No Leap Day LOA for us

No packages from China today. Looks like March madness for me!

Happy Leap Day!

Wouldn't today be a great day to get our LOA? Only time will tell. Packages from China arrive at our west coast agency around noon their time, so I won't know until late this afternoon if there is a package containing our Letter Seeking Confirmation from China. It will basically tell us we have been approved and ask us to confirm that we still want to pursue this adoption. Do ya' think?????

Happy Leap Day!

Did I mention that I am a lunatic?

I am one of those people who is very affected by the phases of the moon. According to the dictionary, lunacy refers to intermittent periods of insanity, previously thought to be brought on by moon phases (I still actually believe that). It is a fact that both criminal activity and the rate of child birth increase at times when the moon is full. My natural body rhythms are always affected by the moon. I drive Adam nuts tapping away at the computer half the night when the moon is full. I will confess that I am sometimes tempted to go outside and do a little dance under the full moonlight!

Back in May 1994 I was scheduled to have a C-section because Benjamin was breech throughout my pregnancy and refused to be turned, despite a valiant attempt by my OB/GYN and one very large, surly nurse to turn him by external manual manipulation(ouch)! Anyway, I went into labor 2 weeks early - during a New Moon, the day after an annular solar eclipse. By that time, Ben had managed to wriggle himself sideways into a 'transverse lie' and get stuck there. Thank goodness for modern medicine! Anyway, Adam & I had gone to the beach and went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico that day, unaware that I was in the early stages of labor (can you say 'beached whale'?). Adam & I later joked about my lunacy and the tide, affected by the moon and the solar eclipse, pulling Benjamin right in and bringing on my labor.

By now you are probably wondering why I am blabbering on and waxing sentimental about Benjamin's birth, which was almost 14 years ago. Well, did you know that this past Wednesday night the moon was full and that there was a total lunar eclipse???? No wonder I am so nuts right now! That HAS to mean Eliana ZuGuo's LOA is on its way from China, right? If it weren't so stinking cold this week, I would have been tempted to drive to the beach and jump in the Atlantic ocean for a swim so that the tide could pull her right in to me! :0)

I don't have the big belly and swollen ankles like I had when I was expecting Benjamin, but my emotions are running just as high. Here are a few pictures of what we looked like back then, when Ben was still in my belly and right after he was so suddenly yanked out of it! I had to scan the photos from this pre-digital era and they are not the best quality. Who are those young people?????

Laura Beth
Lunatic mama
Expecting LOA for Eliana ZuGuo

Nothing today

My agency just confirmed with me - no packages from China today. I really don't have much else to say today. Off to have a pity party for myself.

CCAA's new program & Birthday wishes

I will start by saying no news for us, yet! A group of our agency's families received Travel Approval on Tuesday. The last time TA's came in on a Tuesday, LOA's came into our agency that same Friday. So, here's hoping for good news for us tomorrow!

I wanted to share with all of you prospective adoptive parents out there that our agency is participating in a new program with the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA). This program allows multiple adoption agencies to share a list of waiting children who are older or harder to place because of their particular special needs. The new system gets the kids faces out there to many more families. The best part is that all of the paperwork is submitted online, which GREATLY speeds up the adoption process. For example, one family applied for one of these children through our agency, sent in their Family Summary (which replaces the LOI - Letter of Intent) on Friday, and received their PreApproval (PA) on Tuesday!!! And that was with President's Day weekend in between! (For comparison, it took us about 6 weeks to get news of our PA from the time we submitted our LOI). The dossier will also be submitted online.

Here is a link to look at these precious children. Beware - you will fall in love! [UPDATE: It is now necessary to join our Agency's Yahoo group in order to view the children's information. Pictures are only provided upon request now.] I would like to draw your attention to a few particular children on the shared-agency list. Child #72, Yu Ching, is a resident of Starfish Foster Home in Xi'an, China. This foster home is run by Amanda, an amazing South African woman who has devoted her life (and her life savings) to providing superior care to some of China's most medically needy orphans. You can read all about the foster home on her blog - do a search for "Heather" - that is little Yu Qing! Her surgery to remove her meningocele was done by a UCLA medical team visiting China and they also put in a shunt to drain her hydrocephalus. Now that she can be up and about a bit her head should begin to return to a normal size and shape. What a sweetie! You can also visit the Chinese Starfish website to learn more about their programs. I have corresponded with Amanda about Heather (just to confirm I had the right child matched up) and I can forward that to anyone who is interested. Also, my friend Shelli met Amanda and visited Starfish Foster Home last fall when she was there adopting her youngest daughter. You can read about her visit to Starfish on her blog here.

The requirements to adopt children from the shared agency listing are the same as for all China's special needs adoptions. Only couples married at least 2 years (5 years if you have a prior marraige) are eligible to apply. Both parents must be under 55 years of age (50 for China's non-special needs program), have a BMI no greater than 40, meet certain income guidelines, and be healthy. Certain medical conditions in one or both parents are not accepted - including anyone who uses antidepressants (that fact alone rules out a lot of people in the US). If you are using a US adoption agency, than at least one of the adoptive parents must be a US citizen. You can see a fairly comprehensive list of requirements here.

