Where Are We Going?

We still don't know. Imagine has received the Ghana report, but there has not been an announcement yet regarding the Ghana program. Without knowing what findings, conclusions, or recommendations are in the report, we are still hoping for good news. This week, waiting for information we know is coming, reminded me what it felt like through June, knowing news of the Ghana program was imminent. In many ways, it was easier to wait through July, August, September, and the first half of October, after the agency collapse, knowing that news was a long way off.

We have tried to resurrect some sense of forward movement, and attended the first meeting of a local satellite group for transracial adoptive families. We enjoyed the people there, and plan to continue attending. We have also set up the nursery again this week, after using the space for storage since last winter as we worked on flooring and trim throughout the upstairs. It is SO nice to have our upstairs rooms in order again. What a relief!

As usual, fall is catching up with me. This is the point at which I invariably realize that Christmas is much closer than I imagined, and that I am once again a little behind schedule. Although I do have my cards pretty much done, other than address labels. And with the house shaping up again, I should be able to start decorating the first week of November. Before putting up Christmas trees, however, I should likely empty and store my garden pots and planters and things. That will be near the top of the agenda for the coming week...at least we are all ready for trick-or-treaters next Saturday!

Coming This Week???

The lawyer working on the Canada-Ghana adoption situation has submitted his report to our agency. Apparently we may hear something early this week regarding the status of the Ghana program. Hoping...

A Lull

Ok, so some of you may argue that the past, oh, 15 months or more, have been a lull in our adoption process. This new lull may contain a bit more impatience again, though. The summer space between bankruptcy and proposal acceptance was pretty manageable for us overall - in addition to being distracted by my broken back (ha), we knew roughly when to expect news, and things followed a pretty predictable course. In between, there was really nothing to do, and nothing to expect. Now that the agency will be up and running within a week or so (what a great turnaround time-frame!), any day could bring news of some sort or another. In the proposal, it is clear that the agency will take until February at the latest to review all the countries, and determine which programs are viable for them. However, bits and pieces of news will likely trickle in over the next few months, so I will still be busy checking & checking message boards and email inboxes just in case! Since Monday's restructuring vote, things have been VERY quiet on the forums, which is disappointing, because I keep checking and finding nothing new to read. I think it's particularly hard to adjust to quiet after the frantic pace of messages leading up to the vote - at least the chatter fills the lull and keeps adoption in the forefront of daily life. If the silence keeps up, I may have to start channelling my restless energy into something productive, like crafting all those hand-made Christmas gifts I have visions of producing, and maybe catching up on adoption reading. At least autumn brings with it all kinds of projects and events as we pass through Thanksgiving and Halloween (yay, costume party!), and then dive right into Christmas preparation (a good thing, in my opinion - a whole season of festivity - major celebrations should be more than one day, most definitely). Anyway, that's where things stand. Waiting to see where they end up...

Yes, all 'round!

Good news! We spent the morning in Kitchener, to attend the creditors' meeting where the final vote was held on the agency restructuring. There were 248 votes in favour of restructuring, and 20 against, so looks like things will be up and running in no time. There is a court date next Tuesday (September 29) for official approval, and the hoped-for start date for the agency is October 1. I spoke to a Guelph reporter for 570 News - microphone and everything, so will check later to see if I'm on the air. And a great couple we are getting to know, also with Ghana, did an on-camera interview with CH TV (Niagara, Halton, Hamilton, etc.). So tune in!

www.570news.com

www.chtv.com

Yes

We sent in our 'yes' vote to the restructuring proposal today. I appreciate the folks with business and accounting backgrounds who have been posting their assessments of the proposal and cash flow projections, which mean little to me when I look at them. There are definitely differing perspectives, and some concerns about long-term viability, but I have faith in those who have worked to build a sound proposal, and we want to see this agency resurrected! Looking forward to discussion at the creditor's meeting on September 21.

