Sad News (But Hopefully Not a Setback)

There has been a lot of media attention recently about this Russian-adopted boy's death. It is so sad. I've included a letter to us from our adoption agency, and a link to the news article, if anyone is interested in reading. I am hoping that since this was an independent adoption, that it will not affect our adoption process at all, as we are working with an accredited agency.

Dear Families,

We are very sad to announce that there has been another confirmed death of a Russian-born child who was adopted in the US. This tragedy is receiving a significant amount of very negative publicity in Russia. Despite speculation on the internet, there is currently no official response from the Ministry of Education to this news. We do know one result of this news is that all adoption officials will be more closely scrutinizing adoption cases. In addition, we have confirmed one region(where WHFC doesn't work) has temporarily stopped adoptions while they review the case and their own procedures. Currently, adoptions are open and continuing in all regions where WHFC works.We are very closely monitoring the situation with our representatives in Russia. They are all in contact with their regional adoption officials and judges. In addition, WHFC is in communication with adoption advocacy groups in the US that are working to gather more information through official government-to-government channels. We will share information with you as we learn more.We know that this news is anxiety-provoking. Families are encouraged to contact their social worker or case worker for support. In addition, we will be hosting an extra Russia Program call-in session next week and will provide any additional news at that time. We encourage all families to join us.

Link to article: http://adoptionthreads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27903.0

2 Months Gone!

Well, we have been officially waiting 2 months for a referral now. For the most part, this time has gone pretty quickly, but sometimes I feel like this winter and wait are just taking forever! Everyone has been telling us to "enjoy the time you have left", "get your sleep in now", and a whole myriad of other sound pieces of advice. Still, we can't do much of anything past wondering what our kids are like, and what they are doing right now on the other side of the world.

Ken and I have been talking and thinking about creative organizing techniques for our home. We will definitely be busy getting our house in order once tax season finally ends. Our adoption agency has monthly meetings for waiting families to get together and network. We went to our first "waiting parent" meeting a few weeks ago, and it was definitely reassuring to know that there are many other couples just like us just waiting for the call. Other than this, we have been collecting paperwork for our Russian Visas, putting together photo albums to leave with our children, and still reading about what we should expect when we get home.

I do feel like the Russia program through our agency has been moving quite quickly. Just in February alone, five families received their referral and travelled to Russia for their first trip, and three families came home from their second trip with their children. This, indeed, is great news. We do know, however, that since Ken and I are waiting for siblings, we can expect another 2-6 month wait...argh!!!!

I've added another website to the links column. This site gives great info about adopting from eastern European countries.