Updating

I wanted to post tonight, not that I have any news.. just some thoughts.

Well our agency has sent an email stating some figures... I will not accept these figures. I understand that the world needs to be paid for a job, but what if you did not finish that job. My feelings in this is that when we began we were headed to China and they wanted a small amount of money, with the first reject and the turn to Taiwan they asked for a very large amount of money. We did not hesitate to provide them with what they asked for as they assured us that we wouldn't have any problems in Taiwan... but now we are told that we are completely rejected from Taiwan and it is going to cost in the thousands of dollars? I am really praying that they do the right thing.

Second is I went to the "rules" for China, I know I am punishing myself, but it seems Jay's and my "problem" is just that we haven't been married for five years. We would have to wait two more years to apply to China again. We qualify really under every other reason.

I have been on the phone with another agency in Taiwan.. Taiwan works different than China.. through individual orphanages instead of a central government agency.. and we are going to look into one more Taiwan orphanage. A final hope.

And lastly, something we can not act on until after the big date in September- more to this story- but there is Vietnam. Were we qualify 100%!
Vietnam has some sort of a deadline with the US. A few years back the US closed the doors to Vietnam and would not let parents adopt from that country. They had to clean up their acts or something.. so in September either they program will remain open and we can apply or close and we have no hope!
The "more to this story" is I should have just gone there in the first place. I started all this last August. I could be home with my child now. But I was so afraid of spending the extra money as Vietnam because it is more expensive.. yet now with what is happeneing to our adoption money from this first agency.. what was the difference!
I am getting upset!

Well I put two boxes of Chocolates, clothes, toys etc together today and I am mailing it to China and to our daughter of heart. I just pray each night that a family comes along for her or China's rules change and God lets us have her!
I have been told "through the grapevine" we are not to send gifts.. why???? I send boxes of stuff to the orphanage that Ali came from and I have no child there.. so I am sending this stuff to my child that the GOVERNMENT will not let me have!

Thank you all for your love and support!

News from CCAA

Well ASIA sent me over an email today to say that CCAA again turned us down for Wei.
That is it.. it is over. No more hoping or praying or waiting by the computer each day. Done.

I cried. Then I became angry. And now I am numb... or maybe just tired from crying. I am still angry though.

I want to understand why the agency got a PRE APPROVAL from both China and Taiwan and then we were rejected by both. Is it a bait and switch? Get our money and then let us wait for eight months.. YEP EIGHT MONTHS from start to finish and no kid and not sure how much money we will be out of.

I appreciate the girls I worked with at ASIA. I told them that today. They were GREAT about communication... but how do we go from Pre approvals to rejected? I know that they can only communicate what they are learning also but then should it cost the adopted family?

Then I called another agency that said they could get us approved for Taiwan... how is that possible? And I emailed with a woman who is in the same boat as us with another agency.. only her agency is promising her a child.... ????? I am going to watch her blog... because there would be no possible way that China turns us down twice and then gives other families children... would there?

I don't need any more kids. I have a houseful.. but I wanted another child. And there are MILLIONS of Children in this world that need a family.. yet I feel like we have hit a brick wall with these countries. We don't qualify because of STUPID things that wouldn't affect a child's love for a mom and dad.

I am sorry Wei. You will always have a spot in our hearts.

My girlfriend is predicting that we will find Wei's file on the shared children's list next.. we will see.. I just think each day a child grows older in an institution will will one more day of life long problems that child will take with them. I hope God will see you to a family very soon.

No news on Wei.. but some other good news!

Okay, we can start this off by saying NOTHING YET! I can't understand why this is taking so long. I really thought yesterday about the time CCAA would have been at work, they had my file on the desk and were stamping a great big APPROVAL on it.. but as it is past two in the afternoon my time, I know my agency hasn't gotten any news yet!

I did get a cool call today.. this is for those of you who admired my work on cleaning out my son's closet (see past blog entry)... I WON!! She called me today to tell me that I won and I won FIRST PLACE!!!! $500.00 Gift Card from Ikea!!!!
That is so great!! I called Jay right away and ran down my list of things I wanted to do to the house that I could apply that money to!!!! He said "Slow down girl!!" LOL
I wanted to run over there last week to put my name in on their contest for a free year of mortgage payments but just blew it off thinking how unlucky I am with stuff like this!! And then I win!!! YEAH!
I still need to post a picture of his whole room.. as you didn't get to see his cool bed!

