Saturday, February 17, 2007

Happy New Year!

Chinese New Year, that is.

Beginning today, 2007 is the Year of the Pig.



















According to the Chinese Culture Center, people born in the Year of the Pig are chivalrous and gallant. Whatever they do, they do with all their strength. For Boar Year people, there is no left or right and there is no retreat. They have tremendous fortitude and great honesty. They don't make many friends but they make them for life, and anyone having a Boar Year friend is fortunate for they are extremely loyal. They don't talk much but have a great thirst for knowledge. They study a great deal and are generally well informed. Boar people are quick tempered, yet they hate arguments and quarreling. They are kind to their loved ones. No matter how bad problems seem to be, Boar people try to work them out, honestly if sometimes impulsively. They are most compatible with Rabbits and Sheep.

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Click here to read more about how China celebrated the new year.

Click here to watch a video as to why this is the Year of the Golden Pig.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Getting closer... sort of

We're getting closer to the review room.




















Our LID was April 24, 2006 and CCAA has approved those dossiers with a LID up to March 22, 2006. It took CCAA three months to review dossiers from February 1, 2006 to March 22, 2006.

CCAA has also matched families with LIDs through October 13, 2005.

Congratulations to those who have received their referrals...

kb8wfh
Katiebugs Journey
Natalie
Jessica Faith
Frostography
Our Journey to Marlee
Three Peanuts
Belzma
Journey to Jaci
Granola Girl
Luckiest Mama
Jonna & Joelle
Red Thread Kid
and Autumn makes six
MUSIC Journey to Ainsley
Our Adoption Blessings
A China Journey
Katie Mei
Eliana Joy
Emmalis
Karenca
It’s time to fly….
Born in Our Hearts
Kimber
Hope in China
Mia2me
Baby Venn
Bringing Home Hua Feng
Thomas Blog
MUSIC China Stork
Bottles and Bones
Kaffee Klatsch
Bringing home Hannah
The Stephensons
Bringing Libby Home
Adoption Journey
Bamps_poelmans
China or Bust
Kristinsiemon
Silk Road to Siena
Love Internationale



You may have also heard about the new China adoption rules. Luckily for us, we are grandfathered in. The only new rule that would affect us is the BMI issue -- we'd have to lose a few lbs. The official rules are:

-- 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 considerations after all the cases of the qualified have already been dealt with.

I. The adopters are a couple of one male and one female with a stable marital relationship. In case that both the husband and the wife do not have any ex-marriage, the length of marriage has to reach two years. In the case 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 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 require long term treatment and which affect life expectancy, like malignant tumor, lupus erythematosus, nephrosis, epilepsy, and ect.;
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 > or = 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 honorably 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, methamphetamines, and etc. and medication for mental diseases, with 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 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 delays, post-placement maladjustment, and etc.

IX. The adopters make in the adoption application letter clear promise 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.

The CCAA expects sincerely to cooperate with you and to provide better services for the adopters and children adopted and to help the Chinese children adopted develop in a family full of happiness, love and understanding. Thank you very much for your understanding and assistance.

The CCAA is responsible for the interpretation of this letter. Agencies should direct any specific questions to China Centre of Adoption Affairs

2007 is full of changes... already!

Well, it's apparent that 2007 will be big changes for the McFatridge household.

Jenn started a new job as an accountant at the Johnson Group. The Johnson Group is a local printing company in Rockford that was just purchased by Deluxe - famous for their check printing operation. They are a publicly traded company and part of Jennifer's role is to help them become SOX compliant. This is a much more family-friendly environment for her as compared to where she was before. A much more relaxed atmosphere while still being challenged. So far, she is very happy.

Also new in 2007 is the fact that we moved her father to Rockford. It was becoming too inconvenient for her to drive two to three hours to NW Indiana and make sure he was doing what he was supposed to do; getting the attention he was needing. He is now in a great independent living facility in Rockford that is about two miles from our home. So far, he is very happy. This place is also serving as a social-outlet for him -- something he was really lacking in NW Indiana. He plays bingo on Mondays, watches movies on Fridays and eats whenever he wants. It's almost like being on a cruise ship.

We're hoping that 2007 will continue with major changes with the addition of our daughter(s). I say that with hesitancy because the wait is continuing to get longer. For me, frustratingly longer. When we started the process, it was a six-month wait (that would have been last October). Now it's up to a 16-month wait -- which is now the end of August, beginning of September. With travel in November or December. We're expecting the wait to become even longer than that. But still hoping that we will end our year as a completed family. But, who knows.