I have added something new to the Blog that I know will make some of you very happy. Below, on the right hand side of the page you will see "Follow by Email". If you type your email address in the box and then press submit...Presto.... you will be following our blog. That way you shouldn't have to worry about missing a post.
Thank you in advance for all of those who follow our journey.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Congratulations?!
Somewhere in China a little boy has been born and has likely been given up for adoption already. It is so sad to think that we wont even get to meet him until he is over a year old. That is something that I am sure will make this process very hard to understand sometimes. I am also hoping that having this in mind will keep us motivated and strong throughout the endless paperwork and bills while we wait to be approved as parents for this little boy.
Being prospective adoptive parents is very different than going through the journey of getting pregnant and having your own baby for many obvious reasons. I think about this fact often. How if this was our birth child we would have received dozens of cards from family and friends congratulating us on baby #2. People would be asking "how are you feeling" each day as my belly grew larger. (Not that I miss that, as most of you know I did not enjoy pregnancy, although it was completely worth the end result!) Having a child somewhere across the world feels so different. Some days it is exciting to think about, other days overwhelming, and some days it is just sad. I am not saying this so that more people ask how we are doing, or ask where we are in the process. People are doing that all the time and it is wonderful. It is just an observation that I have had. Something that weighs on my mind now and then.
Update: Last month Chris and I registered for PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information Development and Education)Training. PRIDE Training is essentially a prep course for adoptive parents. For more information please click on this link: http://secure.adoptontario.ca/mobile/pride.main.aspx#&ui-state=dialog
Our training takes place over 4 weekends in Burlington, Ontario in May and June. One full day each weekend (9 am - 5 pm).
Once our PRIDE Training is complete we will start to work with our Adoption Practitioner (approximately July). I promise I will provide an update before then.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Somewhere Between
Last night as I was flipping through the TV channels I noticed a documentary on TVO called 'Somewhere Between'. I think it was luck, or fate that I stumbled upon this movie just as it was starting. The film starts off by showing a family that has recently adopted from China. The mother in the film is talking about all of the questions that her adopted daughter will someday have and she reflects upon the fact that she may not know all of the answers. From there the mother turns into the filmmaker stating that she is making this film for her daughter so that someday she can watch this and have some answers to her questions.
The uniqueness of this film is that instead of following the parents who have adopted the child from China, it follows the lives of four teenage girls who were adopted from China. I found the film very moving and eye opening from a prospective adoptive parents point of view. Although the film takes place in the U.S I thought the issues the girls experienced were globally relatable.
I would recommend watching this film to anyone that has questions about our adoption. It may clarify a few things for you or it may bring up more questions or concerns.
Watch for it on TVO or search for it to tape on you PVRs. I think I might even download it on iTunes to show to our families. It is just too good not to share.
Here is a link to the website for movie if you are looking for more information. http://www.somewherebetweenmovie.com/directors-statement
The uniqueness of this film is that instead of following the parents who have adopted the child from China, it follows the lives of four teenage girls who were adopted from China. I found the film very moving and eye opening from a prospective adoptive parents point of view. Although the film takes place in the U.S I thought the issues the girls experienced were globally relatable.
I would recommend watching this film to anyone that has questions about our adoption. It may clarify a few things for you or it may bring up more questions or concerns.
Watch for it on TVO or search for it to tape on you PVRs. I think I might even download it on iTunes to show to our families. It is just too good not to share.
Here is a link to the website for movie if you are looking for more information. http://www.somewherebetweenmovie.com/directors-statement
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Happy New Year....again!
I know that people have been anxiously awaiting a new post from us. This will just be a quick one as our family is getting caught up on everyday life after my daughter and I took a quick trip to Florida. While I was away Children's Bridge sent us a waiver and request for first payment for our adoption. My husband and I haven't even had a chance to look at it. This could be because we are too busy, or it could be because we are afraid to see how much money we already owe.
Tomorrow, February 19, 2015 is the first day of the 2015 Chinese New Year. 2015 is the year of the Sheep. In China sheep are considered lucky animals. Hopefully this Chinese year will bring our family luck in our adoption process. I look forward to learning more about Chinese traditions and celebrating this day in the future with our family.
Happy New Year everyone.
Tomorrow, February 19, 2015 is the first day of the 2015 Chinese New Year. 2015 is the year of the Sheep. In China sheep are considered lucky animals. Hopefully this Chinese year will bring our family luck in our adoption process. I look forward to learning more about Chinese traditions and celebrating this day in the future with our family.
Happy New Year everyone.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Thank you!
Yesterday was the big day, the day that we finally sent out our blog link to our family and friends.
The response has been overwhelming! So many people took the time to write back to us and send us well wishes for our journey. The encouraging words brought more than a few tears to my eyes. Thank you everyone for being so supportive, it is nice to know that we will have family and friends cheering us on throughout this process.
The response has been overwhelming! So many people took the time to write back to us and send us well wishes for our journey. The encouraging words brought more than a few tears to my eyes. Thank you everyone for being so supportive, it is nice to know that we will have family and friends cheering us on throughout this process.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Happy New Year
Back in March of 2014 we completed the first step in the adoption process. We paid a yearly Children's Bridge membership fee and we contacted the Program Manager for the Waiting Child (WC) China program. The phone call with our Program Manager covered information such as; age, gender, and special needs of the children in the WC China program. We discussed timelines for the program and the next steps for us.
