November Referrals are in

What does referrals mean?
Referrals are given out once a month from China (CCAA china affairs) When your paperwork is sent over to China they go through your paperwork and log in into a computer and check for updates if needed. Once you are logged in CCAA gives you a log in date ours is March 22, 2006. Everyone that has a log in date before us gets a referral before us. Once you are logged in CCAA then sends your paperwork over to a different room where they go into detail into your paperwork, they sometimes ask for more information or deny couples for certain reasons. This is called an audit. Once you have been audited they send your paperwork to the matching room to sit til it is your turn to get a referral. We got notified Feb 3, 2007 that we were audited and everything was approved. Now we sit til it is our turn for a referral.
Once it is our turn for a referral we will recieve a package that includes pictures of our child with information on background, size, appox date of birth, medical evaulations ect. We have appox 24 hours after recieving a referral to accept the child or not. If not then we go back into the waiting pool for appox. 3 months. If you have any questions about why it is taking so long please read updates on main page in posts " why is it taking so long to get Makayla" or "Referrals and what they mean"

PLease watch this video ( It's cool )

ty

Browse through only the BEST videos at pYzam.com!

Happy Halloween ( Please try )

1000 + visitors

We have hit the 1000 mark for visitors. Thanks to all who have been looking at our site. I hope you have enjoyed. Lets hope that at 2000 hits we will have Makayla.

The new pole results

I have to laugh each time I look at the new pole that asks "Which parent do you think is going to be more strict". Looks like Don is going to be the mean one!!!!! LOL

lady bugs

Today I found another lady bug. It was on the light in the kitchen. could this be telling me something????? IF you have any questions about lady bugs and why I am making a big deal over it please read in posts on the right hand side of the page " Lady bug" it will explain.

New pole

New pole please vote: This one should be interesting to see how this one turns out!!!!!!!!!

Pole results:
Started: July 16th 2006 Ended: Sept 22, 2007
Total number of Votes: 20

Who do you think will spoil Makayla more

Donald ( daddy)................. 3 votes........15%
Dorrine ( mommy) ............7 votes.........35%
Karey and Les....................3 votes.........15%
(Donalds mom and dad)
Gil and Sue.........................2 votes.........10%
(Dorrines mom and dad)
Nancy.................................2 votes.........10%
Gail......................................0 votes........0%
Scott and Steph.................0 votes........0%
Other..................................3 votes........15%

Grandma and Grandpa Smetak

This is a space where Grandma and Grandpa Smetak can write to Makayla or post something they would the family or friends to read.

Nana and Papa Keene

This is a spot where Nana and Papa Keene can write to Makayla or post something for the family or friends to read.

New Referral Predictions

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Sept referrals are in

Referrals are in. CCAA (china affairs) gave out referrals through Feb 9th, 2006. A great 11 days worth. We are logged in March 22, 2006, so I am happy we are getting much closer to our date. To see the chart closer just double clink on it. We only have 41 days of log in dates before ours. WWWWOOOOOOWWWWOOOO!!!!!!!!













What does referrals mean?
Referrals are given out once a month from China (CCAA china affairs) When your paperwork is sent over to China they go through your paperwork and log in into a computer and check for updates if needed. Once you are logged in CCAA gives you a log in date ours is March 22, 2006. Everyone that has a log in date before us gets a referral before us. Once you are logged in CCAA then sends your paperwork over to a different room where they go into detail into your paperwork, they sometimes ask for more information or deny couples for certain reasons. This is called an audit. Once you have been audited they send your paperwork to the matching room to sit til it is your turn to get a referral. We got notified Feb 3, 2007 that we were audited and everything was approved. Now we sit til it is our turn for a referral.
Once it is our turn for a referral we will receive a package that includes pictures of our child with information on background, size, approx date of birth, medical evaluations ect. We have approx 24 hours after receiving a referral to accept the child or not. If not then we go back into the waiting pool for approx. 3 months. If you have any questions about why it is taking so long please read updates on main page in posts " why is it taking so long to get Makayla" or "Referrals and what they mean"

Here is new predictions on upcoming referrals.
Double click on Referral chart to read. First let me start by explaining what referrals mean. When you paper work is finished with all documents needed to request a child from China they are put together in a file and mailed out to China. China then looks through them and log you in and you receive a date. Ours is March 22, 2006. Then everyone with a date before you gets a referral before you do. What I mean by referral is a Picture of a child and background ( if any) and medical papers . You then have to decide if you want the child or not. Currently as of today's date Sept 23 ,2007 CCAA China affairs has given out children whose has a log in date before November 25th ,2005. Yes almost two years ago. If you still have any questions about how this is done please read in posts on the right hand side of the site " Why is it taking so long to get Makayla" and please read "referrals and what they mean".