Still don't know if our future as Imagine clients will be with Ethiopia or Ghana, but don't give up on Ghana yet, folks - it can still happen, and barring definitive Ghana program closure or other insurmountable obstacles, that is still what we want to do.

Restructuring Proposal

Well folks, we have a proposal - now, if a majority of Imagine clients vote in favour of it, then the agency will be restructured with the goal of facilitating adoptions for all Imagine clients. You can read it for yourself if you like:

www.bdo.ca/imagineadoption

There is a creditor's meeting in regard to the proposal on September 21, and in the meantime, we send in our vote. No news yet regarding Ghana. If, sadly, Ghana cannot continue, one of our options would be to switch to Ethiopia, with our "place" in the program being determined by the date our file was sent off originally. But we're still holding out some hope for Ghana in the absence of a final verdict...

If You Sew Them...

(This tan one is now on hold - I can't replicate the lining, but could get more of this cord, and can replicate the tan plaid Africa).

(This is a sample picture - don't think I can replicate the lining - the exterior can be "almost" replicated in a small-print black/white houndstooth).

(This bag, above, can currently be replicated).

(This bag is one-of-a-kind - a few of the fabrics (but not the black denim) can be used in other bags. The bag below - tan with paisley Africa - can currently be replicated). Feel free to send a comment with your email if you have questions or want more pictures!

This bag-making I started about 18 months ago has been such a neat experience. After making 60 bags and thinking I would gradually, and with great effort, try to sell them to friends and family - and then selling all of them in a week after posting them on Facebook in July 2008 (say what you will about it, but Facebook has been a fantastic tool for lots of reasons) - there has been a steady trickle of interest which has pretty much kept pace with my availability to sew. These days, I've been mainly sewing on demand, just a bag here and there, but have a few ready-made bags again with plans to keep them coming. And just as I get back into sewing (after some busy times adjusting to work changes, summer activities, and my broken vertebrae), I've had a Jr. High classmate (through Facebook) offer to host a purse party featuring my bags! What a fun idea - just need to sew up a good supply - and with fall and Christmas on the way, the timing could be just right. So while we continue to have no idea where our adoption journey is headed, I keep being prompted to continue sewing...so I suppose I will do just that...

A Little Seasoning...

As things have been pretty repetitive here in blog-world lately, I wanted to post a few pictures to spice things up a bit. I finally have a couple of Gladwyn pics where she's not nervously glancing at the camera - here she is "camping" with us at the trailer a couple of weeks ago:

And here's Hesperantha, posing with as much dignity as she can muster. She's all grown up now, having turned two a week ago (but she hasn't figured that out yet).

One of my hibiscus blooms after a rain:

And a rainbow, spotted as we approached our campground:
We have definitely made the most of our little getaway this summer - driving into the campground provides an instant sense of calm, and it's been lovely spending nice, full days together reading and walking the dogs. Life there is just simple, and it's nice not to be surrounded by visual reminders of chores and yardwork and renovations - the trailer is easy to keep clean & tidy, the deck is fresh & sunny, and the little garden is super-low maintenance (and we don't cut the grass!). And then, at home, we've been making some headway again on renovations, so there seems to be a reasonable balance. This coming long weekend will mark the end of full summer weekends away - we will soon be back to Sunday School teaching and other commitments, so will be making shorter trips up through mid-October, when the campground closes for the season. I am always sad to see the summer season draw to a close, and this year we've certainly had some early reminders of fall, which I could have done without. However, this means that I can't get fall off of my mind, and I must admit to a hint of anticipation as I think about fall decorating, crisp air and leaves, and of course, the lead-up to the Christmas season. Don't want to rush things, but may as well savour what's coming...

One More Chance...

