Our new stroller!

Well, I finally made our first "big" purchase for our daughter. I just ordered online a new stroller (Peg Perego Aria MT Single Stroller 2005 Metallica). It is actually almost the same one as the 2007 version, but half the price! Yeah! It is even RED. I am so excited to get it! The car seat we'll wait on until we know how big she's going to be.

Congratulations Joel!

Today I went to Milwaukee to watch my brother Joel finish off his Super Week bike races. It ended on a great note. He took 20th place, which meant he actually got paid! (albeit not enough to cover the cost of the race, but paid nonetheless). Great job, Joel! My mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and my cousins Lisa, Rob, Abby, and Ryan were all there to cheer him on.

June is out of review!

Well, we are getting so close! They just finished the reviews of June 2006 dossiers and we're next! I can't even believe it. We are getting there. It's just too exciting for words.

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before June 30, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 14, 2005.

One Year Down, More To Go...

Well, it has officially been one year since our dossiers have been logged in at the CCAA in China. On the one hand, the time sure has flown by, but on the other, the wait has been excruciating! Right now they are saying that the total wait time could be up to 3 years. I hope not, but at the current pace the CCAA has been placing children with their families, this could be what we're looking at. I try to be optimistic about all this, but some days it's just so hard. I see all the children of my family and my friends, and I think, "when is it going to be our turn?" I hope to say that "our turn" comes in the next year, but I just don't know... It's the not knowing that is the most painful part. I know our daughter is coming - I just wish it was today and not some tomorrow in the future.

To mark today's occasion, Robert and I went to a very nice restaurant and looked out onto Lake Monona and had a really nice dinner. I guess this is the time to cherish our alone time together before our daughter arrives. But, I would rather our lives be crazed with a lovely little girl who exhausts us completely on a daily basis.

I already miss our daughter, and I don't even know who she is yet...

Getting to meet Rachel

Well, my day began yesterday shopping with my friend, Kris, who's also adopting a little girl from China. She bought a crib (very nice convertible crib) and I bought the cutest pair of Robeez with pandas on them. See below. A girl can never have too many shoes! Now she has her airplane shoes that make her daddy happy, and her panda shoes that mommy couldn't resist!


For dinner, I met our friends Darrell and Deborah who just came back from China with their daughter, Rachel (Rui Rui - pronounced Ray Ray). She's 2 and doing very well. She's only been home for 2 weeks. She was amazing especially since she had spent all day at the doctor's offices. Poor thing. And I shouldn't forget about their son, Alex who was also stuck waiting at said hospitals all day. Also in the group were Heather and Dustin who are about 6 months ahead of us in the adoption process and also live in our subdivision. Yeah! Play dates! And of course, Kris, who is about 6 months behind me and helped me spend my money on our shopping date... many more of those to come.

Doctor's Park

Firstly, I'd like to wish Debbie a Happy Birthday today! Happy 21st, again...

Yesterday, I went to Milwaukee to see my brother, sister and their families since everyone was in town. Yeah! I got to spend some really nice quality time with my nephews. We went to Doctor's Park and played on the beach. Joel and Debbie had their rock skipping contest. Debbie won! Tommy enjoyed the water and chasing butterflies. Billy had fun kicking the beach ball around, running into the water and beating up on his big brother. I miss them already!


Right now, Joel and Ellen are on their way to New York City for 5 days. Hope you're enjoying!

Mom, thanks for the yummy Faijitas! Dad, sorry you had to work. I miss you!

Another Baby Step Closer...

Well, we're another step closer. The CCAA has just completed another months worth of dossiers for review. Only two more months worth of reviewing to go. Yeah! Unfortunately, they only placed a weeks worth of dates in the past month. I will continue to keep things posted as developments occur. Read below from the CCAA's website.

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before May 31, 2006.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 14, 2005.

Happy 4th of July!

Well, another weekend has gone by. This past weekend we had Robert's family in town to celebrate his mom's 70th B-day. We had so much fun. Everyone came over for a BBQ. It was so nice to have everyone together. Our two nieces were the life of the party. We both got our fills of snuggles, hugs and kisses to last a few days. On Saturday night, we took them to see their first fireworks. It was a bit loud for them, but they'll enjoy it more in a few years.