No news yet

Today I was going to throw in the towel. I have been hearing bad news from families that applied to CCAA that don't qualify under the new guidelines.. we are one of them and CCAA sticks to their guns. I know they have to make rules, they have to stick by the rules or there is no system in place... but what is that old saying?... Rules are made to be broken or There is always an exception to every rule?
Scroll down and look at this child face, does she not just look like she should call me mom and Jay, dad. But I got up on the ugly side of my bed today (on top of the fact that I am cramming on my license and waited till the last minute to get my hours in) and said, "enough is enough.." I have a box of fun stuff that I have been waiting and waiting to mail to her.. I want to make plans.. whether it be going to get her or not.. I need to know what my life and where my life is going.
As those of you in this adoption circle know, it is hard to get on with your life when you are waiting. You can't sell your house, you hate to start a new job that you will have to say, "oh, by the way sometime in the near future I need about six months off." Do you buy new furniture or stick it in your adoption fund, are we going or are we staying.. the head is spinning!
But I got upset. And I emailed my agency... Thank you God for hooking me up with Marci. She is so patience with me! I emailed her and said that I am done, what is our next plan of action because waiting on China is not going good... and she calmed me down...
And our social worker came over today for Ali's one year post placement and we talked and she said the same thing.. You have to hold on! Your agency is doing a great job for you and CCAA is looking over your file again.. This is GREAT NEWS!
So we are waiting, still. They are going to send a fax to CCAA tonight to find out if we are any closer to an answer.
Maybe this is my brick wall talking.. because last time it took CCAA so long, I got my hopes really really high that they were going to say YES.. so this time, I am not finding "time on my side" or the "longer we wait the better" the outcome!
LOOK AT THAT CHILD'S FACE!! She should have been out eating pizza with us tonight instead of being put to bed by a nannie!
Sorry, I am having a pity party!
Just a little while longer and we should have an answer.

Many Thanks

I wanted to say thank you to those of you leaving comments and prayers. I just don't know how to answer through the blog as it doesn't seem to give an email back.

I read my last weeks posts...and forgot to explain how I came to get new pictures of Wei. I was bored and wanted to look at the agencies SN kids.. just to look. I emailed and asked if I could have the current password.. JUST TO LOOK!
I was oohing and ahhing over the kids when I came to a face, that looked familiar but ..??? Then I saw one of the older pictures of her and realized it was Wei ONLY OLDER...
So I emailed the agency to say, "wow you have updated photos!!" and she emailed me back and said yes.. we weren't going to send until we had an approval.. but I begged!
I am so glad to see her face!! It was a bit of a shock at first, only because I wasn't expecting her to grow so much... but it was almost two years between photos from what I can tell!!
She is not a baby anymore!!
I won't post again this week.. unless we hear some good news!!
Thank you again everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

A bit down

I have been in bed very ill for the last few days... if nothing else I dropped a few pounds...but the depression has set in. I can handle waiting.. if that is what it is- waiting. But when the hope comes that an answer will soon come and then doesn't come day after day, I can't handle waiting. When adopting Ali we had a timeline. Parents waiting Non special needs children are all logged in by dates, and you sit back and wait for your date and your referral. With the special needs children you just don't know. I have seen families get a pre approval in three days and some three months... or in our case, we waited three months to be told no. Now we wait again.
I know that our agency will open around noon our time (different coasts) so I check my email from noon to one.. if there is nothing from Marci, I know it will be another long 24 hours before I can get the hope up again.
I have decided that I am going to post Wei's photos. I know we don't have an official yes.. but, if God decides, we are not the family for her, maybe by me posting her face another family will come sooner and she will get to find her family.
So here she is.... hopefully our new daughter!!!!



About 14 months old- she had just had her surgery.



Recent update photos that we got last week!

