Happy Birthday Little Brother!

Today is our baby brother's birthday. Okay ... maybe the "baby" part doesn't really fit anymore. But he was the youngest when we were growing up. Not counting my dad's 2nd marriage kids, of course. But since they were born when the three of us were in our teens we didn't really all grow up together. It was just us three musketeers for the most part. This is a pic from a couple years ago. The family is getting together this weekend to celebrate. So until then.....

Happy Birthday Travis!!
P.S. For those of you who pay attention.... yes my sister's 2nd born is named Travis also. Travis Ryan actually. After both of our brothers. Nice touch, eh? We siblings have a thing for that naming our kid's after each other deal. Teagan Christopher's middle name is for me. And Mia Renee will share a middle name with her aunt, Carla Renee.

We Did It!

I just got this e-mail from JCICS. It looks like we won the fight!

Joint Council Update
Program Advocacy
Date October 14, 2008
Regarding I-600A Process

Dear Families & Friends,
After advocating on behalf of adoptive families for the past 6 months, Joint Council is very pleased to confirm that USCIS has announced a very positive ruling concerning the I-600A process.

In summary, it is our understanding that, effective immediately, families who filed Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, prior to April 1, 2008 and whose USCIS approval of that petition (aka the I-171H) has not expired, will be able to proceed with their adoption under the I-600A process if they take certain steps while their approval remains valid. This means that families with valid Form I-600A approvals will not be required to transition to The Hague process via Form I-800A. In order to maintain their status as ‘grandfathered’ cases, families with non-expired Form I-600A approvals must request a one-time free extension. Then, prior to the expiration of the one-time free extension, families must file a new Form I-600A and pay the appropriate fee.

It is also our understanding that families with a Form I-600A approval that has expired and who have not obtained an extension or filed a new Form I-600A, will need to undertake the Hague process. The Hague process will also apply to any petitioner who has not completed their adoption by 2014.

Woo Hoo!! This means I can stay with the I-600a. I don't have to switch to the I-800a!!! Unless my adoption isn't completed by 2014. Let's just say... I can't even imagine that! You have no idea how happy this makes me. I feel like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders. I can breathe a little easier now. This ruling will save me money, time, effort and an unlimited amount of stress and worry. I'm so grateful.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who supported this fight not just for me but for all waiting families.

PS. I can't think of any better way to celebrate my 28 month log in date anniversary than with great news like this!

Important Stuff Here

I'm taking a break from the fluff and nonsense that I normally post. This is serious business here. No seriously..... it is. Those in the adoption circuit are already hearing about all this I-600a/ I-800a stuff. I probably don't really need to explain it all.

I will say that it directly pertains to me and could adversely effect my adoption if I'm forced to switch to an I-800a. You see, my agency is not Hague accredited. From what I'm reading, if I have to switch to an I-800a that means I have to be with a Hague accredited agency. Since I'm not, I'd have to switch agencies. Which could mean that I have to start over from scratch. Which would really suck since I've already been in line for 28 months. But more importantly, I don't qualify under China's new regulations. So I can't start over. I'd be out. Done. No adoption. No Mia.

The only thing I know for sure right now is that everyone... and I mean everyone ... is interpreting this thing differently. I've read all kinds of theories and opinions on the internet from individual bloggers, from message boards, from Rumor Queen, from the JCICS, and from the USCIS websites. My agency has their own theories but have not put anything in writing to me and quite frankly I'm not sure that I completely trust what they're saying. My homestudy agency doesn't even know what I'm talking about. That's not comforting but par for the course it seems.

The bottom line is things would just be so much easier if those of us who started their adoptions pre-Hague and pre-China's new regulations were "grandfathered in" and allowed to continue extending their I-600a until the adoption is completed.

I'm not even saying for free. I've already gotten my one time free renewal. I have no problem paying for another one. Well, I mean it sucks and is not fair...but with this whole adoption process I've pretty much gotten used to that. Haven't we all, right? I just don't want to switch to the I-800a.

Anyway I'm adding some linkage here for all of you to get involved. I've already done my part. And I can tell you that it really truly only takes a few minutes to do. So do it.

Sign the petition here before October 16th. The goal is 20,000 signatures.

There's also a blog devoted to this issue and fight. Find it here.

Read about the Joint Council On International Children's Service Position on I-600a Renewals here. Most importantly look at the 5 ways you can help here. Send your e-mails and contact your Congressional representatives on October 14th, 15th and 16th.

As adoptive parents, we all need to stick together and support each other. Even if you're already home with your children. These changes are effecting all of us that are still waiting in one way or another. And if we're forced to switch to the I-800a it could be bad. Potentially very, very bad for some of us.

Friday Catch Up

I'm finally starting to get over this bird flu or whatever it was that I had. I'm telling you ...this stuff really laid me out. I was so exhausted I was in bed some nights even before 9pm. That's so not like me at all. Thank goodness my throat no longer feels like I'm swallowing razor blades and my ears aren't throbbing. Unfortunately, I still can't lose the cough and all the drainage. Sorry... TMI. But the doc said I had a bad sinus infection and that might take awhile to work it's way out. Whatever the case may be... I think I may be nearing the end of this. Finally.