I really don't know how far the CCAA China affairs are going to get each month, these are only based on my predictions. Now that Nov 2005 is almost done it should speed up. How I can explain this is by a certain web site that has a pole that everyone that is waiting for a referral from China can vote for their log in date this, this is done by the day. There is a drop in votes after Nov 2005 .
Nov 2005 having450 votes
Dec 2005 having 256 votes
Jan 2006 having 232 votes
Feb 2006 having 195 votes
March 2006 having 365 votes
April 2006 having 219 votes

In the previous months I have been counting by days how many votes they do and surprising they are pretty close to each other,. For example

In May 2006 they referred From Oct 27th through Nov 1st the total number of votes: 141
In June 2006 they referred from Nov 2nd through Nov 6th , the total number of votes: 148
In July 2006 they referred from Nov 7th through Nov 13th , the total number of votes: 159
In Aug 2006 they referred from Nov 14th through Nov. 21st, the total number of votes: 139
In Sept. 2006 they referred from Nov 22 through Nov 25th , the total number of votes: 134

on average over the last 5 months it is 144 votes per month. If this trend continues than this is the way that the referrals will fall.
Oct 2007 referrals will get through Dec 6th , 2005
Nov 2007 referrals will get through Dec 15th , 2005
Dec 2007 referrals will get through Dec 28th , 2005
Jan 2008 referrals will get through Jan 12th , 2006
Feb 2008 referrals will get through Jan 29th , 2006
March 2008 referrals will get through Feb 13th, 2006
April 2008 referrals will get through March 1, 2006
May 2008 referrals will get through March 11, 2006
June 2008 referrals will get through March 22, 2006
AS you notice by using these numbers they fall in line with my chart on referral predictions in the good case scenario within a day or two. We will have to wait for a couple of months of referrals to see if this trend seems to work.

Plus as many can see , I love to work with numbers. Dorrine

Sept. referrals are in

Sept referrals are in and I am very disappointed at how far they got. The CCAA china affairs only referred child whose log in date was from Nov 22nd 2005 to Nov 25th, 2005. That is only 4 days of referrals. At this rate it will be two more years till we get our referral. If you have any questions about referrals or why is it taking so long to get Makayla please read in posts : Why is it taking so long to get Makayla " Or " Referrals" .



As you can tell from previous months my predictions are even worse than I expected since June 2006 when I made the predictions. So this month I am going to do another prediction chart. This chart will include what Good case scenario Mid case scenario and of course worse case scenario. Back on 2004 and part of 2005 CCAA china affairs would give out a month of referrals every month and in the last four months they have only done a total of 25 days total.

Good case scenario

June log in dates through Nov 16th 2005
Referrals for June only got to nov 07, 2005
July log in dates through Dec 3 th 2005
Referrals for June only got to Nov 14th, 2005
Aug log in dates through Dec 25th 2006
Referrals for Aug only got to Nov 21th , 2005
Sept log in dates through Jan 4th 2007
Referrals for Sept only got to Nov 25th, 2005

October log in dates through Jan 23rd 2006
Nov log in dates through Feb 24th 2006
Dec log in dates through March 10th 2006
Jan 2008log in dates through March 25th , 2006
We travel late Feb early April 2007


Bad case scenario

June log in dates through Nov 10th 2005
Worse than expected June referrals only got to Nov 7, 2005
July log in dates through Nov 23rd 2005
Worse than expected June referrals only got to Nov 14th , 2005
Aug log in dates through Dec 3 rd 2005
Worse than expected Aug referrals only got to Nov, 21st, 2005
Sept log in dates through Dec 21st 2006
Worse than expected Sept only got to Nov 25th, 2005
Oct log in dates through Jan 5th 2006
Nov log in dates through Jan 21th 2006
Dec log in dates through Feb 5th 2006
Jan 2008 log in dates through Feb 28th 2006
Feb 2008 log in dates through March 12th 2006
March 2008 long in dates through March 23rd 2006
We travel 5 weeks later

adoption company picnic

Today we drove down to Beloit area about 2 1/2 hours, to our adoption agency company picnic. We are traveling to china with 5 other couples in our group and we finally met one of the couples. We have been writing back in forth for about a year ago and we got to sit down and talk to them. Don and I also met another couple from Marathon City that lives 5 blocks from us, they adopted their little girl over Christmas of last year. I find it nice to talk to others that have adopted from China to get their story and tips on what to expect and what to bring and not bring.

