Miracle March/China Adoption

The thoughts of a drought are well behind us now. On Tuesday we received over 2 feet of snow at my house and that brings the snow banks to well over 6 feet in some spots. From reports of friends it was one of the deepest powder days all year. I had to work :( Work has been going very well, its great to see all the kids again. Physically I am doing so much better since I went back to work now for over a month my feet and legs feel better and my back is great! I am watching my body mechanics, doing activities that don’t have a lot of heavy equipment and most of all not taking work too seriously. It’s just a job and my life is so filled with exciting new beginnings. One thing I learned from braking my back is life is so much bigger and work is just that work.



I decided to adopt last summer when I was lying in bed suffering with this horrible back pain. If my life of an adventure athlete was over my dreams of being a mother we just beginning. I told myself if I was able to get my life back, I would take life in a new direction. In Dec/05 I started researching international adoptions and decided to go with China. In Jan/06 I was told about Chinese Children International Adoption Agency (CCAI) and they were having a lottery for singles adoption slots for 2006. I spent the weekend with my parents and we discussed my adoption dreams and I decided to move forward with my application to CCAI. On January 17, 2006 I was informed by CCAI that I was awarded a singles slot for the 2006 quota only 8% of all China adoptions can be singles so each agency has limited slots and I was blessed to be on my way and starting the “Paper Chase”.

As for the “Paper Chase” I am working on all the documentation I need for my Dossier a mound of paperwork including a Home Study that is sent to China to qualify you to adopting a Chinese born child. The most difficult has been verifying my income due to the Medical Leave. I found a CPA and she is hard at work bean counting for me. I should have no troubles qualifying once all the “other” income is accounted for. I have my Physical Exam for the adoption this Thursday March 23, 2006. I completed the class that was required by the Home Study agency and the state of Nevada and am still waiting for the FBI clearance. Once this is done I then can file with the INS- I-600A to position to bring a foreign born child into the US. Only $545 to file, I did some calculation this week and this entire process will cost around $16,000. It is one of the most often asked questions I get so here is the answer. As a good friend put it, “you have a college education to pay for so this is just a drop in the hat so to speak”. I have developed an adoption fund and will contribute to it on a monthly basis. Donations are welcome :)

I also have been taking classes for a Masters Program in Special Education. This semester I am taking a class on Sever Emotionally Disturbed Children. I need to get to work on my Midterm due tomorrow and then the Literature Review Project the big paper. My topic is Attachment Disorders and is quite appropriate for me these days. So I will sign out for now and get to work on school stuff so I can go skiing tomorrow. It's snowing again today.