I was so excited to check the mail today and see that my documents from the State were here already! You know, these are the documents that had to first be notarized, and then sent to the State for the official state seal...'Authentication.' For those in 'the know,' you understand. For those not in 'the know,' I'll explain in another blog. For now, all you need to understand is that this is one of the last steps before things get sent off to Vietnam.
So, I was excited to see my State Sealed, Authenticated Documents in the mail today! It only took one week from the time I sent the documents to today. With a holiday in there to boot! I was thrilled. And that's when I figured out I'm an idiot. Sigh. I opened the envelope and inside was a letter saying I had goofed. I had all but one document sealed...the last one was our marriage certificate. The one I sent wasn't signed by the county registrar, therefore, it couldn't be state sealed!! In the words of Homer Simpson..."D'OH"!!!!!!!!
Yeah...I'm an idiot. So, I need to send that one little marriage certificate and have it authenticated. There goes another week.....
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
Hmmm....I never know what to say...."Happy" Memorial Day sounds wrong, because it's a time to remember those we have lost, yet, the Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial kick-off to Summer....so, I guess I'll just say I wish you all a good weekend, filled with family and fun, and memories of loved ones that have passed.
This weekend I've been thinking about my father, who passed away about four years ago. He was 66 and I was 29. My family is a little odd in the fact that my parents had me later in life. I came 14 years after my sister, and 16 years after my brother. When my Dad passed away, I was, and I guess still am, a bit jealous of my siblings. They had more time with Dad, my sister's kids had a grandfather growing up, those kinds of things. But, I have wonderful memories of special times shared with my dad and my family, and I know he's always with me in spirit.
I often find myself wondering what he would think about our adopting a baby from Vietnam. Oh, I know without a doubt that there would be NO QUESTION that he would accept her as his own flesh and blood. He was always like that...he always taught me to be fair and unjudgemental, to help and share with others, to be kind. And I know my Dad would love our little baby "M." I just really wonder what his exact words would have been, what he would have thought. I'd like to think he'd be proud that we chose to start our family in this way, and I also can hear him chuckle and shake his head a little at me, not because he was disappointed in any way, but because I have never done anything in a real conventional way. :) I always seem to do things just a little bit differently than others, especially my siblings. Yeah, I DO like to be unique.
I can see in my mind's eye my Dad holding "M" in his arms the first time, and gumming her little hands...you know..."I'm going to eat your fingers" kind of a thing. :) And then handing the baby off to Grandma or Aunty or Momma when she starts to cry. Those thoughts make me smile and make my heart swell. I can picture him with Baby "M" so vividly at times that I know he is with her now. I have known since we began the adoption process over a year ago that he would be with her, even before she was born, and take care of her and watch over her. I know that might sound silly to some people, but I truly believe it. He is as much a part of her 'red thread' connection of loved ones as her living soon-to-be relatives. It gives me peace of mind, too, while we wait for her referral, and then to travel to her, to think of my Dad watching over her.
For all of you who have lost a loved one, I wish you happy memories and a peaceful soul. And as for the unofficial start to Summer, I hope you all make some new memories with your family, and take time to play and laugh. Enjoy your weekend!
This weekend I've been thinking about my father, who passed away about four years ago. He was 66 and I was 29. My family is a little odd in the fact that my parents had me later in life. I came 14 years after my sister, and 16 years after my brother. When my Dad passed away, I was, and I guess still am, a bit jealous of my siblings. They had more time with Dad, my sister's kids had a grandfather growing up, those kinds of things. But, I have wonderful memories of special times shared with my dad and my family, and I know he's always with me in spirit.
I often find myself wondering what he would think about our adopting a baby from Vietnam. Oh, I know without a doubt that there would be NO QUESTION that he would accept her as his own flesh and blood. He was always like that...he always taught me to be fair and unjudgemental, to help and share with others, to be kind. And I know my Dad would love our little baby "M." I just really wonder what his exact words would have been, what he would have thought. I'd like to think he'd be proud that we chose to start our family in this way, and I also can hear him chuckle and shake his head a little at me, not because he was disappointed in any way, but because I have never done anything in a real conventional way. :) I always seem to do things just a little bit differently than others, especially my siblings. Yeah, I DO like to be unique.