After the phone conversation we were emailed reading material pertaining to cleft lip/palate, an information package outlining the adoption process, and the contact information of a family who has been through the WC China program. We were required to contact the family to hear their adoption story and ask them questions about the program. The purpose of the reading material and contacting the family was to ensure that the process was really right for us. We found the conversation with the family very helpful. It provided us with information that was not in any of the printed materials and gave us a contact to use throughout the process.
Once we felt confident that we wanted to proceed with the program we called back our Program Manager to be placed on the callback list. The callback list is for families that have paid their fees to be in the WC China program but do not have their paperwork complete (i.e. home study, background checks etc). We have also been placed on this list because the Chinese government requires that there be an 18 month age difference between the child we have and the child we adopt. That means our daughter needs to be 18 months older than the little boy we bring home from China. At the time of our initial conversation, the youngest boys with a clef lip/palate what were being adopted were 16-18 months of age. At this time our daughter wasn't even a year old yet so even if we had our paperwork complete we wouldn't be able to move to the active families list (a list for families who are waiting for their paperwork to be accepted by the Chinese Government). Our Program Manager advised us to wait until January 2015 to start the next step in the process. The next step is finding an Adoption Practitioner (Social Worker) and doing PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education) Training. http://secure.adoptontario.ca/mobile/pride.main.aspx#&ui-state=dialog
After the phone conversation we were emailed reading material pertaining to cleft lip/palate, an information package outlining the adoption process, and the contact information of a family who has been through the WC China program. We were required to contact the family to hear their adoption story and ask them questions about the program. The purpose of the reading material and contacting the family was to ensure that the process was really right for us. We found the conversation with the family very helpful. It provided us with information that was not in any of the printed materials and gave us a contact to use throughout the process.
Once we felt confident that we wanted to proceed with the program we called back our Program Manager to be placed on the callback list. The callback list is for families that have paid their fees to be in the WC China program but do not have their paperwork complete (i.e. home study, background checks etc). We have also been placed on this list because the Chinese government requires that there be an 18 month age difference between the child we have and the child we adopt. That means our daughter needs to be 18 months older than the little boy we bring home from China. At the time of our initial conversation, the youngest boys with a clef lip/palate what were being adopted were 16-18 months of age. At this time our daughter wasn't even a year old yet so even if we had our paperwork complete we wouldn't be able to move to the active families list (a list for families who are waiting for their paperwork to be accepted by the Chinese Government). Our Program Manager advised us to wait until January 2015 to start the next step in the process. The next step is finding an Adoption Practitioner (Social Worker) and doing PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education) Training. http://secure.adoptontario.ca/mobile/pride.main.aspx#&ui-state=dialog
So here we are, it's January 11, 2015 and we are starting the next step of our journey. Happy New Year everyone.
Friday, January 2, 2015
A little more background..
Years before our daughter was born my husband and I attended an information session held by Children's Bridge. At the session we learned that there are a number of countries that you can adopt from. At that time China was already one of the countries we were interested in adopting from. We learned that China offers an adoption program called the "Waiting Child Program".
This program is for families that are interested in adopting children with special needs (minor handicaps and/or health problems). Some of these minor health problems were correctable, and by accepting a child in this program your wait for a child was sometimes cut in half. We heard that life for the children in this program was often quite horrible. As an example, in China, children with a cleft lip/palate are seen as being cursed. They are not accepted in society and are not able to go to school or get a job. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A common medical condition that can often be fixed was seen as a curse? Right then I wanted more information about the program. The next thing I remember was seeing the cost of an adoption from China in our information book and I looked at my husband in disbelief. I thought right then, we might as well go home because there was no way we could afford to do this. But then, Children's Bridge popped in a little video documenting one family's journey to adoption. Of course this family was adopting a child from China and by the end of the video I was weeping all over the budget information sheet that I had been fretting over only a few minutes prior. I looked over at my husband and this time we both knew there was no turning back now.
Here is a link to the Waiting Children adoption page on the Children's Bridge website. This will give you a better idea of the requirements from us as adoptive parents, the timelines of the program, and the process. http://www.childrensbridge.com/pages/china_wc.html
This program is for families that are interested in adopting children with special needs (minor handicaps and/or health problems). Some of these minor health problems were correctable, and by accepting a child in this program your wait for a child was sometimes cut in half. We heard that life for the children in this program was often quite horrible. As an example, in China, children with a cleft lip/palate are seen as being cursed. They are not accepted in society and are not able to go to school or get a job. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A common medical condition that can often be fixed was seen as a curse? Right then I wanted more information about the program. The next thing I remember was seeing the cost of an adoption from China in our information book and I looked at my husband in disbelief. I thought right then, we might as well go home because there was no way we could afford to do this. But then, Children's Bridge popped in a little video documenting one family's journey to adoption. Of course this family was adopting a child from China and by the end of the video I was weeping all over the budget information sheet that I had been fretting over only a few minutes prior. I looked over at my husband and this time we both knew there was no turning back now.
Here is a link to the Waiting Children adoption page on the Children's Bridge website. This will give you a better idea of the requirements from us as adoptive parents, the timelines of the program, and the process. http://www.childrensbridge.com/pages/china_wc.html
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