Another Week Gone By

I know I am just tired today as I worked late the last two nights and I am very blue.. but I had my mind set I was going to hear something on Ali's Gotcha Day, then that came and went I figured it would be by today..the end of the second week... but that has now come and gone so we wait again till next week.

I did get an email from Marci at our agency, she is so encouraging, but stated because the person who is trying to help us was out last week, then they asked for the letter from our agency to add strength to our side, then they couldn't find our LOI and needed to have that sent again...etc.. one thing after another. But I am now understanding that the woman who is advocating for us is not the new director of special needs.. so I am not sure who, why, how or what is going on! Everything is just rumors and speculation in this adoption game.

I must just set in myself the fact that I can't change other people, I can't make them make a decision, I have to wait and because of the Olympics we won't be bringing this child home until September at the earliest if CCAA can understand how much we want to bring her home... it just stinks because I could have her here with us now.

And maybe I need to stop thinking so hard about all of this and just get on with things.. if it is meant to be it will be. If not then God has another plan for Wei and for our family. And maybe the disappointment won't hurt so bad.

Happy Gotcha Day!! One year!!

It is amazing what adoption can do for a person's soul. Many people look at me like I am crazy when I tell them how many bio children I have and that we have adopted and that we want to adopt another but there is always a reason for everything in life and Ali is our reason for life!

I stayed up late last night looking over pictures of the trip to China, the people we met because of adoption and the last year in general...WOW, what a year!! And the best part is there is more to come!
I think the other parents were also looking over photos last night as I got a few emails from some of them with pictures of our adoption day (yep, took us all a year to exchange pictures!) The Chinese Red Thread connecting us together!

I was looking at photos of the girls at the government center when we first walked in, all dressed exactly the same, with their dark hair and olive skin... I just remember how fast it went with eleven babies running around and eleven families trying to get their camera snapping... my mom kept saying, "there she is!!" What a day, what an adventure, what a great kid!!!

She was so fun last night at the Steak House... I didn't feed her a big lunch so the poor thing was starving by the time the food came and she kept up with daddy, bite for bite! Chase even eats good when we go there! Not that Chase doesn't eat good all the time but he loves the steak! Jay said he wishes we could cook the food to taste the same at home!! Me too!

Now for the update on our Wei!... I made her a photo album last night... I am putting it into a box today with her gifts because I KNOW today is going to be our acceptance day!! Marci emailed me late yesterday after I had posted yesterday's blog to say that CCAA has requested a recommendation letter from our agency's director. ASIA was going to email it over to them before closing time yesterday, which would be early morning in China. So that means that while everyone here, except me, slept... our lives were being changed! Marci, said it was good news that they were asking for this!... I know I shouldn't get my hopes up until I am standing in China with her in my arms but this was meant to be!!

I did a page in her photo album with the whole family, then I did a page with the girls bedroom... and I pasted a picture of her and Ali on that page with her new name.. we had originally picked Riley, hence the blog page title.. but we met a girl name Kiley about two weeks ago.. and decided we like Kiley better as a girls name and it sounds nice with Wei's name... so Kiley Wei. And she looks like a Kiley Wei!! As soon as we get our approval I will post her picture for the world to see!!

Please keep praying! We are at the top of the hurdle and we need to make it over!!

Ali and I are off to lunch with Mallory at school!! Mallory didn't want to miss Ali's gotcha day so we promised to come eat yummy school lunch!

Still Waiting

Monday: It is hard to make a blog that wants to talk about the excitement of your weekend...Ali's birthday that was a ton of fun while also trying to hide the disappointment of not hearing anything today. It is far to late in the day for CCAA to contact ASIA... so we won't hear anything. Tomorrow would be our Gotcha Day for Ali except that it is leap year so we have to "have" her one extra day to official hit our Gotcha Day... so now what I am praying is that Marci calls me Wednesday to say Wei is ours... that would be the icing on the cake!!!!
Ali's official Gotcha Day 03/05/07 and our official approval day for Wei's adoption the same date one year later... tell me that wouldn't be the best!!!

