Happy Turkey Day!

Oh, how much we have to be thankful for - - - EVERY day!! Good health, lots of love, freedoms, family and friends. Thanks, God!!

We normally do Thanksgiving dinner here at our house for my family and Shawn's, but thanks to the generosity of my sweet sister Shelly and my mom and dad, we celebrated at Shelly's this year. I don't know how I could have pulled it off, and they did it beautifully!!

Kai was a great joy; very friendly and fun with everyone! We all had a great time and enjoyed a wonderful meal together.

On a sad note, Shawn's grandfather passed away on Wednesday morning. He had just turned 90, and had lived a full life, but it's always hard to accept, especially at the holiday season. Our prayers are for his family and their peace tonight.

Adjusting to life at home....

Kai is doing remarkably well adjusting to her new home and surroundings - - - the rest of us are working on it! She is a happy girl - - - and just seems as if she's been here forever. She finally slept through the night last night, so that was a good thing. I've had to feed her two bottles overnight prior to that, and getting a good night's sleep was hard. But my mom came and stayed two nights this week to help out while Shawn had to be out of town. I took Austin out on Wednesday for some one-on-one time. He isn't relishing his role as a big brother yet, but I'm hoping that will come in time.

Here are some pictures from our travels back home and once we got here.....Enjoy...and don't ever forget: There IS no place like home!!!!

...And now there are four!

We are happily home, getting over the jetlag, and adjusting to life with our energetic one-year old and her big brother. The flight home went much better than we had anticipated; Kai is a really good traveler!!

And although it was a busy weekend, it was great to get back. My parents and some of our friends did a covert mission to welcome us home with pink bows, balloons and ribbons everywhere along with gifts for Kai and Austin and food supplies galore! Thanks to all our sweet friends and family for making us feel so special and for the love you have for Kai!! She is a lucky girl to be so embraced so quickly.

Kai has been pure joy since getting home, especially considering all the changes she has been through in the last two weeks. She is laughing and is just generally a happy girl! And she LOVES her big brother like crazy - - - it is SO cute to see her face light up when she sees him or even hears his voice. He is getting used to the idea of sharing mom and dad....

I will have more pictures to upload in the next day or so - - - - MANY thanks to you all!!

Meet Kai??

We leave in a few minutes for the airport, but I wanted to let everyone know that we would like to invite whoever would like to meet Kai (and who can) to drop by this weekend! Family is invited to come on Saturday afternoon from 3:00 - 6:00, and friends can come on Sunday afternoon also from 3:00 - 6:00. I wasn't able to send out an e-mail, so hopefully enough people will see this post and can spread the word. Very informal; don't even know how Kai's schedule will be once we get home, but this has been a long time coming, and we want her to meet all the important people in her life!

A fix!

Okay, okay!! I can hardly wait to post pictures just as soon as we take them....there's a lot of sweetness to share in this little girl! She has the cutest dimples you have ever seen...on her knees! We are madly in love with our spunky little Kai and have enjoyed every minute of this special time with her. What precious moments have been condensed into a short couple of weeks - learning so much about her and relishing the discovery of it all!

We leave in the morning and look forward to getting home to see Austin, family and friends. I will try to post one last time in the morning. I think it would be a cool thing for anyone and everyone who is following Kai's blog to write even a short comment following this post so that we'll know who's still with us. Just click on the " __ comments" that shows by the time stamp at the end of the post. Add your comment and submit!

Our hearts are with you all for the wonderful love, patience, kindness and support you have all shown throughout this crazy Journey to Kai (J2K!)- - even from strangers, some of who are still waiting for their own joyful reunions with their Vietnamese babies. I pray every day for the waiting families and for the children; for their peace and happy endings. And I know that God will unite them all in His due time!! Keep the faith!! Of course, this is far from the ending for any of us....it is a new beginning, a new chapter in our lives, and I give God all the glory for allowing us to take this next step.

So...here are the last day's pictures of our little angel....the bathing suit and hat was only worn once in the room (too cold to swim, but does she look ready for the catwalk, or what?!?), and the bow in the hair (look closely) was in there for approximately 2.5 seconds before she pulled it out (sorry, Nicole! I'll keep trying!!). The Vietnamese lady in the picture is the agency's facilitator. She was a tremendous help to us through everything! She is expecting her first baby, but she's had lots of practice with babies, we could tell, and will make a wonderful mother. It was a joy getting to know her as well.

