Fingerprint Appointment - YES

We received paperwork today to have our fingerprints redone (3rd time - have I mentioned that). The weird thing is that the appointment is for next Saturday at 11 a.m. I can't believe that the government is doing fingerprints on a Saturday, but I am not complaining. Of course I have already made arrangements for Brady to attend Sylvan that day at 11 a.m., but I will make the necessary changes.

Brady and Bo went to see the Batman movie last night and Brady thought it was the greatest movie of all times. He especially liked the Joker. He called me at work after the movie to tell me about it and what he loved the most about the Joker was his thoughts about not making plans, just going with whatever happens. I can see where Brady would think that was a good thing. He's not much on making plans or sticking to them:)

We had a really decent night at work last night, another answer to prayer. Dede and I spent some time studying for PALS and I think she is really concerned about me. I didn't do very well on my drug dosages, but I will on Tuesday when I take the class. I plan on spending all day Monday studying for the class and then hopefully I will be fine on Tuesday. I just feel like my brain is in overload with everything that is going on in our lives right now and studying for a test is not helping it. I would hate to think I had to go back to school at this point in my life!

I spent some time reading the Rumor Queen yesterday and one of the topics over the last few days has been about anger. Anger regarding the adoption system, particularly in China. Anger regarding the wait times and all the hoops that we have to jump through and the end result being children that are sitting in orphanages waiting on forever families that should be getting out of those places much quicker. I don't claim to be an expert on adoption, I only know what we have gone through and what I have read about others and I too have anger towards the system. I look at Emma's face, the face that has no smile at all, and wonder why it has taken almost 2 years to get her out of an orphanage. I know that we are going to face substantial delays in her development because of the increased wait time. As a Christian, I believe that God has a plan for all of our lives and that she is coming to us on his time table, but I also believe that had she been paper ready for adoption more quickly, she wouldn't face as many delays. It's a complicated system and I have to say that as thankful as I am for her and what the adoption journey has brought to our lives, I don't think I could ever go through this again. The wait times are excruciating and I don't see any purpose in them. The children are the ones that suffer. As pointed out on RQ, the system in the United States is equally bad. I have been asked on several occasions why we didn't adopt from the U.S. and although it really isn't any one's business, I point out that adopting from the foster care system in the U.S. is a nightmare. The goal of foster care is to place those children back in their homes with the very same person or persons that have neglected them, abused them, etc. I know that sometimes the system works out and the parents turn over a new leave, but oftentimes that isn't the case and those kids stay in foster care much longer than they should. I'm of the notion that the parent should get 2 strikes at the most and then you lose your parental rights and that child is up for adoption. I've witnessed several times in the ER where those kids just get shuffled back to mom (sometimes mom and dad) and it's just a repeat situation.

So, the long and short of it, yes, I'm thrilled to be adopting our daughter. When I look at her picture and imagine what lies ahead for us as a family, I am very thankful that God has brought us together. Am I angry that she, and so many others, have had to wait so long and that the wait just continues to increase, you bet I am. Would I do it again, well, never say never, but due to the many new changes in the Chinese adoption system, Bo and I wouldn't meet the requirements. It's all so very frustrating and I hope that at some point, the grown ups who run the adoption world, start to look into the faces of all the children who are suffering. Whether they are Asian, Latin, American, whatever. It's about the kids and they are the ones with no voice. That's why we as parents have to be their voice.