Day 4 at the orphanage
This morning will be our last time visiting the orphanage. Tomorrow we will pack our bags and travel to the orphanage to pick up the girls and their nanny and travel to a resort near Phan Teit. Our G&R will be Thursday morning at 9 am. Since it is a long drive to the city we will travel on Wednesday stay the night, have the G&R on Thursday and return to Saigon that same day. Friday, we will rise early and fly to Hanoi to start out paperwork. Many new adventures will be in store for the girls since they have never been out of the orphanage or traveled in a vehicle.
As we entered the orphanage the children came running to meet all of us. Vy and Van were next to their nanny as they have been for all our visits. Soon we got smiles and we headed in the entryway of the center. First we pulled out the airplane which is always a big hit and the people to go with it. Vy had some interest in the people but Van only wanted to listen to the song. Today we brought a long a beach ball for the girls to play with. They were quite interested in P blowing up this ball and how it expanded. It took them just a few minutes to warm up to the idea and then the fun began. At one point we had as many as 5 children in the room with only us so I asked T to get the staff to remove some of the kids in which they promptly did. Having to many children around can make the girls worry about losing their possessions and our attention. The only child that remained was X and she was so sweet and quiet. We handed her a color and a page and she was content coloring on her own. This was a big step for her because she has not wanted anything to do with us before now. She is shy like the girls.
The morning continued with more bubbles and beach ball play. Soon it was time for the girls to eat. They rushed off to the nanny but kept peeking through the doorway to make sure we were still there. We slowly made our way into the room as they finished their lunch and started a good game of peek a boo and beach ball throwing.
All around a very good day with the girls with more progress.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Day 4 at the orphanage
Monday, October 22, 2007
Day 3 with the Girls
The days started with breakfast at the hotel and then loaded the bus to go to the orphanage for the morning. I started the visit with the girls and blowing bubbles. Yesterday they really enjoyed blowing bubbles. We sat down with them outside on a woven matt. They were with their nanny sitting one on each side of her. They were reserved and a little cool to us this morning, until the bubbles started. Then they lit up and started to smile with big grins on their faces. Now, we are having fun.
After bubble time, we moved inside to the play room. Before we settled down, I asked if the girls would like to show us their bed and dresser. With huge smiles on their faces they quickly walked towards their room often looking back to see if we were following. We entered the room where the girls and the other younger children sleep. The girls were so excited to show us what little they have. We again made it to the floor to start playing with the girls and within about 10 minutes, the nanny slipped out and it was just the family (and the other children who wandered in and out). We played with the girls, ate chocolate, teddy graham crackers. They are so dainty when they eat. It takes them 5-8 bites to eat just one. I pulled out the combs and we asked if we could comb their hair. They let us comb their hair, and they even took the combs and started combing our hair, even though P does not have much to comb. At one point Van had a tear or two, but she never left the room and did not want the nanny. Later in the morning, we again pulled out the balls. This time it was it was a family affair. The girls had a great time throwing balls at T and P. Vy was very outgoing and very verbal. When some of the other children would come in, she would tell us their name.
The morning flew by and it was time to leave to regroup and take naps including the girls.
Afternoon Day 3
This afternoon our visit would be from 3 to 5 that would give us a little extra time to rest before heading to the orphanage. It may sound like we get tired easily, but believe it or not it is hard work trying to earn the trust of the girls. Physically draining sitting on hard concrete floors in 90 plus heat with 80 plus humidity and mentally trying to keep the girls engaged at all times along with trying to read them developmentally and emotionally.
Again the girls did a reversal of the morning. Vy normally the leader was having a hard time and Van the shy one was coming out of her shell. I was trying to think of a new game plan for each day, and without having a lot of materials to work with it is a challenge. We started out with colors and coloring books. I was not sure if they were ready for this but we would give it a shot. Luck was with us and coloring was a big hit. We all colored for over 20 minutes. Each girl held the color properly and tried to stay in the lines. I was pleased that they enjoyed this activity. Some of the older children entered the room from time to time and joined in coloring.
Next, I pulled out of my bag books to read. They were curious about the books, but you could tell they had not been read to very often. The two books that were a hit were two I picked up in Saigon at a book store on Doung Khoi Street. The books are written in English and Vietnamese with large colorful pictures. I gave each girl a book and they enjoyed looking at them. When one of the other children would come and try to look at the books they would put up a fight to keep them.
It is common practice among the children in the orphanage to protect what is theirs. If anything is not guarded it will be taken by the other children maybe never to return. We helped the girls with protecting their toys and realized early on that would let us move the toys so other children would not get to the toys and books. It really showed that they were beginning to trust us. This too was a full time job. If anything left your sight, you might not ever see it again. Shoes are a great example. You leave your shoes at the door of the orphanage. They are never where you left them. Little feet are always in big sandals walking around. I learned this the first day when I brought toys for the girls and they never returned. I feel bad that I can’t leave all the toys for the children because they have so little, but we need some familiar toys for the girls for the next few weeks and our plane ride to Hanoi and home.
When the coloring and books lost their interest I pulled out a F.P. airplane. It is a great toy, all the children at the orphanage loved it so we had to be very protective of it for the girls. The girls found out that if you push the pilot seat down it will sing a song. This is a big hit. They love music and it creates the biggest smiles on their faces. The best thing of the day was to hear them speak. Vy stared rambling on and on we have no idea what she was saying except when she said the children’s names who entered the room. Van joined in also and they were talking to each other in twin talk. Such good news since I am concerned about there language development. At least now I know they will use their voices and can say some words even though we have no idea what they are saying.
I asked them if they wanted to go for a walk and motioned to the door. They got up and we all went outside for a short stroll. They were very leery at first but did follow us. Then their nanny came out with their supper. Vietnamese culture is to hand feed the children. They do not like the mess that children make when they self-feed and they want to make sure the children get enough nutrition. The girls do feed themselves’ snacks and drink from a cup on their own just not the main meals.
It was getting time to leave and the temp was cooling off just tolerable for us, but for the children and nannies it was getting cold. Out came the sweaters for each of the children so they would not catch a chill. We said our good byes. Each of us got a hand shake, a cheek to cheek kiss and a blown kiss. As we walked down the drive way the girls followed us and stopped just short of the gate. Another big step, never before have they walked down to the entrance of the orphanage.