Hope to see everyone very soon!!

No pics, but GREAT NEWS

HOORAY!! We are back from the visa interview, and there were no issues. It actually took less than 5 minutes for the Embassy to look at our paperwork! Our facilitator will pick up Kai's visa later this afternoon, and WE ARE DONE!!

Flights are confirmed for Friday (another HOORAY!), so we should be home (can I say HOORAY three times in one post??) at around midnight Friday!!

Just had to share the great news with everyone back home.....I will take and post some more pictures before we leave for you Kai crack-heads out there (HAHAHAHA!!)!!

LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New pictures of cuteness!!

Thanks, Amy J., for reprimanding me about not posting pictures! She is, after all, the cutest little thing I've ever seen!! Enjoy!!

Hang tight - -

Kai's medical examination was today and everything looked great! Another hurdle out of the way - yay!!! She is 19.6 lbs. and 19 1/2 inches tall - - - a sturdy and healthy girl!!

Unfortunately, we found out this afternoon that the Embassy was closed today and will be closed again tomorrow for meetings. Ugh!! That means that we can't get Kai's visa until Wednesday at the earliest....which means we won't be able to fly home Wednesday after all!! We had just received our itinerary; now we've got to change it again and hope that there are seats available on Thursday. We will continue to have faith that God's got it covered (He does), and we will get home at the right time.

Fun with Kai!

Yesterday we toured the Hoa Lo Prison, where John McCain spent time as a POW. Prisoners were subjected to torture, inhuman living conditions and execution. There was even a guillotine they had used. It was chilling, to say the least.

BUT! We have had a great couple of days with Kai! She continues to do well, and I think she has accepted the fact that we're not going anywhere.

The best news of all is that we are confirmed on flights back home next Wednesday!! WOOHOO!! I can't wait to begin our lives - at home - as a family of four. God continues to bless us!!

Here are a few pictures, including one of that AWESOME smile I told you about. We are seeing it more and more!!

How cute is this....

....funny girl face?? Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days of our sweet little angel! We haven't had the greatest weather (major flooding before we arrived and a typhoon is expected to hit the area tomorrow afternoon!), so we haven't been able to do as much as we had hoped. Thank goodness we have a 3 bedroom apartment to stay in so we can move around quite a bit.

Kai is an extremely active one-year old!! And she has been very clingy to me....I had forgotten the art of eating, brushing teeth and making bottles with one hand while holding a baby on my hip! She is really warming up to Shawn, too, as we knew she would.

We bought a stroller and she just loves riding in it! Every day as the weather would allow, we have taken walks around to different parts of the city. Yesterday we went to the Old Quarter and had lunch at an outdoor cafe around Hoan Kiem Lake. The waitress brought Kai some corn on the cob and she LOVED it! We had to ask for a second piece to get through lunch - - wish I had a bucketful! :)

Kai has been very sad at bedtime; crying for a long time before going to sleep. But last night - no tears!! I think we are making significant strides in her adjustment to us - - - what a relief! She is SOO snuggly and sweet and funny! She makes this hilarious, huge-smiley face when she thinks something is funny - - like when she passes gas! And she is really smart. She helps Daddy put the key card in the door, knows how to push the buttons on the tv, goes to the door when she wants to go somewhere, and so many other things that tell us she understands. What an awesome time we are having getting to know her!!

Thanks to everyone for all the best wishes! Hopefully we will be home next week and can see everyone very soon!!

AHHH! I can post again!!!

I'm not sure why, but for the last two days when I've tried to login to post on the blogsite, it gave me instructions in Vietnamese - - and more detailed instructions than the usual e-mail address and password, so I have been STUCK, unable to post. ANYWAY!!! I logged on tonight and for some reason it's back to English, and let me just say HALLELUJAH!! My Facebook friends have been able to see some pics, but not everyone, so.....with no further adieu.....I am so happy to share some pics of Kai!!!

She was really open to us when we were at the orphanage, laughing and smiling. We spent about an hour there before we were told it was time to leave and go to the G&R Ceremony. The nannies were very sad you could tell, but I also saw how much love they had for Kai and - as we left - I was overcome with gratitude for these two ladies who had cared for Kai, day in and day out with oh-so-little in the way of resources. I hugged them both profusely and thanked them for the good care they had given to her. They didn't speak a word of English but I'm sure they understood. Shawn couldn't believe how dirty the orphanage was (and it was), but seriously.....it's not like these people can bop down to the local Wal-Mart, buy some 409 and scrub sponges and give the place a good cleaning every couple of weeks! This country is P.O.O.R.!!! It's really unbelieveable and humbling to see how some people live.

