It's Official

The new official CCAA rules are in.

I had seen part of the rules before but the one thing that really caught my eye this time was the part saying the youngest child in the home could not be under one year of age. I'm wondering if that is at the time the dossier is logged in or from the time of referral or Gotcha. This shouldn't affect us since hopefully we'll be there and back before May 1, 2001 with our daughter but as long as it takes for the entire adoption process, I'm sure this will hinder many applicants from continuing the journey to their new children if they get pregnant in that long wait. It CAN happen. We're proof. There are many others like us too (except maybe not twins joining the family but lots of singletons).

I feel the sorriest for the single applicants. Majority of these are women and some of them may not ever want to marry or just can't find the right person to marry but do want children and would make the best mother ever but yet they are not believed to be the best family environment for children. I feel guilty knowing I have three beautiful children at home but yet a single person who wants to adopt and have a child of their own is now going to be turned down b/c she hasn't been married for two years.

And then there's the whole BMI issue. As Tony put it to me, many actors out there with great bodies have BMI's over 40 and are in great shape and excellent health. I've known really skinny people to be sick and not healthy.

These rules should not affect us but one day if we DID decide to go back to China for another daughter/sister (I'm talking years from now) we'll fall under these rules. Fortunately we've got the age limit in our favor. We could actually wait until one of the current children is out of the house and still meet the age limit and have room for two more in the house. Four kids is it though but you never know.....never thought I'd have four kids to begin with.