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!




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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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.