I can see in my mind's eye my Dad holding "M" in his arms the first time, and gumming her little hands...you know..."I'm going to eat your fingers" kind of a thing. :) And then handing the baby off to Grandma or Aunty or Momma when she starts to cry. Those thoughts make me smile and make my heart swell. I can picture him with Baby "M" so vividly at times that I know he is with her now. I have known since we began the adoption process over a year ago that he would be with her, even before she was born, and take care of her and watch over her. I know that might sound silly to some people, but I truly believe it. He is as much a part of her 'red thread' connection of loved ones as her living soon-to-be relatives. It gives me peace of mind, too, while we wait for her referral, and then to travel to her, to think of my Dad watching over her.
For all of you who have lost a loved one, I wish you happy memories and a peaceful soul. And as for the unofficial start to Summer, I hope you all make some new memories with your family, and take time to play and laugh. Enjoy your weekend!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Why Vietnam?
We have been planning to adopt an infant girl from China. Many of you may know that China is currently flooded with applications of people waiting to adopt. A conservative estimate of the number of people waiting is around 30,000. When a person submits all the paperwork (dossier) required to adopt, and it reaches China, they are given a Log In Date. This date is the official date from which the Great Wait begins. Our Log In Date is 9-20-06. The Chinese Government adoption office has a website that lists which date they are at for referring babies. At the present time, that date is 11-01-05. As you can see, there is almost a whole year between our date and the current date. One of the reasons behind this delay is that the Chinese government does not have enough babies that are ready to be adopted internationally. The other reason is that there are so many people waiting to adopt. To put it crudely, there is a supply-demand problem.
Starting May 1st, the Chinese government implemented new regulations for people adopting. These regulations are to limit the number of people who are eligible to adopt. Since we already had our log in date, we would not be affected by these new regulations. But, with changes in the amount of income people need, limits on any health issues, medications, etc., this will significantly reduce the number of new applications sent to China. Some people suggest that these new regulations may decrease the waiting time, while others say that this is just not possible. Realistically, we would not see a referral for our baby until the summer of 2008, and that is probably pushing it.
The adoption community took a big hit a couple of weeks ago when the latest batch of baby referrals were sent out by China. Since the slow down began, it is common for China to send out 2 or 3 weeks of referral dates at a time. For instance, people with log in dates between 10-1-05 and 10-15-05 would get referred a baby. In this last batch, only 2 days were referred. No one is exactly sure why, and the adoption community is still reeling about this, and also wondering, "what next?" I have been told by my adoption assistant that she does not feel China would completely close down adoptions with people still waiting. This HAS happened with other countries, however, and you just don't know what can happen in Internation Adoption. China has every right to do whatever they want to with their adoption program. Whether they would close it or not, I am not sure.
With that bit of a background for you, Mike and I have just recently changed our adoption plans. While participating in an adoption rumor and chat board site (gotta love the Rumor Queen), I happened upon someone's posting regarding her adoption plans. After contacting her and getting a ton of information from her, and then contacting her adoption agency and assistant, we have decided to adopt an infant girl from Vietnam. The difference is enormous, and I am still absolutely in awe of the new process we will be going through. Since we already have our paperwork done for China, we will have to update a few documents because they are older than 6 months, but we will not have to start over. I have updated our new documents, and currently they are at the Secretary of State office to be authenticated. When I get them back, hopefully during the last week of May, they will have to be sent off to the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco for their official stamp. Then they will be on their way to Vietnam!!
Once in Vietnam, we can expect a referral anywhere from 0-30 DAYS. NOT WEEKS, NOT MONTHS.....DAYS. Once we receive our baby referral and agree that we will adopt this child, I will be travelling to Vietnam anywhere from 8-10 weeks later. So, what does this all mean? I will most likely be travelling to Vietnam, to bring home our baby daughter, in September. I could not be happier!!!
