Goodbye China...

It's with a very heavy heart that I write this blog. We are coming up on our four year anniversary since we have been LID with China awaiting the arrival of our Alison. Four very long hard years. We are withdrawing our paperwork.

We received word from our agency that in July 2011 the CCAA SHOULD be done with referrals of children for parents that were LID in June 2006. That is another entire year just to get through June of 2006!!

I'm having yet another birthday next week and I'm so afraid that we will not be parents until our mid to late 50's and that scares me. I've looked into other countries and because of our age we would be eligible to adopt a child 5 years old and above.

I'm closing the door to international adoption for now. I think that because of our age and the number of older children here in the USA that need loving families that this may be the best was to go.

Alison will forever be in my heart and I am truly grieving her love and laughter that should have been part of our lives. I miss you baby and hope you have a wonderful life. You will be forever a part of me. I love you...mommy.

Taiwan Program

Well. I finally called our adoption agency back and spoke to the China Program Coordinator. She asked how we were doing (we're okay), if we were being realistic about the wait times (I figure another 5 years give or take)...we are beyond three years now and it could be another five before we get anywhere near close to a referral.

She suggested that we look into a pilot program that the agency has in Taiwan. I met a family with my agency three years ago who was logged in the same time as us and would have been our travel buddies if we ever got to China. She joined in the initial pilot program. I hear that she dropped out of Taiwan and received a SN referral from China. Her daughter is home now.

Anyway...the deal with Taiwan is that the family or social worker helps to make the referral. We have to be open to either gender child (we are). We could receive a referral pretty quickly 3-6-9 months. We only have to submit a letter on why we want to adopt for the referral process with pictures. After the referral is when you have to go on the crazy rush to get all your documents in order and notarized and authenticated. You can expect to travel 12 months after the referral and once you are allowed to travel the adoption is complete.

It seams likely that we will start the process...you suddenly get that little bit of hope that maybe we will be a family of three instead of just two after all.

Time will tell. Please keep us in your prayers.

WOW! It's Three Years Today!

I just realized that today is our 3 year anniversary of our LID...how sad is that! Alison should be home now and getting tucked into bed for the night.

China Program

I got a call from the China Program coordinator with our adoption agency. She left a message wanting to know how we are doing and if she can discuss other options for us instead of China. I don't want to call her back and I haven't. I think that I'm living with my head in the sand and if it's not said out load it won't come to fruition. If I don't hear that the China Program is not going to work for us I still have hope. Right?

I've been getting questioned by friends and acquaintances asking why we still wait for China. I'm waiting for Alison. It's that simple and that hard.

I'm going to have to call Linda, but not today.

This is why I haven't been on line much...

The following article is from the Rumor Queen Site. My heart just fell to my feet reading this, but I have to say that she has been the most upfront blogger that I've read on adoptions...I just hope this time she is wrong:

The Backlog
December 28th, 2009
In June of 2007 I figured the backlog was likely around 29,000. In March of this year I estimated that the backlog at around 23,750.

What is it now? Good question.

Let’s assume the CCAA is currently getting around 50 dossiers a month for the NSN program, and that they referred around 150 NSN babies a month since the last time I figured the backlog. That brings the backlog down by around 100 families per month (not per batch, since there have only been eight batches in ten months: I divided the yearly figure by 12, so this is per month). That brings us down to 22,750. But that’s not what is bringing the backlog down, it is attrition that is bringing the backlog down. We figured attrition at 30% back then, and now it looks like attrition is at 43% gone. Using the bigger attrition number, that brings the backlog down to around 18,300.

Using our Projection Estimates, at 1,000 NSN referrals a year, it will take another 18 years to get through the current backlog if there are no new dossiers. At 1100 referrals a year, it will take another 16 years to get through the backlog. At 1400 referrals a year it will take another 13 years. Based on the batch we are about to get, I’d say that 1,000 NSN referrals a year might be a bit too optimistic.

Even if the backlog is now down to 12,000 (that’s the lowest estimate I’ve seen an agency give, most agencies are up in the 15,000 to 18,000 range when they give an estimate)… anyway, even if we use 12,000 as the backlog figure then we’re still looking at an additional 8 to 12 years (or more) to get through that backlog. Unless, of course, attrition continues to rapidly bring those numbers down. Which is what I think the CCAA is counting on at this point.

No matter how I do the math, it ain’t pretty. I really wish I could come to the blog to post really good news for everyone.

Christmas Spirit

It's exactly 7 days before Christmas and I haven't even started my shopping for the family!! I did some of the kids, but that's it.

We adopted a couple of families through our church for Christmas this year and I have one more to shop for on Monday. There is no way that I'm going near a mall over the last weekend before Christmas and there is a snow storm coming this weekend too so the mall will be packed!

I can honestly say that I am full of the holiday spirit this year. I still have a lot to do shopping wise but I'm having fun. Usually it's the pressure of it all that gets me crazy and I don't enjoy the season as much as I should, but not this year, I'm full of it :0)

Here are some Christmas pictures of Ollie that I was trying to take for our Christmas cards. She wasn't impressed AT ALL!

The top one ended up being the winner. I had to crop out my legs, but it came out cute. The card says "Have a Jolly "Ollie" Christmas.

I am.

Ollie at 14 Weeks...

She was 32.4lbs at the last vet visit (15 1/2 week) she is going to be HUGE!! She is my new best friend! :0)

I think that I like her more then some people I know!! hahaha