Alex graduated from high school this week- whoohoo! We're all very proud of him. And, I think all of us who attended the graduation should also be congratulated for sitting on metal bleachers, at the end of May, in Arizona, for 3 1/2 hours.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Congratulations to the Grad!
Alex graduated from high school this week- whoohoo! We're all very proud of him. And, I think all of us who attended the graduation should also be congratulated for sitting on metal bleachers, at the end of May, in Arizona, for 3 1/2 hours.
Day 1 of Month 9
Today marks the beginning of the ninth month since my LID of 9/26. The CCAA is supposed to make some announcement this week. There is much speculation on what this will be.
Will they talk about the slow down, about what timeframe their expecting the program to continue at or will it be more of the same "more families adopting domestically, less babies being abandoned." Although I'm sure both of these things are a small factor, I simply don't believe that there was suddenly such a drastic increase in domestic adoptions or decrease in abandonments to account for the quick change in timelines we've seen since Oct/Nov 2005.
I do believe the Hunan baby trafficking has caused the biggest impact on the slowdown but I would be surprised to see the CCAA talk about this.
There is also some thought that they might add some additional restrictions to adopting families with the families that are already LID having to meet the new criteria. The most talked about at this time is regarding weight.
I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous about what they're going to say. I know that if they're going to increase the timeline to some unreasonable wait (say 18-24 months) that it would be better to just know this but it would still be a huge disappointment to not have Ava home by the holidays.
Will they talk about the slow down, about what timeframe their expecting the program to continue at or will it be more of the same "more families adopting domestically, less babies being abandoned." Although I'm sure both of these things are a small factor, I simply don't believe that there was suddenly such a drastic increase in domestic adoptions or decrease in abandonments to account for the quick change in timelines we've seen since Oct/Nov 2005.
I do believe the Hunan baby trafficking has caused the biggest impact on the slowdown but I would be surprised to see the CCAA talk about this.
There is also some thought that they might add some additional restrictions to adopting families with the families that are already LID having to meet the new criteria. The most talked about at this time is regarding weight.
I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous about what they're going to say. I know that if they're going to increase the timeline to some unreasonable wait (say 18-24 months) that it would be better to just know this but it would still be a huge disappointment to not have Ava home by the holidays.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Disappointing day
This month's 9 day batch of referrals was definitely a let down. They went from June 7 to 15. The earlier rumors had anticipated that the CCAA would make it through June 20-21, completing two full weeks. Not great but it at least left hope that next month's referrals could make it through mid-July.
The Russian government announced today that "Moscow will stop foreigners adopting children outside officially registered agencies in a step toward limiting the number of children who leave Russia". I don't know what impact this will have on people who are currently in that program but I'm sure the families that are already in process have to be really worried. That's a terrible situation to be in. The Eastern European countries are not known for their compassion or understanding for either the children or families of international adoption.
So, compared to the terrible blow that the families waiting for children from Russia felt today, waiting longer to complete an adoption in China isn't that bad. Although the CCAA hasn't exactly been forthcoming with information, they do seem to want the program to continue and, even though the referral batches have been very small these past three months (5, 7, 9 days), they are, at the very least, still referring children.
The Russian government announced today that "Moscow will stop foreigners adopting children outside officially registered agencies in a step toward limiting the number of children who leave Russia". I don't know what impact this will have on people who are currently in that program but I'm sure the families that are already in process have to be really worried. That's a terrible situation to be in. The Eastern European countries are not known for their compassion or understanding for either the children or families of international adoption.
So, compared to the terrible blow that the families waiting for children from Russia felt today, waiting longer to complete an adoption in China isn't that bad. Although the CCAA hasn't exactly been forthcoming with information, they do seem to want the program to continue and, even though the referral batches have been very small these past three months (5, 7, 9 days), they are, at the very least, still referring children.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Secret Pal strikes again
My August Secret Pal sent us these great gifts this month. The hooded pool towel is too cute. It's a flower top. Along with the purple sunglasses, Ava will be set for some summer fun. The magnets are already on the frig. Thanks so much.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Two at the Zoo
My twin nieces, Kayla and Kenzie, turned two this week. We celebrated at the Zoo last Sunday. Of course it turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far at about 99 degrees. The girls were real troopers - unlike the adults who complained about the heat constantly- myself included ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
