Pool Party With Janet, Julia and Jenna!

James, Kathryn and I went out to New Jersey this past weekend to visit Janet, Julia and their new daughter and sister, Jenna! We all went to a pool party and the big kids were in the water all afternoon. As you can see from the photos, little Jenna went in the pool for a little while also! It was great to get together with our friends and to meet sweet Jenna! (Sarah opted to stay home for her last tee ball game!).

NYC Mid-Autumn Festival Harbor Cruise with the CCAA - Join Us!!

On behalf of the National Council for Adoption, we would like to invite all families in the NYC area who have adopted from China or are currently in the process of adopting from China to join us for a Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Cruise of the NYC Harbor on Sunday, September 19, 2010.

Our guest of honor on this cruise will be the CCAA Deputy Director and a delegation of 20 adoption officials from the CCAA and local provincial governments.

This cruise will be a wonderful opportunity for families living the NY tri-state area to join with others in reunion, fellowship and support of continuing China adoptions.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Please click here for more details about the event and to register.

Gladney Center for Adoption, as a member organization of the NCFA, is organizing this event. Please contact Mary Chapman (mary.chapman@gladney.org, 347-574-3320) with any questions about the event or how to register.

China Program Monthly Update - August 2010

Referrals:
The CCAA updated its website to announce that referrals have been made for families with LIDs through May 15, 2006. Our next Gladney families to receive referrals have LIDs of May 16, 2006 -- we are looking forward to the next batch of referrals!

Dossier review is reported for LIDs through July 31, 2009.

There are two Gladney families currently in China and they will be returning home shortly to Flint, TX and West Chester, PA. One more family who is adopting a baby boy from the waiting child program will be traveling to China later this month. Congratulations to these families!

CCAA Delegation to Visit United States in September:
The National Council for Adoption (NCFA) will be hosting the current CCAA Deputy Director, Mr. Zhang, and several adoption officials from various provinces, for a training program in September. Gladney, as a founding member of the NCFA, is helping to organize some of the events in New York City and Fort Worth, Texas.

SAVE THE DATE! If you live in the NY area, a mid-day NYC Harbor Cruise is being planned for the third weekend of Sept. The cruise is open to all families who have adopted from China or are currently working with a CCAA approved agency to adopt from China. The full announcement will be posted later this week to this blog. The invitation will also be emailed.

SAVE THE DATE! If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, an evening get-together, hosted by the Gladney GFA, in the Stockyards is being planned for Gladney families (families waiting to adopt and families who have completed their adoptions) on Thursday evening Sept. 23rd. The full announcement will be posted on this blog later this week. The invitation will also be emailed.

GFA Announcements:
We are getting close to the beginning of the GFA (Gladney Family Association) calendar year, which means it's GFA Kickoff time! Check in with your local GFA chapter to get the details of their annual kickoff event. The NY Staff will be attending the NY GFA Kickoff Event on Sept. 19th at South Street Seaport, we look forward to seeing many of you there!

If you are interested in becoming involved in your local GFA or if you would just like more information on the GFA please contact Wendy Lee at wendy.lee@gladney.org.

Fun in Jamaica!

We recently returned from a wonderful trip to Half Moon. Whitney certainly enjoyed the sailing, pony rides, crab hunting and singing with the reggae band!

Children from CCAA's Shared List

This month, two children were locked for Gladney families during the most recent update on the CCAA shared list. The photos below are both of the children that were locked for families during this last update.

***The China Waiting Children program has many children that are available with varying degrees of correctable and non-correctable medical issues. There are many precious children ready for adoption who are waiting for their forever families. Please contact April Lerch, Waiting Child Coordinator at 212.868.4564 for more information about the China Waiting Children program.***

Gladney will be hosting a Waiting Child webinar next week, Tuesday, July 27 at 7pm EST. This webinar will cover basic information on Gladney's China Waiting Children program. To register for the webinar please go to: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/508182906

Beach Time!

