A Christmas Wish

Every Holiday Gavin writes me a poem/card, this year was no exception.
This was the poem in my stocking this year

A Christmas Wish...

This Christmas I wish for you, everything that I can't do.

I'll get us a baby if I can, I'll run to Vietnam and back again.

I'll build us a house with my two hands, I'll even follow our new house plan.

I hope the wait won't make you blue, this is my Christmas wish for you.

Merry Christmas, Love Gavin

Wrong Date

I posted today but it posted as December 6th!

Does anyone know?

I'm trying (really I am), to be patient. It's not a word I like much, actually patience " I hate you!" so there. All I want for now, is to know if our file has been translated/logged in. Is that too much?? Urgh! It's been 45 days since it left Ontario, and I want to know when I can start the OFFICIAL WAIT.

What Tarot card are you? Take the test! & Just because

You are The Hierophant

Divine Wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching.

All things relating to education, patience, help from superiors.The Hierophant is often considered to be a Guardian Angel.

The Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly problems. He is well suited to do this because he strives to create harmony and peace in the midst of a crisis. The Hierophant's only problem is that he can be stubborn and hidebound. At his best, he is wise and soothing, at his worst, he is an unbending traditionalist.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I got this Tarot card thing from another blog, but it was awhile ago and I can't remember who it was. So if you are reading this fellow blogger Thankyou. I think it sounds like me (besides the patience thing)"Divine Wisdom" I like the sounds of that!
Anyway, take the test it will give you something to do for the next two minutes other than read blogs.

On other news, yesterday was hubby's birthday! he turned the big 29. We went for dinner with family, it was nice to be able to see everyone again. I think Gavin really enjoyed himself.

As for the house, we went for an inspection this morning. Everything looks pretty good and they've done alot of work over the last little bit. I'll post pictures after the siding is on. The siding looks to be the colour we liked so that's great news. The framing, plumbing,insulation and electrical is complete, and today it looks like they are planning on working on the drywall. Things are coming along, and head office of the home builder says our home must be complete by the 18th of January. Although, I'm still expecting it to be "live in ready", but I'm alright with that as long as we can move! I don't want to put our stuff into storage, and rent somewhere fo awhile.

As for the adoption, I have no idea what's going on. I know that we are within the first 11 files sent, ten of which are translated, which ten? I don't know. Our agency rep. is in Vietnam, maybe he's back now,I don't know that either. I'm going to guess we aren't translated yet, makes it easier to deal with the dissappointment. So the 6-9 month wait for referral is still on, wishing on the shorter end of that.To steal my hubby's favourite line "we'll see....".

Here's hoping that 2007 brings good things to everyone, and that everyone has a very happy holiday!Especially our babies that are waiting for us on the other side of the world, I hope they receive an extra long hug on Christmas morning.

Another cute adoption video!

This weeks new purchase

We saw this baby diaper shirt while visiting family in Ottawa and just had to buy it!

46 Days to Completion?

The wait that ends all waits

I don't like to wait. There I said it, now it's time to get over it. I had this "discussion" with Gavin last night it went something like this, Me-"Why can't I have what I want BEFORE I even know I want it?" you can imagine for yourself the look on his face, and if you're my mother you would be thinking "that poor poor man".
Does that not sound like the most juvenile thing to say in the world? Of course Gavin with the ever logical explainations said " So what are you going to do, not wait? No one promised you any different".
As I waited for him to apologize for not listening to my feelings, I realized he was right again. No one ever promised me that the wait would be easy, or would it be a short wait. But, I've always known for myself that the wait would be worth it, and if this baby can wait for parents, I can wait for this baby.
Then I thought to myself that things could be MUCH worse. I could be my baby's birth mother who has to "WAIT" for the terrible day that she must leave her baby and walk away knowing that she will probably never know what has become of him or her.So as I wait for my life to begin, she waits for a piece of her life to end. I'm going to endure the wait, and be happy in the end, forever grateful to someone else that is sacrificing so much more than I ever could imagine.

Seen any great diaper bags?

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What is a girl to do with her wait for baby? Why search for the perfect diaper bag of course! However, I love all of these options and need help deciding, so please help me and vote for your favourite diaper bag! I'm leaning towards the blue shades of the diaper bags,(our stroller has blue on it) but I really LOVE them all so please help!

With only 64 days and counting

This is what I have to move into in less than 64 days! Can you believe it? did you notice that there is no roof?!. Good God what are we going to do if this house isn't finished on time? We've sold our other house already, and we have until January 18th to be out.I know that subdivision houses can be finshed really fast (too fast) but they can also be finished very slowly like this one. Our original closing date was August 30th, see the problem here?. With it being close to winter, Christmas holidays etc. I really don't see how we will be able to move in with only 64 days left to go. I think that the homes head office will need another phone call from a "crazy" wife.

Saigon Traffic Video

Saigon Traffic Video

Please try to ignore the terrible music on this video! This is what the traffic is like in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City),there are few if any traffic rules. Apparently the best way to cross the road is to not look, close your eyes and hope for the best!.I suppose it may be best not to know what type of vehicle took your life (a bus, car scooter?)would it matter?
Anyone that knows me could probably picture this scenario: Gavin and baby across the street safe, while I am left stranded on the other side trying to build my nerve up to cross in that chaos! I can picture it now, and for the record that had better not happen!

