On Friday I decided to call CJIS to see if they could give me any information on Brian' s prints. I figured the worst they could say is no. I was so happy to hear that they received Brian's prints from the FBI and that they are good! We should receive our copy in about 2 weeks. When we receive that document we will be able to send our completed home study to USCIS in Baltimore. When it is approved they will send us our I-171H (this gives us approval to bring Ava into the U.S.) I have been told that USCIS turn-around time is about 2 weeks. All of our paperwork will then be authenticated, sent to our agency, translated and sent to China. We are hoping that our dossier will be sent to China in September. Keep your fingers crossed!

While I was visiting some adoption blogs the other day I found a link to a video clip of an orphanage in China. It broke my heart to see these poor babies (47 in one room) in cribs without a mattress or soft place to sleep. Instead of mattresses their cribs are lined with wooden boards. It just made me so sad to think of Ava living in such a place someday. I know they give the best care that they can in orphanages but it's heartbreaking. Hopefully she will be lucky enough to get a foster Mom and live in someones home while she is waiting for us. Since we started this process we have been supported by our family and friends. But we have learned that not everyone understands or accepts why we are adopting internationally. I told a patient at work that we we're adopting a baby girl from China...his reply was "why would you want one of those babies". He's lucky I was at work and couldn't say what I wanted to. Another patient felt the need to make sure that I knew she will be "Chinese". Like that would have just slipped past us!! I think the worst was a conversation I had with a new employee at work. When she found out that we we're adopting from China she decided to give me her opinion. She cant understand why we would adopt internationally when there are plenty of children who need homes in the U.S. I explained to her that adopting internationally is our personal decision. That the wait for a infant in the U.S. is long and that you must compete with many other couples to be selected. She then suggested the foster care system. This may sound selfish but we do not want to get attached to a child and then have DCYF give him/her back to their drug addicted parent. She did not accept our reasons and continued to plead her case as if she was determined to change my mind. At this point I became angry and explained how these poor children are abandoned in the streets, sent to live in orphanages with little chances of being adopted by a Chinese family. If it wasn't for international adoption these poor girls would live in an orphanage until they are of age with very little love or education. I understand that many people agree with her point of view because she is not the first person that we have heard it from. I'd like to show all of them this clip and ask them why these poor little girls don't deserve a good home just as much as an American child does?

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=97713&cdate=20060517&ctime=002610

On the fourth of July we had a small cookout with our neighbor Lora, my friend Michelle, her baby Bryce and her stepdaughter Amber. We have decided that Ava and Bryce will be playmates and will eventually marry someday. We enjoy teasing Brian with our little arranged marriage because he insists Ava will not date...EVER! We spent the day eating, playing baseball, swimming and watching fireworks.

In June I had to go to Virginia for 3 days for a business trip/training. I was thrilled when I found out that my hotel was literally across the street from our friend Lauren's house. She lives in this adorable historic farmhouse. She cooked my friend Nancy and I a great dinner on the night we arrived. The following night Lauren and I met at a restaurant and drank Frozen Margarita's until the manager threw us out at closing. I had a great time Lauren, Miss you!! We stayed at the Hyatt while we we're there. They had these great shops attached to our Hotel. I have become obsessed with anything that has a ladybug on it so I had to have this Hooded towel/washcloth set. As far as the business meeting is concerned I learned that one of my company's core values is fun. So after they filled us up with alcohol one night they got me up on stage (along with 20 other people) with a purple feather boa and made me sing and dance to Bon Jovi's "you give love a bad name".

Since we have lived in Maryland we have wanted to take a trip to Ocean City, MD. So 4Th of July weekend we decided to take a day trip. It was nice but not for us. It kinda reminded us of Atlantic City without Casino's. We spent the day walking the boardwalk checking out tons of shops. When we walked into one store I found 2 bibs every baby girl should have in her collection!! You all know we could not pass these up!

A couple of weeks ago we decided to take a trip to the Zoo in Washington D.C. It was really nice but really hot. We bought Ava a stuffed Panda and a sippy cup while we we're there. Here's a few pics!

We haven't left a message in awhile due to the fact that we are at a stand still. The last month has just dragged along. We have all of our paperwork completed and ready to go. My FBI fingerprints and clearance arrived on June 28Th. We have checked the mailbox everyday for Brian's and they still have not come in. We cannot move forward with anything until we receive this piece of paper. If his fingerprints are rejected again it will take another 12 weeks for this one document. I received an email today from our Social worker regarding the hold up:

Hi Nichole:

I’m not sure if this will make you feel better or worse, but all of the other dossier docs HAVE been certified up to the state level. CJIS (the folks sending us the FBI prints) are really, really backed up at the moment. They owe me all kinds of clearances that should have come in weeks ago. They are switching computer systems, they tell me, and are quite backlogged.

If you would like to do something, you may call the FBI and ask about the status of the clearance through CJIS. However, this will only tell you if FBI sent it back to CJIS. It still may be stuck between CJIS and us. Again, it is not necessary for you to call. I have spoken with CJIS several times about Brian’s prints. However, I recognize that sometimes it feels better to do something rather than just wait.

Cara


So that's our not so great new's. Things we're going really smoothly up until this point so I guess we should consider ourselves lucky. We we're hoping to have our dossier sent to China in September but if things dont speed up that might not happen. If we are able to get a log in date in September we still wont get Ava home until November 2007. So please keep your fingers crossed that CJIS gets moving!