Each visit the girls are coming out of their shells and trust us more and more. We have been so blessed to be able to have this time with them.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Day 2 with the girls
It was 8:00 and we are loading the bus for a 20 minute ride to the orphanage. We all enjoy this drive because we are able to see a glimpse into the lives of the Vietnamese people. School children heading to Mass in there Navy pants or skirt and white shirt the same uniform they were to school except for the scarf around their neck. When going to school the children were a red scarf. On Sundays they were blue, green, or yellow scarves with a yellow cross on the tip that hangs down their backs according to the age of the student. Adults are heading to mass or to do their daily chores, field work, sales, tending to animals etc. We always enjoy looking for a water buffalo. Binh Thuan Province does not have as many water buffalo as the southern Provinces so it is fun trying to spot one along the road or in the fields.
We turn down the last road to the orphanage there is a large school on the left and police station on the right. Today, being Sunday both were very quiet. The orphanage is right next to the school on the left. As the bus pulls up to the gate we see the young children running to the gate to meet us. The twins are not among the children. They are waiting with their nanny sitting on the door step of one of the entrances to the play room. Again they are tightly glued to their nanny. She has been their care giver since they were one day old, so they are very attached to her and her to them.
We started the day with gift giving. Our wonderful church and friends had given us donations of clothing, medical supplies, and dental supplies for the orphanage. We left 2 duffle bags of donations with the agency in Saigon, but still had another bag to bring to Binh Thuan. We pulled out all the items and gave them to the orphanage director. After the adult time, we pulled out 3 bottles of bubbles. The children had a ball blowing bubbles and catching them only to watch them pop. Van and Vy were great at blowing bubbles. Both girls had very big smiles and laughed.
We entered the play room, a 20 X 20 room painted a worn bluish green color. There is a swing and a collapsed plastic ball play area and plastic balls scattered around the room. The twins and the nanny joined us in the room along with Y and L to translate. The girls sat on the swing with another little girl while the adults sat on the floor. This morning we were going to interview the nanny and try to find out as much as we can about the girls. Priceless to say the least, it was so nice of Y to set this up for us. We were able to find out about there lives at the orphanage and their personalities their likes and dislikes. We did find out that they have never stepped foot outside the orphanage gates. Having never had anything medical more than a simple cold there was no need to leave the orphanage. Oh how their world will change.
As we were talking and the girls were swinging Van got very sad and began to cry. She obviously knows her world will be changing. She is the shyer one of the twins and seems to worry more. They both headed over to their nanny. The nanny told Vy to get a wet cloth for her sister and she quickly left and returned with a cloth. As the nanny consoles Van and washes her tears away Vy sits down behind Van as to protect her. We talked a little bit more and then it was time for the girls to eat and us to leave. As we left the girls shook our hand and off we went down the drive to the bus. We would head back to the resort until 2:00 when we would make the trip over again.
Afternoon of day 2
Our second visit of the day started out as the others. Entering the play room and sitting and playing with the girls. This time the nanny ever so quietly left the girls alone with us. Oh how hard this must be for her. She is such a brave and courageous person with a smile on her face but I can feel the breaking of her heart. She is so strong in front of the twins; she knows it is only in the best interest of the girls. These have been her girls for the last 3.5 years and now she is handing them over to us. I do not have the word of gratitude I feel towards her. A simple thank you and a small gift is just not enough but it is all we are allowed to do. I feel like we owe her the world for taking such good care of our girls.
The time spent with the girls is so precious. We are slowly making progress and I thank the agency for being able to pull this extended visitation together. This time Van was happy and not tearful but Vy was having a hard time with a worried look on her face and tears. It was sad and hard to see but I know that it is healthy for them to feel this way. This transition is a process and it is important to go through it and not around it so it was actually a positive sign that both have shown sadness and worry. They understand something is going to happen and can process it in their minds.
We have still not been able to hold them they are not ready for this. We can touch them and play with there hair but they are not ready to be held that right now is for the nanny to do. I don’t want to push them to much in fear of them regressing from all the progress we have made.
During our visit it seemed like all the children came into the play room. It was very loud and busy. Eventually, one of the older children started throwing the balls. The ball fight was on. Depending on where you were in the room during the first throw determined your team. Van and Vy both joined in and had a great time, as did the adults, including Ms. H. It was very special to see their faces light up and smile while we were playing with the balls.
The time flew by as it has the last 2 visits and it is time to say our good byes. Teddy and Pat got a cheek to cheek kiss. We all shook hands and blow kisses and off we went. Another good day with small steps to earning the girls’ trust as we head into a new beginning.
October 20, 2007 We meet the girls!
Saturday morning we awoke early and packed our bags. Today we would travel to LaGi to meet our girls for the very first time! After packing our luggage, we headed down to breakfast. The hotel offers a variety of traditional Vietnamese dishes, congee, which is a rice porridge that the girls like to eat. I guess I will be learning how to make this. The hotel also had spring rolls, Pho, which I love, but it has been so hot that I have not had any yet. Fresh fruits and the best fresh squeezed orange juice I have ever had, even though they were green. We were packed and ready to go by 7:30. The bus was to arrive at the hotel at 8:30. T worked on some homework while we waited. The bus came and we headed down the busy streets of Saigon to the Agency’s office where we would meet all the staff and have our orientation meeting. Because of the traffic it took about an hour to travel across the streets of Saigon. At the office, which is located on what looks like a narrow alley we were greeted by all the wonderful staff. We were taken to the 3rd floor where we were served nice cold water and fruit. As the staff went over the paperwork and informed us of the days events T worked on homework. We were all done within an hour and off on the streets of Saigon to LaGi.
The trip would be 4 to 5 hours depending on the traffic. Even though we had left the city the roads to Binh Thuan are lined with homes and businesses. We stopped at a little restaurant to have lunch and use the western facilities. I had warned T that when we traveled out in the rural areas that we may have to use squatty toilets and that we would have to make sure we had TP just in case there was none. Everything on the trip was great.
Back on the road again Ms. H and Y chatted, the staff and I took a little nap while P and T watched the sights go by. It would be another 2 hours before we would be at the orphanage.
We entered the city of LaGi and headed down back roads to the orphanage. I could feel we were getting close. I wondered how the girls would react to see us for the first time. Had the nannies prepared them for our arrival? How much did they understand of what was going to happen in the next few days?