Aug referrals are in

Aug referrals are in and the CCAA ( china affairs) have given out children for those that were logged in from Nov. 15th 2005 to Nov 21st. 2005. As most of you know we were logged in the China on March 22, 2006. THis batch of referrals brings us a little closer to our date. For anyone that is new and would like to know what this information means please refer to the right hand side of the site in posts : " Referrals" and for more information please read " Why is it taking so long to get Makayla" .

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before June 30, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 21, 2005.

predictions on referrals

This is my prediction on how referrals are going to go in the future. We will have to see in the near future how accurate it is.
This is where we are at now. ccaa( China affairs) has given out referrals through Nov 1st 2005. We are logged in on March 22, 2006. That means that there are almost 5 months of referrals ahead of us before we get a picture and information about our little girl. Usually referrals comes out from the 1st through the 10th of each month. I heard that the month of November is a heavy month for referral log ins. Then DEC and Jan is medium and then Feb is very light. March is light during the beginning of the month then gets heavy towards the end of the month.

Good case scenario

June log in dates through Nov 16th 2005
Referrals for June only got to nov 07, 2005
July log in dates through Dec 3 th 2005
Referrals for June only got to Nov 14th, 2005
Aug log in dates through Dec 25th 2006
Referrals for Aug only got to Nov 14th , 2005
Sept log in dates through Jan 4th 2007
October log in dates through Jan 23rd 2006
Nov log in dates through Feb 24th 2006
Dec log in dates through March 10th 2006
Jan 2008log in dates through March 25th , 2006
We travel late Feb early April 2007


Bad case scenario

June log in dates through Nov 10th 2005
Worse than expected June referrals only got to Nov 7, 2005
July log in dates through Nov 23rd 2005
Worse than expected June referrals only got to Nov 14th , 2005
Aug log in dates through Dec 3 rd 2005
Worse than expected Aug referrals only got to Nov, 21st, 2005
Sept log in dates through Dec 21st 2006
Oct log in dates through Jan 5th 2006
Nov log in dates through Jan 21th 2006
Dec log in dates through Feb 5th 2006
Jan 2008 log in dates through Feb 28th 2006
Feb 2008 log in dates through March 12th 2006
March 2008 long in dates through March 23rd 2006
We travel 5 weeks later

China rumors

There is a rumor out in Cyber land that the CCAA ( China affairs) is going to raise the orphanage donation from $ 3,000 to $ 4,000 and some may charge $ 5,000. More money and a longer wait hmmmm......doesn't seem fair. We will have to wait and see. This adoption is getting more and more costly. We have to redo out federal clearance ( finger prints ) over and that is about $ 1,000. People get there finger prints done for free everyday, however we have to pay!!!!!!!! Mom suggested we rob a bank and both problems solved, we will have more than enough money and our finger prints will be taken. lol just kidding!!!we are not going to rob a bank!!!!! . One good thing about the wait is that it has given us enough time to plan head for extra expenses.

Rumors are already starting

There are already rumors floating around on how far CCAA ( china affairs) is going to get with referrals for Aug.... Rumor has it that they are going to finish up with November 2005. That would be great!!!!!!!.
Oh course we hear rumors every month, so don't hold your breathe.

Dorrine

New Pole

There is a new pole avaiable, Please vote:

pole results

Pole started Sept 22, 2007
Pole ended: July 11th, 2008
total # of votes 16
Which parent do you think will be more strict?
Donald 7 votes
Dorrine 0 votes
Both will let Makayla run wild 3 votes
Makayla will call the shots 6 votes


Pole results:
Started: July 16th 2006 Ended: Sept 22, 2007
Total number of Votes: 20

Who do you think will spoil Makayla more

Donald ( daddy)................. 3 votes........15%
Dorrine ( mommy) ............7 votes.........35%
Karey and Les....................3 votes.........15%
(Donalds mom and dad)
Gil and Sue.........................2 votes.........10%
(Dorrines mom and dad)
Nancy.................................2 votes.........10%
Gail......................................0 votes........0%
Scott and Steph.................0 votes........0%
Other..................................3 votes........15%






Pole Results:
Started: May 23rd, 2007 Ended: July 16th , 2007
Total Number of Votes: 18

What do you think we should have as Makaylas middle name?

Name........... Number of votes ...Percent
Susan....... .....................2........11%
Janet............................. 2 .......11%
Jean ..............................0 ........0%
Her chinese Name .....12....... 67%
Daphine........................ 2 .......11%
Other............................ 0....... 0%

Don and I talked about having her middle name be her chinese name. We just have to get a referral to find out what it is!!!!!!!



Pole Results:
Started: April 23rd, 2007 Ended: May 23rd, 2007
Total Number of Votes: 11

Do you think we should quit buying for Makayla?