Also, when looking at China, we knew that our daughter would be, at the youngest, 9-10 months old. At the time of our Vietnam referral, our baby will be anywhere from 30 to 60 days old!!! Add another 8-10 weeks before I get her, and you can see that our daughter will be under 6 months old when I get her. Exciting!! :) This is wonderful, not only because I won't feel as if I'm missing important developmental steps....her first words, first crawl, fun stuff like that, but it's also best for attachment issues. And, while they try their very best to take care of the babies in the orphanage, nothing is as good as a mommy and daddy. Even if we don't know what we're doing!! :)
Starting May 1st, the Chinese government implemented new regulations for people adopting. These regulations are to limit the number of people who are eligible to adopt. Since we already had our log in date, we would not be affected by these new regulations. But, with changes in the amount of income people need, limits on any health issues, medications, etc., this will significantly reduce the number of new applications sent to China. Some people suggest that these new regulations may decrease the waiting time, while others say that this is just not possible. Realistically, we would not see a referral for our baby until the summer of 2008, and that is probably pushing it.
The adoption community took a big hit a couple of weeks ago when the latest batch of baby referrals were sent out by China. Since the slow down began, it is common for China to send out 2 or 3 weeks of referral dates at a time. For instance, people with log in dates between 10-1-05 and 10-15-05 would get referred a baby. In this last batch, only 2 days were referred. No one is exactly sure why, and the adoption community is still reeling about this, and also wondering, "what next?" I have been told by my adoption assistant that she does not feel China would completely close down adoptions with people still waiting. This HAS happened with other countries, however, and you just don't know what can happen in Internation Adoption. China has every right to do whatever they want to with their adoption program. Whether they would close it or not, I am not sure.
With that bit of a background for you, Mike and I have just recently changed our adoption plans. While participating in an adoption rumor and chat board site (gotta love the Rumor Queen), I happened upon someone's posting regarding her adoption plans. After contacting her and getting a ton of information from her, and then contacting her adoption agency and assistant, we have decided to adopt an infant girl from Vietnam. The difference is enormous, and I am still absolutely in awe of the new process we will be going through. Since we already have our paperwork done for China, we will have to update a few documents because they are older than 6 months, but we will not have to start over. I have updated our new documents, and currently they are at the Secretary of State office to be authenticated. When I get them back, hopefully during the last week of May, they will have to be sent off to the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco for their official stamp. Then they will be on their way to Vietnam!!
Once in Vietnam, we can expect a referral anywhere from 0-30 DAYS. NOT WEEKS, NOT MONTHS.....DAYS. Once we receive our baby referral and agree that we will adopt this child, I will be travelling to Vietnam anywhere from 8-10 weeks later. So, what does this all mean? I will most likely be travelling to Vietnam, to bring home our baby daughter, in September. I could not be happier!!!
Also, when looking at China, we knew that our daughter would be, at the youngest, 9-10 months old. At the time of our Vietnam referral, our baby will be anywhere from 30 to 60 days old!!! Add another 8-10 weeks before I get her, and you can see that our daughter will be under 6 months old when I get her. Exciting!! :) This is wonderful, not only because I won't feel as if I'm missing important developmental steps....her first words, first crawl, fun stuff like that, but it's also best for attachment issues. And, while they try their very best to take care of the babies in the orphanage, nothing is as good as a mommy and daddy. Even if we don't know what we're doing!! :)
Hey...I got a Blog!
So, I've been putting off starting a blog. I'm not really sure why...I guess I didn't feel it was time yet. Why do I think it's time now?? I have no idea. I just thought...what the heck, let's go for it.
If you don't know me, you're probably wondering, "Hey! What's this blog about??" Well, let me tell you. It's about our Venture to Vietnam to adopt our infant daughter. Currently, I'm finishing up our paperchase, getting all the ducks in a row, and we should have our paperwork to Vietnam in about two weeks. I'll explain more about the paperwork process and why we chose Vietnam to adopt in later posts. But for now, I'll leave it as that, and welcome you all to our venture, and my blog. Enjoy!!
If you don't know me, you're probably wondering, "Hey! What's this blog about??" Well, let me tell you. It's about our Venture to Vietnam to adopt our infant daughter. Currently, I'm finishing up our paperchase, getting all the ducks in a row, and we should have our paperwork to Vietnam in about two weeks. I'll explain more about the paperwork process and why we chose Vietnam to adopt in later posts. But for now, I'll leave it as that, and welcome you all to our venture, and my blog. Enjoy!!
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