It was difficult to wake throughout the gates of the orphanage. I sat outside the gates holding M a short 6 months ago wondering what the children were like and if our child would come form this orphanage. As I walked through the gates it almost felt like a forbidden place for me, but this time I could walk through the gates to finally see and meet our girls. I slowly walked up the entry. There were 2 school age boys who met us at the gate. They were smiling and wanting to say hello in English. We were directed by the staff to go the left of the compound. We walked up 2 steps and stood at the entrance to a small room. Next to that room was another room that all the children were in. The staff wanted us to enter one at a time so we would not frighten the children. Ever so slowly we entered one by one. The children were all walking in a circle and singing a song something like ring around the rosey. Before we even entered the room X and H.A. started to cry. I could see the girls through the screen, and oh how beautiful they looked. We entered slowly and sat on the floor opposite form the girls. I did not want to approach them too soon. I offered the girls a toy tiger and their nanny encouraged Vy to come get it. She very quickly got up and grabbed it from my hand and returned quickly to her nanny. I did the same for Van but she would not move. I could see by the look on her face she was very worried. I pulled out the toy airplane from my bag. Vy again took advantage of this and grabbed the toy and returned to the nanny. Van sat still and just watched. I told Teddy it was time to work his charm and approach the girls slowly. He was able to do so without frightening them to much. I can only imagine how over whelming it was for them. I pulled out the suckers to share with all the children and nannies. Vy again was the first to grab and go, she was getting the hand of this side show. All the other children come one by one to collect their suckers. The older ones were very polite and crossed their arms and bowed as they accepted the suckers. I was so impressed.
I decided, with a little encouragement from Y, that I should try to approach the girls. I wanted so to just run in and grab them up and give them a great big hug, but I knew this would not be good. I wanted to approach them on their terms not mine. I slowly moved forward and sat next to Vy. I could tell by the look on Van face that she was not ready at all for me to approach her. I slowly tried to encourage the girls to play but they were not interested so I just sat next to them and was able to touch Vy leg and back without to much resistance. I took a photo of Van and showed it to Vy. She was very interested in this. Hmmmm a photographer in the making just like mom? Before I knew it their nanny had gotten up and I saw my chance to sit in between the girls. My move was accepted they did not move away. I was able to touch Van ever so lightly and she also accepted my touch. Progress, one tiny step at a time. After an hour it was time for everyone to take a break. The girls Nanny had a bowl of soup for the girls and it was time for them to eat. The girls followed the nanny’s que and came over for their supper.
As we left the room the girls shook our hands to say good bye and then waived. We then headed off to board the bus. Now it was time to check into the resort.
Friday, October 19, 2007
We get to go to meet the girls tomorrow!
H has been working diligently for weeks to get permission from the Provence officials to see the girls early. It has been granted that we can enter the Provence tomorrow and see the girls. We do not have a G&R date but we know it will be sometime this week. I am not concerned with that as long as we get to spend time with the girls as we are waiting.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
A LONG, LONG TRAVEL DAY
A LONG, LONG TRAVEL DAY
Our day began as it normally would wake at 6:30 and getting ready for the day. One thing was different though, WE WERE GOING TO VIETNAM! Today was the day that we would travel to meet our girls for the very first time. My usual morning routine was to grab Dew and hop on the Internet to read the morning mail. This morning was not like others however. When I clicked on the Internet icon, it froze. I decided I would just restart the computer and get off to a new start. So I did, and when it rebooted I got the dreaded black screen of death! My computer was dead. I tried several times to restart but nothing just a black screen. Now on any given day this would have been a travesty, but today of all days when we were to get on a plane in less than 8 hours to travel half way around the world. What would I do? Computer withdrawal was not in our game plan. I have wanted to share this adoption journey with all our family and friends. Buying a new computer was not in the budget at this point, but if need be I would. I decided to give my computer a time out and see if things would just straighten out. While the computer was in its time out, I decided to double check my packing list just one last time to make sure we didn’t forget anything. I felt comfortable that everything was packed since we have been planning this journey for months now. My only concern was the camera and video cords. I remembered putting them out to be packed, but they are something I use on regular bases so I wanted to check just to make sure. I started looking and could not find a one. Had they been packed in the bags already? I decided I should check just to make sure they were indeed in the luggage. I could not find them in any of the 6 checked bags. Yes, 6 bags. We each can check 2 bags at 50 lbs per bag. Before you think, “Man, she is over packing a bit,” I want to explain that only 2 of the bags have our family’s essentials in it. The other four bags are full to the rim with donations for the children in the orphanages. I have been collecting new and slightly worn clothing for the orphanages for the last few months. I have also been fortunate to have been given money for medical supplies such as band aids, hydrocortisone creams, anti-biotic ointments, lotions for excima, to name a few. Most of the money and medical supplies came from our wonderful church family. Thank you so much.
So after looking for the cords and not finding them, I decided I should switch gears and return to my computer. Just maybe if I pause from searching for the cord it would come to me where they might be. So back to the computer one more time. As I entered the office P was working on the computer, and he was able to get it up and running. What a hero, although I think he had an alternative motive. He knew if I didn’t travel with my computer, his life would be miserable so he was desperate to fix it and he did. He also knew that today would be my last day of have my morning Mountain Dew and probably could not bear the fact of a month of traveling with me without a Dew and a computer would be h*ll.
So with the computer up and running and after of course I checked my morning mail it was back to searching for those darn cords. They had to be packed somewhere, but where? After going through each suitcase again I decided that I would just go buy another set of cords, and if we found them well then I would return the unopened packages to the store when we return. Off I went to three different stores. Just my luck each store had one cord but not all. By the time I hit the last store I had all my cords and I was ready to roll.
After returning home we started packing our bags in the Jeep to go to the airport. As each one was loaded I took a picture of it. Just a precaution from my last trip in which my 2 checked bags did not show up in Vietnam for 5 days. It was difficult standing at the airport lost luggage desk trying to explain as best I could to a very nice Vietnamese lady what my bags looked like. Well, it is a black duffle bag just like all other hundreds of black duffels in the airport that day. So anyway just a precaution that I hope we don’t have to use on this trip. We went through our paperwork one last time making sure we had everything the agency told us we should have. I went through the binders I was leaving family and friends, our itinerary, copies of VISA’s and passports, etc. Everything was ready. I looked at the clock and was ready to go. N would be home soon from college to say good bye and we would be off. Now I read and reread our itinerary, I sent it to P, family and friends so they would know our travel schedule. I had it in my mind that our flight left at 4 pm so we should leave for the airport a little after 2. So we had A in one Jeep with P and the luggage, N drove T and me to the airport right after they left. Everything was good. My computer was working, I had cords for my electronics, and I savored my last Dew for a very long time. We were off, off to meet our girls!