..............................................Number of votes...... Percent
Yes.......................................................... 4......... 36%
no ............................................................4......... 36%
Why not if it helps pass the time........ 3 .........27%


Pole Results:
Started: March 23rd, 2007 Ended: April 23rd , 2007
Total Number of Votes: 17

When do you think we will get Makayla?

Month........ Number of votes .....Percent
June..................... 0........................ 0%
July...................... 0........................ 0%
Aug....................... 3 .......................18%
Sept. .....................0....................... 0%
Oct........................ 0 .......................0%
Nov. ......................3 .......................18%
Dec. .......................4 .......................24%
Jan 2008 ..............3........................18%
Feb 2008 .............4 ........................24%
March 2008..........0....................... 0%

New pole Idea

I need a new pole idea!!!!! Any ideas out there? If so please post at the bottom of this message. thanks. Dorrine

July Referrals are in

July referrals are mailed out and China Affairs CCAA gave out referrals through Nov 14th, 2005. Only 7 days of referrals again. Just to update you on my predictions they are listed below:
This is my prediction on how referrals are going to go in the future. We will have to see in the near future how accurate it is.
This is where we are at now. ccaa( China affairs) has given out referrals through Nov 14 th 2005. We are logged in on March 22, 2006. That means that there are almost 4 months of referrals ahead of us before we get a picture and information about our little girl. Usually referrals comes out from the 1st through the 10th of each month. I heard that the month of November is a heavy month for referral log ins. Then DEC and Jan is medium and then Feb is very light. March is light during the beginning of the month then gets heavy towards the end of the month.

A little reminder for those that are new if you are wondering what referrals mean please read the information on the right side of the page in posts and read sections " WHy is it taking so long to get Makayla" and "Referrals"


Good case scenario

June log in dates through Nov 16th 2005
Referrals for June only got to nov 07, 2005
July log in dates through Dec 3 th 2005
Referrals for July only got to Nov 14th, 2005
Aug log in dates through Dec 25th 2006
Sept log in dates through Jan 4th 2007
October log in dates through Jan 23rd 2006
Nov log in dates through Feb 24th 2006
Dec log in dates through March 10th 2006
Jan 2007 log in dates through March 25th , 2006
We travel late Feb early March 2007


Bad case scenario

June log in dates through Nov 10th 2005
Worse than expected June referrals only got to Nov 7, 2005
July log in dates through Nov 23rd 2005
Worse than expected June referrals only got to Nov 14th, 2005
Aug log in dates through Dec 3 rd 2005
Sept log in dates through Dec 21st 2006
Oct log in dates through Jan 5th 2006
Nov log in dates through Jan 21th 2006
Dec log in dates through Feb 5th 2006
Jan 2007 log in dates through Feb 28th 2006
Feb 2007 log in dates through March 12th 2006
March 2007 long in dates through March 23rd 2006
We travel 5 weeks later

Rumor has it that for the remainder for 2007 CCAA ( China affairs ) is only giving out referrals for a week per month. Then starting in January 2008 CCAA will go back to referrals for two weeks per month. We will have to wait and see if this rumor is true.

The web site for CCAA ( china affairs) has been updated here is the updated information:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before May 31, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 14, 2005.

This weekend / This week

This weekend is our 7 year anniversary of marriage. We don't know what we are doing this weekend but I have a feeling that we are going to the house on the rocks. Don and I have talked about going for a couple of years and we were hoping to share the experience with Makayla. Maybe when she gets older. When we ever get her.

I try to keep a positive spirit when I write on the Internet to share with everyone. However this mothers day was really hard for me this year. I keep seeing these little girl pictures from China with there new moms from my online china adoption groups and other adoption websites . Don says to quite looking at them but they are so addicting. When we started the adoption process it was only suppose to be a 7 month wait til we got a referral and here we sit waiting 14 months later and still no Makayla.......................Ok enough mushy stuff for today.

On a good note. Dons parents are moving back to Wisconsin I believe sometime in July , they will be living with us for a short period til they find a place of their own and get jobs in the area. With Don's dad having heart surgery in March of this year I believe ( but don't hold me to it) they are getting home sick and would like to live closer to the family. When they moved away Seth (dons brother Scott's son) was only a year old and now he is almost six and starting school
this year. Its hard to keep up with kids growing up when you live 14 hours away.
I can only speak for Don and I , but I think everyone in the family can agree to is that we open our home and hearts to you both you Karey and Les. Come home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week in Wisconsin has been miserable weather wise. For Wisconsin in June the temps should be in the 40's in the morning and 70's in the afternoons. This week we have had 60's morning and upper 80's and today 92 degrees. That is just crazy. Don even put in the air conditioners in today. I had the heat on just a month and half ago.

