A Canadian 4th of July

Here's the fireworks finale Dawn and I saw at Niagara Falls a few weeks ago:

This is also my first YouTube upload! I thought this would be a good test run.

16 Months Down, woohoo

It is the 13th again…so now what??? 16 months past our Log In Date. A sarcastic YIPPEE!!! Ok, ok, I will “adopt” a better attitude! The Rumor Queen site http://www.chinaadopttalk.com/ says that we may get a referral next April. We won’t count on that, but that would mean travel before the Olympics, something we would like! It ultimately won’t matter to us WHEN we go, we will just be happy TO go, but after all the additional expenses with the delay, it would be nice to avoid the Olympics since the flights and hotels and who knows what else will be priced higher. http://www.en.beijing2008.cn/

We are officially past the longest time China has ever taken from Log In to referral since the country opened to international adoption in 1991 - 15 months - which was during the SARS pandemic.

One Month Passes, One Week of Paperwork Processed

The CCAA (Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs) 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.

This has been a pattern for the last three months, that the CCAA is taking one month to process one week of paperwork. This is an improvement from what was happening before, and hopefully this pattern will either continue OR it would be ok with us if they SPEED UP, too!

Here is a common sight, from what we have seen and heard - babies in cribs with no mattresses. At least this little one has a mat - some of the photos we have seen have babies lying on wood in the bottom of the cribs.

The most recent update from our agency:

America World is pleased to announce that we received 9 healthy referrals from the Hunan Province on Friday, July 6th. The babies ranged in age from 7- 8 months old. The families receiving referrals were logged in on 11/9/05. As of today, the CCAA has posted the referral cut-off date on their website. The website states that families who are logged in on or before November 14, 2005 have been matched with a referral. America World's next log in date is November 16, 2005.

A reminder that our Log In Date is 3-13-06...

Just a Few Pics

Hey! We are STILL on vacation! The first picture is in the UP of Michigan. The second is on Mackinac Island. The last two are in Niagara Falls. We had a Wilson family reunion today that was long overdue. It was absolutely wonderful!! Tomorrow we continue!!

More pics will follow.