Happy Anniversary?

Well, today is the two-year anniversary of China logging in my dossier into their paperwork thus starting the Chinese leg of this adoption. Two years. Two long years. I found a chart on the Rumor Queen's website which shows that at the time my paperwork was logged in they were taking 11 months to review, approve, and refer (match) you with a child. Two years later and it has more than doubled in length and will most likely have tripled by the time its my turn.

Last year the date passed by without even a thought. I sort of wish that was the case this year. I think if the weather was warmer and sunnier today my mood would be warmer and sunnier as well. Working out in the yard is usually a spirit lifter for me but the conditions outdoors aren't enough of an enticer. Instead, I ventured to Target to update the baby registry I created last June when I learned I was approved. A number of things I chose then are no longer available so I made some changes. I took off all of the clothing items because although I asked for a child under the age of 1 year at the time of referral there are no guarantees. My friend, Michelle, was recently referred a 2-year-old so I'm keeping my options open. Anyway, the venture out lifted my spirits a bit and helped keep the process real.

This morning I managed to doze off after waking up too early on a weekend. I dreamed I had my little girl who was maybe 1. I was proud of the fact that she smiled for her Grandma and that I had her in a winter coat and hat and was pulling the hood on her head for added warmth since it was cold and snowy (it must have been April 26th). Much to my dismay, I looked down and she had short socks and thin pants on and I thought to myself, "Well, I got it mostly right". That must be my first lesson in parenting - try to get it mostly right. The only reason I mention the dream is that this is the first time I dreamt of actually having a child in my hands and seeing her face. Perhaps God knew I needed that vision to get me through the next year.

Here's hoping all is well with you!

Shout out to Greta!

Congratulations to Greta who is also a SWCM (single waiting China Mom)! She learned today that the dossier she submitted in December 2006 has been approved. This is a monumental step in the adoption process as China has basically given her the thumbs up to adopt one of their children. If she is anything like I was, she is probably breathing A LOT easier now (and shedding a few tears of happiness). I'm very excited and happy for her!

Check out the May edition of the National Geographic magazine for their spread on China. They have some interesting videos on their website as well.


http://www.nationalgeographic.com

Bubby?

I've had a few people ask me about Bubby so I thought I'd share with everyone. When I was first learning to talk, I called myself Bubby because I couldn't quite say Debbie.

I hadn't put any thought into what I would call my blog so I was caught a bit offguard when I decided to set it up somewhat spontaneously last week. I wanted a clever name but nothing came to mind. Suddenly Bubby popped in and I thought the combination of Bubby and baby together was kind of cute. Lord knows she may not technically be a baby since one of my single mom friends, Michelle, just returned home from China with a 27-month old but eh, close enough.

No news to report - just waiting to hear how many days worth of applications were matched this month. Rumors should start flying in the next week and we should know for sure in about two weeks. Enjoy this warm and sunnier weather!

Welcome to my blog!

I have officially moved into the 21st century by setting up this blog to document my adoption journey! April 27th will be the two-year anniversary of the log-in of my dossier with the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs). How slow and fast time has gone! It is hard to believe that has taken this long and there appears to be at least another year of waiting before I will be matched with a child. Rumors are that after the Summer Olympics hosted by China (opening ceremonies 8/08/08) are completed, adoption processing might speed up. Until that time, based on recent trends of matching 7 days worth of applications received with children per month, the estimate of my matching is early August 2009 based on my original LID (log-in date).

However, I just learned last week that my dossier may no longer be grouped with the other 4/27/06 LID dossiers. During the review room last Spring, China wanted additional information about me so they pulled my dossier out. I think I got the call from Children's Home on Monday or Tuesday of that week in March 2007 and submitted the additional information requested back to them within a couple of days. Long story short, the CCAA should have received this information in about a week so maybe it was a quick enough turnaround to remain in the same group with the other 4/27/06 dossiers. According to Children's Home, I should be able to find out the status of the timing of my dossier when it gets closer to matching (next year). Nonetheless, it would have been helpful to know of the possibility of moving to a later date last year when all of this happened. I guess it's just one more thing I cannot control about the whole process. At least I'm still officially approved by China to adopt a child and I can't wait for it to happen!