On the way back to Ha Noi, Kai did a little crying and was upset for a bit. I held her and comforted her....it was all I could do. I really thought that was the end of it, but at bedtime for the last two nights, she is just inconsolable and cries herself to sleep, exhausted, with me holding her, rocking her and rubbing her back. I know she is missing her sweet nannies, but we are doing all we can to help her make the transition. I'm not sure how long that will take, but we will do whatever it takes!

Today was better; we went shopping a bought her a sweater (it's been a bit chilly and almost everything I brought were sundresses!) and some new shoes (all the shoes that I had were too big - - the girl's got 3 1/2 size feet!) and a stroller. We walked all the way around Hoan Kiem Lake with Kai in her stroller. She didn't make a peep for 2 hours! We decided to have an early dinner - Kai had only a little over an hour nap earlier - but it was clear as soon as we got to the restaurant and sat down for dinner that she was in no mood for a leisurely dinner! We left without ordering, and got sandwiches to-go from a cafe attached to the hotel.

Anyway!! I know things will get better, and we are so overjoyed to be with her!! She is absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS and SWEET!

Hopefully, my blogsite will continue to cooperate so I can keep updating the end of the journey for you. We may be flying home at the end of next week rather than the following Wednesday (11/19). THAT would be awesome!!

We got to Skype Austin earlier today, and it was great to see his precious face!! I'm so appreciative of all the help we have had with him....and it's a real comfort to know that he's been well cared for!

More later.....!!

We're here!!!

We arrived today (Tuesday) in Hanoi at about 12:35 p.m. It was about 30 hours of total travel time, and although it is only 6:30 p.m. here, we are exhausted and ready for bed!! The Giving & Receiving Ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow. The in-country facilitator is meeting us in the morning at 8 a.m. for the drive out to the orphanage to meet KAI!!!

I don't know if any of you have heard about it or not, but within the last three days, northern Vietnam has received about 20 inches of rain and there is flooding all around. It was the most rain they have received in that amount of time in over 20 years! We heard about it as we were about to leave, but after checking the flights it didn't look like there any delays, so we just figured we would deal with it when we got here. As we flew in this morning, you could see large areas of flooding. Over 40 deaths have been attributed to the flooding, and you could see why. The devastation was huge!! Now they are worried about disease, post-flood, and lots of people are wearing face masks.

I can't wait to tell you all about the sights and sounds we have seen thus far, but for now I can only tell you how EXTREMELY EXCITED we are to get to meet Kai tomorrow for the first time!!!

Austin is doing well; we got to talk to him earlier today.

Hopefully when you see this next we will have been able to post pictures with our girl!!! YAY!!!!!

On our way!!

We are leaving within minutes for the airport - - - can you believe it?!? We fly to LAX tonight, then to Taipei, Taiwan then to Hanoi, arriving on Tuesday mid-day. Whew!! It will all have been so worth it when we see Kai on Wednesday!! I am hoping to be able to upload a photo from the Giving & Receiving Ceremony, so look for that on Wednesday.

Our plans as of now are to return on Wednesday, November 19th. Our flight gets in at midnight. However, there is a chance that Kai's visa and passport could get issued earlier than what we've allowed for, so we may get to return the weekend before.....that's what we're hoping for!!

I'm already a little sad about being away from Austin for so long. He was very needy today and of course it's because of our leaving. But he's a tough little guy, and I know he'll be okay. Thank goodness for all of his wonderful grandparents who will be taking good care of him while we're gone. Lots of love to Mam & Pop and to Grandma & Grandpa!!

Thanks to you all for your continued prayers for our safe travels! Bon voyage!!!

Leavin' on an airplane....

....in about 34 hours from now!! I'm still not sure it's completely sunk in. I keep having all these thoughts about the actual moment when we will see her face and hold her in our arms - the reality of that - but it still just seems like a dream, a hope, a prayer....

