Shopping!!

Hello all! As expected, things have been rather quiet the last week and I anticipate not much news for 2-3 more weeks on any new referrals. There has also been silence regarding the status of Vietnam adoptions and probably will not be any new news regarding whether or not the Memorandum of Understanding (between the U.S. and Vietnam) will be renewed for a few months. So for now, we are hopeful and waiting.

So, I couldn't help myself (I really do try ;-) I was walking by Gymboree and saw this adorable little sailor dress and melted!! I could just picture it on our little princess with a cute lil red bow in her black hair. Of course, I brought it home to show Brandon and he thought it was adorable.

This long gestation of ours leaves entirely too much time for shopping!!!! (hehehe :)
Enjoy your week!
Love, Rob & B

Prayers Requested

Hello everyone! I hope you've all had a good start to your week. We have had some nice, mild weather here in Indy today. Well, you're probably wondering why I'm sending another update so early in the week. Information was passed on to us today that I wanted to share with you all. The adoption community and family's adopting from Vietnam got some nerve racking news. The U.S. government issued a warning this afternoon, urging people not to file for adoptions from Vietnam (at this time) and that reads as follows:

http://www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption/intercountry/intercountry_3939.html

Of course, we were not completely shocked because we had heard some speculation surrounding this issue. We know that this could POTENTIALLY (but not definitely) negatively affect our adoption. Brandon and I are both concerned but we have faith that God is in control and His will, will be done...Wherever that may take us. We ask that our friends and family will PLEASE pray for the children of Vietnam, the families currently in process of adopting from Vietnam and for the officials responsible for initiating this very big decision.

Again, today we are reminded ever so much:
James 1-2:5
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all, without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Hugs to everyone! :)
Robin and Brandon

Tet- Vietnamese New Year

Hello, this week and the next few weeks to come will be fairly quiet (we believe) in regard to referrals of lil ones. It is now time for Tet- THE VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION!! During this time, everyone in Vietnam will be focused on this celebration and adoptions will likely slow down during this time period. I have cut & pasted an explanation (below) of Tet for those of you who are not familiar. This was a huge learning experience for Brandon and I as well. This is our first experience with Tet.

Tet, which means the first morning of the first day of the new year, is the Vietnamese New Year. The celebration lasts for 7 days. Like the Chinese, the Lunar New Year is one of the most celebrated holidays. Tet starts on February 12 in 2002. According to the Vietnamese Zodiac, 2001 is the Year of the Horse. Preparation for Tet starts weeks before New Year's Day. Homes are cleaned to get rid of bad fortune associated with the old year. Families paint their homes to give it a new look. Everyone gets new clothes and new shoes. Pay your debts and resolve differences between family and friends. A special ceremony called Le Tru Tich is held at the mid-night hour (Giao Thua) on New Year's Eve. The ritual involves firecrackers and gongs and other festive items that make loud noises to usher out the old and welcome the new. Like the Chinese, Vietnamese people are very careful about what they do on New Year's Day. The events on New Year's Day determine your luck for the rest of the year. Therefore, everything and everyone you are in touch with on New Year's Day should symbolize good fortune. Don't visit people who are in mourning because they are associated with death. Children should not fight or cry on New Year's Day. Homes are decorated with Hoa Mai, a yellow blossom that represents spring. Family members exchange gifts and pay homage to the Kitchen God. They also visit local temples to pray for prosperity and good health. During Tet, Vietnamese families plant a New Year's tree called Cay Neu in front of their homes. A bamboo pole is often used as a Cay Neu. All the leaves are removed from the tree so that it can be wrapped or decorated by good luck red paper. Legends have it that the red color scares off evil spirits. On the seventh (the last) day of Tet, the Cay Neu is taken down. This is the last ritual of the New Year celebration.

Last but not least a little story.... Brandon and I went out to dinner on Friday night and then went to a store where Brandon picked up the CUTEST shirt. My back was to him and he tapped me on the shoulder and held this PINK t-shirt up in front of my face that read, "I LOVE DAD!!- (HE BUYS ME THINGS) hehehe! We both got the biggest smiles on our face and I gave him a huge hug as he said, "We're getting this one!!" :))) This continues to be one of the most AMAZING journey's for both of us. We are learning daily about what it is to love & live in faith.

James 1:2-5
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

2 more referrals this week!!

Phewwww is it cold here this morning! It's a WHOLE 6 degrees here in lovely Brownsburg!! :) I'm about ready to venture out and visit Boomer at the barn. NOT before I put on 12 layers of clothing, of course. I can't even believe I'm going! The things we do for the ones we love ;-) I hope many of you are cozy and warm when reading this.

