 Flu Epidemic

There have been conflicting reports that the CCAA has stopped matching, sending referrals, and sending travel authorizations due to the flu epidemic.

Nothing confirmed, but referrals are very overdue.

m

Adoption processing in China - Part 1

I realized that while I gave you information on my adoption timeline, I haven’t explained what happens on the other side of the fence; what is the process and timeline in China?
So here is the condensed (!) version in three posts:
The trip of Le (La?) Dossier:

Once a dossier (all of that lovely paperwork) arrives in China the adoption agency brings it to the CCAA offices. The CCAA logged in the dossier and assigns it an official Log-In-Date (LID).

A dossier is then translated into Chinese so that it can be reviewed. The CCAA has different rooms, or departments, that are responsible for each phase of the process (Translation room, Review room, Matching room, Travel room).

A translated dossier goes to the Review room where it is thoroughly evaluated. Sometimes, the assigned reviewer has questions about the dossier information and asks for further detail from the adoption agency. The agency acts as the go between for the questions and information; prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) are never in direct contact with the CCAA, or any other Chinese officials.

Once a dossier is reviewed it is moved to the Matching room. All matching is done by log in date, so all the dossiers with the same LID are matched at the same time. Right now my dossier is in the Matching room waiting for my LID to come up for match.

Abandoned or relinquished children who can be placed through international adoption are in the care of social welfare institutes (SWIs). The SWI cares for the children, documents their medical information, and provides all of the children’s information to the CCAA.

How the children are brought to the care of the SWI, where they are raised, the domestic adoption process in China, etc. is all a story for another day.

Adoption processing in China - Part 2

Putting together a new family:

In the Matching room at the CCAA, officials compare the dossiers of PAPs with the information on each child. I have heard many stories of how they match parent to child and nothing has been verified so that part of the process is a mystery. I know that the CCAA wants to place a child with the right parent and their primary concern is the well being of China’s orphaned children.

When all of the matches are complete for each LID’s families, the information on the match and the child is sent to the adoption agency. The agency sends as much possible information about the health and care of the child to the parents. The adoption agency puts the child’s information, along with instructions on the rest of the process into a packet and sends it to the parents. The agency calls the lucky moms and dads to tell them they have been matched to a child and their packet has been overnighted. Some agencies will email photos immediately, others will only provide information over the phone until the packet arrives.

Once the package arrives with the child’s information the parents have a short window of time to return confirmation of their desire to continue with the adoption. After that the focus moves to travel arrangements. The adoption agency informs the CCAA of the confirmation and while the agency is working on your travel, the CCAA is arranging the legal side of the trip; appointments with provincial governments and working with the agency and the US Consulate to formalize the adoption.

Adoption processing in China - Part 3

Travel/ Final Adoption/ Home:

It takes approximately 30-60 days to complete the travel arrangements, confirm government appointments, travel visas, etc. before the families actually travel to China. Once there, families typically stay for two weeks; this time is necessary for the Chinese government to finalize the adoption locally in the province and for the US Consulate to finalize the adoption and citizenship of the child.

The parents, and whomever they bring with them, travel to the child’s location first. There they meet and take custody of the child and the province legalizes the adoption for China. This takes a few days and can involve long travel. China is a very big country!

Once the adoption is approved by the province the new family travels to Guangzhou, China. This is where the US Consulate is located and where the family processes the paperwork finalizing the adoption in the eyes of the United States. The child will have a medical exam to verify there are no health issues that would keep her/ him from entering the US. Finally, the child is sworn in as a US citizen and is legally part of the family in the eyes of both countries.

Then comes the long flight home, with a child who has only known you for two weeks, is in a strange place and dressed/ fed/ cared for differently, and can be in one of many, many moods as you leave China. Once the child steps on US soil, meaning where ever in the US the plane lands first, she/ he is legally a US citizen. BeachBaby stands a good chance of becoming a US citizen at the Newark, New Jersey airport. Either way, when we all step off that last plane, everyone will be glad to be home, but not necessarily happy and cheery.

When I am matched with BeachBaby, I will let you in on the details of the trip and happenings scheduled in China. Until then, here’s keeping all our fingers and toes crossed for the speedy completion of this long process. And please keep good thoughts in your heart for the parents ahead of me in this process; may everyone’s dreams of a new family come true as fast as Heaven will allow.


m

Nursery progress

I haven't worked on the nursery for a while; the more distant the adoption felt, the less enthusiasm I felt for planning.

After helping a friend paint her soon-to-be adopted little one's room, I decided I needed step up my efforts.

For the last year or so it's felt like everything about the adoption had become paperwork, websites and stress - no fun to be found.

But a few weeks ago I purchased some bedding (!), and last weekend I bought a crib. The pets found the assembly process very entertaining.

The pictures leave a lot to be desired, but here they are:

Latest stats from the CCAA

That's the China Center 0f Adoption Affairs, to all you novices.

A batch of referrals came through yesterday, for families whose dossiers were received on or before March 8, 2006.

That's a 37-month wait. And I am faaaaaaaarther down the line.

m

Another milestone

My second set of fingerprints expire today.

I wonder if the Columbus Citizenship and Immigration Services office has a 'buy two, get one free' discount?

m

Things to do while I wait

It seems that progress is just as slow this year as it was in 2008.

I need to keep myself busy.

I decided to finish off the Master's degree I started. I hit a wall last year when I began researching my thesis topic and realized I wouldn't be able to collect valid data.

I had to take time off until I came up with a new topic. I start back to classes March 2.

If all goes well, I will be finished at the end of November. If my referral comes before that I'll have to adjust the school timeline.

Wish me luck and pray that I am quickly interrupted by that referral.

m

Latest CCAA stats

Referral matches have been completed for all families with log-in dates (LID) on or before:

March 2, 2006.

That means there are 114 possible LIDs before mine.

m

GoGo has left us

The house is a little emptier this weekend. GoGo, my blue point Siamese, passed on.

GoGo was a rescue from the humane society and lived to an amazing 21+ years. I won't go into her decline, or how she was at the end. I prefer to remember her as the sweet-tempered, comfort-loving companion she was to me for a long time.

I don't know if my other cat, and the puppy, realizes that she is gone but I certainly do.

The vet's office was wonderful and supportive. They even sent flowers the next day.

Now, before you say it, or do it - No one bring me any kittens or other cute, furry critters. I want all of us (cat, dog, me) to settle into this new life. We will have another big change once BeachBaby joins the family.

m