Tuesday: It has taken me all night to get this posted so it is now actually Tuesday.. and it is now noon... my stomach is in knots... I am not sure if I want the phone to ring or not to ring... no news is still hope!....and all I can do is hope that humanity is out there somewhere! I promised Marci yesterday that I wouldn't bother her again until she called me, she thought that maybe with the woman being out a few days last week at CCAA that she was just overly busy. I know that there are a million babies needing a home...but she just needs to pull on the file of one Zhang Wei and mark APPROVED on it!!

We are going out to the Japanese Steak house tonight to celebrate Ali's one year with our family-HER FAMILY!... it has flown by! She is the same kid but not... her personality on the Gotcha Day one year ago is still there... she loves to look at herself in the mirror, very demanding, loves to smile at the camera but she is now very lovable, touchable and will give and receive kisses! She rules the house and loves popcorn and pizza!... well food in general!! LOL
It has been a great year with this child. I still feel that Ali was meant to be my child and that God just put her in the wrong mom's belly!

Now let's get Wei home and call this family COMPLETE!!!

Trying to make time Fly!

I just wanted to update those of you who are waiting with me... no news yet. Marci sent me a message yesterday saying the woman in charge at CCAA was going to be out until next week so we won't hear anything until maybe Monday.

So much is running through my head. I had my homestudy changed to Taiwan, I had my 171 H issued to Taiwan.. I will have to change everything... on top of the expense it is more time that Wei will be away from our family. (That is my positive thinking!...she is IS COMING HOME!)

So please, we have a few extra days to call in our prays to get this baby home! Pray harder than you ever have before!

I stayed away from this computer yesterday... to keep myself busy and try not to think so I started a project in Chase's room. Started out just wanting to clean his room, bu that was impossible with what was in his closet.. so I took Jay to Ikea to get some closet organizers. That was a lot of work! Especially as I bought the stuff too big and we had to load it all back and return it to the store to get the right size. Jay said he doesn't need to go to the Gym, he does the Ikea workout...load, unload, load, unload... and believe me when I say those shelves were HEAVY!

I took some before and after shots as Ikea is having a contest... I am bringing my pictures there this afternoon.. hopefully we will win the $500!!!

Mallory wants her closets to look like this... so that will be my next project. My home will be an Ikea showroom... but the stuff is such a good price and it is neat stuff!!

FROM THIS...





TO THIS....

No news... is that really good news?

Nothing today. I kept very busy and tried to stay away from this computer. I am fighting back the tears as I type. They just can't say no twice! She was meant for our family!

Good news today is that Mallory has been working on a project with her favorite teacher at school. Mallory wanted to do some fund raisers for the kids in China or anywhere in the world for that matter... and her teacher made an appointment with the principle to ask permission for Mallory to start her organization through school.. it is called Kids for Kids.

They will be going to the elementary school and reading to the five year olds, doing car washes and t shirt sales to raise money to do bigger projects.. etc.. it is all in the works...

Well one of the teachers came up to her today and told her congratulations... that she was being nominated for the Doers and Dreamers through Disney!! We haven't confirmed it yet but she is so excited and I am just proud of her for wanting to help people!! Most of the time she is my GOOD KID!! (Mallory get that room cleaned!)

Sad News/ Happy News...my head is spinning!

I called Angie.... I had to tell someone. Sometimes keeping things in creates bad vibes and today I need the good ones. But Angie said I couldn't tell everyone that I had to keep it low key until we find out...as to not "stir the pot" And I also emailed three women that I love to talk to about adoption Patty, Vanessa and April. All mom's with China Children like me so they totally understand all of this craziness!! So that all four of my friends that understand me and international adoption could say a deep prayer for me tonight!

Yep, I knew last week what was happening but I didn't want to stir that pot either and I was keeping quiet... but when I started seeing families from my Taiwan groups dropping out because they were told their families were too large I knew what was coming... Marci at ASIA did not say my family was too large she said that 22 years ago, when a jerk guy that my girlfriend was dating started a fight with her and called his roommate for "backup" and I called the police, and he came at me and went to swing at me and I caught his hand in my teeth...and I was arrested and taken to jail and went in front of a judge who was almost laughing about the whole thing... and he fined me $200 dollars and it was over- that THAT is why Taiwan turned my family down for a child!! That was 22 YEARS AGO!! But because of that Taiwan felt we weren't a good family. But...