T and I meet P and A in the lobby of the airport where P was checking in the luggage. I was talking with A saying our good byes and P said M in that tone of we have a problem here. (P says he does not have a tone, but he does.) We had missed our first flight. How in the world could we have done this? I had no one to blame but myself. I had sent the itinerary out to many but as I have done many times before when P has traveled I glance at it and set it aside. All this time I had misread the fight time, I must have read it over and over and each time 4 pm posted to my memory. Even though we missed our first flight we were able to get on the 3:30 fight without a problem.
As we were sitting on the plane waiting to taxi I told P I hoped that we were getting all this out of the way so we could have a problem free journey from here on out. We made it to Dallas without any problems and headed to our gate. We had a short 30 minutes to grab something to eat, use the facilities and load the plane. As we scarffed down our food and headed to the gate it was just in time to see that do to circumstances in San Fran our flight would be delayed at least an hour in the terminal and up to 40 minutes on the tarmac. Not to panic we had a long layover in San Fran to catch out 1:30 am flight. All I kept thinking was just get all the difficulties out of our way before we meet the girls.
We made it to San Fran and noticed that although we had tickets, receipts and itineraries, we had no boarding passes. We went to the EVA travel lounge, since we could not find any EVA employees at the gate. The woman at the lounge took pity on us and helped us get booked into the flight, sent our baggage numbers down to make sure they had been transferred and told us where we could wait. Once the EVA gate staff got there, P went up to get boarding passes. He came back with boarding cards for T and P, but I did not yet have a seat assigned. As we were in line boarding, P went up and got me my seat. The EVA economy deluxe seating was well worth the money. The seats were comfortable and had foot rests. We were all able to sleep on the 13 hour flight to Taipei. We had a three hour lay over in Taipei before we flew to Vietnam. We used the time to stretch our legs and charge the computer and T’s game.
Arrived in Vietnam at noon on the 18th with all our Bags!!! The VN staff was at the airport and met us as we left the door.
We made it!
We are in HCMC! I just love being back in Vietnam! We are all very tired but trying to stay awake a few more hours.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
We are off...........
We are ready our bags are packed our tickets in hand. We are off to meet our girls.
Monday, October 15, 2007
I wonder
As time draws near to travel I wonder…….
I wonder what the girls will really look like……
I wonder what I will see looking into their eyes…….
I wonder what their voices will sound like…….
I wonder how their hair will feel…….
I wonder how big their hands and feet are…….
I wonder will they cry……..
I wonder will they smile…….
I wonder will they laugh…….
I wonder what comforts them…….
I wonder what they are thinking…….
I wonder will they like us……….
I wonder……….
Sunday, October 14, 2007
19 months in the making.........Recap
We have been given a referral of the twin girls in the photo. They are now beautiful 3 year old girls. They have been waiting and waiting for their forever family only to be caught up in the moratorium and politics of the agency and government. They have had very little; nothing to call their own except for each other. But now they have a family. A mother, a father, and 3 big brothers who will care for them, protect them and love them forever. They will have a bed with a mattress to sleep on. They will have food to eat when they are hungry. They will have warm, clean clothes to wear. Most of all they will have a family!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The last few days have been wonderful, exciting, stressful and full of wonder. Last Wednesday we signed and notarized what we thought and hoped would be out last docs before we traveled. We were able to get all this done and off to Fed Ex before 10 am. We took a breath of relief that we were going to finally be on our way to see our beautiful girls. Thursday I was to take one last trip to visit a dear friend in VA. My one last girl’s weekend before the twins come home. It was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed every minute of it except for the phone call from the agency saying that another set of papers needed to be signed. Sigh! So off I go again waiting for the docs to be emailed and running around trying to find a DHL office in a city I am not that familiar with. But I am happy to say it was sent off on Friday and made it to Vietnam on Monday. Now I am hoping this is the last docs we have to sign before we are in Vietnam.
When I returned home on Monday our Passports with Visa’s were there. Yeah! On Tuesday our flight tickets arrived and today our agency sent an email stating that the in country adoption fees had been paid by the Vietnam agency staff. So it looks like everything is a go. We will leave on the 16th and I am hoping to meet the girls on Saturday the 20th.
I can’t wait to hold my girls!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
G&R Date........Maybe
We are hoping for a G&R date for the week of Oct.22 however we were still filling out corrected forms yet this morning. Since we are the first family to adopt from Binh Thuan since the moratorium the forms needed to be revised for Binh Thuan slowing the process down. We are still hopeful for the week of the 22nd with a G&R on the 24th. If this is the case we will leave for VN on the 16th and are hoping to spend 4 days with the girls before the G&R. Wish us luck that things go smoothly from now on. I will keep you posted as travel time comes closer.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
"You have received the invitation to travel."
At 1:06 today we received an email for H the Program Director that we have received the invitation to travel. We do not have a G&R date but we are hoping it will be the week of the 22 Oct. We are hoping to leave a week early to spend time with the girls in hopes to make the transition smoother for them. Thank you to all that have been praying for our family.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Because we have not traveled yet……
I canned 40 quarts of tomatoes.
We were home for our son’s 22nd birthday.
The boys and I went to see Jeff Dunham live. I highly recommend seeing him!
I was able to visit two of my great friends one in Texas and one in Virginia.
I was able to get 34 of my continuing Ed hours for the year only two more hours to go
I had 2 root canals in two weeks.
My flowers will be bitten by the frost so no need to find someone to care for them.
The yard will not have to be mowed as much if at all. This will make my boys happy.
We will be able to save money for Vietnam.
I was able to see Iowa State beat Iowa! Go Cyclones!
My love for the girls grows ever stronger.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
To volunteer or not to volunteer that is the question.
