News on the vote

I just read on the RR group about the upcoming vote. It is scheduled to be read for the week of December 14-17th, and it is said to be very last on the list.

So, hoping that it either will not be read, or that it won't get passed.

If it does get read and does pass, then pray that they will not stop adoptions that are already in the process, or those with special needs children.

This is taken from the RR yahoo site, about the Hague convention, and why it could be good :

For those of you not familiar with the Hague convention and what the laws say that govern Hague, I just wanted to add that the reason you hear many of us saying "Hague would be a blessing!" (and it WOULD) is because the Hague convention would ensure that ALL orphans in "Priscilla's country" are registered for adoption and that children can NOT be placed in an orphanage indefinite without parental rights being terminated (which happens to a lot of children...hence the reason "Priscilla's country" has so many older children in orphanages that are not registered for adoption or just became registered for adoption at a much older age). It would also GREATLY improve the process....no unknown, unpredictable length of travel, no expediting fees or surprise expenses, no secrecy to the process and what's actually going on while you wait in a car, no unexpected paper work changes and 40 pages worth of documents in triplicate :) It would STREAMLINE all adoptions.

Also, for those of you in process, the Hague treaty specifically says that countries should NOT stop their adoption programs while working to become Hague compliant. So, the Joint Council WILL encourage "Priscilla's country" to keep their adoption program OPEN should they express a desire to "shut down to become Hague compliant". They are actually already doing this!

Finally, I do want to add one other thing to clarify a little about why you hear us talk a lot about the children with special needs specifically. The Hague treaty also says that countries that are members of the Hague convention should FIRST do everything possible to keep the children in THEIR OWN COUNTRY. Those programs start with the "young and healthy" kids. While we certainly hope and pray that it will also one day include the children with special needs (hence Connecting The Rainbow), the reality is that "Priscilla's country" (and other countries in Eastern Europe)are years away from those programs filtering to include children with special needs. That is why you hear the urging to not stop the adoptions of children with special needs (and older kids...who also aren't included in those programs right at the start). It is NOT because we don't think ALL children deserve a family...we DO.


Thank you to all of you praying and sending letters. I have a huge peace about this right now.
I'm not sure what God's plans are for the future of our little girl, but I do know that He placed her in our hearts for a reason, and I also know that He loves her way more than I ever could. So, we are just trusting that He knows best, even if it doesn't turn out the way we would like it. 


Saying all that, I still have a peace about it. And strangely, I still feel like she will be coming home in the spring. So, I am just going on that little piece of hope that I have. We are just moving forward as though nothing will stop us.