Today is final laundry and putting-it-all-in-a-suitcase day, and I can't wait!! All the orphanage and nanny gifts are ready, the paperwork has all been copied and is ready to take with us, so we just need to pack our clothes and toiletries. I am most excited to pack Kai's cute little girly stuff! I can't wait to see her in a dress!! I just hope it's all going to fit in our luggage and not go over the weight limits!! :)

We had a fun time last night at our trick-or-treating hayride (thanks, T & S!!!)! This has become a tradition of ours that is as fun for the adults as it is for the kids. Austin was a Hot Wheels Racer, and he looked so cool!

I will try to post again tomorrow - - - I thought our flight left mid-day tomorrow, but we actually have until later in the afternoon. I will be SOO ready to go!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Kai!!

Today is Kai's 1st birthday, and although we aren't with her for that.....we WILL be with her very soon!!

Trying to get a flight booked for Friday has proven too difficult for so many reasons (crazy layovers, cost, etc.), so it looks like we will leave on Sunday instead. I can't stand to spend one more second without her, but the return travel was going to be like an Amazing Race episode, and I don't want to put her through that! It means we won't have our Giving & Receiving Ceremony until Wednesday probably, but it means a much saner process for us all.

Austin has a school party on Friday (and I'm helping), there's the trick-or-treating/hayride tomorrow night, and he has a birthday party to go to on Saturday, so we'll still be able to do all of those things with and for him.

Now I can start packing and getting all the last-minute things done, including voting (DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!) without feeling like a chicken with my head cut off!

Thanks to EVERYONE, again, for all the kind words, calls, and e-mails. I haven't been able to respond to most of these, but just know how much it is all SO very much appreciated!! What an exciting time for us!

OMG, Part II

Well, it looks like after all the incessant waiting - - - we will wait no more! Our Giving and Receiving Ceremony is set for MONDAY - that's right - THIS MONDAY!!! We will be holding Kai in our arms in just 5 short days!!!!

Shawn is on the phone now booking flights that leave on Friday and return in two weeks....I will give the details when we have them.....

What a wonderful day it has been!! Such an outpouring of love and kindness for Kai.....my heart is so full!! Thank you to everyone for the tremendous support!!

O-M-G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH-MY-GOSH!!!!! I absolutely-positively cannot believe I am FINALLY telling you this, but WE RECEIVED OUR PRELIMINARY TRAVEL APPROVAL FROM USCIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have waited so long to tell you that, I can't even believe I am saying those words!!! I was so deflated yesterday and have been so sad that we were going to miss being with Kai on her first birthday. I was having a hard time thinking about anything but her in the last couple of days, and I have been poring over all the documentation and wondering what our next step would be if we didn't get approved.

Then - - - about 20 minutes ago - - - I get up to do one of my usual overnight e-mail inbox checks, and there it was!!!!! I didn't even pull it up, I just read the subject line: I-600 preliminary approval, and went running into the bedroom to tell Shawn!! We laughed, hugged and cried - - - I feel like the 1,000 pound gorilla just jumped off my shoulders!!!

GOD IS SO SUPER-GOOD!!! I prayed yesterday for strength to get through this, for understanding and acceptance for His timing, and for peace that Kai is being taken cared for and getting the nourishment and attention she needs.......God gave me all of that and MORE!!!

I can't imagine going back to sleep tonight, there are 8,000 things I want to do to get ready to go! I don't know exactly when we'll travel yet, but it should be within a week.....I will update the blog as we know more!!!!!! Thanks to EVERYONE who prayed, who thought of us, who lifted us up to God in the last 10 months. We have appreciated so much the outpouring of your love and prayers. I don't know why it's taken so long, but God had a plan - He still does - and He always will!!

My friend Jessica brought me some of her should-be-world-famous cookie dough yesterday with a sweet note of encouragement. We call it "crack dough" because it is SOO yummy and hard to stop eating......could it be that it's "lucky dough", too??????? Thanks, Jess!! Love ya!!

Worth a good chuckle!

If you find yourself sitting around eating bon-bons with nothing better to do......(ha!).....check out this website for some laughs: www.yearbookyourself.com

It's HI-LAR-I-OUS!!! And I needed that....

What a Wonderful World!

As many of you know, Austin's school's Fall Festival was this weekend, and what a fun time it was!! It poured down rain on Friday and even Friday night, so I was really concerned about the weather, but as promised on weather-com - - - sunny skies!!

Austin promptly got his hair painted red and won a goldfish - - - what a wonderful world!!!