YEP THERE IS A BUT TO THIS STORY!!... because all weekend long I knew this was coming and all weekend long I searched the Internet for a country that wanted a 40 something woman who had an arrest record 22 years ago for biting a guy with five kids and a great husband ... and there aren't many countries that would take a woman in my position.... but......

In the first breath before Marci told me about Taiwan she also told me that Wei's file was going back to CCAA... that no family had come forth for her and that ASIA's woman in China actually went to CCAA and spoke to the woman in charge and told her that they didn't find a family that fit all the new rules but they did have a family that wanted Wei and that the England/Elliott family still wants Wei... and the director said she was going to review our file again... and that we still have a chance for the child we always felt was the right child for us!! I couldn't breath when Marci told me this.. I am still not breathing!!
Every day for the last three months I would tell Jay that it was so unfair that we wanted her and that she was meant for us and he would tell me there was nothing I could do about it that CCAA said no. And every day I would tell Jay that I will never give up hope that China would change their rules and that Wei would still be there for us when the rules changed and I was going to get her.

Now can I make it through the next 48 hours waiting on the call.. will CCAA make the one exception for a family that loves with all their hearts a little child we have never met but fell in love with because of her beautiful eyes??
Now I know God is watching over me!

I am not sure who reads my blog as I don't really push it on people, it is just there for me to vent and brag and pour my heart out... but tonight and tomorrow night if you are out there and you read this... please put my family in your prayers, please put Wei in your prayers that CCAA finds it in their hearts to let her join our family!!

Ali's Day

It was a very nice day yesterday... well at least after I got back from the doctor... long story and not here!! But I will live!
Amanda watched Ali for me so I could go.. the two girls went and had their nails done. Ali had a pattern on her big toe that matched Amanda's. Amanda must have told her her nails were wet because three hours later I tried to touch her nail and she gave me a scolding!! LOL
Mallory made a cake for Ali.. for which she couln't wait for a fork and ate like a dog! We all laughted and laughted.






I had picked Chase up from school early and in the car I kept singing "Let's go Outback tonight" so when Jay got home Chase said, "Dad, mom keeps singing that we are going to the Outback!" So that is where we went and all the servers sang to HB to her!
And the best part is before bed, because she hates to go so bad, she convinced Jay and I that she needed a bowl of popcorn in our bed while she watched her cartoons! And she got her bowl of popcorn!



I can't wait for her party next weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALEXIS!!!

Well she is finally two! Not that I wanted time to fly but it is just nice to say we made it to this special day! We have a crazy day today because it is also Jay's and my third wedding anniversary... he says with each new kid he goes farther and farther down the line for attention... now even his "anniversary" is no longer his!! LOL
We are going to do a small Happy Birthday with just us today and then next weekend have a big fun party for the girl!! She is really something! I am told by my family that she is spoiled (pot calling the kettle black)... she is not spoiled just attached...to ME!! She loves her mom!! And she is very determined... like her big sister. The whole family was here for the last five days and it was so crazy... Ali had to put her two cents in also when the big kids were giving her a hard time!

Also I got news today from one of the other families that was in line for Taiwan through our agency... this has me very concerned. She had gotten two referrals and they turned both of them down... now Taiwan told them they only qualified for an older child...which they didn't want, because they had too big of a family. We have one more child then them plus Jay's two kids so that makes us in a not so good position with the orphanage in Taiwan.

The woman did say that maybe Taiwan was just upset with them because they kept turning down the referrals...but then if that isn't going to work for a family isn't it better to turn the referral down then to take a child that won't "fit in"

With this family pulling out of the program that just moved us up one spot... making us Family Number 2. It is all so confusing as I just read an email from a family that put in their Home Study to Taiwan in January of 2008 that already has a referral yet there are families in Taiwan that have been waiting for 28 months! It just doesn't make any sense!!

So to wrap up three good things today... we are family number 2 and it is Ali's Birthday and my husband still loves me after three years of calling me his wife!!