Recently I emailed the WIC (Waiting International Children) team. I wanted to let them know I was traveling to the orphanage that the WIC children are and that I would be more than happy to take photos of the children for them to share with the potential families of these children. The agency as we have found out provides very few photos of the children so I thought I would volunteer my time and help them. I know how important it is for parents to have updated photos and for the children to have as they grow older. I never got a response to my email. Nothing! Do they care about these children and families? I am volunteering my time to help them when I could be spending all my time with my girls. What is up with that? I guess I need to think only of myself and my girls and not help other. Being self centered is not my style and it should not be theirs. I only want to help the children. Trying to be upfront with the agency just isn't worth the effort any more. It is just so sad because it only hurts the children.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
What would you do?
I asked our agency if there were any updated photos of our girls. The Program Director had been in Vietnam and delivered photo albums of our family to each of the girls. The agency person told me that when H returned she could have some updated photos and/or video of the girls. So knowing that she was back in the states, I emailed and asked for any video or photos. The agency replied with YES there is video of the girls, but we could not see it because there were other children in the video and we cannot isolate the clip which only the girls in it. You can imagine how my heart sank. I have not had a current photo since June, when volunteers went to the sponsorship camp. It makes me so sad to know that they have a video of our girls and will not share it with us. To add salt to the wound, I have heard that the agency has shared the video clips with other families with our girls in it. There must be a double standard on who gets to see the video. It is so sad that the girls have documentation of there lives in the orphanage in agencies hands, but they will not be able to have it as a keepsake. I find this appalling.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Progress?
We received an email from our agency this evening. This was after 2 days of calling and emails asking about progress with our adoption. This is what we found out. Our docs that we rushed to get notarized, certified and authenticated made it to Vietnam.
However there was a meeting for all the people involved in Vietnam adoptions to attend a training requested by the DIA concerning the new local change of government entities dealing with International adoption as well as the new rules recently implemented by the DIA. For this reason, our family's paperwork was not processed by the DIA until Tuesday, 9/18 VN time.
Another week of waiting for our girls to come home to their forever family.
The agency is expecting we will enter 2nd DIA notification tomorrow or today in Vietnam 20 Sep. We did receive travel notes and were able to fill out our Travel Preferences for our stay in Vietnam.
Within 7 days, the Province DMOJ is supposed to issue an invitation to travel for our family via the VN office and will ask the agency to pay the adoption fee on our behalf. When we receive the invitation to travel from DMOJ, we will have up to 30 days to prepare our travel to VN. We will travel as soon a possible.
Due to the recent change of agency and personnel working with our agency in the province, one agency listed on our previous acceptance letter is no longer involved with adoption so we have to resign the acceptance letter. This will be our 7th time to do this. It took five times when we first accepted the referral and now working on our 3nd time for this new acceptance letter. Will it ever be right?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
All I want is a travel date!
This wait is like being in your last days of pregnancy, a 18 month pregnancy, you are ready anytime anywhere. Just waiting. The room is done, the car seats are ready and the clothes are washed and ready to wear. But this wait is like no other. You do not have life inside you that you know will arrive when she is ready. This wait if for a child that is ready and waiting. Waiting for 3 long years for a family. We are ready the twins are ready so why do we wait.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Our paperwork is on a roll again.......
The notarized, certified, authenticated documents arrived in Minneapolis yesterday. The staff scanned them and emailed copies to the office in Vietnam with the originals to follow by DHL. I am hoping that this means things will start moving again and we will be able to travel soon.
Today I had an appointment to get all the travel meds ready. P, T and I will all take Malarone to prevent Malaria and we each get a Z pack incase we get travelers diarrhea. What fun! It is better to be prepared and much better than the illness. I also went over some medical issues of what ifs for the girls. I feel I am ready and armed with Motrin, Benadryl, Laxative, and Eczema creams. The only medical information I have on the girls is their height, weight, that they have very dry skin (probably Eczema) and cold feet.
We have asked the agency to give us extra time in country to spend with the girls. Typically the families arrive in country one or two days before the G&R date. They are given a day or so to meet their child. The G&R is usually the next day. These children have been much younger than our twins. We are asking the agency for something in writing stating we will be able to spend up to a week with the girls before we take custody. At this point the agency has not granted our request. We feel it is crucial to spend a few days with the girls in their environment before they are taken away from everything they have ever known. It is my understanding that they are very shy. Taking them out of their safe zone to fast could have long lasting negative effects; I would prefer to let them get to know us before they leave the orphanage.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Still Waiting
We are still in the waiting phase for a G&R date. Yesterday I was up bright and early to start paper chasing. By 8 am I was at P’s office to have docs notarized by 8:15 I was on the road to Des Moines to have them State Certified. At 10 am I was at the Secretary of State having the does certified and by 10:30 our docs where at the Fed Ex office to be shipped over night to San Francisco to be country authenticated. It is now out of our hands. The authentication of the documents at the Vietnam Consulate costs $50 per document. We paid an expedited fee of $20 each to get the documents authenticated as soon as they arrive and shipped off. The docs then are sent by DHL to the agency and they scan and sent them by email to Vietnam with the originals to follow by DHL. We should hear something next week about a G&R date. We are still hoping to travel the end of September the first of October.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Adoption Process Update
We are moving along in the adoption process. We have left the dreaded box 13 which is the good news. The bad news is we are now in limbo. Normally we would go right to box 14 but there has been a set back with our documents. In January we noticed a mistake on our I-171H form. This is the international form that goes to the US embassy in VN to state we are eligible to adopt x number of children. Our home study stated that we could adopt two children. Our front page of our home study stated only one child when in fact we are approved for two. In January we noticed the mistake and had it corrected. It was sent to the embassy in VN and is on file in the Embassy in VN. The agency never informed us that this document needed to be notarized, state certified and country authenticated and sent to the DIA. Our home study expired in June (it is only good for one year) so we updated our home study with our Social Worker this information was sent to the agency and we thought this was done and we would be ready to travel when the time comes. We were informed that the update to the home study was not processed by the agency and had been sitting on their server for months without any attention. Now that we are moving along in the process we found out that this paper work has to be done before we can move to box 14 and be given a G&R date.
Box 14 is when the DIA reviews and approves the child dossier. After the DIA has approved the girl’s dossier and they are deemed available for adoption the DIA issues at 2nd notification to the DMOJ (Province officials) to prepare for a G&R.
What all this means is that we again wait and the girls wait. In an ideal adoption we could travel within a month. Now we have no idea when we will travel but it will happen.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
New Photos
We received new photos of the twins from our agency this week. I love how they hold their lollipops, so dainty. Each twin has a bracelet on their left wrist. This helps the nannies tell them apart. We refer to them as GT (green twin) and RT (red twin).
