Ok--I got really bored reporting that we received this form, or that form, or whatever. Unless you know what an I-800A approval is (versus the I-800) and how a letter of confirmation works, it's all boring to read. But recently, we've had some interesting stuff happen. Dare I say drama? We had a conference call last week, with five other families who should be traveling soon. It was basically to warn us that our children might not even KNOW they are up for adoption, and they might not WANT to go with us etc. etc. We knew most of it already, although we were surprised to find out that some of the kids will be upset by a "western toilet" even. Some of the children have never left the orphanage, therefore, even Wal-Mart might be scary. Anyway, on this conference call, we chatted with a man (his wife wasn't available for the call) who has already adopted 8 Chinese children. The oldest is now 13, I think. He is going to China in November to adopt two more, ages 9 and 13. Well, I was shocked. We asked, very early in the adoption process, if we could adopt two children(unrelated) at the same time. We were told NO. Our homestudy approved us for two children, ages 2-13, but we were told by the agency that China did not allow dual adoptions. Now, during the conference call, I found out that it IS possible, and actually practical. After a dozen emails with the family who has already done this (8 times!! Adopting 9 and 10 this trip!) I decided to push a little. Our homestudy was approved for two children, as was our I-800A. So I pushed. Last year, I started looking at a boy who I thought would fit in well with our family. His name is FengHong. He has the most beautiful smile, and he's quite handsome. The agency describes him as athletic and "all boy," which will fit in great with our kids. I called WACAP and told them we wanted to adopt FengHong also. What a ruckus. They were not happy and quite discouraging. I was on the phone with several people from the adoption agency, and they all tried to talk me out of the idea. Then, I called the US Center for Immigration, and spoke with a person there. She said it was not a big deal on their part, since we have been approved for two children already. Why were we told last year that this wasn't feasible?? Hmmm. According to the family who is adopting two children in November, the agency doesn't like dual adoptions because they don't get their fee twice. If we adopt BingHui now, and then go back and adopt FengHong later, the agency makes twice as much money. So, now we are scrambling to do paperwork. Our pediatrician is reviewing medical records, we are hastily filling out forms, etc. etc. We are trying to do what we did in a year, for BingHui, in only a few months. We want to adopt FengHong on this same trip to China,which is supposed to be in a few months! I'm not even telling our children yet, just in case we are told no. In a few days, we'll receive a video of FengHong, and by then we might know if the CCAA will approve our dual adoption. If the Chinese government gives the ok, we'll then tell the kids that we are adopting two children now, not one. On a more positive note, as usual, it's the night before a school vacation, and we have six boys (ages 16-11) here overnight. Our 3, plus a couple of friends. They are playing pool, watching movies, and I've even relaxed my computer games rules (as long as it's Age of Empires--which is very educational). They are having a blast!! A houseful of boys is a ton of fun!
