IGive.com
Fundraising is a big topic on the adoption boards. People have different ideas about what fundraising is. Some consider having yard sales or selling things on Ebay as fundraising. Others consider fundraising sending out letters asking for donations. I've been selling stuff on Ebay for years but I never thought of it as fundraising. I had one yard sale many years ago and swore I'd never have another - too much work, too little $$. As for writing letters and asking for money, I don't think so; unless it's to help a charity like the Walk for Cancer or the Jane Doe Walk Against Domestic Violence, it seems too much like begging to me.

On one of the many adoption groups that I belong to, someone mentioned IGive.com. It's an online shopping mall that includes major stores such as Barnes & Noble, Target.com, and Apple ITunes. I buy a lot of stuff online especially as the Christmas season gets closer (no, I haven't bought anything for Christmas yet). By shopping at the participating stores through IGive, a percentage predetermined by the store is donated to the shopper's favorite group, whether it is a known charity, your child's marching band, or, as we are doing, to help with our fees. The percentage donated is not tacked onto your purchase price. Since I buy online anyway, I figured I might as well join and get some money to help with the expenses.

If you're interested in using IGive, just go to Igive.com and join; it's free to join. If you'd like contribute your percentage to our journey, join through www.igive.com/bringingmeimeihome. If you'd like to support a favorite charity, there is a huge list available when you are on the registration page or you can add your own.

Luggage
Even though we are nowhere near getting our referral, I had to go out and get some retail therapy today. I was so depressed over this morning's news that referrals only went to 7/13 and thought maybe doing something to get ready would help. This morning I finished the 2nd coat on the window in the nursery and the first coat on the baseboards. I'll put a 2nd coat on tonight and then hopefully start with the fun decorating. I'll post pictures once I get it done. Anyway, Jason and I went shopping for luggage. We have two pieces that should be okay but the others are too big considering the luggage restrictions that will be in place. I wanted another 22-24" piece. We went to Kohl's but I really didn't want to spend $200 on a suitcase right now. We went to Target and Jason found one he liked. It's a 4 piece which we didn't really need but the price was right. I'm thinking that we won't have as much trouble telling this one is ours on the luggage carousel as our others.

Referrals through July 13

I got up this morning to check Rumor Queen since I knew referrals were due to come out. There have been so many rumors lately - cutoff 7/13, cutofff 7/27, no referrals due to move, etc. The truth was better than no referrals but not as good as 7/27. They went from 6/29 to 7/13. Our agency's next LID is 7/25 so no one from WHFC will be getting a referral in this batch - disappointing. So, there is still one more group at my agency ahead of us. The chant has been "All July in July" and I think many of us were starting to believe that it might happen. Well, the roller coaster ride continues....

Who knew packing could be a pastime?

I had to look up the spelling of pastime because it looks strange but according to www.dictionary.com, it's correct. I've been searching blogs and adoption websites for months reading people's packing lists and incorporating them into my own. I just found a whole new stash of them on rumor queen's forum and am in the process of sorting through the 13 pages to see if there's anything new. I'd really like to know how anyone can pack for a two week trip to China using carry on only (coo). I'm not even going to bother as I know I'd just get frustrated. There's a suitcase in the baby's room that I've been putting stuff into as I get it. I just bought some TSA locks. I think I'll be picking up an international converter next. We're going to have to get some more luggage. We have 2 decent sized suitcases and 2 huge ones. The huge ones won't qualify for the in-country flights. Target was having a sale, buy 1 suitcase get 1 free but I am leary of spending the money right now. They have these sales periodically so once school is back in session and I'm pulling a paycheck again, I'll grab a couple at the next sale. I think I might get one of the stranger colors (pink, purple) so that our luggage will be easily recognizable. I have a packing list on my website which you can see at www.geocities.com/chinalovejourney but may be updating it again once I get through all the notes and tips I've gotten from the RQ site. Time to go watch Big Brother.

Grrr!

I have heard about ignorant comments that adoptive parents get on all the messageboards and forums that I go to but they're starting up in real life to me now. I'm sure one of Mike's friends and his wife thought they were being helpful when they told me about their friend who adopted from Russia and was able to get not one but two caucasian babies and that the country tried to push a third on them while they were there. First of all, we're adopting from China - obviously the child being caucasian is not a priority with us. Secondly, jokes about "Buy 2, get 1 free" are offensive. Use your brain people!! The majority of people involved in international adoption are not going to be amused by bigoted, racial and cultural jokes like these.

Of course, many myths about international adoption are perpetuated by stories such as the poor journalism that appeared in the LA Times. A writer wrote a supposedly satirical piece pointed at Angelina Jolie but it was written in poor taste and has the potential to harm adoptive families by angering the countries that were being mocked. I wrote a letter to the editor of that paper as did many other parents.