Grace models her festive swimsuit while celebrating her first 4th of July home at the beach!

China Monthly Update - July 2010

Referrals:

Yesterday we received 3 referrals - all healthy little girls from Guangxi province under 12 months of age! These little ones will be coming home in the Fall to their parents in New York, New Jersey and Texas! Congratulations!

Gladney has now received referrals for families with a LID through April 29, 2006. Our next Gladney families to receive referrals have LIDs of May 16, 2006.

The CCAA has not yet updated its website to reflect the new referrals. At this time they are still indicating referrals through April 26, 2006. Dossier review is reported for LIDs through July 31, 2009. When the CCAA updates their website, we will update the blog with the latest referral and dossier review information.

There are currently 5 families in Guangzhou completing their adoptions and ready to return to the US. Congratulations and welcome home!

I-600A Process:

USCIS has changed the way they will be processing all I-600A Applications and Extensions. As of July 1st, any China family still under the I-600A system will be filing their extensions with the National Benefits Center unit of the CIS. This is the same place where all of the Hague I-800A Applications are processed. Families will no longer be filing with, or working with, their individual state offices. Your caseworker will work with you closely when it's time to re-file for your I-600A Extension.

This new procedure will provide uniform processing for all I-600A families. We are excited about this change as we have seen how efficiently the NBC handles the processing for our I-800A families. The processing time is expected to be much faster and more efficient. Additionally, the NBC has a great history of communicating well with families and agencies, so any issues or questions that come up are dealt with quickly. If you have any questions about this new process please be in touch with your caseworker.

GFA's Upcoming Year:

Each local GFA (Gladney Family Association) chapter is beginning to plan their events for the upcoming year. GFA events are a wonderful way to meet and connect with other adoptive families in your area. There are many opportunities for our approved and waiting families to get involved with their local GFA. Most GFA chapters have a big kickoff event in late August or September. If you would like more information about your GFA chapter or would like to become involved in the planning please be in touch with Wendy Lee at wendy.lee@gladney.org or by calling 817-922-5947.

Children from CCAA's Shared List

We are thrilled to report that seven children were locked for Gladney families during the most recent update on the CCAA shared list. The photos below are some of the children that were locked for families during this last update.

***The China Waiting Children program has many children that are available with varying degrees of correctable and non-correctable medical issues. There are many precious children ready for adoption who are waiting for their forever families. Please contact April Lerch, Waiting Children Coordinator at 212.868.4564 for more information about the China Waiting Children program.***



Little girl, DOB 11/11/08
Little girl, DOB - 9/2/08 Little boy, DOB - 8/17/08

Little boy, DOB - 7/10/08

Little girl, DOB - 7/1/09

Little boy, DOB - 4/11/04

Annual Larchmont Picnic!

It was good to see many families this past weekend at the Gladney Family Association Picnic in Larchmont NY! Over two hundred were in attendance enjoying the afternoon with friends and family on the grounds of the Larchmont Yacht Club.

It was wonderful to see some of our families who have come home this year with their children from China and Taiwan!

At the picnic Maria Ciringione had a chance to introduce her daughter Grace to Gladney China program staff Wendy Stanley and Mary Chapman. Grace came home to the NY area in April. Grace was adopted through the Waiting Child program.

International Children's Day at the Chinese Consulate!

On May 29, 2010 the Chinese Consulate in Manhattan, right on the Hudson at 42nd St., hosted a wonderful International Children's Day event! Kathryn, Sarah and James went with their dad and grandparents. (Mom--that's me--was working, unfortunately). Chris, their dad, took some wonderful photos , a sampling of which are below. Dozens of families enjoyed terrific live entertainment, balloons, and a sumptuous repast! It was a wonderful start to the long Memorial Day weekend.:-)

The consul's wife kicked off the festivities from the podium, and Haibo, the World Expo mascot, was a real crowd pleaser!

May 25, 2010, Guangzhou, China...