I went to the doctor on Monday for a check up on my diabetes. They upped my dosage on one of my meds . Over all the doctor was happier with my test results. A month ago they started me on Lantis a insulin shot that I only have to give once a day. I have been doing quite we'll giving my self a shot everyday. I thought it would be hard since I don't like the site of needles but the overall affect that it has made makes it worth it.. Since I have been on the shot my sugars went down from 250-300 to around 100-120. It has made a big difference is several ways. I have been sleeping better and over all feeling really good.

Well I have to get off of here and get stuff done before we leave for our big anniversary weekend.

Dorrine

What do you think

I have been thinking of adding a link to posts for grandparents Karey and Les Smetak and Gil and susan Keene and one just for Donald. What does everyone think? Leave a message on your thoughts. Dorrine

Referrals are in for June

THis is another sad month for referrals . CCAA china affairs only gave referrals for 6 days. Good news is that we are 6 days closier to our referral. If you are wondering what a referral means or what the information is for please read in our posts " referrals" Located in the right hand side of the site. For more information please read "Why is it taking so long to get Makayla" . Also there is a post for my predictions on referrals and when I think we will be traving in posts " Predictions on Referrals"

Has been completed on March 31, 2006 audited admissibility of adoption documents. Matching has been completed on November 7, 2005 admissibility of the adoption application documents.

Our first ultrasound from China

Hello Everyone I just wanted to share in on our first ultrasound since we are paper pregnant. WE have been expecting for 14 months and two weeks as of today.

New pole

There is a new pole available on what to have as Makaylas middle name. PLease vote!!!!!!

This months referrals are here

What does referrals mean?

Referrals are given out once a month from China (CCAA china affairs) When your paperwork is sent over to China they go through your paperwork and log in into a computer and check for updates if needed. Once you are logged in CCAA gives you a log in date ours is March 22, 2006. Everyone that has a log in date before us gets a referral before us. Once you are logged in CCAA then sends your paperwork over to a different room where they go into detail into your paperwork, they sometimes ask for more information or deny couples for certain reasons. This is called an audit. Once you have been audited they send your paperwork to the matching room to sit til it is your turn to get a referral. We got notified Feb 3, 2007 that we were audited and everything was approved. Now we sit til it is our turn for a referral.
Once it is our turn for a referral we will recieve a package that includes pictures of our child with information on background, size, appox date of birth, medical evaulations ect. We have appox 24 hours after recieving a referral to accept the child or not. If not then we go back into the waiting pool for appox. 3 months. If you have any questions about why it is taking so long please read updates on main page in posts " why is it taking so long to get Makayla"

Referral history as of 7/6/08

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Sept referrals are in

Referrals are in. CCAA (china affairs) gave out referrals through Feb 9th, 2006. A great 11 days worth. We are logged in March 22, 2006, so I am happy we are getting much closer to our date. To see the chart closer just double clink on it. We only have 41 days of log in dates before ours. WWWWOOOOOOWWWWOOOO!!!!!!!!














Sept referrals are in and I am very disappointed at how far they got. The CCAA china affairs only referred child whose log in date was from Nov 22nd 2005 to Nov 25th, 2005. That is only 4 days of referrals. At this rate it will be two more years till we get our referral. If you have any questions about referrals or why is it taking so long to get Makayla please read in posts : Why is it taking so long to get Makayla " Or " Referrals" .


090907CCAAsiteUpdate.gif
As you can tell from previous months my predictions are even worse than I expected since June 2006 when I made the predictions. So this month I am going to do another prediction chart. This chart will include what Good case scenario Mid case scenario and of course worse case scenario. Back on 2004 and part of 2005 CCAA china affairs would give out a month of referrals every month and in the last four months they have only done a total of 25 days total.

Good case scenario

June log in dates through Nov 16th 2005
Referrals for June only got to nov 07, 2005
July log in dates through Dec 3 th 2005
Referrals for June only got to Nov 14th, 2005
Aug log in dates through Dec 25th 2006
Referrals for Aug only got to Nov 21th , 2005
Sept log in dates through Jan 4th 2007
Referrals for Sept only got to Nov 25th, 2005

October log in dates through Jan 23rd 2006
Nov log in dates through Feb 24th 2006
Dec log in dates through March 10th 2006
Jan 2008log in dates through March 25th , 2006
We travel late Feb early April 2007


Bad case scenario

June log in dates through Nov 10th 2005
Worse than expected June referrals only got to Nov 7, 2005
July log in dates through Nov 23rd 2005
Worse than expected June referrals only got to Nov 14th , 2005
Aug log in dates through Dec 3 rd 2005
Worse than expected Aug referrals only got to Nov, 21st, 2005
Sept log in dates through Dec 21st 2006
Worse than expected Sept only got to Nov 25th, 2005
Oct log in dates through Jan 5th 2006
Nov log in dates through Jan 21th 2006
Dec log in dates through Feb 5th 2006
Jan 2008 log in dates through Feb 28th 2006
Feb 2008 log in dates through March 12th 2006
March 2008 long in dates through March 23rd 2006
We travel 5 weeks later

Aug referrals are in

Aug referrals are in and the CCAA ( china affairs) have given out children for those that were logged in from Nov. 15th 2005 to Nov 21st. 2005. As most of you know we were logged in the China on March 22, 2006. THis batch of referrals brings us a little closer to our date. Another batch with 7 days of referrals.