The bird flu caused me to miss my get together last weekend with PIPO, Sandra, and the polar bear chick. I was disappointed. But after reading about their day, I knew I made the right decision. There was no way I could've hung all day without a nap thrown in. LOL!

I had to qualify yesterday. Which means shoot for score. I have to do it twice a year to remain in my job. I kinda sucked this time. I shot an 88 with my duty gun and a 90 with my off duty gun. Not happy with those numbers. But I'm blaming the bird flu since my stamina hasn't been up to par the last couple weeks. Oh and I coughed through the entire hour which didn't help either. Today my shoulder is sore cuz we have to shoot a shotgun course, too. That shotgun is brutal. It's heavy and it'll knock you on your arse if you don't handle it properly.

I thought I scored big time the other day when I filled my tank for $3.16 a gallon. But yesterday I drove by a station with gas at $2.95. Damn I shoulda waited. But at least the price is going down.

I'm off work today cuz I had to work last Sunday. Happy I got to sleep in this morning. I'm still in my pj's. Love that.

This week I've gotten a couple of cases that didn't sit well with me. Not that any of them do...but these bothered me more than usual. One involved an 84 yr old man who was awakened by a burglar trying to get his wallet from between his mattress and box springs. Yes... while the man was sleeping in the bed. Ballsy, eh? The burglar hit him a couple times with something that left him with a completely swollen shut eye and stitches in his head. Now why is that necessary? To hit an old man like that? The other involved an 82 yr old man and 2 young punks who forced their way into his home at gunpoint to rob him. They didn't hurt him but he was very shaken up. Understandably so. I really really hate cowards who target children or the elderly. What has this world come to? Some days I wonder where we're all going to end up when there are so many people running around with no conscience. And it worries me.

Geez... that was a downer. I need to think of something happier for my next bullet.

I know... referrals are up to February 15, 2006. But a bloggy buddy of mine just got notified that she's getting a referral today even though she was told her LID is 2-16. What's the deal? Referrals came out last week. So is this another batch? A mistake made by someone at CC_AA? Or maybe her agency told her the wrong LID and all this time she thought she was 2-16 but was really 2-15? Whatever the case may be... it's good news!

So that means there's only 4 months worth of people in front of me in line. Seems so close... yet still so far away. I'm still guess-timating a referral for me in summer of 2010. But that's okay. I'm back to my zen place with the wait. Mia will come when she's supposed to. I'd like her sooner rather than later. But I've made peace with mid-2010.

Alright... that's about all I can think of for right now. I'm off to find something to eat for lunch. And I think I'll pull my Fall decorations out this afternoon. I didn't put them out last year cuz I was in a major not-in-my-zen-place-about-the-wait funk. But I think I wanna decorate now. I love this time of year!

Happy Birthday Mom

Technically this post is belated birthday because it was actually yesterday. But the family got together to celebrate the day before her birthday. So it all evens out , right? Anyway... my mom turned 60 on October 6th. 60 years old, peeps. That's huge! My brother and I took her out for a nice steak dinner. Then we went over to my sister's house for cake and presents.

My smart ass sister was in charge of getting the cake. She decided she wanted 60 individual little candles on it. Seriously. It was no easy feat to light all of them. It took 3 of us. And even so there was still candle wax dripping all over while we were burning our fingers and singeing off arm hairs. Here's the finished product. This pic cracks me up. Can you see the look on mine and Tatum's faces? Our mouths are hanging open in sheer astonishment of all that fire. That thing generated some heat!
She managed to blow them all out in one breath. But then we all started coughing and choking on the smoke. LOL! We thought the smoke detectors might go off at any second.

This homemade birthday card is hysterical. If you like raunchy humor, I guess. But ya gotta give the 11 yr old props for artistic creativity. I like how he captured the aroma of the fart with the deep green color. And the chef holding his nose just makes the illustration seem so realistic. But just in case you couldn't see the small details, he pointed out the "lighter in hand" so there was no question the guy was actually lighting the fart on fire. LMAO... no pun intended.
This is the cake after we slaughtered it. Everyone was very precise about which piece they wanted. Some wanted corners. Some wanted flowers. Some wanted the middle. This was the end result. The birthday cake massacre.

I forgot my camera so there are just a few pics that I swiped from my sis. It was a nice evening with the fam. I hope you enjoyed your birthday mom! The big 6-0!!

Crud, Crud, Crud

Well, going back to work on Tuesday was a little premature. I was trying to avoid having 2 sick leave occurrences within 2 weeks of each other. But I failed. I'm still down for the count. I haven't been this sick in a really long time.

I finally caved in and went to the doctor yesterday but only because I was so miserable. I hate going to the doctor and try to avoid it at all costs. No offense to any doctors. But avoiding it was a really bad call on my part. I have strep throat, a double ear infection and a really nasty cough. And if I just hadn't been so damn stubborn I probably would've been rid of this by now. Instead of on day seven of crud.

I saw these pretty pink and green flowers while I was waiting for my prescriptions to be filled. I brought them home to cheer me up a little. Since I'll be spending several more days staring at them from the couch. I'm off to watch the debate and have some hot tea. Should be an interesting evening.
PS. I'm really hoping to be well enough to keep my plans with some bloggy buddies on Saturday. But I'll be playing it by ear. So we'll see.