The Starfish Foster Home reminds me a lot of Eliana's former foster home, True Children's Home. Starfish is in the north - Xi'an (home of the Terracotta warriors) and True Children's Home is in the south. You can read more about TCH in their January newsletter - Eliana is on the cover (Guo) and I even got a mention!

More good news for China's special needs orphans. The regular waiting child program (as opposed to the shared agency program above) is also going online! Our agency has been selected as one of 30 agencies worldwide to pilot this program. That means that wait times will be going way down for special needs adoptions! Heritage will start this program with their next list of waiting children, which is expected in March. This is good news for our family, too, as it is very possible that we may want Eliana to have another sibling who is closer to her age. I guess you will just have to stay tuned on that, too!

Happy belated birthday to my friend Dana! Her birthday was yesterday. I feel very priveleged to have been present at the birth of two of Dana's three children. I would have flown in for baby #3's arrival, but we were in the middle of moving into our new house. Dana is a fabulous teacher, a proud Air Force wife, and one of the most organized and together women and mothers I have ever met. Here is a picture of us last summer when we were able to meet up briefly as Ben & I drove down to Florida and she was bringing the kids to visit Daddy when he was TDY in North Carolina. Happy birthday, Dana! And did your baby #1 really turn 5 on Tuesday??? Oh my goodness, how time flies!

I should also mention that my mother's birthday was earlier this month and TODAY is my mother-in-law, Charlotte's birthday. Happy birthday, ladies! I won't give away their age here, but they were born less than 2 weeks apart in the same year. I am so glad that my mother was able to come for a visit! Charlotte lives with us, so I get to visit with her daily! Here is a special birthday video for Charlotte, that she will think is funny, I hope. (Warning - morbidity and language warning - not really appropriate for children). "I'm not dead, yet!" What do doctors know, really???

Happy Belated Chinese New Year - No news yet!

I have a very dear friend who is threatening to disown me if I don't start posting again, so I thought I better come up with something!

I am a little late in noting this, but the Chinese Lunar New Year started on February 7th. This year is the Year of the Rat. The picture above is of the new United States Postal Service postage stamps in honor of the this occassion. I hope that many of you will receive an announcement from our family in the not too distant future with one of these postage stamps on the envelope!

The whole philosphy and mythology surrounding the Chinese Zodiac is quite interesting. You can read all about it and look up your sign HERE on Wikipedia. Don't just go by the year of your birth (like on the placemats or menus in Chinese restaurants). If you were born in January/February than you are on the cusp between two Chinese Zodiac signs and need to look up the exact date . The main Chinese Zodiac animal symbols we are familiar with run on a 12 year cycle, but there is more to it - there are also 5 elements which combine with the 12 animals to create a 60 year cycle overall. On top of that, some years are Yin and some are Yang. My husband and I were both born in the Year of the Pig/Boar under the Metal element in a Yin year. The Year of the Pig just ended. Our son and our daughter are both Year of the Dog, 12 years apart. Benjamin is a Wood Dog and Eliana is a Fire Dog - hmmmm... interesting. They were both born in Yang years. When Eliana comes home, our family's Yin & Yang will be balanced (we have too much Yin right now)! Wood feeds fire, fire melts metal and metal chops wood. According to these rules of thumb, it looks like we are in for some interesting family dynamics!

The CCAA was closed for the Chinese New Year holidays and just reopened on February 14th. The first packages they sent out to the US when they returned to work after their holiday just started arriving in the United States today. Several people with our agency who are ahead of us in the process received their Travel Approval (TA) today. We are really hoping that we will receiving our LOA/LSC (Letter of Approval/Acceptance or the newer term of Letter Seeking Confirmation - same thing) by the end of this week.

Don't worry - we will keep you posted when exciting news comes in! In the meantime, I am trying to keep myself busy with painting Eliana's room (now on the 5th different shade of green I have tried) and putting the final touches on her decor, reading my China travel books and listening to some basic Chinese language CDs. Ben is picking it up faster than I am! We like to listen to the phrases on the short ride to his piano lessons each week. I work on it during his lesson and he picks up the same information on the 10 minute car ride! Ah, to be young and have a sponge-like brain.

I hope to have good news and completed room pictures posted soon. Think good thoughts!

Eliana is well - other children still in need!

I was contacted this morning by another family who is adopting another little girl from Eliana's orphanage in Qingyuan, Guangdong Province. Through their adoption agency they were able to get someone who speaks Chinese to call the orphanage directly and inquire about both of our girls. All is well! They do have heat and because their Social Welfare Institute also houses the elderly, they have a Doctor there 24/7. They also passed along that both of our girls are walking, which I suspected after seeing the most recent photos. Even though Eliana is 18 months old, it would not be uncommon to adopt a child from China her age and find that she is unable to walk or to walk well. Fortunately, Eliana's orphanage is supported by Half the Sky and her caretakers know that it is better for her to be up and about and interacting with other children and adults and with her environment instead of being confined in a walker or a crib all day long.

