Time to fess up...

to having 142 hangers in Lauren's closet. Yup, there are actually this many hangers with adorable little outfits hanging from them. Two-piece outfits even share one hanger, so I can't even say that the stuff is spread out a little.

Now, keep in mind this does span from size 6-9 month to 2T. I say this to make myself feel better. ;)

Oh well, that's what happens when a shopper is forced to wait years for their baby. Anyone else willing to admit how many hangers they have? It may be more than you think!

Venture a guess?

So, can you guess what this number has in common with Lauren's nursery?

30th LIDversary!

Today marks 2.5 years of waiting and 3 years since we mailed in our adoption application. Who would have known we'd be waiting this long and make it this far. Our hearts are in China, so we always knew we were in it for the long haul...and long it has been!

Although we still probably have at least 4 more months of waiting to go, I decided to mark this LIDversary with a video of the past several years. We have met some incredible people during this time and have made some life-long friends. It's been a roller coaster ride, but we have always stayed buckled in tight and made the most of this long wait as you can see...

FINALLY...

after six months, the CCAA is DONE with January 2006!! Next month, we will see the first batch of referrals for waiting families with February LIDs.

I just updated the countdown calendar on my sidebar and as you can see there are only 17 calendar days until our LID. The word is that the CCAA office was closed for Chinese New Year from January 30 to February 3, so that means there are only 10 more LID days until our date! I just got a chill just typing that and I have a big goofy smile on my face!

Based on the fact that it took six months to get through Janaury, I'm thinking we'll have our referral in November or December. I have a feeling we'll be getting our best EVER Christmas present this year. My hopes are high that we'll have our referral by Christmas.

On another note, congratulations to my friends Melissa and Kathy who both got their referral calls today! They are both in my DTC group and I've had the pleasure of hanging out with both of them on trips over the past couple of years. I'm SOOO excited to see their time finally come!

USCIS info...

Thank you all for your encouraging comments and e-mails after my last post and little meltdown. I got an e-mail today from a fellow waiting momma with the following info from the USCIS site:

Hague Adoption Convention - Update on Implementation (December 18, 2007)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is pleased to provide this update concerning the implementation of the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (“Hague Adoption Convention”), signed at The Hague in May 1993.

On November 16, 2007, the President signed the instrument of ratification for the Hague Adoption Convention. The Department of State deposited the instrument of ratification on December 12, 2007, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On December 18, 2007, the Department of State published in the Federal Register at 72 FR 71730 a written notice that the Convention will enter into force for the United States on April 1, 2008.

On that same date, the interim rule that USCIS published in the Federal Register on October 4, 2007, at 72 FR 56832 will become operational. This means that for all cases filed on or after April 1, 2008, any U.S. citizen seeking to adopt and bring to the United States a child habitually resident in any country that has ratified the Hague Adoption Convention must follow the Hague process, as specified in the USCIS interim rule. Under United States law, prospective adoptive parents who filed Form I-600A or Form I-600 prior to the effective date may continue to process their adoptions under the current orphan regulations, provided that the laws of the country of the child's origin allows for continuation under the current orphan regulations. It is important to note that some countries may require processing under the rules of the Hague Convention no matter when the case was initiated. In such cases, the adoption will have to be processed under the Hague procedures despite when the adoption process was initiated.

As of December 18, 2007, 75 countries have become parties to the Hague Adoption Convention, including the United States. The Hague Adoption Convention is designed to protect children and their families against the risks of unregulated adoptions abroad and ensures that intercountry adoptions are made in the best interests of children. The Hague Adoption Convention also serves to prevent the abduction of, sale of, or traffic in children. The new process protects the rights of children, birth parents, and adoptive parents while promoting transparency, accountability, and ethical practices among adoption service providers.

Cindy, thanks again for this info. I never did see this and it makes me feel a LOT better.

While I was at the office this morning, I stopped to take a little breather. It always makes me feel better when I take a minute to look around my work area and see all the little reminders of the adoption I have in there.

My friend and China travel buddy, Stephe, gave me this a long while back when she was my secret pal. I love it and look at it many times during the day...


This little plush lady, keeps me company at my computer...




This shot is dark, but these plaques have the Chinese characters for "love" and "hope"...


This little lady hangs from my in-box...




Not that I need a reminder of the adoption (I only think about it every minute), but it does feel good to be surrounded by all these things.

Not a good day...

Even though I knew that this week would be hell at the office, today started out nice enough with belated birthday flowers and a card delivered by a friend. Thanks Janet, I love flowers...they always make my day!

One of our team members is out on maternity leave (of all things) and the new fiscal year is in full swing. I work for a local government Engineering office and once the fiscal year budget takes affect on July 1st, all the departments are chomping at the bit to get their construction projects started. The workload stress has been wrecking havoc on my fibromyalgia and I've been one giant ball of muscle pain for the last month or so.

So, I get home today after a LONG day and the first thing I read is the rumor about this month's batch possibly being only two days. OH MY GOD...they have been working on January 2006 for five whole months now!! I think they are going for a world's record here!! Are we EVER going to see February 2006?

Then I find this blog post through a Yahoo group. Ok, now I'm feeling sick with a major pain in the pit of my stomach. I haven't heard anything about this from my agency, but I do have this from another agency...

Joint Council Update

Program International Relations Initiative
Date July 18, 2008
Regarding Renewal of I-600A for Hague Adoptions

In collaboration with Debbie Reynolds, Executive Director of Adoptive
Family Services and Co-Chair of the Joint Council China Caucus, Joint
Council continues to advocate for a positive resolution to the issue
of expiring I-600A approvals (for Hague adoptions).

As has been discussed on our Members Listserv, Joint Council has
confirmed with USCIS that due to regulatory requirements, prospective
adoptive families (PAPs) with an approved I-600A for an adoption in a
Hague country may file for a one-time renewal (extension). PAPs may
only request and receive a renewal (extension) one-time.

If the approval associated with the renewal expires, a PAP applying
for an adoption in a Hague country will then be required to file an I-800A
and proceed through the Hague IA process. The impact of this
requirement is very significant especially regarding China adoptions.
There will be additional filing fees, a new home study (meeting the
new USCIS Hague guidelines) and the impact on the PAPs standing with the
partner country (for example the CCAA) has yet to be determined. Some
have suggested that PAPs may be required to submit a new dossier to
the partner country with unknown impact on their registration/filing date.

As part of our ongoing advocacy Joint Council has been in contact with
USCIS, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCAI) and
Congressional offices. The requirements and limitations on the one-time extension of
the I-600A approval are regulatory and are not open to interpretation
by USCIS. As a result any 'fix' of this significant issue will require
changes to the regulations or the law itself.

Joint Council is advocating for a quick legislative and/or regulatory
fix with a goal of resolving this issue before Congress is out of
session this fall. Our goal is to allow those PAPs who filed an I-600A
application prior to April 1, 2008 to be permitted unlimited renewals
of their I-600A approval. Recognizing the significant impact the current
regulation may have on PAPs and children in need we remain fully
engaged on the issue and will keep you informed of our efforts and outcomes.

Sincerely,
Tom

TOM DIFILIPO President & CEO Joint Council

So, the first five paragraphs are basically making me freak out, then the last paragraph basically says the Joint Council is working on a "fix" so that we can continue to renew under the current system.

Does anyone have any further information on this issue? Sorry for being a total downer...I'm having a major meltdown tonight and I see no light at the end of the tunnel at this point.