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before June 30, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 21, 2005.

Friday, July 6, 2007

July Referrals are in

July referrals are mailed out and China Affairs CCAA gave out referrals through Nov 14th, 2005. Only 7 days of referrals again.

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before May 31, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before November 14, 2005.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Referrals are in for June

THis is another sad month for referrals . CCAA china affairs only gave referrals for 6 days. Good news is that we are 6 days closier to our referral. If you are wondering what a referral means or what the information is for please read in our posts " referrals" Located in the right hand side of the site. For more information please read "Why is it taking so long to get Makayla" .

Has been completed on March 31, 2006 audited admissibility of adoption documents. Matching has been completed on November 7, 2005 admissibility of the adoption application documents.

May referrals are in

Referrals for May are in and finally they are into november.

目前已审核完成2006年3月31日前受理的收养申请文件。Has been completed on March 31, 2006 audited admissibility of adoption documents. 目前已选配完成2005年11月1日前受理的收养申请文件。Matching has been completed on November 1, 2005 adoption of the admissibility of the documents.

It looks like they did 5 days of referrals this month. Lots better than 2 days of referrals ladt month. Still the program is slow.

starting March 5th people started getting referrals. Here is the information that I received.

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before March 31, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before October 24, 2005.

So this month they only gave referrals out to 11 days. Probley because to the Chinese New YEar. SO I hope that next month will be a big referral days.







On Feb 1st people started recieving there referrals for this month. Of course this does not affect us, except for the fact that now we are closer for us to get our referral. Referrals were given out for 16 days of log in dates From Sept 29th to Oct 13th 2005. Just to remind everyone our log in date is March 22, 2006. If you have any questions about how referrals are given out please read our link named "Why is it taking so long to get Makayla". Plus we also got information that our documents were reviewed and that we out of the review room. In the review room they go over or documents and if there is something missing they will ask for more information. They can also Deny us for any reason. We however we not asked for more information and that we are 100% for sure that we are now getting a child, not that we thought we would not pass the qualifications.

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before March 22, 2006. The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before October 13, 2005.

Why is it taking so long to get Makayla

Several people has asked me why it is taking so long to get Makayla. We'll there are several reasons we were told. When we first started the adoption process in 2005, we started paperwork to go through the Russia program, then changed to the China program. We started the paperwork and background checks . Our paperwork was sent over to China on Feb 24, 2006. Our time line ( or waiting period) starts from the day the China logs us in which was March 22, 2006. When we first started the program the waiting period for a referral ( a child that China picks out for us) was approx 7 months and then we would travel to pick her up and finalize the adoption was approx. two months later, which would of given us a referral in Dec 2006 and travel time of Feb 2007. After our paperwork was logged in we were told that the referrals were taking about 9 months and travel 2 months later. Then in September 2006 we were told that the wait was getting to be 12 months for a Referral. Now it is 15-16 months for a referral, why the longer referral time you ask?????
We have been told there are several reasons for the longer wait. This is not all from our adoption agency but several different online groups and adoption related information web sites. One reason is they did an investigation into the China adoptions for black market babies. People selling babies to orphanages for money. The investigation was found to be false and that it delayed the referral of babies during the investigation. However I don't know how reliable this rumor is. Then we heard that in 2005 there were twice as many people applied for a child then in 2004 and there were not enough paper ready children available to keep up with the demand. I can say that this rumor has been said several times so I can not help but believe it. Then there was a rumor that China was in the process of implementing new rules for adopting children and that this also a reason for delayed referrals. China did release in Dec 2006 new rules for adopting children, but because our paperwork was already in China before the rule change that Don and I are grandfathered into the old rules. So the rumor about the referrals being delayed because of the new rules may or may not be true.
Once you are logged into China you get a date which ours is March 22, 2006. Everyone gets a log in date and referrals come to first come first serve basics. So everyone that has a log in date before us will receive a referral before us. When I speak of a referral I am talking about a child that China picks out for us. The referral contains pictures and background information if any on a child along with updates on weight, size, age and medical background if any.
In 2003 and 2004 referrals came once a month and there was enough referrals to get though a month of log in dates. starting in late 2005 referrals still came once a month but they were only giving out referrals for approx. 2 weeks of log in dates at a time. So they were taking two months of referrals to get through one month of log in dates. Currently as of 7/06/07 they have given out referrals through Nov 14th 2005. We were logged into China on March 22, 2006. So we still have 4 months of referrals before we get ours. If they stay at the same pace as they were in 2006, we are still looking at 9 more months before we get a referral. However there is rumors out there that are saying that the amount of people logged in to China starts to decline in late November 2005 through Feb 2006, so they might speed up and get more than two weeks of Referrals in each month. Only time will tell. If China goes back to giving referrals out for a whole month we are only looking at only 5 more months to a referral. If you have any questions about this please post a message. If you would a update on where China is on referrals please read the post Referrals on the main website page. Plus there is also a post for my predictions on referrals.

