Another reason for radio silence regarding adoption is that there have been more changes in China that are difficult to think about, much less write about. There are many families being affected by tightening the reigns on eligibility requirements. Now people of certain professions, including those employed by a religious organization, must apply for their visa in person and be fingerprinted in Chicago. As far as a I understand, this only applies to certain regions of the US right now. It doesn't affect us, since neither of our employers are affiliated with a religious organization, but any change makes us nervous. The toughest situation has been concerning foster care in at least one province. Basically, a concerning situation in a foster care center in one province caused great concern in that province and throughout China regarding the supervision of foster centers/homes. In at least the one province, all children placed in foster care, even those who have been in the same foster home since birth, were taken back to the orphanages. There is one situation I know of where an American couple who live in China were fostering a child since she was 5 months old. They are in the process of adopting their now 18+ month old, but because of the change, she is being taken to the orphanage. I would imagine this situation will be temporary, since the SWI's (social welfare institutions) don't have the space/staff for all these kids. Our agency has a foster center in this province and the children were taken back to their orphanages for now. Another foster center provides care to extremely medically complex kids and those kids were either taken to their assigned SWI or to the hospital. Either way, their caregivers, who know their medical needs and nuances, won't be with them. Given the concerning situation that occurred, the whole thing is pretty grey. The CCCWA obviously wants to ensure that the children they are responsible for are physically safe, but at the same time, uprooting so many children, who have already experienced so much loss, will add more trauma to their stories. I'm not sure there is a "right" answer to it. We don't know if Ellie is caught up in this. Maybe she is in another province or maybe she's not been in a foster home at all; we just don't know.
The truth of the matter is, we don't know anything about her, and we are still waiting. The waiting is hard and makes it hard to update that we're still waiting. We know that God has chosen her for our family and us for her, and His timing is perfect, but the waiting still is not easy. It's like the last several weeks of pregnancy, when you're just excited to meet your little one and really tired of being pregnant, except we have no due date. We think we're getting close, but we just don't know. A couple we know had an LID date a month ahead of ours and recently matched. There are a lot of different factors that affect when you receive a referral, so comparing to another family doesn't do a lot of good, but it is a sign that we are getting there. I just can't wait to see that little face! Then the wait will begin to have her in our arms!
Graham and Charlie are doing well. They are starting to interact more and more, which is so fun to see! We found a nice preschool for Graham in Florida. Graham has had the same wonderful teacher at his preschool for the past almost 2 years. It was difficult looking at preschools because it just won't be the same without his favorite teacher, but the school he will be attending has that same small, tight-knit feel to it. We had originally planned to send Charlie to preschool this fall, since Graham's school has an excellent toddler program, but there really just aren't toddler classes in our area of Florida like there are here, so Charlie will get a bonus year at home with me! Charlie is sitting up so well now, loves to eat different baby foods, and is such a ham! He loves to smile and is learning to clap his hands. He has cut five teeth in less than two weeks!
Please pray for our move, as it is quickly approaching! Pray for the children affected by recent changes in China, that they will feel peace and comfort as their world seems upside down. Also, pray for their caregivers, as I'm sure they are brokenhearted. Please pray especially for Ellie, that her heart is comforted as we wait for each other.
I won't update again until we're settled in Florida...unless of course we are matched before then!!!
I tried to get a picture of them together in their matching Easter pajamas.
Getting two kids to look at you and smile at the same time is near to impossible,
but we did it!
Graham is doing really well riding his bike!
Charlie playing in his jumperoo