Caroline and Emily, thank you for the lovely gift of toys. I know our daughter will love them. You put so much thought in picking them out for her. We'll make sure she knows they're from you.

Where we are...

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before April 30, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 7, 2005.

Why the wait...

A Message from Josh & Lily

Dear CCAI Waiting Families, Finally, Lily and I are back in our office after welcoming the CCAA delegation in Denver and Orlando. We know you are very curious and eager to find out if we have learned anything new from the delegation about China adoption, which we are glad to share with you in this letter. Overall, the nine-member delegation was tight-lipped. Their official response to the question of why the wait is so long was, “We do not have enough paper-ready children.” However, as we engaged in deeper discussion with each official on a more personal level, it was re-affirmed that everything Joshua discussed in the January/February 2007 Circle Newsletter article, "What is Behind the Long Wait in China Adoption," is accurate: an unexpected increase of dossiers, the unexpected Hunan incident, and a lack of motivation and cooperation from orphanage directors. The lack of motivation and cooperation has emerged as the key reason behind the current slow-down and shortage of paper-ready children. Although economic reform has resulted in less abandonment in China (which is wonderful news for the children), it is false to assume that there are no more children in the orphanages. In fact, there are still a large number of untapped orphanages in some key provinces where international adoption is still a new phenomenon. Provinces such as Henan, Guizhou, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia, to name a few, have thousands of orphans in their orphanages. The CCAA is working hard with them by encouraging cooperation and offering international adoption training, hoping more paper-ready children will be reported to the CCAA. However, the lack of motivation is becoming a much bigger stumbling block to the CCAA’s operation. The reason behind the lack of motivation is twofold: First, the international adoption no longer offers the kind of financial attraction as it did ten or fifteen years ago. When China first opened its doors to international adoption in 1992, the Child Rearing Fee, or “donation” as it has been wrongly labeled, was fixed at $3,000 per child, even though many orphanages suggested $5,000 at the time. The $3,000 has never been changed in 15 years, while the standard and cost of living in China have improved and increased dramatically. The very motivating $3,000 fifteen years ago has become much less attractive today, especially when more and more Chinese domestic adopters are able to pay the same amount or an even higher fee to adopt a child. The question of raising the Child Rearing Fee has been brought up repeatedly in recent years by the orphanages. However, due to its political sensitivity and fearing a possible negative international reaction, the CCAA has been resisting such a move. Privately the delegate felt that unless the fee issue is resolved in the orphanages’ favor, they will not see an increase of paper-ready children reported to the CCAA. Does this mean the Child Rearing Fee will be increased soon? Neither they nor we think so. This very sensitive dilemma needs time to be resolved. Second, the ever-increasing demand by the CCAA for more paperwork on adoptive children is also taking the cooperative spirit away from the local orphanages. The orphanages feel that the increased and cumbersome paperwork demanded by the CCAA and the Hague Convention does not match the Child Rearing Fee they are receiving for each placement. The CCAA has been playing the role of the big boss for too long. They have slowly but gradually realized that the good-old-days of sitting and waiting for an unlimited number of paper-ready children are over. They must learn and force themselves to reach out to the orphanages and change from being a boss to a servant. We can tell from our conversations with the CCAA officials that they are trying their best to do that. In fact, in the past 12 months, the CCAA has sent more teams to the local orphanages than in previous years. The delegation never answered the question of how long the wait will become. Their only answer was: It entirely depends on how many children the orphanages and the provincial government send to us each month. The fact that the CCAA sent an official delegation to the USA and participated in CCAI’s fifteenth anniversary sends a strong message that China adoption will continue for a long time and that CCAI is enjoying an exceptional working relationship with the CCAA. These messages are good news for all of us. Thank you again for hanging in there with us. Please don’t give up. In God’s perfect timing, you will receive your match and embark on the unforgettable journey to unite with your long-awaited child in China. Love, Josh and Lily