May referrals are in

Referrals for May are in and finally they are into november.

目前已审核完成2006年3月31日前受理的收养申请文件。Has been completed on March 31, 2006 audited admissibility of adoption documents. 目前已选配完成2005年11月1日前受理的收养申请文件。Matching has been completed on November 1, 2005 adoption of the admissibility of the documents.

It looks like they did 5 days of referrals this month. Lots better than 2 days of referrals ladt month. Still the program is slow.

April Referrals

Sorry I have not posted anything for awhile, things have been pretty busy with the flu and Donald's dad and Easter . Time just goes too fast. Here's the update on April referrals. The CCAA ( china Affairs) gave out referrals this month starting on the 6th of April. They only gave out referrals Through Oct 25-26 , 2005.. Yes two days. However there were several people that did not receive referrals last month that got them this month for earlier dates in October.

So looking at my predictions on referrals:

Good case scenario
April Log in dates through Nov 13 th , 2005
Bad case scenario
April log in dates through Nov 7 th , 2005.

I hope that the next batch will be bigger.

To refresh any one on Referrals and What they mean please refer to the post section in the link Called " Why is it taking so long to get Makayla" It will explain what this information means. Thanks

Update on Les

Today Les came home from the hospital and is doing much much better. We got him home and right away he was working on his breathing. He still has not smoked and Karey quit as we'll . Now Don and I have to set up a date and quit ourselves. Tomorrow we are going home. So the only updates we can give is through the telephone. We will Still give you updates on the Internet when we find out more after we get home.

Update on Les ( third Day after Surgery)

Monday April 3rd. Les called early in the morning and told Karey that he was informed that he could leave the hospital. So we drove to pick him up , and to me he was smiling but his color was pail. We walked him down to the waiting area and Don and Scott went to get the trucks while Karey and I and Les waited for them. I had just taken a picture of him sitting in the chair while Karey was watching for the boys and I put the camera in my bag and looked up at Les and was passed out. I shook him and he came to , and I asked if he was ok and he said yes . I started to get Karey when Les passed out again, Karey noticed that something was wrong and she ran over and and his eyes was rolled back. I ran to get help while Karey tried to get Les to respond. When I came back about 30 sec. later Les had his head up and was telling Karey that he was fine he just wanted to go home. About 2 mins later the waiting area was filled with hospital personal to help. They took this blood pressure and it was 80. No bottom number. So they put Les on a cart and took him into the emergency dept. Once in the emergency Dept they determined that he was given to much blood pressure medicine, but wanted to stay the night so they could monitor him more and run more tests to make sure that everything was ok. When Les was entered into Emergency dept. they give everyone a fake name to go by in case of ( Rape , murder or shootings) So Les's new hospital name was " Cambodia Stat". We were told that if all the tests came back good that he could get out of the hospital on Tuesday (tomorrow ) . The Pictue is of Les right before he passed out.

Update on Les ( Second day after surgery)

Today Les was up and walking around more and his draining tube was taken out and his pain was not as much. His bandage was taken off of his chest where they cut to work on his heart. Sorry about the pictures being sideways, I tried all kinds of things to get them upright but nothing worked, I will have to make a mental note to myself to only take pictures upright on the camera.
As you can tell Les was in very good spirits and feeling much better.

Les Smetak

As almost everyone knows Donalds dad Les Smetak had emergency bypass surgery on four arteries of his heart on Friday March 30th, 2006. Don and I , Scott ( Dons Brother), and Harley ( Dons Cousin) drove down on Friday March 30th to be with Karey and Les. Les had blockage of 99%, 95%, 90 % and 60%. His surgery went really well and we are able to see early Saturday morning.





picture of Les walking Marchl 31st, 2006 day after surgery.

