Meeting my "sisters" in Nashville

Well, I am finally going to meet some of my "Ma Ma Sisterhood" in Nashville over July 4th weekend. There will be 5 of us ladies (and some of their kids) and after over 2.5 years of talking over the internet, we're going to finally meet in person. I am so excited. I just booked my flight and hotel today. Poor Robert has to stay home and work. Not too happy about that. Ah, well...

Positive Rumblings

Well, lately we've been hearing lots of positive news about the potential (key word, here) for a speed-up in the referral process most likely in the second half of this year. The Chinese are trying to see the ever-expanding child-match referral waits go down. They have increased the orphanage donation fee by $2000 in the hopes that more orphanage directors would be inclined to make their children "paper ready" (which means that they would be available for international adoption). They have tried to curb the defacto adoption of children in China (where people would see an abandoned child and rear him/her as their own) which is now illegal in China. They are supposed to turn the child in to a Social Welfare Institute (SWI - what the Chinese call their orphanages). Also, the CCAA has put in writing that they want to "put Adoption First." Let's just see if this happens and give these orphaned children a home.

Now what does all that mean for us? We're not sure yet. We are hoping that this means that a speed-up in the process is coming. When? We're not sure... How fast a speed-up? Don't know that either. We don't have any sense of when our adoption is going to happen. It could be this year (doubtful) or as long as the beginning of 2011. All of which I've heard.

What we do know, is that our daughter will be here, just not sure when... She's already in our hearts, just not our home.

Check off another set of matches

Well, we haven't heard an official cut-off date, but I think I can almost say for certain that the cut-off is March 6, 2006. This was a 4-day referral batch. So, only 130 more referral days to go. Lets keep 'em coming... Unfortunately at this rate we may not see our daughter until the beginning of 2011. Really depressing.

UPDATE: Well, it took the CCAA a whole month to make it official, but now it is!

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before March 31, 2007.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before March 6, 2006.