March Referrals Are Official!

Well, it's official now, the CCAA made it through April 11, 2006. It was a 6-day referral month. Yippee! Only 94 more referral dates to go until our daughter comes home!

Here's the official notice:

3/2/2010
CCAA

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before April 30, 2008

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the family whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before April 11, 2006.

Rumors are Flying!

Well, I was just checking our agency's website and saw that the next set of matches are on their way! We'll know what the cut-off is going to be the beginning of next week! Rumors are flying that it's going to be April 11th or 12th of 2006 which would be AMAZING! We haven't had more than a 3-day referral batch in a long time. So, this could actually be a 6- or 7-day batch! Let's just keep some positive energy going...

It's just hard to believe that when we met with our social worker for the very first time in September of 2005 and were told to expect somewhere from a 12 to 18 month wait. So we turned in our paperwork to adopt in December of 2005, completed our dossier and was logged-in for China on July 14, 2006. What a long and strange trip this has been. Who would have guessed?!

I'm ready for a "speed-up" and my daughter to be home already. I love roller coasters, but this is one roller coaster ride that I wish I wasn't on!!

Chinese New Year - Year of the Tiger

Along with being Valentine's Day tomorrow, it is also the beginning of the Chinese New Year - The Year of the Tiger. Robert was born in the Year of the Tiger. I think it fits...

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, which begins on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011. The Tiger is the third sign in the Chinese Zodiac cycle, and it is a sign of bravery. This courageous and fiery fighter is admired by the ancient Chinese as the sign that keeps away the three main tragedies of a household. These are fire, thieves and ghosts.

Tigers are physically powerful, gracious, independent and brave, they are extremely bold animals. They are friendly and loving but can also selfish and short tempered. Tigers seek attention and power; frequently they are envious in a relation. Tigers live dangerously which often leads to trouble. They are intolerant, take risks and are always searching for excitement. Tigers are also instilled with a good dose of courage.

The Tiger has an overpowering attraction and is very kind and always takes on the character as protector. The Tiger flourishes by power and attention and takes advantage of all circumstances it gets itself into. The Tiger is a natural leader and loves to be the centre of attention. As a rebel it goes up against authority and speaks out about wrongs in society, and willingly puts up objections. Even if you don’t agree with the beliefs of the tiger you admire his way to protest.

Just as how their counterparts in the jungle are impulsive, so too are individuals born in the Chinese Year of the Tiger. When people think of tigers, it is their vigor and power that comes to mind first. But it has also been noted that tigers are known to share and are unselfish animals. The reason people admire the tiger is due to the fact that they are ferocious and domineering on the outside, but they are just as noble and distinguished on the inside. These are the same personality attributes that persons will have who are born in the Year of the Tiger.

People that are born in the Year of the Tiger are generally well liked because of their charismatic personalities. Often, failing at a given duty or being unproductive in his personal or professional life can cause a Tiger to experience a deep sense of depression. A Tiger is always at their happiest when they endeavor to climb the ladder of success. Attaining the top spot is his foremost purpose; being in a position of power is her ultimate goal. They are quick learners, need to be challenged and often prefer to work alone. Some Tigers tend to change careers more frequently because they get bored quite easily. They are natural born leaders and perform at their best if working towards positions of power and influence. So once there is no further room for progression, they will often move on to something else.

Anyone that is born in the Year of the Tiger is usually straightforward and outgoing by nature. They will never give up no matter how aggravated they may become. But, they are also full of suspicion and at times will take hasty action. Never lose sight of the fact that Tigers are smart and instinctive.

People born in the Year of the Tiger always take pride in being different from others, and normally demonstrate their originality best in their homes. Their homes are typically filled with exotic possessions. It is no surprise that one of the Tiger’s favorite gemstones is the cat’s eye, but tigers also love the sparkle of rubies and diamonds. They like to spend money, and also to share it. They can be very impulsive spenders because they know they can at all times make more.