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Scrapbooking
I've been learning how to do digital scrapbook pages and am falling in love with this new media. Here is one of my favorite layouts.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Keepers
Today is our 24th Wedding Anniversary and 11 years this month since my mom passed away from cancer. This morning I received this email from a friend. How appropriate...........
I grew up with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a Name for it... A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, and the hem in a dress. Things we keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.
But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.
Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So... While we have it... it's best we love it... And care for it.... And fix it when it's broken..... And heal it when it's sick.
This is true... For marriage.... And old cars.... And children with bad report cards..... Dogs and cats with bad hips.... And aging parents.... And grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.
There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special.... And so, we keep them close!
Good friends are like stars.... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.
Keep them close
Author unknown
Friday, August 10, 2007
Dreaded box 13
Today we enter the 30 day mark of the dreaded box 13. We are supposed to be in box 13 for 30 days and if the Province needs more time they can extend it another 30 days. It will be just another day of waiting to meet our girls.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Adventures in Vietnam
April 10, 2007
At 7:30 AM, we all loaded onto the van and headed north of the Ocean Star Resort.
We got out and climbed down to the beach, and K discovered wonderful sea shells.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Moving along in the process to get the girls........
We received an email from our agency today. The Vietnam team has informed us that we have moved into box 13 on the flow chart as of July 10.
Box 13 is when DMOJ response to the 1st DIA notification. This is where upon DMOJ receiving the girl's dossier from the orphanage, the DMOJ works with the PMU, police, immigration department, hospital, birth family, etc. to investigate the documents & statements in the girl's dossiers.
I don't want to get my hopes up about travel but we are moving right along.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007
Approval Process Begins
As far as progress on getting the girls home it is unknown. It took us 3 weeks and 4 tries to get the acceptance papers signed. Now that that is done the DIA (Department of International Adoptions) sends a request to the DMOJ (Department of Justice) in the Province. This is called the 1st DIA Notification and box 10 on the agency flow chart. Then the DMOJ will have the orphanage director prepare the girl’s dossier. This could take up to 37 days. We have had no word from the agency that we have entered into this next step.
Flow chart
Boxes 1 thru 9
These are the steps taken to get to the day of referral. It took us 436 days
Box 10
1st DIA Notification
Approval process begins once the DIA has received notification about the referral from the orphanage director, they send on official request for the child’s dossier from the DMOJ. This should take 7 days. We entered box 10 on June 19th.
Box 11
DMOJ Requests Child Dossier
Within 7 days of receiving notification the DMOJ notifies the orphanage to prepare child dossier
Box 12
Preparation of child’s dossier
The orphanage must prepare and submit 4 authenticated copies of the child dossier to the DMOJ with in 30 days
Box 13
DMOJ Response to 1st DIA notification
(1) Upon receiving the child dossier from the orphanage, the DMOJ works with the PMU, police, immigration department, hospital, birth family, etc. to investigate the documents & statements in the child dossier.
(2) Upon completion of the investigations, the DMOJ notifies the DIA that the investigation has found the that the child:
a. Is not legally free for adoption
b. Is legally free for adoption and sends the child dossier to the DIA
At least 30 days, but no more than 60 days
Box 14
DIA Review & Approval of child Dossier
The DIA received the response from the DMOJ and reviews the child dossier and either:
1) The DIA approves the child dossier and issues the 2nd notification to the DMOJ along with the parent dossier and request the DMOJ to prepare for the G&R (Giving and Receiving) 7 days
2) The DIA determines that further investigation and information about the child’s dossier; the DIA will instruct the responsible parties (DMOJ will coordinate with police, orphanage as needed).
The DOMJ has 30 days to provide the DIA with the requested information.
Box 15
2nd DIA Notification
DIA sends official letter to DMOJ stating their approval of the application along with the complete application fro the DMOJ to review. They have 7 days
**Agency-VN staff follows up with the DIA to learn the date of the approval
**Agency-VN follows up with the DMOJ to confirm that they have received the DIA Notification and prepare for the G&R.
Box 16
Travel Approval
(1) DMOJ receives 2nd notification with the complete application; DMOJ sends a letter to the family via agency informing them of the adoption approval and requests that the family pay the adoption fee. (7 days upon receipt of 2nd DIA notification)
(2) Agency-Vietnam arranges with the DMOJ to pay the adoption fee on family’s behalf.
(3) Agency-VN, working with the DMOJ, PMU and the family to determine appropriate flight arrangements to complete the adoption in Vietnam (within 30 days or 60 days if family requests an extension).
(4) Agency-VN sends the family’s letter of acceptance and requests the G&R date
(5) Agency works with family to arrange and prepare for travel.
Box 17
Approval from People Committee
1) DOMJ sends official letter a complete application to the People Committee to receive approval of the adoption
2) PC issues a legal decision order for the adoption and sends it to the DMOJ. 7 days
Box 18
G&R Date
Within 7 days of receiving the PC’s legal decision order, the DMOJ informs the PMU of G&R date
** The G&R will be arranged to occur within 15 business days (usually within the first 5 business days) the family is in Vietnam
Sunday, June 17, 2007
We have a referral!
Our journey began over a year ago. We have gone though a mountain of paperwork, waited and waited some more. Throughout this journey, I have been very active in researching thanks to the Internet. A year ago when we were researching agencies, we gathered all the information we could. As we looked at agencies and selected our agency, I was fortunate enough to have been given photos of children in an orphanage in one of the Provinces where the agency works in Vietnam. These photos were taken on a trip by a staff person who was working at the sponsorship summer camp. One of the photos caught my eye. The children in the photo where stunning, girls. I kept a copy of that photo on computer as my wallpaper to keep me going during the long wait.
These children where no longer infants and I knew that they would be harder to place as they aged in the orphanage. Most families want infant girls. Not us, we entered this adoption wanting to adopt a girl that possible was caught up in Vietnam’s 3 year long moratorium and destined to stay in an orphanage long-term due to age. These children came into the orphanage after Vietnam shut down adoptions and these children were growing older in the orphanage with little hope of finding a family.
As the year went by, this photo of the children in this Province inspired me to continue to fight for ethical adoptions for the children of VN. At one point, I even inquired about the children in the photo and was told that these children have been referred and will be traveling to their new home soon. I was really glad they had finally found a forever family. As Christmas neared I was told that the Province where the photo of the children was taken was going to open soon. Of course, I began to research to see if any of the children in the orphanage would fit our home study and hope the Province would open soon.