Shawn and I had a date night last night, and we were talking about how glad we are that we moved from the "big city" to raise our children in a small-town lifestyle. Just spending the whole day with kids running around, eating cotton candy and doing all kinds of fun things is just what I envisioned when we made plans to move. What a change from six years ago!! I'll take this any day......

The countdown is on until the 30 day waiting period is up. Saturday will be 30 days. We hope and pray that we will hear some GOOD NEWS (I-600 approval) this week!!! I wish I had a dollar for each time I've said that - - - I'd buy you ALL a new car! :)

Warning: Extreme Cuteness Ahead!

As promised, we received some new pictures of Kai today!! She is SUCH a sweet cutie-pie - - - I almost can't stand it! I am thrilled to see how big she is and that she looks healthy. We hope she's waiting to take her first steps until she's with us!

It was a great e-mail to get, but of course, we would have preferred THE e-mail with I-600 approval - - - - it's been 21 days since we submitted the additional paperwork.

We are keeping the faith and staying strong - - -

8:45 a.m. in Vietnam....

....and you know what I'm doing.....checking e-mails for that elusive one that will grant us freedom to go get our sweet baby girl...

The best news I can share is that we have been promised new pictures of Kai this week!! If nothing else, we can at least see what she looks like now. The last pictures we have were from July 19th, and I know she has changed so much since then.

I will post those here just as soon as I see them....can't wait to see her sweet face!!!

A Glimmer Of Hope?

I had a lengthy conversation tonight with a fellow RFE recipient who gave me some encouraging information regarding what it took to get their I-600 approval - - -finally!

There are too many details to share here, and we have to allow the 30-day window for the USCIS review, but I felt very hopeful after hearing her story (which was nearly identical to ours is circumstance)!

Just keep up the prayers - - - God is never late - - - and keep the faith that Kai will be home with us very soon!!

It's Monday morning in Vietnam....

....and in between refreshing my inbox page every 5 minutes or so, I'm poring over any and every blogsite I can find about other RFE cases. Maybe it wasn't a good idea since I found a few that were extremely discouraging!

It looks like most responses to RFEs include a rebuttal (9 pages in the case of one family I found!). Since our response was the additional documentation only - - and CIS has never asked for a rebuttal - - - I'm not feeling very good about getting approval. It sounds like we missed an opportunity to plead our case, but how could we have known??

I am 100% prepared to hire an international adoption attorney if we don't get our approval. The cost is definitely a deterrent, but what choice do we have?? We can't keep playing this cat and mouse game back and forth with CIS, and maybe that will be what it takes to get it done. I just don't know....feeling a little deflated today.....

Snaggletooth!

Check this out....Austin lost his first tooth last night!! Isn't that the cutest little guy you've ever seen?? He was so worried that it was going to bleed that he let it get SO loose - over the last two weeks - that it practically popped out on its own! He was so tickled that it didn't bleed.

We are still waiting, waiting, waiting for a response to our additional documentation. It's now 7:50 a.m. in Vietnam. I imagine the CIS office opening soon to the smells of coffee and the sounds of morning chatter. Everyone is glad it's Friday and....let's hope everyone is in a very happy, understanding and caring mood! I can just see our big, fat file coming across the chick-in-charge's desk and her thinking, "Gosh, this family has been waiting SO very long for their sweet little girl! Look at all the time and effort that was put into their response! It's a little hard to sort through all the paperwork, but this is just silly. Uniting this child with her family should be our top priority! Let me just type up this I-600 approval and get it to them right away......."

We've got until 6:00 a.m. tomorrow or it's on to next week......I seriously doubt anyone over there is working over the weekend. Keep praying, and we will, too!!

Soccer!!

Finally - a post NOT related to the adoption!

Saturday mornings in the Fall are filled with soccer games these days! Following the inevitable last-minute rush to find the shinguards and socks, we faithfully pile chairs and a cooler and zoom out to the local soccer fields. It's great entertainment, actually! Friends who have preschoolers too young to play even join us to watch the 4 and 5 year olds attempt to get the ball down the field and into the goal (a shout out to Dee and Bee!). Deft coordination is not on most of the youngster's skill list, but they get an "A" for effort in my book!

Unlike the older kids (I'm not looking forward to the serious competitiveness ahead!) they are simply learning team participation and basic soccer techniques. There's no mean-spirited shouting or criticizing from the parents; it is meant to be a positive learning experience for the kids. But what is amazing to me is how quickly they improve in their abilities! This is Austin's second year, and he's much more likely to get in the middle of the fray and make his own attempt to get the ball. He has scored a few points, pulled off some great turn-arounds, and made lots of assists. Last year I'm not sure he kicked the ball more than twice! And some of the kids are really good!

