Enough with the turkey and the caffeine!

All turkied out! We are officially at that stage where we are SOOOO sick of Turkey! Actually sick of eating in general! So, I am avoiding the growling in my stomach and have decided to do some internet and scrapping stuff. Realistically, I should be painting and cleaning the house, but the laundry is on so I have a little bit of a reprieve. Dan is out on calls and I so wish he had one day this week that he could just spend at home. Ok, I am whining. I should stop. I guess I am feeling what a lot of pre-adoptive parents are feeling. In limbo. WHEN IS THE REFERRAL GOING TO COME?! I keep telling everyone that when it is meant to be, it will be. But, I am not used to the lack of control over something and it is driving me CRAZY!!! I should lay off of the caffeine. Maybe that will help because I am wired!

Ok, back to the normal me. I did some research this morning about our names in Chinese. It is kind of interesting to see them. Now, if only I was more computer saavy, I would post them up in a permanent spot on the sidebar. I really do need to learn moree about blogger. The first symbol is Dan, the second 2 mean Kelly. Dan's is so
simple compared to mine. Now, if
only I could figure out how to
do our last name in Chinese.
But, I fear it would take years and years of schooling to be able to do that!

Song By Third Day

I was hoping on posting this before Christmas, but the holiday season kept us pretty busy. This song was sent to us by a friend. It really hit home, especially since it has been over a year since we started the process.

"Merry Christmas"

There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for momma's arms
At an orphanage just outside a little China town
There the forgotten are
But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine
It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I'm warmed by the fire's glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,
Make angels in the snow
But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here
It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the holy child
and we celebrate his perfect gift of love
He came to earth to give his lifeand prepare a place for us
so we could have a home with him above
It's Christmas time again and now you're home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms
And I'll tell you from my heart, and I'll you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas

100 Best Wishes Quilt Update...

We have had some questions lately about how the quilt is coming. Currently, my Aunt Donna is quilting it, and I think that we are close to the 100 mark. Hard for me to say exactly, as we had some family drop squares off directly to her. I am thinking that we may be a few short yet, but will see when I talk to her on the weekend.

There were so many different fabrics sent to us, and they were all very meaningful and beautiful. I will post a few pictures for everyone to see.

We really enjoyed getting squares in the mail from adoptive families that we met in Canada and the US. While they are all very special to us, some are at the same stage that we are in the adoption process, and some we may even travel with, so they hold a special place in our heart!

We had some chinese theme, lots of ladybugs, farming -- John Deere, cows, chickens, a farm scene, sheep etc... So CUTE! We also had things that were important to the people sending them. Favorite colours, animals, things that reminded them of their childhood and home. Our favorites include: one from our good friend Rob who is a Police Officer here in Thunder Bay. He cut apart one of his uniform shirts, and included a badge to go with it (while we have not received his card yet to go with it, we are assuming it is because he always wants Peanut to feel protected!) One from my childhood friend Mandy from Sudbury. It is a Winnie the Pooh flannel piece that was from her children's receiving blanket, The Sushi fish one from my best friend Jacqui's nephew (he is about 3 now!) and all of the wild colourful ones for the scrapbooker in me!
I started the scrapbook album for the 100 BWQ. I was worried that I had lost my mojo as I haven't had time to scrap in a while, but I think the opening page from Dan and I turned out to be pretty good. The name part is not stuck down incase we are referred a son instead of a daughter. The three cards above were done by one of my red hat buddies, and they are of her three daughters. They are so beautiful and mean so much as Jenn has been such a great supporter of the adoption and understands our journey very deeply.

The Nursery Continued...

Lots of posts today, mostly because I finally have the pictures downloaded from the camera, and because I have time to sit at the computer and not do paperwork! :) Dan thinks it is silly to keep this blog, but I am doing it for myself as much as for our friends and family that are far away and don't always hear what is going on.

So, a little more about the nursery. I am on the hunt for a few panda bears for the room and a lamp. We bought the lampshade that matches the bedding, so the hard part is done. This picture is what the bedding looks like. In the picture, it has a purple shade to it instead of the blue, but it is just the lighting at the store. It has NO purple in it as we wanted it to be very neutral. Unfortunately, the bedding has been dicontinued from the company that makes it (Sweet Kyla in Kitchener, Ont.). But, we were able to contact them and they do have some fabric left and are able to make us a few of the pieces we wanted. We just have to decide which ones. Right now, we are leaning towards the basket covers, a couple of decorative pillows and the dragon fly wall hangings. Ok, can you tell this is our first? Gone just a little crazy, and overboard, but hey, we are excited! Originally, we were going to do a black and white bedding with a hint of pink and green, but it just didn't suit what we were thinking, and really wanted to keep a theme to it.

The Nursery....

We have begun to work on the nursery. The furniture arrived a week ago, and today, we picked out flooring and ordered the materials necessary for the walls. We are going to do wainscoting along the walls, and Bamboo for the flooring. We have a friend Carol, who is an interior decorator, who will be painting the room as a gift to us. She plans on doing clouds, with a panda bear on one wall, which was inspired by a chocolate bar. If it involves chocolate, I am in! The furniture is an antique black from College woodworking. (Canadian Craftsman, yeah!). We decided to go with a convertible bed which will go from crib to toddler bed, to a double bed, and the above storage unit for a dresser/change table, which she can use later on for pictures etc..

It will be beautiful when it is done. Unfortunately, the gentleman who makes the wainscoting from the one supplier passed away before the holidays, so we had to order it in, and it will take up to 4 weeks, but patience is a virtue, so we are told!

