July Referrals

It looks like November 14th is the cut-off date for this month's referrals. With only 7 log-in dates of dossiers ahead of us, we are finally getting excited. My prediction is that the August referrals will go through November 21st, and then we will get ours in September. We have started getting Zanna's room ready--cleaning out her closet, buying some new furniture, moving my office furniture out.
Calla is waiting patiently and biding her time by swimming, playing, and worrying about getting the remaining shots she needs to travel to China.
She had a fun Fourth of July with her friends and said she is proud to be an American!

November 7th Cut-Off for Referrals

Well, the June batch of referrals is in. Another 5 days of log-in dates were referred. With November 7th being this month's cut-off date, it is still looking like with our November 22nd log-in date we will get our referral in September.
The good news is that summer is here, and Calla is in full-swim mode. She's starting to work on rhythmic breathing in her lessons, and she's very confident at the pool. It will be a fun summer for her--her last as an only child!

Referral Update

Is it good news or bad news that I am considering it good that 6 days of log-in-dates were matched this month? It's better than the abysmal 2 days that were matched last month. At this rate we would get our referral in September. Perhaps there is some symmetry in that. We received Calla's referral in September (2003). Traveling in China is quite nice in the Fall.

Calla's passport arrived today. The cover is really thick and has some type of electrical sensor in it. I wonder what data they are collecting with that when they run it over a scanner. At any rate, she now has more proof that she is an American citizen, and I am relieved to have her Certificate of Citizenship back in my possession.

So it looks like we will enjoy our summer watching our fish-girl master the pool, taking a family vacation, hobnobbing with the play group, and seeing what happens with the June, July, and August referral batches.

Aaaaaack!!!

There is bad news with referrals this month. It appears that the China Center for Adoption Affairs matched only 2 days of logged in dossiers. Just as a frame of reference they had been matching on average 13-15 days of logged in dossiers per month in the recent past. When we first logged in our dossier they were referring 60 days of logged in dossiers per month. To look at it another way, this month they matched families who were logged in on October 25th and 26th of 2005. Our log-in date is November 22, 2005. If they continue to match at this rate, we would not get our referral for 14 more months!

We have become disenchanted with the adoption process at this point. We initially chose China because the program seemed so predictable and above board. With the sudden and unbelievable slowdown that has happened over the course of our wait, we have lost faith in China's predictability and reliability.

We plan to wait and see what happens in the next few months and hope that this month was a fluke. However, there is another long holiday coming up in China that will affect the referral wait too. We are pretty down about this whole situation. Now when Calla asks if we are still going to get a sister, we change the subject.

Are We Still Going to Get A Sister?

Last night Calla asked if we were still going to get a sister. I must admit I am starting to wonder that myself. Today is the 16-month mark of our wait for Suzanna Jo. I think we are at least 3 batches of referrals away from ours. That seems like a LONG time from now. I'll bet it seems even longer when you are four years old.

Paperwork

We mailed off our last piece of paperwork for Zanna's adoption today (again) ($545.00). Keep in mind this is the second time I have sent this same piece of paperwork to Immigration ($545 + $545). The first piece of paper expired as have many of our other documents. The US is very good at making sure adoptive parents don't have any criminal records. In fact they are so thorough in their checking that you have to be fingerprinted in two different offices ($140 + $66) and obtain clearance at 2 other local police stations ($26). You have to do this every 18 months. The thing that I find disturbing about this is that it is clear that all 4 of these agencies aren't communicating with each other. How efficient is that? Could you commit a local crime, and have it only show up at your local sheriff's office? If you commit a federal crime, your local sheriff has no record of it? I'm starting to see why they have a hard time locating and catching pedophiles and terrorists. There is no shared information. Anyway, until we apply for visas to go to the PRC, we don't have to send any more money for awhile. We are still waiting on Calla's passport, but that may take awhile too. Because of new travel rules, there are more passport applications than they can handle.

Good Teachers

Calla had her swim lesson last night, and she has a really great teacher. Emily has only worked with Calla a few times and yet she knows just how much to challenge her and how to balance that with the right amount of support. She also gives her frequent, yet sincere praise. That's good teaching.
Then there is Mr. Troy, her gymnastics instructor. I doubt that Mr. Troy has a degree in teaching, but he has the best "classroom management" I have ever seen. He makes the best use of all 60 minutes of the lesson--no sitting or standing around. It's kind of like a three-ring circus sometimes. He is highly entertaining (to the parents as well as the kids), often doing pratfalls and making fun of himself. He has high standards for behavior, and only the kids who follow the rules get their hands (and feet) stamped at the end of the lesson. Calla will work like heck to get those little stamps. She always shows them to me first thing when I get home and reports who did NOT get their stamps.
Finally, there are her 5 preschool teachers, whom she adores. She can tell you different things about each one, like she really knows them. They are always smiling when we drop her off and pick her up. She loves going to school, so they must be doing something right.
In my profession I see so few really good teachers that it is rewarding to have so many of them in my daughter's life. Thanks to all the good teachers! We really appreciate you.