Shawn is one of the Assistant Coaches, so it has been a fun family experience for us all. And I am officially a "Soccer Mom"!! Sure, there are those that snicker at the title, but I really love it! And I am proud of us for focusing on our family rather than wallow in despair about not having Kai home. Some days are easier than others, but we are so blessed, and I'm glad we consciously recognize the blessings we do have. God IS good!!!

Go Blue!!!

Paris Pics!

Finally a moment to breathe and post some pictures from our anniversary trip to Paris! I cannot figure out how to put captions next to each one, and they show up in the reverse order from how I upload them, but here's what you're seeing:

- This is me updating the blog at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris awaiting our return flight home.
- We weren't looking for it, but stumbled across the memorial to Princess Diana and the tunnel where she was killed. It was chilling to see; I can't believe it's been more than 10 years since that happened!
- This was taken in the GYNORMOUS plaza of the Musee' de Louvre, which is now an art museum. You can't imagine how big it is (it spans 15 acres), and the modern glass pyramid is in remarkable contrast to the 12th century architecture. Louis XIV, Napoleon I and Napoleon III all lived here at one time - - - - imagine THAT as your crib!!
- I forgot the names of these next two places, but aren't they unbelievably beautiful?!?
- Shawn and I at the Eiffel Tower. Again, you can't imagine its vastness until you see it in person! This steel tower (over 1,000 feet tall) was built between 1887 - 1889 as the entrance for the International Exhibition in Paris for the centennial celebration of the French Revolution and is named for its designer, Gustave Eiffel.

And that, boys and girls, is my history lesson for the day!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

The right decision??

Well, I just couldn't help myself - - - I called Vietnam last night and - on the second try - spoke again to "Russell". She was not as abrasive and condescending as she had been in our former conversation (I can't believe that was nearly 3 months ago!!), but she was definitely all business. She was aware of the paperwork issue and she said we had two choices: she would return the originals to us and allow us to send them back OR she would disregard the cover letter from our agency and allow the paperwork to stand on its own as the response to the RFE. Both e-mails we received from them stressed that we are only allowed ONE submission of a response, so this was an important decision. She kept saying that we have "plenty of time", since we were allowed 84 days to respond, but I reminded her that getting our daughter home as soon as possible was our top priority!

I told her I would need to talk to Shawn and would let her know our decision via e-mail.

Shawn and I discussed it and based our decision on: 1) having them return and then sending back the documentation would take about 10 - 14 days - - further delays - - , 2) there would be a chance that the paperwork could get lost and 3) the documentation itself is what they will base their determination on anyway.

SO! I sent an e-mail response to USCIS last night - which they acknowledged receiving - and our submission date is 10/3/08. They said they require 30 working days for a response. I hope and pray that it won't take that long!

Was it the right decision?? I guess time will tell....

Crazy and crazier!

Well, here's what we know: USCIS will not accept RFE documentation unless it comes directly from the waiting families (that's us, in case you're just tuning in!). Since they received the package that contains the only originals, we are having to ask (implore, beg!) them to FedEx the package to us so that we can then turn around and send it right back to them. Yeah, I know, it makes a lot of sense, right??

I just sent an e-mail in response to their's that came overnight. Wouldn't be surprised if they ignore that for another week or so......

Another hoop, another jump - - - I wonder what FedEx Express Service costs between here and Vietnam?

Not frustrated, not frustrated, not frustrated....

Today's e-mail from HCMC stated that they received our package of additional documentation, however, they cannot accept paperwork from our agency on our behalf. The paperwork has to come from us directly.

(Not frustrated, not frustrated, not frustrated....)

What?? Sounds like another delay tactic to me!

(Not frustrated, not frustrated, not frustrated....)

Seems like our agency should have known this, but rather than place blame and focus on that, I forwarded the e-mail to them and asked them what/how we should do as next step.

(Not frustrated, not frustrated, not frustrated...)

I will not allow frustration to take over!

At 3:30 a.m., we received what we believe to be an "auto-response" from the Embassy in Vietnam. It states that they cannot accept paperwork and requests via e-mail (you may note that this is a complete reversal from before we they would ONLY communicate via e-mail) and that they will notify us when they are in receipt of our RFE documentation. It's been 8 days since it was sent to them - from Vietnam, to Vietnam.