The Province has opened and there are 13 older (up to age 6) children in the orphanage. Some of the children have called this orphanage home for five years. My thoughts go back to the photos of the children I had seen at the beginning of our journey. Some have been referred out and some have not. Which ones are still there?
I found a mom who took her child on a homeland tour to the orphanage. This orphanage was the same orphanage my inspirational photo came from. Would she have information about the children remaining in the orphanage? I contacted her through email and she instantly replied with a phone number to call. Yes, she was at the orphanage less than a year ago and was able to see the children in the photo. She also told me the children in my photo were to have been referred out to another agency. Because the officials felt it may look inappropriate the children where not referred. She expressed her sorrow for the children. She knew that if they didn’t get referred soon the chances are slim that they would find a home.
So here I now had a photo on my computer of two lovely children who inspired me throughout the adoption process, who were still stuck in VN. Could one of these children be our adoptive child? The answer is yes!! We received a referral on May 24th. I saw the photo over a year ago and it is burned into my memory. The photo I saw a year ago was of a set of 2 year old twin girls.
We have been given a referral of the twin girls in the photo. They are now beautiful 3 year old girls. They have been waiting and waiting for their forever family only to be caught up in the moratorium and politics of the agency and government. They have had very little; nothing to call their own except for each other. But now they have a family. A mother, a father, and 3 big brothers who will care for them, protect them and love them forever. They will have a bed with a mattress to sleep on. They will have food to eat when they are hungry. They will have warm, clean clothes to wear. Most of all they will have a family! So with all that said I would like to present our daughters
Thanh Van and Thanh Vy
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Dragon Fruit
Dragon Fruit is a fruit grown in Binh Thuan Provence. It is so interesting. The above photo shows what the outside looks like. The Vietnamese grow it in groves within feet of their homes.
If the outside is not interesting enough the inside is as interesting. Who would think when you cut dragon fruit open that it would be white with black seeds.
The taste of dragon fruit is mild and can be compared to nothing we have. Just peel away the outside skin and enjoy. When in Vietnam you must try dragon fruit.
Dragon fruit being sold in the market.Monday, April 16, 2007
Back to reality.........
Depending on how you look at things I am back to reality. That is my reality. Vietnam puts everything in to perspective. I love Vietnam, I love the people, the culture and the adventure. However Vietnam puts things in perspective. We take for granted so many everyday things like clean drinking water, refrigeration, a drive in a comfortable vehicle, grocery stores. Yet the Vietnamese have access to very little of these things and yet they have smiles on their faces and live life to it's fullest. It is a hard life especially for women who do much of the labor. But yet they continue on with their lives and are happy.
It turned out I didn't have access to the Internet as I had planned so I didn't get to post as much as I like. In Saigon we had great access to the Internet in our rooms. The problem was we were not in our rooms very much and our stay was very short. In Ben Tré the only Internet is at the post office and it is hard to find time to get there. I had high hopes for the Internet at the resort in Phan Thiet but that too was disappointing. The resort had one computer and it was very slow. When I did have blogging time during naps the problem was down loading it to my thumb drive and transferring it to the resort computer after naps. It would crash the computer every time I would try. So I gave up (not wanting to buy the resort a new computer) and will post from the comforts of my home. The flip side of the Internet access was the time. The girls and I were so busy going to the beach, the pool and enjoying the day it was hard to find time to get to the computer and it was not fair for the girls to sit and watch me type. So my blogging will be after the fact.
Now that I am home I hope to share with you the adventures of our journey and boy was it an adventure. I have hundreds of photos of the country to give you a snapshot of what Vietnam is really like.
An update on our referral status. As of today we do not have a referral. We are hoping that once the orphanage in Binh Thuan opens referrals will flow and we will be one of them. M
Friday, April 6, 2007
Ben Tre Day 1
After arriving in Ben Tre and unloading our luggage except for mine, it is floating somewhere around the world. We had a little time to freshen up and off to the orphanage we went. The nannies were expecting us and had all the children dressed in new outfits. They were so cute. We gently entered the room that the children live in. It is very clean but things are worn. There are 20 children who live in this part of the orphanage. A room in size about 40X40. They range in age form 19 mos. to 4 weeks old. The oldest 4 children have been referred to families in the US and will be traveling home soon.
The first day we just wanted the children to get use to us being there. Many of the children warmed up to us immediately others needed a little time. It was so fun to recognize the children from photos other families have shared with me. We stayed at the center for 2 hours and then headed back to the hotel for a wonderful 7 course Vietnamese meal. The food was wonderful and it seems to never end.
Huston we have Internet!!!!!!!!
We are back in HCMC now. It is great to have a long hot shower. Ben Tre was wonderful it is like stepping back in time, except of course for the scooters. Travel took 3 hours on the narrow roughly paved roads. M encouraged me to take a Dramamine before we left and I am glad I did. The last portion of the trip was a ferry ride across the Mekong River. The city of Ben Tre is the point of entrance to the Provence. After a short trip down the streets we reached our hotel looking out on the Mekong Delta. M
Monday, April 2, 2007
Life Is Good!
After arriving yesterday we loaded up in a van and headed to the office of our agency. There we were so warmly welcomed by the staff and H. We immediately were served water and fruit. One was a grapefruit but much more delicious than in the US. I am not a grapefruit fan but this was good. After the brief stop at the office we headed through the streets of HCMC to our hotel. I usually keep my eyes focused out the front window because I get car sick easily but not here. If you look out the front window your heart will stop beating several times because you are afraid you will get hit. Just like the luggage in the airport there is no organization to traffic. ACK. After checking in at the hotel and a good hot shower we headed for the famous Ben Thuan market just a few minutes walk down the streets of HCMC. Oh and when I say a walk down the streets. It is actually down the street. The side walks are to full of venders and scooters for people to walk on the side walks. At the Ben Thuan market we grabbed a bit to eat and did a little shopping for the girls and headed back to the hotel for a short rest before supper. The short little nap turned into a 3 hour rest. A well needed 3 hour rest. At 6:30 we headed down stairs and off to see the sites.
Today we will leave for Ben Tre to visit the orphanage there. It will be a 4 hour journey, part of which will be on a fairy. I will write again as soon as I can. I’m not sure how the internet service will be in Ben Tre but I will do my best.