GOTCHA!!! Mom Janet and big sister Julia welcome baby sister Jenna to the family. Jenna was adopted through Gladney's Waiting Child Program. For more information on this program, please contact April Lerch at april.lerch@gladney.org. In the meantime...Mom is ecstatic, Julia is proud and happy, and Jenna is beyond adorable!!!

Gladney Center for Adoption's Humanitarian Aid Program

New York Area GFA Educational Presentations!

You are invited to attend the upcoming New York Area GFA Educational Presentations!

Sunday, June 6^th, 2010

Pattye Hicks, Gladney Post Adoption Director, has planned an incredible Registry Panel Presentation including 4 Adult Adoptees who have all met their birth family and who all live in the NYC area.

10:30 AM during the Annual NY GFA Picnic at The Larchmont Yacht Club. The educational event is free of charge, however if you would like to RSVP and pay for the picnic, please click on the link below: www.adoptionsbygladney.com/events/larchmont.html

Monday, June 7^th, 2010

Pattye Hicks, Gladney Post Adoption Director, has planned an informative TEEN Adoptee Panel

Presentation including 4 TEENS. Come listen to Gladney Teens share their adoption stories and hear an update on the Mexico Service Trip at the Gladney New York Office.

5:30 PM Social

6:00 PM Presentation & Pizza Dinner

For additional information or to RSVP please contact

wendy.lee@gladney.org

817-922-5947

Waiting Children - Shared List will be updated shortly

Next week, Tuesday night, the CCAA's "shared list" of children available for adoption will be updated. Children with diagnosed medical conditions, ranging from very minor to more significant, will be included on this list. Gladney has matched several children from this list, boys and girls, with our waiting parents. If you would like to learn more about this process and learn how you can be considered for this matching process, please contact April.lerch@gladney.org.

Save the Date!

The 12^th Annual GFA Family Picnic

at the

Larchmont Yacht Club

We are planning a fun filled day of activities for children of all ages, great music, good food and fellowship. We will also have a raffle with fun donations big and small.

You won’t want to miss the 1^st Annual Gladney Staff vs. Teens/Tweens volleyball game

Don’t forget to mark your calendars! We look forward to seeing you all there!

You are invited to click below to register for the picnic online.

www.adoptionsbygladney.com/events/larchmont.html

Invitations will be mailed soon

Kathryn and Sarah have a weekend in the country!

Kathryn's and Sarah's grandparents invited them to Tarrytown House, a gorgeous estate in Westchester that is now a bed and breakfast, for an overnight trip! They enjoyed the train ride along the Hudson, the indoor pool and Jacuzzi, and exploring the grounds. And they were back in time to present me with their home-made Mother's Day gifts.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

China Monthly Update

Referrals:
The CCAA has not yet announced new referrals, but we wanted to go ahead and post our monthly update. As soon as CCAA announces referrals and updates their website with the new information, we will send out an email to all families.

Our next Gladney families to receive referrals have a LID of 4/26/2006. Since our last update in early April we have had 2 Gladney families from the special needs/waiting child program receive their Letters Seeking Confirmation. Congratulations to these families!

We currently have 2 families in China completing their adoptions. Several more families will be traveling later in May.

Immigration:
If you are a family who is "grandfathered" into the I-600 immigration system please be aware that you will continue to file your I-600 extension requests with your local state office. If you have visited the USCIS website lately you may have noticed that they have instituted a new centralized system for I-600A submissions (similar to the I-800A system). This new centralized system is only for families filing their I-600A's for the first time, therefore this does not apply to any of our families in the China program. Please feel free to contact your caseworker with questions.

The US Consulate in Guangzhou recently announced that they issued their 1000th visa under the Hague system! That means that 1000 Hague adoptions (I-800A) have been completed from China since the Hague went into effect on April 1, 2008.

GFA June Annual Picnics and Pool Parties!
The GFA annual family picnics are coming up! These are wonderful Gladney agency-wide events. It is great to see so many families through the years from all of Gladney's domestic and international adoption programs.