Picture of Les and Karey ( Dons Mom ) Saturday March 31st, 2006 Day after Surgery

Referrals are a coming

WE are getting close to the end of the month and on the Internet lots of rumors are a floating about how far they will get with Referral dates for the month of April. I think as listed below that they should get through if
Good case scenario
April Log in dates through Nov 13 2005
Bad case scenario
April log in dates through Nov 7th , 2005.

On one web site they are saying Nov 3rd and another is saying Nov 14th. So I guess we will find out Next week or for sure the week after.

Again our log in date is March 22, 2006.

Lady bug

Another lady bug Story................

If you are wondering what the story behind Lady bugs then please read our link "Lady Bugs" on the main page in POSTS.

On Monday I went out to eat with Mom, Nancy and Gail's kids and on the way there we were talking about Makayla and what did I see crawling on the window, you guessed a lady bug. It is the first time since New Years Eve. I can't help but think that It is a sign of some sort. Could yesterday be the day she was born? If so it would fit into the time frame of a referral in Dec-Feb. I think It will quite neat to get a referral , and her birth date was the day that I saw the lady bug.................

Any thoughts on this please leave me a message on the link below.
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Lexie Our dog

On friday March 23rd, Lexie turned 3 months old. We have been working with her on potty training but she still makes messes in the house, however getting better. She is getting so big so quickly. In the 6 weeks that we have had her she has gained 14 pounds. She now weighs 22 pounds, and getting bigger.
Don and I have been working with her on playing fetch and sitting and is learning very quickly. Last night bob our cat got her in the top eye lid with his claw. Lexie needs lots of work on that cats are not play toys. Her poor nose already has scars from the cats and she still thinks that they are play toys. So now we have to keep the Angel and bobs claws clipped so they don't hurt her anymore. I thought Lexie would of learned by now, but she has not.

As you can see in the pictures the first picture is what size she was 6 weeks ago when we got her and the 2nd , 3rd and 4th picture is what size she is at 12 weeks old...................

Lexie our dog

Lexie Our dog March 23, 2007

On friday March 23rd, Lexie turned 3 months old. We have been working with her on potty training but she still makes messes in the house, however getting better. She is getting so big so quickly. In the 6 weeks that we have had her she has gained 14 pounds. She now weighs 22 pounds, and getting bigger.
Don and I have been working with her on playing fetch and sitting and is learning very quickly. Last night bob our cat got her in the top eye lid with his claw. Lexie needs lots of work on that cats are not play toys. Her poor nose already has scars from the cats and she still thinks that they are play toys. So now we have to keep the Angel and bobs claws clipped so they don't hurt her anymore. I thought Lexie would of learned by now, but she has not.

As you can see in the pictures the first picture is what size she was 6 weeks ago when we got her and the 2nd , 3rd and 4th picture is what size she is at 12 weeks old...................

Our dog Lexie at 7 weeks old Feb 16th, 2007

Lexie is doing very well, It is apparent that we have not had a puppy around us in a very long time. She runs around constantly and has so much energy ( more than I have). Pictured is my brothers dog Caramel, and as you can see Lexie kicked Caramel our of her bed and made it her own. So now this weekend I am going to make Lexie a bed like Caramels but much much bigger due to she is not even close to her full size. I am going to try to make it look just like the one pictured, we will see how it turns out. While Lexie was playing with Caramel, she would beat her up. I think Lexie must of been the bully in her litter of pups. We then took Lexie over to my moms where there is a dog named Jake, Jake is a beshon (Think that is spelled right) He is Twice the size of Lexie. All Jake wanted to do was hump on Lexie. Laughing!!!!! That didn't seem to bother Lexie, she thought he was playing with her. Don and I have to be careful when Lexie gets older and goes into heat around Jake. Can you see Lab and Beshon Pups??????? I am surprised that no one asked when I was going to make a costume for Lexie
. It is actually in the works. There is a pet clothing modeling show coming up in March at Petco in which I plan to take Lexie to and have her be a model with her new outfit. Any suggestions on what to make her?????

Saturday, February 10, 2007

We got a dog today

Today we brought a dog home. We named her Lexie. On the way home from getting Lexie we stopped by Petco and got her food , collar and toys of course. However after only having her for a couple of hours we took her to the vet to get checked out cause she was wheezing and not moving around like a puppy should. They gave her antibiotics and pills for worm medicine just in case she night have worms. Plus she was on a IV because she was dehydrated. After the medicine she was pretty tired and slept for a couple of hours within 3 hours she was playing around, eating and drinking on her own. The picture with the blue blanket is what she looked like before the vet visit and then two pictures while we were at the vets, and one picture of how she was playing with her new toy.... a really big difference.....