Always M
I Made It and........
I have only been in the country for less then 6 hours and I’m in love!
We arrived after a long 36 hour airport to airport journey. I started out in CR flew to Chicago then to LAX headed from there to Hong Kong then Hong Kong to HCMC. My flight starting out in CR was delayed by 1 hour so by the time the plane landed in Chicago the plain to LA was boarding. So I ran through the Chicago airport as fast as I could carry a back pack that was way too heavy and pulling my carry on. I made it with out any time to spare. The flight to LA was typical long national flight. When I reached LA I was to meet the family I was to be traveling with. It was a great reunion. The flight to Hong Kong was over 14 hours and time slowly ticked by. I would sleep thinking 3 or 4 hours had passed only to awake to have only an hour or two pass. I was so pleased when we landed only to find out flight to Hong Kong was boarding. So we hit the ground hustling to make our next flight. The flight to Hong Kong was a piece of cake only two hours and nine minutes. We finally made it to HCMC and where thrilled to be in Vietnam. Going through customs was relatively easy which was good because the girls where ready to be set free. Luggage pick up was an interesting adventure. Not any organization to any of it. Luggage luggage everywhere. Except mine. M found all her pieces but my two where missing. We headed to the lost luggage desk and sure enough my luggage did not make it to VN. I’m in love with Vietnam! M
Saturday, March 31, 2007
I'm off to see the world!
I have been invited to go with a family to visit Vietnam on a volunteer journey. I am so excited to soak up the culture my future daughter will come from. I will be leaving today and arrive in HCMC on April 2nd. I will meet up with my traveling family in LA where we will head out over the big pond to Hong Kong and then HCMC. I am hoping to post frequently to this blog so you will be able to follow along our exciting journey to see the sights and people of Vietnam. M
Saturday, March 24, 2007
All About Me!
I've been tagged..........
1.What time is it? 9:47 CST
2. What is your name? Gardencart
3. What do you fear losing most? My children
4. What do you drive? Jeep Grand Cherokee
5. Have you ever seen a ghost? Uncertain
6. Where were you born? Iowa Falls, Iowa
7. Ever been to Alaska? No
8. Ever been toilet papering, rolling, or decorating trees? Yes
9. Croutons or Bacon bits? Croutons
10. Favorite day of the week? I like them all
11. Favorite restaurant? To many to choose just one
12. Favorite Flower? Today it’s Hyacinth
13. Favorite sport to watch? Baseball
14. Favorite Drink? Diet Mountain Dew
15. Favorite Ice Cream? DQ Peanut butter cup blizzard
16. Disney or Warner Brothers? Disney, always Disney
17. Favorite fast food restaurant? Mickey D's
18. What color is your bedroom carpet? Cream
19. How many times did you fail your driving exam? None
20. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? Margaret
21. What do you do most often when you are bored? Who gets bored!
22. What is your bedtime? 10:00
23. Favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy
24. Ford or Chevy? Chevy
25. What are you listening to right now? Children playing
26. What are your favorite colors? Blue, Pink, Green
27. How many tattoos do you have? None, but contemplating
28. Do you have any pets? 3 dogs,(Dalmatian, yorkie, golden doodle) and 2 cats
29. Which came first the chicken or the egg? Chicken
30. What would you like to accomplish before you die? To see the world!
I tag Karin, Chocoholic, KelleyO!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Happy Spring!
Happy Spring!
The good news is that it is spring and the flowers are popping their heads out of the ground. The grass is turning green at least mine is I fertilized earlier this week. OH happy days.
The great news is that our program director has headed back to VN. She may be opening up a new orphanage. That would be wonderful for all the waiting families with our agency.
Adoption is often compared to a roller coaster ride. Many ups and downs ups and downs. These last few days have been on the up! Hold on.........
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Differences between Angelina’s Adoption from VN and Mine
1. We wait to be matched with a child our adoption is on its 367 day.
Angelina goes to VN over thanksgiving and picks one out.
2. Our dossier has been in VN for 7 Months now.
Angelina’s gets logged in immediately.
3. We have to wait for the child’s dossier to be collected up to 6 months
Angelina’s child has his done with out the 30 days to look for the birth parents.
4 We have to wait for travel approval from the Province
Angelina gets right in.
5. We have to wait for a G & R date and then we are lucky if it happens on time.
Angelina gets one and it is as scheduled.
6. We have to wait one week for the child’s passport to be done.
Angelina’s child is given immediately.
7 We then have to wait to get an appointment to the US Embassy to apply for a Visa to the US.
Angelina I don’t think so.
8. We have to wait 24 hours for the child’s Visa to pass the security clearance to make sure our child is not a terrorist.
Angelina must not.
9. Our travel to VN will take up to 3 weeks.
Angelina’s is done in less than a week.
10. We are just a family wanting to adopt a little girl. So we wait. Angelina is a celebrity so she gets instant gratification.
Don’t get me wrong. I think that Angelina is doing a great thing by adopting especially an older boy which is harder to place. But how come she dose not get in line. I wonder what her dossiers log in number is if she even has one. We have been waiting over 7 months just for a referral. Dr Long where is my dossier? I am requesting to adopt an older girl so what is the difference. She’s a celeb! I’m just a mom!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
365 Days..........
It has been 365 days since we started this journey into adoption.
In 365 days all the seasons have passed.....
In 365 days I have learned to be patient......
In 365 days I have learned to love the children of Vietnam......
In 365 days I have made many new friends, most I have never met.......
In 365 days I have grown in faith.....
In 365 days I have learned the importance of ethical, legal, transparent adoptions....
In 365 days I grow weary of every meeting my daughter....
In 365 days I wonder will this adoption journey ever end with a daughter in my arms........
Pitt and Jolie To Adopt Child from Vietnam?
Pitt and Jolie To Adopt Child from Vietnam?
SanFrancisco Chronicle
The pair have three children -- Maddox, 5, Zahara, 2, and Shiloh, 9 months.
A source in Vietnam tells US Weekly the couple have filed papers with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services to adopt a boy from the Tam Binh orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, which they visited in November.
The pair have long been vocal about their desire to raise more international children.
Their son Maddox was born in Cambodia, while daughter Zahara was born in Ethiopia.
Jolie said recently, "If we're going to have 10 kids, we'd like to raise them while we're young."
