Summertime and Gratitude

Well, I imagine you can tell from the new blog design, that I've got summer on the brain! The school year is winding down, outdoor activities are now possible and summer is almost here! Yipee! If money was no object, I'd love to go on a beach vacation with my family. Realistically, this blog design is probably as close to the beach as I'll get this summer :)

On another note we haven't heard anything in regards to the court processes in Taiwan. This is very typical and we won't likely hear anything for another 4 weeks. Waiting isn't my favorite thing to do, but we feel very, very fortunate to even have a referral given the current state of international adoption. I've mentioned this sentiment before in previous posts. Well, it really hit home this week because there was a lot of bad news in the adoption world. Families adopting from Vietnam heard the final word on the tough relations between the US Immigration Offices and Vietnam officials. Sadly, adoptions from Vietnam will cease later this year. Families won't be formed. Parents will lose thousands and thousands of dollars. Most tragically, children in orphanages will not find homes. It's so heartbreaking. Then in the China adoption scene the pace keeps slowing down. Back when were waiting for Lilianna, 30 days of referrals were matched per month. Currently, 3-5 days of referrals are matched per month. Given the current pace and the Olympics, they will be lucky if they get through 3 months of referral for the whole 2008 years. For those not familiar with adoption, this means families will be looking at waiting at least 3 years to be matched to a child. This is also such a heart break. We know many, many dear friends who are attemtpiong to adopt from various countries. Sadly, all are facing pretty big challenges. Our hearts go out to them.