The FTIA families received some more GREAT news this week!! There were two more lil ones referred to adopting families!!!!! A baby boy and a baby girl!! We were able to see pictures of the baby girl, she is 7 months old and looked like she was well cared for. She is a beautiful, pudgy lil one :))) So with these two angels being referred to their families, there have been 7 this month!! This is just SO exciting for everyone involved!!! It really revs our engines in regard to helping us feel more "in the moment". We have gone through so many ranges of emotion but the most recent one we struggle with is, embracing our time line. The process is so long that it's hard to plan and we don't know exactly how old she will be when she comes home so it makes it challenging to plan.

I asked our coordinator with FTIA when she thought we would begin preparations for our dossier and she said, anything could change but she didn't foresee us working on our dossier until April 2009. That would indicate a potential referral about 2-4 months after that. So for all of our friends and family that are curious as to our time line, this will give you a better idea.

We received some additional news this Friday regarding the adoption process. Previously, when you received your referral, you traveled to your child about 1-2 months later. Now, based on new safeguards implemented by USCIS and the Vietnamese government, it's 3-5 months. That's a tough thing to conceive of! You have seen a picture of your child at that point but can't be united with her for 3-5 months. Another reason this is important is because it makes the age of the children coming home older. Previously, the lil ones being referred were 3-6 months and now they believe this new process will mean that most of the children coming home will be 9-12 months when the travel home.

So, that's about it for updates. It's been another great week!! :) As always, we ask that you please keep our lil girl in your prayers.

Much Love,
Robin & Brandon

Great News to start off 2008!

The news we've been waiting for since August 2007!!!

FABULOUS news hit us last Thursday (January 3rd) when we returned from our time away!! We opened our mail to find out that we had gotten our I-600 Pre-approval from USCIS!!!! WOOO-HOOOOO!!!! The very next morning 1/4, I called our agency to share the good news. They asked us to fax over the paperwork, we put our check in the mail and just like that, we were OFFICIALLY added to the waiting list for VIETNAM....Another step closer to bringing our angel home!!!! We could not be more excited than we are. The excitement honestly has not worn off since the 4th. We can hardly believe that we are on, "THE LIST"!!! So what do we do from here???? I bet you guessed it....We wait and wait. When we are about 3-6 months away from receiving a referral for our little girl, FTIA will ask us to start working on our dossier. This will be about 2-4 months of extensive work preparing our packet for the US government, Vietnam and FTIA. This process never ceases to amaze us but it doesn't change the excitement in our hearts for the day we meet our little girl. You may be wondering where we are on, "the list"...We are approx #78 overall and about #60-65 requesting a baby girl. What does this translate to??? Our agency placed approx 20-30 children this past year, so you can see how the math works out. But, it does appear that the process to adopt from Vietnam is getting more and more mainstreamed and with luck, will pick up.

As if the news of us being added to the wait list was not good enough, we got even better news!!! There were 4 referrals made on 1/2/08!!!! That was amazing!! THEN, there was another referral for a baby girl on 1/11/08...That is 5 so far this year!!!!! WOO-HOOO!!!! Along with that great news, the agency sent out an email to family's adopting saying there would likely be 2 more referrals before the month of January ends!!!! What an unbelievable way to start the year!!!! We're so excited and we'll be sure to keep you posted. I hope to be writing more frequently this year to keep everyone in the loop.

Love, hugs and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Robin & Brandon

Finally it's fingerprint time!!!!!!!! Another step closer....

Hello everyone! As you all may remember, we have been waiting for our fingerprint appt from USCIS (immigration). They apparently are back logged b/c of Guatemala's upcoming shutdown for adoptions. The appts typically take 2 weeks from the time your home study is submitted. In our case, it took just a touch longer (haha), alot longer! Anyway, our appt is scheduled for Monday the 10th. Unfortunately, we will not be able to attend that appt b/c Brandon is having surgery. So, we are going to have to go the following week. Once USCIS performs our 20th set of fingerprints (haha) then we wait 2 weeks (hopefully) for the prints to be processed and to get our pre clearance. THEN, we "OFFICIALLY" will be added to FTIA's formal wait list for Vietnam. I asked where approx that puts us and it looks like somewhere in the 80's. To put that into perspective for everyone, our agency has placed approx 20-25 children this year. Most agencies are falling somewhere in that arena for placements of children from Vietnam. That is about all we know right now. Unless the process speeds up (which it can and it can also slow down) we are looking at around 24 more months.

Keep us and our little girl in your prayers! We pray that she is will be healthy, well cared for and that she will know and love the Lord!!! :)))

Until next our next update....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

The Rumor Mill

A little venting for me today....So apparently there is a rather large rumor going around on the message boards that Vietnam will be closing THEIR doors to Intl adoption from the U.S. Here is the post that I received from our FTIA yahoo group today:

Hi Everyone,

It seems there is talk on the various listservs that VN will be
shutting down and halting adoptions next March. I contacted Rachel,
and she asked if I would let everyone on our listserv know that this
rumor is inaccurate and just that - a rumor.