The news is not so good coming out of other provinces. They are preparing for another wave of snow and cold temperatures just as the Chinese New Year begins on Thursday. Please keep all of the children of China and their caretakers in your thoughts and prayers. You can continue to monitor the situation through Half the Sky Foundation.

On a different note, the family at our agency who had their dossier logged in to China just six days before us received their Letter of Acceptance on Friday February 1st! That means that good news could be just around the corner for us. If a package was already sent we could know something in the next couple of days. Otherwise, it would not be sent until the CCAA staff returns from the Chinese New Year holiday. Stay tuned!

China weather emergency - Eliana's orphanage needs help!

Dear family and friends,

This is my second post in two days asking for assistance for China's orphans. My request today is much more personal - my daughter's orphange is requesting help due to the severe winter weather. They have asked for 7 space heaters and 55 winter coats to help keep the children warm, including our little Eliana. Her orphanage is in southern China near the Tropic of Cancer - they are just not prepared for the current temperatures. There is no way to get care packages to them at this time due to the domestic airlines, trains and roads in the area being almost completely shut down. Half the Sky Foundation is in touch with the Director of Eliana's orphanage and is guaranteeing reimbursement to them if they can purchase what they need locally. The SWI (Social Welfare Institutes - the name for the orphanages) Directors and staff are paying for things the children need out of their own pockets and Half the Sky is assuring them they will pay them back. They need your tax deductible donation to help as many children as possible. They are reaching out to all affected SWI's in China - not just the ones they currently have programs in.

I made our donation this morning. My mother is visiting us this weekend and made a very generous donation. Please consider donating to Half the Sky Foundation's "Little Mouse Emergency Fund" here - http://www.halfthesky.org/work/littlemouse.php - just click on the mouse icon from their webpage. I have also included a direct link below - just under the mouse picture. The emergency fund is named in honor of the Year of the Rat, which begins next week on China's Lunar New Year. Your donation is tax deductible.

Thank you!
Laura Beth
Eliana's anxious mama

HTS - Little Mouse Emergency Fund

Please donate $10 to LWB by 3pm Eastern time today!

UPDATE: Love Without Boundaries wins Facebook charity challenge!
Here is link to a thank-you message from Love Without Boundaries:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/posts/show/26110?m=1

Love Without Boundaries is a great organization. They happen to be one of several foundations that help Eliana's orphanage. They are all volunteers - their administrative overhead in 2006 was less than 3% - that is fantastic! Today is the last day of a 50 day charity challenge on Facebook. The charity with the highest number of unique donors will receive $50,000! LWB had been the leading charity in this challenge, but another group just pulled ahead of them. Please consider donating $10 to LWB (it is tax deductible) to help them win an additional $50,000. Here is the link to donate to LWB in the Causes by Facebook charity challenge - http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/51591

Here is a letter from Love Without Boundaries - please read it:

My message is a bit long today but I hope you will read it to the end. We have just 24 hours left in the Giving Challenge contest on Facebook. 24 hours to try and stay in the lead. And we can’t do it without you.

As I type this, I am staring at the photos of 12 babies who are hurting because they were born with heart disease. Their eyes truly haunt me, first because they are orphaned and as a mother it is hard to accept that any child has to be sick without a mom or dad to comfort them….but second because I know that without surgery, the pictures I have of these children might be their last. Do you know how small a baby’s heart is? And how fragile an orphan’s life is when that tiny heart has a defect? These pictures are of children who are blue, children who are tired, children who NEED OUR HELP.

I also have on my desk the photos of children whose hearts we have healed. They stare out at me with pink cheeks and smiles, and in many…with their new adoptive families. THIS is what it is all about. Saving lives, giving a second chance, and allowing a child to find their family and know complete love.In the next 24 hours we have a chance to give the GIFT OF LIFE to 10 more children in need. The charity with the most unique $10 donors at 12 noon PST on February 1st will win $50,000. Heart surgery in China averages just $5000 per child, so with that prize….ten children can have a second chance at life.

I am not going to ask you today to find 10 more donors, or even 5 more donors to help us. I am asking you to find just ONE person in your life that hasn’t donated and to ask that person to please help you save a life. For just $10. If all of us do this, we could have over a thousand new donors in just one day.

How often do we spend $10 on things that last just a moment?

$10 for two fancy coffees, $10 for a movie and popcorn, $10 for a dinner out. How about for today, for the next 24 hours, we all find $10 for something that will last a LIFETIME. $10 to save a baby’s life and allow a priceless child (who is orphaned and totally innocent) to get a second chance at finding a family to love them.

Find just one friend in the next 24 hours, and encourage them to join our cause and donate. $10 for the life of a child. Of all the money you have spent this week….this might be the most important.

Thank you EVERYONE for keeping LWB in the running for the top prize. We love our supporters and give thanks everyday for the amazing generosity, compassion, and kindness you show to those who live as orphans each and every day. We truly are a family, bound together by the belief that every child born on this earth matters.

Here’s the link! http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/51591 Let’s do it for the kids.

Amy