Chinese New Year Party in Tampa

I am posting this not in order but will make it jump into my blog on the right date.. we have had company all week and it was hard to keep up!
The CNY Celebration with our agency Great Wall China Agency is held in Tampa each year... but this was the best! First because we have been going for the last few years and only got to admire the other families kids... this year we had our Ali!! and second because over the last year I have been blessed to meet a few families that are dear to my heart!! and they were all there!! So we had a great time.

We had planned on going down on Sunday just for the CNY but then Christine, Gene with Connor and Lily said they were doing the Busch Gardens thing on Saturday... so we decided to join them. After this fact my sister called to say she and her family were coming down from Georgia so we invited my brother with his family and my mom. It was a huge group. The park was busy but we were able to do a lot! and the weather was GREAT!

We had a wonderful, tiring day! Then Deb took our kids back to the hotel and mom, Kevin, Jay and I hit the one big casino in Florida... we didn't win! LOL

On Sunday we did the CNY celebration and it was a lot of fun. The food is never good but the company was wonderful!! And the kids were so cute in their silk, dancing around, taking pictures on the Red Couch!

Fund Raisers To Begin

Moya, the moderator and woman that runs Dianjiang Kids International, www.dianjiangkids.org has asked me to help with the website. I have no idea what I am doing computer wise but flyers, banners anything like that is my cup of tea... so with the help of my brother I am learning a new project, writing web pages! This should be fun. So I am emailing Moya till she is blue in the face with "give me more to do, give me more to do!!" and she asks me if I am bored. HECK YEA I AM... I have finished yet another paper chasing Dossier period in my life and EVERYTHING has come to a halt... I am driving myself up walls!

So I decided tonight it is time for the all mighty fundraising and grant search for this adoption. I never thought I would need help but as we all know the real estate market is sooooo bad right now and everything in my world of making money has come to the same halt as my paper chasing dossier days!

So with my girlfriend, Angie, who is also waiting on her referral from China- logged in October 2006 and has a long wait ahead we are going to do some fundraisers to help offset a second adoption in 18 months.

For those of you who know me, I did a huge fundraiser for Dianjiang Kids International at Christmas called The Santa Bus... those who went LOVED it and those who didn't go realized, they missed the best night out ever! So to take this to the next step, Angie and I are arranging A Bunny Hop. Yes, that is what I said!! LOL
We are going to hold this event on May 8, 2008 starting at 5:00 PM at Sun on the Beach, in Kissimmee, Florida.

Now that I am learning to write websites, I am hoping to get my HOP on line in the next few weeks... so please watch for this website!!

We are also going to do a huge Neighborhood Garage Sale, ALL DONATIONS ARE WELCOME, on March 11 and 12, 2008.. starting at 7 AM... yep that is right... Angie says 7 AM!!

And then we have two car washes planned in the next few months.. hoping to use the A&W on 192 in Kissimmee... more to come on that one!

If nothing else, we are going to have a good time, and that is what family and adoption is all about!!

Paper Chase Officially Done!!

I sent Mallory out to the mailbox tonight... it is Sunday but I have been so sick all weekend that I didn't care what was in the mail yesterday...and it is official... we have a 171-H!! This time it came with Jay as my husband and we are approved to adopt from TAIWAN!! I am so excited. Now we just have to sit back and wait for a match on the other end!

Earlier tonight Jay was watching the video of our Gotcha Day with Ali... and he cried. It is so emotional, this whole experience. Christopher, number one son, came over today and started in on me again about why are we adopting another child (he has the first child, most spoiled syndrome) and he stared talking like my mother "Jay is only doing this because you want him to mom"... thank goodness Jay stepped in and told Christopher what I have been telling my mom all along... Jay is adopting because Jay wants to adopt and Jay and Ginnie are a team and the decision was made as a team.
I hear this from so many couples that are in the process of adopting that they get tired of the opinions from their families. We all tip toe on egg shells for our parents.

I called my dad the day we sent our request off for the adoption in China and because I wanted to scream from the roof tops of every building in the world with my excitement I felt I just had to tell someone! My conversation started as this, "Dad, you know I have done things in my life that you don't approve of but always in the end it works out and everything is wonderful, right?" and he says, "Yes?" and I say, "I want to say something and I want a positive response from you, okay?" and he says, "Okay"... "Jay and I just applied to adopt another baby!!!" I won't write what he said...but it wasn't positive or reinforcing....why?
Sitting there that night I cried and though I have the most un-supportive family ever... but I talk to other families and other woman and I am not alone.
Mallory told me she is adopting five kids and guess what.. I am going to be there as the best, most supportive grandma in the world when the time comes!! At least my daughters understand this!