June 5th - Regional picnics/pool parties in: Houston, Delaware Valley, North Carolina, East Texas
June 6th - NY/NJ/CT regional picnic (Larchmont, NY)

Frank Garrott, Mark Melson, Wendy Lee and Pattye Hicks will all be traveling to join families for the Delaware Valley and Larchmont, NY picnics. The NY Asia program staff will also be joining the Larchmont picnic. We hope to see many of you during this weekend!

If you are interested in learning more about the GFA ("Gladney Family Association") and upcoming events in your area, go to http://adoptionsbygladney.com/html/gfa/index.php or contact Wendy Lee at wendy.lee@gladney.org.

Happy Spring!

Whitney and Sally are enjoying the beautiful spring weather!

Play ball!

This spring James is playing baseball and Sarah is playing tee ball! Kathryn is not really interested, we are thinking of an art class for her. Here is Sarah after her first game yesterday for the Fireflies here in Brooklyn. Apparently her beloved "Doggie" wants to be on the team also! If you have any pictures of your children involved in spring activities, or just any pictures at all that you would like to see on this blog, please send them to lebonchien@aol.com or sbrueckel@gmail.com. Happy Spring, everyone!

Waiting Child Update

On April 21, 2010 the CCAA posted several new child profiles to it's shared database. Two profiles were secured for Gladney families hopeful to adopt a waiting child with a minor medical condition.

The shared database is not accessible to families - but rather to adoption agencies only. Gladney China program staff monitor the database regularly. "Waiting Children" are children of all ages who have a diagnosed medical condition, as well as healthy children over the age of 5. For more information about Gladney's Waiting Child Program please visit: http://www.achildtolove.org/.

Baby Grace And Her Daddy Have Fun In China!

Like Father Like Daughter!

On April 14th Baby Grace hams it up with her Dad in Guangzhou. We look forward to seeing their smiles soon! Parents Jim and Laura live in the Long Island Area of New York.

Capturing Family Memories...During Your Adoption Trip and After

This little girl, Mira, adopted from China by Gladney parents, was the inspiration for Little Dreams Pictures!

Referral Update

CCAA updated their website on 4/6/10 to announce that they had processed referrals for families with Log-In-Dates (LIDs) through 4/17/06. They have reviewed dossiers for families with LIDs through 4/30/09. Our next Gladney families to receive referrals have LIDs of 4/26/06.

Family in China now; follow along on their trip!

Follow along on the family's trip here!

Tessa Celebrates Her First Easter in China!

“My little sister!”
Big hugs for Tessa (age 2) from big sister Emma. Tessa will celebrate her first Easter in Guangzhou before finishing immigration paperwork and making the journey to her new home in Illinois.

Travis and Dustin Meet The Easter Bunny!

Here are Travis and Dustin on a visit to see the Easter Bunny! The boys have only been home from China since February and are settling in very well! Wishing everyone a Happy Passover or Easter this week! Temperatures here in NYC are supposed to soar this weekend--yeah!:-)

Happy Spring!!!

Spring weather has arrived, at least for now, in NYC, and so we leave winter and move onto the new season! Kathryn, Sarah and their big brother James posed this morning in their St. Patrick's Day attire. (I do have a little bit of Irish blood in me!).

Three years ago today, Chris and I were celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Shanghai, prior to traveling to Guangzhou to pick up Sarah, who was adopted through the SN program. If you click on the March 2007 archives on this blog, you can read all about our trip to get her. We are very excited that Gladney's SN program has grown so much since then! If anyone has any questions about our experiences adopting twice through the SN program, please feel free to email me at sbrueckel@gmail.com.

Today, all three kids are enjoying school and extracurricular activities. They are all signed up for baseball this spring, and are looking forward to it!

We hope that spring brings the forming of new families to many, and the renewal of hope for those who still wait.