The latest...

Well, I will pick up where I left off last time. We mailed in our I-600A paperwork (preapproval for Vietnam) just about 2 weeks ago. ASC sent us the rough draft of our home study a little over a week ago and I made some revisions to it and emailed it back. Once the final copy is done, they will send us a copy, a copy will go to our agency (FTIA) and then one to pair with our I-600A paperwork. When all of that is received by the "powers that be" here in Indiana, then we get our I-171...This is our official fingerprints for adoption. It's one of about 100 sets of fingerprinting we have to do in the process. I can honestly say that I think I might feel like a felon once this is done (hehe). Once all of the above is completed, THEN we get added to the wait list at FTIA. It appears our # will be approx. in the 60's, somewhere, in terms of families ahead of us for a baby girl. To put that into perspective....There have been approx 10 referrals of children since January. Theoretically, that means we will have our beautiful little girl in about 6 years ;-) (wink-wink). We've been told that the process will begin to pick up as Vietnam gets their new systems in place and protocols regulated. We try to keep in mind that Vietnam shut down for 3 years for unethical practices both by both the Vietnamese and Americans. So, to ensure that those practices remain under control, they are continually modifying and changing policies. They have recently implemented a few that appear to be a step in the right direction. It is anticipated that the process will begin to speed up and we are prayerful that it will.

As for the job hunt, that has been off and on over the past few weeks. I have had several interviews but nothing that I felt was a, "great fit", so I am continuing to keep my eyes open and we shall see.

Last but not least, I spoke with Rachel, our coordinator at FTIA about when she thinks I can begin working on our dossier. (side note- our dossier is what we complete when we are approx 4-6 months away from a referral) Rachel said that it probably won't be for 12-15 months :( The sad part about that is, you can't adopt a baby without a completed dossier. Soooo, that tells us that we are (BEST case) 16 months away from a referral and (WORSE case) 2 years. So, we will wait. That leaves us lots of time together and lots of time to think. We have been pondering little girl names....We like, Kendall. We also like, Emerson (calling her Emmie or Emma) Faith. I'm guessing with the wait we have, we'll come up with JUST A FEW more :) I've also purchased a few lil baby girl outfits. I know, we don't know when she'll come home but I figure if I buy 12 months and up, I'm pretty safe! Vietnamese babies are smaller than American babies. Plus, I can't help it :) I got her camouflage overalls with pink buttons for her daddy!!! I just couldn't resist! Of course I got her a pink hat to match.

Well, that is it for now...I'll let you know when we have our official number on the wait list.

Love and hugs to all!