The paper chase!

Hello all! :) Well, I'm happy to report that we are seeing signs of BEAUTIFUL spring here in Indy!!! The daffodils are peaking out of the ground along with the beginning of our tulips!!! It's so exciting to see GREEN!!! I absolutely LOVE this time of year here. There are so many amazing flowers. Of course, with spring comes the desire for home improvements! About two months ago, "B" and I ordered a new family room (couch, tables, etc) and so over last weekend I decided we should paint before the furniture arrives. The family room looked so nice after painting, it turned into the hallway, and next thing we knew it...Our bedroom :) I was on a mission. I'm really excited it turned out nicely and just in time for my sisters to arrive in two weeks. I can't wait to see them!

Ok, so on to the latest information and boy is there plenty. As you may remember about 2 weeks ago we were told to begin our dossier. Well, the message was very clear that we would need to do it FAST. The message from our agency was..."As fast as possible". So, needless to say I was in overdrive running around like a loony. We had to get our criminal reports, medical records, home study, I-171, reference letters, etc, etc. In the adoption world they call this the, "paper chase". I got a first hand example as to why it is called that!!! WOW!!! Talk about busy!! After we gathered out documents we took them to get them notarized and then down to the Secretary of State in Indianapolis. Now they are at the Vietnam Embassy (via RUSH mode) and will return to us, all to get to our agency ASAP where they will then be reviewed and sent on to Vietnam for translation and log in of our DOSSIER. All of this is important because we still do not know what the true outcome will be regarding Vietnam closing come Sept 1st. There has been no more news on that front but many are speculating based on all of the rushing around we are doing. If we can get logged in to Vietnam before the POTENTIAL shutdown, we have been told there is a good possibility we could continue our adoption. So we are praying for that and for God to direct all of our steps. We hope to have our paperwork back from the Embassy sometime this week and then we will be overnighting them to our agency (FTIA).

Next bit of news....USCIS has issued an "UNOFFICIAL" statement saying that all children in Vietnam who are relinquished (turned over for adoption, NOT abandoned) will require DNA testing. This opens an entirely new set of concerns. As I'm sure you can imagine, Vietnam has a much different culture than the U.S. and there is a HUGE stigma to surrendering your child, especially if you are an unwed birth mother. There are many concerns about this and how it will affect relinquishing children but to be honest, I just can't think about it or be concerned. I am doing my best to keep my eyes FIXED on God and His plan for us. It's the only thing that gives me peace. There are SOOO many unknowns in International adoption, you could "WHAT IF" this to absolute death...We just chose not to. I have actually removed myself from all but one of our support groups because of all of the negativity. I feel like we have our own support group, in each other (Brandon and I) are friends, family, agency and adoptive parents we have gotten to know personally.

Now for the good news!! :) Our agencies update this week was positive once again and they have said that amidst all the changes and uncertainty they continue to process adoptions and move forward. More children have been matched with families and more referrals will be coming soon (yayyy!!!). That means we are likely still on target for our referral sometime in April-August 2009. Of course, we'll continue to keep you posted.

Last, we ask for prayers for the little girl (birth mom) soon to give birth to her baby girl. We don't believe that we will have the opportunity to adopt this baby girl but we still ask for prayers for her and her mom. She is going through what must be the most DIFFICULT BY FAR, time in her life!! Also, Brandon and I have been throwing around a potential concurrent adoption as well. This means we could possibly adopt another child domestically or Internationally while we wait for our lil girl to come home from Vietnam. We have been talking and praying about this for a few weeks now but we haven't felt God pulling us to take ACTION, so we are waiting and attempting to be patient. While we consider options we ask for prayer for God to open and close doors along this road and direct our paths and make them crystal clear. We don't want to live out OUR plan we want to live out HIS plan.

We hope this finds everyone doing well!!! We miss and love you all!!! Anyone who wants to venture up to Indy during this gorgeous spring weather, our doors are open and you are more than welcome!!! :)

PS- MANY HUGE THANKS to The Andries, The Sampens, The Beasley's, The Luedtke's and my family for TRULY helping us get our paperwork submitted TIMELY!!!! You all don't know how much your help meant to us!!! We COULDN'T have moved as quickly as we did without you ALL!!!!

BIG HUGE HUGS!!!! xoxo
Robin & Brandon