Watch out Taiwan here we come!! Now it is time for the fund raiser!!

CIS I-171H

I just got a call from Immigrations for Jay... they lost his finger prints we had taken on November 3, 2007. Jay has that kind of luck! When we got our 171-h back for Ali in July 2005.. it was issued to ME and some guy with the last name Warlick??
I called Jay laughing at him saying the government feels my new husband Mr. Warlick and I are acceptable to adopt a child from China! It took us about ten days to finally get straight and have a new paper issued with Jay's name on it!

The guy at CIS was very nice and he checked a few places and finally found Jay's fingerprints! I am so glad as Jay said he hated going to get them and we have done it three times now because of the long wait for Ali our first set expired... we have 15 months from November to bring our new little one home or he is going to have to go take the prints again! Sorry Jay!!

The man also said they were trying to expedite our papers and they had everything so I should see my 171 in no time!! Thanks CIS Orlando!!!

Dossier to Agency

Well my dossier was Fed Ex'd to the agency today (minus the 171-H which should follow in a short bit) The CIS office in Orlando is so great and they get things done quick!! I just had to get these papers over to ASIA today so that I could forget about them. Actually I was getting myself so confused between the China adoption and the Taiwan adoption I have no clue if I did anything right... so I am praying the girls will once again babysit me and make sure I have the correct paperwork!
Now let's pray for a quick referral. I just don't want Ali to be years older than this little one... which is what happened between Chase and Ali.

And the agency said that the errors were so small in the HS that it didn't matter. It was not something that would stop the adoption! That was good news!

Happy ....Sad

I know I can get upset over the little things and I shouldn't, but all the silly paperwork that has to be done for an adoption is crazy. I told my social worker in August that I needed a home study for adoption number two. We finally got together in November... yep November. She had sent me the papers for our child abuse clearance that I mailed back right away in October but the last page wasn't there so when she came to the house I was able to give her this page, which meant the paper didn't go out to the DCF until mid November... at this time we were still waiting on our approval from China so there wasn't a huge rush... I just wanted it all done so that when the approval came I could have my dossier totally done and out the door to our agency.
Well as you know, we got turned down from China on December 4th so after the few days of crying our agency said, "let's move you over to our new Taiwan program"... this is a whole different game... you start out by having your Home Study submitted and then go from there on the paperwork.. the only way we could get in line was to have this HS.
So now I became a maniac!! I called the SW and told her I needed it TODAY.. but we needed the clearance and she said, "it should be here this Thursday if not for sure next Thursday" So I waited. But neither Thursday did it show up and I think she went out of town for a few days and I was going INSANE!! My agency said they didn't think another family was ready to submit their HS but they would let me know.. and THERE WAS ONLY TWO SPOTS LEFT!!
I finally could not take it any longer and started calling a woman I know at the Dept of Child Services who gave me a number to call. I upset my "person"... my social worker but I could not just sit and wait!!! I don't want her upset but I was upset and had to do something!
Then the agency told me that another family sent their HS... so now there was only ONE spot left!
Finally the woman from DCF called to my agency and said if I gave permission she would run our backgrounds right then and there and give us a clearance... and I said YES OF COURSE YOU CAN.
We had a clearance in 15 minutes and the next morning I had a HS! I felt a HUGE ton fell from my shoulders! Our SW got it signed and sent and we then were logged in...
BUT THERE IS MORE!
SW needed a letter from me to attach to HS to send to CIS for the 171-H clearance for bringing a baby through immigrations.. and I forgot.. I really forgot!... but I did finally get it to her and today I recieved my signed original HOME STUDY!
and please don't tell her.. but there are a few errors in there and I have to call her tomorrow and have her correct and resend!!.. SHE IS GOING TO KILL ME!
There has to be an easier way to get these babies to a loving home! There just has to be!