Get out and VOTE!!

Election Day is tomorrow, so don't forget to get out to the polls. This is going to be a landmark election. I can't wait to get out and vote!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a spook-tacular Halloween today! I'm off to volunteer at the Red Cross today and then get ready for the onslaught of about 75 kids ringing the doorbell. It should be a fun day. Tonight we are ordering a pumpkin-shaped pizza for dinner. Should be a great day!

Our First Day of Snow

Yes, it's only October 27th and it is snowing outside. YUCK!! I am just not ready for winter to make its arrival, but here it came... I better bundle up and put on my winter coat for the day... Thank g-d for central heating!

Another true sign it's cold outside - you get a snuggly kitty... That and multiple requests from her to be placed on the bed and under the covers (she's too old to jump up on the bed now on her own, so she'll meow until you put her up there).

The Melamine problem seems to be growing

Well, the newest scare is now involving eggs found to have high melamine levels. They seem to be thinking that it can be traced to the feed given to the chickens that laid the eggs.

The government said in a statement it found 4.7 parts per million of melamine in the eggs produced by a division of China's Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group based in the northeastern port city Dalian. The legal limit of melamine in Hong Kong is 2.5 ppm.

The new results have prompted officials to expand food testing to meat imports from China.

In an earlier egg-related food safety scare, the banned cancer-causing industrial dye, Sudan Red, was used to color egg yolks.

The Hong Kong government also said it found excessive amounts of melamine in Blueberry Cream Sandwich crackers made by Philippine company Croley Foods MFG. Corp.

I think what we can all learn from this is NOT to buy any food item made in China until all of this mess is cleared up!!

Better Late than Never...

So, I'm extremely behind in my postings these days. It's just been rough since we've been back from our vacation at the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. So, now I am finally getting to post a few pix from our trip. We were there from August 30th through September 9th. It was a wonderful 10-day vacation that we both just loved!! We woke up every morning and had beautiful scenery and some great hiking. The weather, for the most part, was decent. We did have snow and hail one day. Thankfully for us, it was a travel day from when we drove from Jackson Hole to Yellowstone National Park. Note: these are only 12 out of the 1500 photos that we took. I am sparing your eyes... Here are the highlights of our trip.

Here we are enjoying an evening cocktail inside the Old Faithful Inn. It was so amazing there. Definitely have to go back!!

This is what a traffic jam looks like in Yellowstone...

Wednesday Funnies

In honor of my parent's visit to Madison on Monday, I thought a little family humor would be in order. Plus, as Robert already knows... I'm always "right."

Seeing the Fall Colors

This past Sunday, Robert took another flying lesson that I got to join in on. We went out (with his flight instructor) to look at the beautiful fall colors of Door County, WI. The views were just amazing. Here are just a few of the views out the airplane window. It was just breath-taking! We left around 8:30 am and got home around 4:00 pm. It was a very enjoyable day.

USCIS Announces Adoption Policy for Hague Transition Cases

Grandfathered Form I-600A Affected

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday that prospective adoptive parents already in the process of adopting a child from a country that has implemented the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) who filed a Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, prior to April 1, 2008, and who have received the one time no-charge extension, may file one additional Form I-600A, and continue to proceed with their intercountry adoption through the “orphan” process. The new Form I-600A must be filed before the current approval expires, and only if the prospective adoptive parents have not yet filed the corresponding Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.

Well, the petition worked! Finally something good that USCIS did. If only they could make it so that we only had to file for the paperwork once with no expiration until the adoption is completed. It still sucks that we'll be continuing on with all of this nasty paperwork and extra money outlay, but I guess it could be worse if we had to transition over to the I-800 form. The I-800 form is only good for 15 vs 18 months (with the I-600) and requires a more major home study rewrite which would have cost us more money and more extensive background checks. As it currently stands, we may still not be completed with our adoption by the time our 3rd I-600A form expires. Our current one expires in April 2009. Gotta see if there's a way to drag it out a bit... Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Please Help By Signing this Petition!

Those of you who are tangled up in international adoption and specifically adoption from China are well aware of the implications of the Hague and our I-600a approvals. For those of you not involved, the I-600a is the the clearance you get from the US Government that allows you to return to this country with your new child. Without this approval, you can't get on your plane home with your baby. The US just became Hague compliant which means they now participate with many countries around the world to prevent child trafficking. Yes, good. Very good. However now the thousands of families like us who are in the MIDDLE of this adoption process are being asked to spend more money, more time, and perhaps delay their process by having to get re-approved by the US Government. Mind you that all of us spent close to $1000 to be I-600a approved at the onset of this process, then most of us have already had to spend money to get re-approved when the I-600a expired 18 months later, and now we may have to become I-800a approved which requires much more hoop jumping. We were initially told that people with a valid I-600a would be considered "transition" families and would be grandfathered in. Now it seems that may not be the case. There is a petition being signed to keep us "transition" families grandfathered in and I am asking ALL of you to click this link and sign it. You can also read more about this in greater detail on that blog. Whether you are in the process of an adoption or not, please help us by signing this petition. The Joint Council, in collaboration with Adoption For All organizers David Yurkovich and Dianne Pearce, will present the petition and all signatories to Congressional leaders on October 18th. To ensure that your signature is included, please sign the petition no later than October 16th. Thank You!

100 Pearls of Chinese Wisdom

"Fate brings people together no matter how far apart they may be."
- 100 Pearls of Chinese Wisdom