The bilateral agreement between the US and VN will be expiring next
August, and both countries are working on renewing the agreement.

Rachel stated that we will be updated with more details on Friday.

Of course this makes me rather nervous b/c this is precisely what happened to the families adopting from Guatemala prior to the shutdown (rumors). So, please keep us, other adoptive families and more importantly THE CHILDREN in your prayers. It would be terrible if this did ever come to fruition.

Hugs and love,
Robin

STILL WAITING and other updates....

Since the first part of October not much has changed for us, other than waiting. I'm a touch on the frustrated side right now. We anticipated being on the waiting list by now for our little peanut but we are not. We have had everything completed on our end but just found out about a week and a half ago that our home study agency had not mailed our home study to USCIS (immigration). USCIS is the agency responsible for scheduling our preapproval (I-600A and I-171). Well guess what, they can't schedule that without our home study in their hands. The home study was couriered over to USCIS in IN., on the day that I spoke to our home study agency. So, we pretty frustrated, to say the least. It typically takes about 2 weeks from the time the agency submits your home study to the time USCIS schedules your fingerprint appt. Then you go get your fingerprints (Brandon and I), then it takes them 2 weeks to process that, then 2 weeks to get that paperwork to our adoption agency (FTIA). So, we are looking at 4 more weeks before we are on the waiting list at FTIA. HOOO-HUMMM! I am once again reminded why you must have faith in this process and that God is in complete control and things will happen in His perfect time. So, I will keep you all posted as to when we are officially on the list.

Also, more big news, our adoption agency has closed the doors to applications for the Vietnam program. They did this to accomodate all of the waiting families. They are not going to open the doors to additional adoptions from Vietnam until the process begins to speed up. We are fortunate that we are grandfathered in based on our application being received prior to this decision.

Last and certainly not least, we had the Hope Gala on Nov. 3rd. FTIA had the World of Hope Gala to raise money for orphans in Vietnam. 100% of the proceeds of this annual event will be going to orphanages, to caregiver training, education in Vietnam, etc. Brandon and I had the joy of volunteering that evening and again it brought us much closer to a daughter that seems so far away, not just in distance. We were so amazed at the turnout, as it was the first year of this annual event. The support given to the children was amazing. It's difficult to put it into words, but it was a very special evening for everyone involved.

Well, I guess that is just about it for now....I hope to be writing again soon to say we have our fingerprint appt!!! :))))

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!

Final in home visit

So lots has happened since I last wrote...Or at least we feel like alot has happened :) We completed our final home study (in home)visit. We really enjoyed both of the social workers we have worked with. I can honestly say ASC made us feel so comfortable. Our social workers were very thorough in getting to know us, yet very pleasant. They helped guide us in determining what age group of child(ren) would be best for us and so we made our final decision. Once we determined what age group we are comfortable with, it is written in our home study which is eventually sent to Vietnam to assist in finding our daugther. We decided that if we did not get a sibling pair, we would be open to a child 0-16 months but the younger, the better. So, we will leave this in Gods hands and see where He leads us. Over the past few weeks we've been gathering documents, reference letters and getting our I-600A ready to be sent off. An I-600A is basically your preapproval (government) paperwork to adopt from a specific country...In our case, Vietnam. We have all of our documents in the envelope, addressed and ready to be mailed, we are just waiting on one piece of paperwork we had to send off for, to arrive in the mail. Once that arrives and our reference letters get to ASC, we should be added to the, "waiting list" :)))) That is when we will pretty much sit back and wait until it's time to complete our dossier. Our adoption agency (FTIA) will prompt us to begin our dossier when the time is right. We anticipate that will not be for 6-12 months...Though we will keep you posted.

Now that we are certain we have a pretty long wait ahead of us, Brandon and I have decided that it probably wouldn't hurt for me to go back to work full time. This way, I won't be pacing the house in my spare time, while we wait ;-) I'm looking forward to it b/c it will keep me busy! This time away from sales and working part time at Starbucks has really allowed me to complete all of the necessary paperwork that I wouldn't have had time to complete in our previous situation. I've purchased several book pertaining to adoption and Vietnam, so I will be doing lots of reading as I begin the hunt for a Pharmaceutical sales position. We're excited and we'll keep you posted as we learn more about our wait and the process unfolding.

Hugs to all,
Robin and Brandon

1st Home Study Appointment & additional updates!