Ok, so earlier this week the "though-the-grapevine" on Ghana was not sounding good. Today, however, there is still a glimmer of possibility for all of us would-be adoptive parents and all the lovely children waiting for us in Ghana, as an experienced and qualified professional will be retained to look into the matter and work on getting some firm and final answers as to whether there is going to be opportunity for Canadians to adopt from Ghana. There is room to hope and pray that a restructured Imagine (again, a distinct possibility - will know more about that very soon) would be able to process Ghana adoptions - there are still LOTS of big "ifs" and obstacles in this regard, so keep those prayers going! I must admit, the waiting is feeling more tedious now, as we watch time continue to pass without offering answers. However, we still believe it is best to sit this out rather than make any big changes in our direction unless we need to...still hoping so much that there are open doors and open minds so that barriers can be lifted.

Sound Familiar?

We're still waiting.

We are happy to keep waiting to hear about possible agency restructuring plans, BUT we are really hoping to start hearing some specifics about the Ghana situation in particular. People are working on getting a sense as to whether Ghana adoptions will be able to proceed, and whether a newly restructured Imagine would be licensed to continue with Ghana adoptions...but this continues to be an ongoing question mark, apparently with no easy-to-come-by answers. We trust that the necessary people will quickly have opportunities to come together for information-sharing, decision-making...whatever it is that must be done so that we know whether Ghana is an option. It would be so lovely to have a bit of a plan again - for now we just float without a compass.

Reflection of the Day

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

"The spiritual truth Paul describes cannot be grasped. This peace doesn't just surpass the understanding of the worldly man but surpasses all understanding. Even the godly man can't comprehend this peace. Paul is promising something that is not humanly explicable -- that a man surrounded by care and anxiety and harassment and concern can still live with the tranquility of God in his soul!" (http://www.preceptaustin.org/philippians_47.htm)

Signs of Life

A very little thing, perhaps, but I was just pleasantly surprised by an email update on the Ghana program from an Imagine staff member who is working along with the bankruptcy trustee - there is no particular progress in regard to Ghana, but even receiving an email update is evidence that there is still work being done, and that the agency still has a heartbeat! We continue the wait to learn about a proposal being developed to (hopefully) restructure the agency, so the future is certainly still open to any possibility, happy or sad. Anyway, there are some excellent, qualified folks trying to clarify the status of Canada-Ghana adoptions, and some key connections being made with people who might offer significant support and assistance both to clarify whether Ghana adoptions are possible, and then (if the answer is "yes") to help establish a process for these adoptions. So far, there has been a ray of hope that the doors may not be entirely closed to Ghana, which I admit I didn't expect to hear, so we are not ready to back out yet!

Come Together

Yesterday we attended the creditors meeting facilitated by the trustee handling our agency's bankruptcy. It was a really positive experience - something so devastating has the potential to be a very exciting time of united action, hope, and restoration. There was completely unanimous agreement in the room to work together to restructure the agency so that all clients can continue their adoptions. There is a great deal of energy and a strong sense of collaboration in this group. The trustee was excellent, and enthusiastic, and there was a display of cooperation and negotiation amongst those willing to represent all creditors as an "inspector" (a committee of 5 people who will now work with the trustee to oversee primarily financial decisions moving forward). I had a real sense that everyone wants to make this work, is willing to collaborate to do it, and that there are some very skilled people with lots of wisdom playing key roles in all of this. It was worth making a spectacle of myself in my reclining lawn chair, pressure relief cushion, and back roll to be there! Oh, and I did answer a few questions from a reporter afterward - also exciting. I just can't remember his name and haven't found any quotes by me in the new articles I've been reading :) Ghana families met for lunch afterward to chat about our unique situation and action plan to see if there is a way our Ghana adoptions can continue...but that's a long story, so we'll leave it at that for now and see what unfolds!

Domestic vs. International

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/international-adoption-is-more-difficult-in-manitoba-51691682.html

This article is worth a look for those wanting to understand some of the complexities of choosing international vs. domestic adoption...

Press Conference

Imagine clients speaking live to the media - pretty much sums everything up:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090724/imagine_adoption_090724/20090724?hub=Toronto