The Year of the Tiger is the third year in the cycle of “Heavenly Branches”. Customarily, it is called “Yin”. Those born in the Year of the Tiger are compatible with the horse, dog, and dragons. The year 2010 is another Year of the Tiger. It is the ji-chou year. Jji is the sixth of the Ten Celestial Stems and yin is the third of the Twelve Terrestrial Branches and marks the Year of the Tiger.

Were you born during a Year of the Tiger?
You were if you were born in one of these years:
1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, and 1998.

New Toy

Well, with Valentines Day quickly approaching, I decided to get myself a fun little toy from Williams-Sonoma - their personalizable cookie cutters. I thought it would be fun to make cookies with all sorts of sayings on them. So, here was my first test of the product.

Step 1: Make Robert's mom's hanukkah/hamentashen cookie recipe (basically a sugar cookie recipe).
Step 2: Add red food color (it is for Valentine's Day!)
Step 3: While dough is chilling, insert letters into cookie cutters (this was a bit more difficult than anticipated. Next time, I'll stick to only 3 text options - it's too hard to change them out all the time. But, I guess you wouldn't want them loose while you're pressing them into the dough.)
Step 4: roll out dough, press out cookies and then bake
Step 5: EAT and ENJOY!

Here are my photos.

Happy Ground Hog Day!

Well, since Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, it looks like it's going to be another 6 more weeks of winter. (If you believe in such things). I'm already sick and tired of winter - the cold, the snow, and the many layers of clothing that I must wear to keep warm.

So, with that in mind, I'm going to show you a special treat that I bought in San Francisco's Chinatown - flowering teas. So beautiful, warm and calming (unless you're my dad, and then you are up all night with the jitters. Sorry dad, but I did tell mom that they were NOT caffeine free!) These teas start out as a small ball of dried up leaves and open up into this beauty. They come with different flowers inside. Each one is hand tied and a work of art as far as I'm concerned. Tasty, too!

Feb Matches are in

Well, as usual, another depressing month's worth of referrals. Another 2-day batch (April 4-5, 2006). They are now matched through April 5, 2006.

Only 100 more log-in dates to go (insert cynicism here...)

My g-d this adoption is taking FOREVER!! Our paperwork was logged in 3.5 years ago and counting. When will it end?!

How to Remove and Replace a Toilet

The Process:
Step 1: Buy new environmentally friendly Kohler toilet (Cimarron 1.28 GPF)
Step 2: Buy proper hoses and do-hickies (things only Robert knows the proper names of)
Step 3: Remove old toilet and plug up hole with something so fumes don't knock you out!
Step 4: Realize that there is wall paper behind old toilet that can now be seen when putting in new toilet
Step 5: Remove said painted over wallpaper with wallpaper stripper (see below)

Step 6: Add sand texture where wallpaper used to be to match the rest of the wall
Step 7: Prime the wall with tinted primer
Step 8: Paint the wall with leftover paint and hope it matches the color on the wall as it has been sitting in the paint can for 6 years (thankfully we had a match!! Yeah! Way worth the effort!)
Step 9: At 6:58 pm on a Sunday, realize you bought the wrong size hoses - as the ones we bought were for faucets, not toilets. Call Home Depot only to find out they close at 7 pm so can't finish installing toilets.
Step 10: Go back to Home Depot to buy proper size hoses (hope next set fits! Robert will pick up on his way home from work today)
Step 11: Finally after 3 days, install new toilet! (took place on Tuesday evening)

Our Brand New Toilet's Grand Debut... Isn't it beautiful?! Works well, too!

Referrals and Notices

There are so many things to get me incensed these days when discussing this adoption. I don't even know where to begin some days. Around every corner there seem to be one more hurdle that we need to cross, one more thing to test our patience. It just all doesn't seem fair.