So we had our first home study appointment early this week with our home study agency which was recommended to us by our adoption agency, Families Thru International Adoption (FTIA). Did I mention we LOVE our agency!? :)))

Basically our appt consisted of meeting with a social worker for a little over 2 hours. The first hour was spent talking to us about the documents we needed to start gathering, including completing our I-600A, I171 and then compiling our dossier...phewww, is that going to keep us busy! A dossier is a compilation of approx 20-25 notarized and certified documents. After the first hour, we got into our family history. We were asked about our individual family relationships, activities growing up, how we were raised, etc. You name it, we covered it...I think anyone observing would've needed a flow chart to keep up, as we were moving at warp speed! ;-)

As the appt ended we scheduled our next appt when the social worker comes to our home for 3 hours, meets with us again and tours our home to make sure it is safe for a child. At this time she'll be meeting our heard of animals as well (keep her in your prayers ;-) That will be our last meeting with the social worker and then she will write up our home study and send it off to our agency. Once that is completed and our I-600A is sent in, we will be added to the wait list with FTIA for our baby girl!!! Speaking of wait, we have found out that we will be on a very long list...We are looking at somewhere between 2-3 years for our little peanut. That gives us plenty of time to DECORATE the room and shop for baby and kiddo clothes!! :))) Please keep us (and our lil angel who probably hasn't been born yet) in your prayers, I'm about to truly learn patience!

Time for our HOME STUDY to begin!

Well, now that we have chosen to adopt from Vietnam and we have picked an adoption agency, the next big step in the process is the home study! This is several meetings with a LSW (licensed social worker)both in our home and out, where they evaluate our ability to parent, help us determine what is best for our family in the way of children (ages, multiple children, etc). On average this process takes about 2 1/2 months but some agencies complete them faster. The home study agency we have selected (which is different than our adoption agency)...Is typically pretty quick about completing the home study (4-6 wks). We can't wait to get started! Our first appt. is next week and outside of our home. One step closer to building our family....

VIETNAM!!!! :))))

Though we struggled to get here....I am VERY EXCITED to share that Brandon and I have chosen to adopt a girl OR sibling pair(which are RARE) from Vietnam! :)))) We are fairly certain of the agency we are going to work with but I hesitate to post it b/c I am going to "skim" through one last packet before we make our final decision (that's the type A in me ;-) After researching over 25 agencies...We both feel a strong sense of peace with one of them!

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO ONE DAY BRINGING HOME OUR CHILD(REN) FROM VIETNAM!!!!! :)))

(Proverbs 3:5-6) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Much love,
B & R

Finding peace amidst the wait

Well it's Sunday and we did not receive any mail this week (well we got MAIL, just not THE MAIL ;-) we've been waiting for. The irony is, both Brandon and I are beginning to feel at peace amidst our wait. We are arriving at decisions and a level of comfort with those decisions. We attended two agency events this week and at this time have decided that Guatemala is probably not best for our family. We are feeling a strong tug toward Vietnam the last few days (B is REALLLLLY feeling a tug-tug-tug). Both Brandon and I have a feeling of excitement pertaining to Vietnam. We will still wait to make our final decision until the infamous MAIL arrives but we are getting more and more excited about moving forward soon!!! :))) Stay tuned!

And the wait continues

NO MAIL TODAY. So, I've always said I was a patient person...."UM, NO", I'm not. I called today to see if they received our paperwork and they told me that, "they are currently amidst processing it". Customer Service said it could be as long as another week- week and a half. Looks like I will be learning patience afterall :)

Hugs!

The gangs all here...

So we are still on "MAILBOX WATCH"...No sign of the envelope we are looking for yet. B is being the ever calm and patient one (he balances me). I am "ME", praying for Gods grace for my impatience! Speaking of.....I read this verse two nights ago after my first post, (ROMANS 12:2) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will. I'd say that just about covers it! :)
Also, many of you have written back via email asking me where Xena and Remmie are on the site. I didn't have photos saved to my computer of them, but they are there now, so the family is complete. I've also had people ask how to leave a comment on our blog. If you look right below the last post on this front page, there will be little, tiny link you can click on that says, "click here to respond to post". I believe you click on that and then you are able to respond. Everyone have a great weekend!! :))))

Waiting for our response!!

Hello all! Many of you already know that we are amidst waiting some key paperwork from our government. This paperwork will determine what country we may adopt from! We are running to the mailbox daily, as if it were Christmas time and we were 6 years old once again...Awaiting Santa's arrival. The three countries that we are looking into are, Kazakhstan (choice #1), Vietnam and Guatemala. We have both (Initially, me more reluctantly than B) determined that it is 100% in Gods hands and only time will tell. Stay tuned, our next post will hopefully be telling you all what country we will be adopting from, the adoption agency and last but not least, our home study agency. Lots of things to start doing!!!!

Love, Brandon & Robin