After a long conversation with our agency, I was extremely discouraged and disappointed to know that our only recourse at this point is to wait. A good rash of tears ensued; luckily no one was home at the time to have to listen to it other than the pets.

However, I have been attending a women's Bible study every Wednesday for a month, and it's funny how God puts things in front of you just when you need them. We meet for small groups then come together for a lecture by a fantastic speaker (who herself is battling cancer). The topic for the last two weeks has been angels and demons. One of the things she said today was particularly relevant to me when she talked about how Satan puts discouragement and doubt in our minds to keep us from a close relationship to God. I can see how that has been happening to me lately through this adoption process, but I will not allow it to continue! This has been God's journey all along, and if I am anxious it shows my lack of faith. I DO trust and I DO have faith that God will allow us to bring home our daughter, and nothing will take that away from us! I don't know the timing, but I will remain steadfast and hold to the fact that it will happen - and I will do it without frustration, without despair!

I can't wait to share the good news with you all very soon!!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl (and Aunt Julie)!

Kai is 11 months old today, and although I was hoping for a wonderful birthday surprise, my inbox this morning had only the usual junk.......

I am sad for all the milestones we have missed in her life so far, and I just continue to remind myself of all the years we will have with her ahead. I cannot imagine how disappointed we will be if we don't have her home by her first birthday. Please, please, please let us get the approval SOON!!!

Happy Birthday to my SIL, Julie, who today turns "the new 30"!! We look forward to celebrating with you!!

Back to the Waiting Game

I want to thank EVERYONE who has sent the Senator letters! We were blown away at the huge response, and we just hope and pray that it helps expedite the review of our case.

I e-mailed the Embassy just to ask them to acknowledge receipt of the documentation, and - of course - got no response (!!). Senator Chambliss' office did an inquiry this morning, so maybe they'll have better luck than I did.

Also, our police clearance letters had expired in August. I had been thinking it wasn't a big deal because we just get them locally. However, I had forgotten that they also have to be county-certified, state-certified, and authenticated by the Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco! YIKES!! If we were to get travel approval this week, we'll be pushing it to get these back in time! And Shawn is out of town, so that further complicates things.....I'm working on it, though! Hopefully they will be on their way to the state level by this afternoon.

Our medical letters expire 10/28, so let's just keep our fingers crossed that we are back home by then!

Just keep praying!!

Feeling better all around...and it's FRIDAY!

Austin is (finally!) better after being out of school for three days. Thank goodness!! It's been a looonnnnggg week.....About the only good that comes out of having a sick child is lots of snuggling time! I didn't mind that part at all!

We are feeling better, too, about the additional paperwork that was submitted to CIS this week. I went over it all with a fine-tooth comb with our agency yesterday, and it appears that it may - in fact - address the discrepancy in the original paperwork (!!!). It's embedded in one of the summary reports that their Department of Justice prepared for the People's Committee, so I forwarded just that summary to the CIS with an e-mail pointing out the explanation and requesting a response.

I decided against posting the senators' letters on this blogsite (too much personal info), but if I know you personally, you will be getting an e-mail from me asking you to sign and send the letters. I hope you will consider doing so. We do NOT want the process to go stagnate at this point, and we feel like the CIS should do an immediate review of the case and make a determination. It has been 157 days since they acknowledged receipt of our I-600!!!

Kai will be 11 months old on Tuesday.....

Brian Andreas rocks!

I found a perfectly-fitting Brian Andreas (I HEART him!) print on another blog, and although I can't figure out how to copy and paste the picture, here's the text:

"Feels like some kind of ride - but it's turning out just to be life going absolutely perfectly"

How fitting!

Austin is STILL sick - high temp at 4 a.m. and coughing like crazy - so we're waiting for a return call from the doctor's office. I then have to call the adoption agency and talk about the paperwork...

Disappointment abounds

I have read and re-read every document that we received today at least 10 times. I've studied them, written timelines, cross-referenced contradictions, and added confirmations, and I still don't know what to make of it! I honestly don't know if it will help our case or not, but I feel pretty certain that it won't be sufficient to adjudicate our I-600. It clearly doesn't provide a reasonable explanation of why the hospital discharge report contradicts the mid-wife's report. There's lots of mumbo-jumbo that dances around the topic and gives scenarios surrounding the events, but it does not provide a direct explanation and neither side has recanted their story.