We have been waiting for 3.5 years now and if the trend continues, it doesn't look like this adoption will be completed until 2012 (a 6 year wait!). I don't know anyone who has learned more about patience than those of us in line to adopt a little girl or boy from China.

They did get through the next set of referrals - but it was only 3 days (2 of which were weekend days). NOT happy about that! 102 more log-in dates to go... Here's the official notice:

12/28/2009 CCAA

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application  documents registered with our office before February 29, 2008.  The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before April 3, 2006.

Then there's this not-so-lovely announcement from the CCAA regarding an incident involving parents who raped their adopted little girl from China. While this incident is reprehensible, how can they blame one bad apple on the whole adoption system and the rest of us who are going to be amazing parents and give these children a loving home. Here's the announcement:

Announcement

Date of Release: December 22, 2009 　　Souce: CCAA

To relevant government departments and adoption agencies in receiving countries, Since China began working with relevant countries in inter-country adoption, the cooperation has been smooth and tens of thousands of Chinese children have been adopted by foreign families. The majority of them are growing healthily under the care and love of their adoptive parents. However, some media reported on December 14 about an American adoptive father who sexually abused his Chinese adoptive daughter, which have attracted broad attention and caused great shocks. Although this is a very rare case, it has caused negative effects on inter-country in China and is against the healthy development of inter-country adoption. As the agency entrusted by Chinese government in charge of inter-country adoption, China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has always attached great importance to the protection of Chinese adoptive children’s rights and great attention to the children who have been adopted into foreign families. On December 16, CCAA met with the Consul-General of the American Embassy in China Ms. Linda Donahue and notified her about our position on this incident. President of relevant adoption agency also telephoned CCAA and expressed his apology. In order to guarantee the rights and interests of Chinese adoptive children and ensure the healthy and sustainable development in cooperation of inter-country adoption, CCAA plans to take the following measures: 1. CCAA will suspend the cooperation with relevant American agency and decide whether to continue cooperation with this agency depending on its treatment of this incident. 2. It is suggested that all the government departments and adoption agencies conduct a following-up research of all the children adopted from China. If problems turn up, relevant parties shall assist in the re-placement of the child affected and notify CCAA accordingly. It is also advised that government departments and adoption agencies do a good job in the post-placement following-up of adopted children in the future. 3. To learn a lesson from this incident, it is suggested that social workers of government departments and adoption agencies evaluate the eligibility of applicants factually and in details. Social workers shall not only evaluate quantifiable factors such as age, profession, education background, income etc., but also evaluate whether the applicants are loving parents and with good personalities, as reflected in feedbacks from schools, communities, churches, social groups, etc. so that the reports provided can serve as dependable reference for CCAA during the reviewing process. 4. CCAA will adjust the present post-placement reporting policies and improve this reporting system, after seeking opinions and comments from different parties, based on the new situation in inter-country adoption. 5. Depending on individual cases, CCAA will suspend or terminate cooperation with agencies that are involved in cases where adopted children’s interests and rights are harmed. Home study reports prepared by social workers who are involved in such cases as well as the social workers themselves will not be recognized by CCAA. Government departments and adoption agencies shall follow the principle of “everything for the children” and assist in relevant work to guarantee the protection of rights and interests of adopted children and maintain the cooperation in inter-country adoption. China Center of Adoption Affairs December 22, 2009

Sad State of Affairs...

It's a sad state of affairs for international adoption in general. China is no exception. As you will see in these charts below, the numbers of children being adopted internationally has dropped drastically, while the desire for these children has increased dramatically. So, here we are waiting not so patiently for our children to come home one day.  Since the Hague Convention took effect, many of the countries listed below are no longer open to International Adoption any more. It's just too sad for words. We're just trying to stay positive which is an increasingly more difficult thing to do every day...

Happy Hanukkah!

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. Just want to wish our Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah! Tomorrow night is the big family gathering. I think we're having 13 people. It's going to be a bit crazy! (but fun!)