The above fabric is what we are using in the room. It is a heavy Waverly print and it is coupled with a green and white and blue and white check. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued by the company that makes it, but I seem to have that happen a lot. It happened with my china and crystal too. I must be late at finding beautiful things!

CCAA Changes - December 8, 2006

This is the information given to us from Family Outreach about the upcoming changes from the CCAA. While we meet all of the necessary criteria, FOI is not sure how these changes will impact us and the adoption at this point. They (FOI) are currently in China and are hoping to sit down with CCAA officials to get a better picture on what is going on and how to handle all of the incoming calls from concerned adoptive families.

Important Notice from the China Center of Adoption Affairs
December 8, 2006
Ms Word Version
Adobe PDF version

The following are excerpts from the CCAA written statement on new regulations and policies that was sent to us this week. The translation was provided by CCAA. The section headings were supplied by us.
Opening Statement
At present, the number of adoption application documents that the China Centre of Adoption Affairs (hereafter referred to as CCAA) receives is increasing very fast. However, the limited number of Chinese children available for inter-country adoption is far from being able to meet the demand of families from overseas. The CCAA maintains, in accordance with the principle of protecting the best interests of children in the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption (hereafter referred to as Hague Adoption Convention), that adopters in the following conditions answer better to the spirit of Hague Adoption Convention and the provisions of adoption law in both China and your country, and are able to offer the Chinese children adopted the best possible environment to grow in. It is our hope that you read this letter attentively, screen the families and give priority to those in the following conditions, and submit the adoption application documents for them:

The CCAA first accepts and reviews adoption applications of foreign adopters who are qualified with the following conditions from the day of 1St May 2007, and then makes placement of adoptees with them. Adoption applications of the other adopters who are not qualified will be put into consideration after all the cases of the qualified have already been dealt with.

Qualifications
I. The adopters are a couple of one male and one female with a stable marital relationship. In case that both the husband and wife do not have any ex-marriage, the length of marriage has to reach two years. In case that either the husband or wife has ex-marriages (not more than 2), the length of the current marriage has to reach 5 years.

II. Both the husband and wife have reached the age of 30 years and are under 50.
For adoption of special needs child, both of them should have reached the age of 30 and are under 55.

III. Both the husband and wife are fully healthy physically and mentally, and do,not have the following conditions:
1. AIDS;
2. mental handicap;
3. infectious disease within infective stage;
4. binocular blind or binocular parallax or monocular blind and with no ocular prosthesis;
5. binaural hearing loss or language function loss; adoption of special needs children
who have identical conditions will be exempt from this limitation;
6. afunction or dysfunction of limbs or trunk caused by impairment, incompleteness, numbness or deformation; severe facial deformation;
7. severe diseases which requires long term treatment and which affect life expectancy, like malignant tumor, lupus erythematosus, nephrosis, epilepsy, and etc.;
8. post-surgery of major organs transplantation, not yet 10 years;
9. schizophrenia;
10. medication for severe mental disorders, like depression, mania, or anxiety neurosis, and etc, stopped not more than 2 years;
11. BMI (BMI=weight (kg)/ height2 (m) )>_ 40.

IV. Either the husband or wife holds a stable occupation. The family annual income reaches $10,000 for each family member, including the prospective adoptee and the family net assets value should reach $80,000.
The family annual income does not include welfare income, like relief fund, pension, unemployment insurance, or government subsidy, and etc.

V. Both the husband and wife have received education of, or above, the level of senior high school, or vocational skills training of the same level.

VI. The number of children in family under the age of 18 years does not reach 5, and the youngest one should have reached the age of 1 year.
Adoption of special needs children will be exempt from the limitation of "the number of children in family under the age of 18 years does not reach 5".

VII. Both the husband and wife have never come under any criminal sanction. And they behave honourably with good moral characters, and abide by regulations and laws. Both of them do not accord with the following situations:
1. have a history of domestic violence, sex abuse, abandonment or abuse of children
(even if they are not consequently arrested or criminated);
2. have a history of taking narcotics like opium, morphine, marijuana, cocaine,
heroin, methamphetamine, and etc, and medication for mental diseases, which are
able to arouse addiction among human beings;
3. have a history of alcohol abuse and have given up drinking not more than 10 years ago.
Adoption application will be given consideration on a case by case basis when either the husband or the wife has less than 3 criminal records of slight severity with no severe outcomes, and the time for correction of wrong has reached 10 years, or has less than 5 records of traffic law violation with no severe outcomes.

VIII. The adopters are able to have a correct cognition of adoption, and expect to provide a warm family for the orphaned children (or children with handicap and disability) via adoption and to meet the needs of the children adopted for the sake of a good development of them. They have a correct cognition of inter-country adoption as well, and are fully mentally-prepared for the potential risks within inter-country adoption and for the situations of children adopted as potential diseases, developmental delay, post-placement maladjustment, and etc.
IX. The adopters make in the adoption application letter clear promises of being able to accept post-placement follow-ups and offer post-placement reports as required.

X. The fixed number of year or age that appears in this letter shall be dated from the day when the adoption application documents are logged in at the CCAA.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends and all of the Canadian and US Families we have met through our adoption process! We hope the holidays have been happy and peaceful for everyone. We had a relaxing day on Christmas and had a quiet holiday. Dan was quite happy on Christmas morning, as he received his Carhartts that he really wanted for the barn. "Santa" even brought him a little pair for Peanut too!

We were very grateful for all of the cards, letters and pictures we recieved via mail this Christmas. It was so nice to have correspondance from our loved ones. We wish that we could have been off for Christmas so that we could have spent time with family, but maybe next year things will be different. 2007 promises to be a year full of excitement for us!