Let me share with you an excerpt from one of the reports, just to give you an idea: "...I was called by Manager of General Planning...I came to the department and met a foreigner with his interpreter there (CIS agents). Mr. YY gave me the Hospital Checking Out Document of Patient XX (the birthmother) for me to check and I found the mistake in difference in the year in that document. Then I said to Mr. YY that the working time was finished and I left the department to go back home." Uhhhh....okay....yeah, we KNOW that 10/31/08 hasn't happened yet, so the year is wrong. Duh. But can someone PUH-LEEZE look at the REAL discrepancy, and that is why is there a Hospital Checking Out Document in the first place if SHE NEVER FORMALLY CHECKED OUT?!?!?!? All the other documents say (and these are direct quotes) "she left", "she disappeared", "she gave birth, ran away, and left her baby in the hospital", "she escaped from the hospital", "no one came to receive the baby", etc.

We can only hope that the CIS might get as worn-out and exasperated as we did reading all of this, and maybe they will just say "okay, okay....just don't make me read any more, and we'll approve your I-600! You can leave tomorrow!".....Well, one can dream, can't they?

I asked the agency to call me to discuss it, which they did, but apparently at the exact time I left the house for 2 minutes to go to the mailbox! I didn't even realize I had missed the call until it was 5:30 p.m./too late to call them back.

I am beyond frustrated but not beyond hope.

Paperwork received - - - now to make some sense of it!

Good morning -

I am sorting and re-reading through the myriad of documents that arrived in my inbox this morning....glad to have gotten something, but I just can't see where this is going to be enough! It is very confusing, redundant, and hard to read mostly because the word arrangements get changed in the translation. It addresses the "'08 vs. '07" issue in the original documents, but not the "disappeared from hospital vs. formerly discharged" issue. Also, the police report (saying the birth mother cannot be located) is referenced but is not included. HOWEVER! It's more than we had this time yesterday, so we are working to make some sense of it!

Strep and Stress - - -

Well, I knew it was coming....just about everyone I know has had at least one sick child in the last few weeks, so it was just our turn, I guess! Austin came home from school yesterday feeling lousy, and I didn't want to wait to see if it would get better on its own. I took him to the doctor first thing this morning. He has strep throat, so we are homebound for two days. Ugh. The doctor visit was horrible since Austin knew exactly what the swab was for, and he didn't want any part of that! I literally had to hold him down while he screamed so they could get it done. AND his temperature was 103.6!! I have GOT to get a decent thermometer that gives consistent readings (we have 3 different kinds and none work well!). I knew he had a fever just based on how warm his skin was, but it scares me for it to get that high. They gave him Motrin while we were there and it's much better now.

AND - - - - the only e-mail I have gotten regarding the adoption was one from our agency saying they are still waiting. BIG UGH!! I'm trying SOOO hard not to let it stress me out, but today the stress is winning. They said it may still come today, but since it's nearly 2 p.m., I'm not feeling very hopeful.

Tomorrow??

We are supposed to have the translated documents e-mailed to us tomorrow (our agency should receive them overnight tonight)!!! I'm not sure why they didn't ask for details about the content (I sure would have!), but were told that it does explain the discrepancy in the original paperwork we received.

SO! They asked for additional evidence, we are providing it, so they should approve our I-600, right????

I hope and pray it will be that straightforward!

Pics to share!

Good morning to all!

At this point in our process, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't post a picture of Kai for all to see. Early on, it was advised against, but today I am claiming her as our own. No one will be taking this little angel away from us. The question is not "if", but "when"!

So - - - as we have been for months now - - - - I invite you to enjoy that precious little face! Those gorgeous eyes! That punkin mouth! What long fingers! I just love every inch of her and can't wait to hold her in my arms, kiss her all over and tell her HOW VERY MUCH WE LOVE HER!!

We are optimistic that this will be a great week for Kai's adoption. If we don't see the documentation today, I will start making some noise; it's been a week already. AND I plan to draft a letter to our congressmen for family and friends to send so that - hopefully - the USCIS will review the documentation quickly and give us our I-600 approval. Today is day #153!!! I may even attach it to the blog so that anyone could send it to their own congressmen...in fact, that is what I shall do!! I hope you will all join us in our mini-crusade to get our daughter home!