Dossier to Vietnam!

This morning we received an e-mail from our agency informing us that they have sent our dossier to Vietnam. We are so excited about this news, we weren't expecting our dossier to be sent for another week or so. The next step is translation of our file, and submission to the International Adoption Office for processing. Things are finally moving forward, this has been a very good day!

Waiting for November & random thoughts

On Tuesday we learned that some files have been sent to Vietnam. Our agency rep. is going to Vietnam the first week of November, he is taking with him a batch of dossiers, ours is in that batch. I was hesitant to post anything because I was hoping to know more information, but I guess we are living on a "need to know" basis.
I've been living through other peoples blogs, latley. There has been some really great news posted regarding referrals, and travel approval for some families. Congratulations goes out to everyone that has received the news they've been waiting for.
Really this is my day - make coffee, read blogs, drink coffee, read blogs, get ready for work, go to work, think about adoption (oh yeah I'm at work), try to work, come home, read blog, go to bed, think about adoption, sleep.... start day over.You know it's getting bad when you've paused waiting for your own news, and started wondering/worrying about everyone else and their business. As though I don't have enough stress right now (building a new house, adoption etc.), I'm taking on other peoples stress,like did Mrs.Broccoli Guy get travel approval yet, has mellowandyellow's adoption agency open to begin Vietnam adoptions, really things are starting to go to far.The worst part is that most of my conversations start with" I read on this blog...." My poor husband has to hear non stop about not only our adoption but everyone else's. Although he has been great, he dosn't share the same blog addiction that I have right now!
I need a vaction that's what I know for sure, anyone up for it?? Somewhere warm...maybe just say Vietnam? It's 28 degrees there (and that's during the night)and 5 degrees here hmmm....
(Pep, I know you'd go on vacation with me!)

OH HAPPY DAY!

We've just received an update from the agency stating that Vietnam is open to our agency, and files for families in waiting will be sent over the next 2 weeks.I can finally breathe(and sleep)!, no more worry for a few weeks, until the next step. WHOAAA!!!! what a great feeling. As soon as we are DTV(dossier to vietnam) we are going out to celebrate!!! I've been waiting months and months for this news. This is going to be one hell of a good day, and it's not even 9am.

Adoption Video

This is one of our favourite videos of a couple who adopted from China. Even though we are adopting from Vietnam, we expect the experience to be similar. This video reminds us of why we chose the adoption route. (Be sure to turn up the volume, if your a Beatles fan!)

Building a foundation

On the weekend we went to see if the builders have done any more work on our home. We were happy to see that the foundation has been completed, so framing should begin shortly!
No news on the adoption front so far this week.

My Cubicle

My Cubicle This is for my husband who is moving to a new "office space"

surprise panda

surprise panda

Pandas and other

I keep waking up with this nervous anxious feeling. I wonder is today the day that the Vietnam program opens for our agency? I can hardly stand it any longer, I keep being told that "with in a month it should be open" only to have that month come and go. I figure if the agency re-opens we should hear first thing in the morning because of the time change in Vietnam. No happy e-mail this morning, Fridays are particularly difficult because of the weekly update that gets sent from the agency.Last friday there was no news to update but when I e-mailed the agency requesting some information from them they told me about how the interview with the Hanoi police went well and they are awaiting a letter of recommendation and then their license will be issued. HELLO is that not some news? It's a hell of a lot better than "nothing to report". Oh, I hope tomorrow brings good news to everyone waiting for agency license, referral, travel approval... whatever you are waiting for "good luck"

On another note, I was watching T.V the other night and I saw a commercial for a well known toy company. There were many cute babies of all races on the commercial which obviously caught my eye. Just as I was noticing the very cute Asian baby I noticed the toy the baby had in his/her hand... a panda bear. I thought figures give the Asian baby the panda bear I'm sure pandas must be his favorite animal in the world! I never thought before that I would be the type of person to get annoyed at things like that, maybe I was blowing the whole thing out of proportion, maybe he really did want to play with the panda, but somehow I doubt it.
Overly sensitive already and the baby isn't even home yet, oh boy.

Construction has begun

After a year long wait, our family home has started being built. Our original closing date has come and gone. As you can see by the photos, it's probably a good thing we aren't moving in. We've just learned that the builder has gone with a new siding company and we're not quite sure what colours we'll be getting. They've asked us to "knock on wood" and hope we get what we want. So stay tuned to see what colours our builder chooses and to see if our house will match the nice drawing they've given us. (Let's hope it won't be purple!)

A new baby mover

The longer we wait, the more time we have to prepare.
My husband's sports car was getting too old so we traded it in for a minivan. For us it's one step closer to becoming parents, so it does help with the wait. Although it does feel bare without a baby seat!

closer

According to our agencies update this past friday things are progressing towards accreditation. They are awaiting the last two final steps in the process. 1)The agency office in Ho Chi Minh city has been inspected and a letter of recommendation is awaiting signature, 2) signature from the Hanoi police?. These two last steps could be completed in two seconds or......forever. Hopefully closer to two seconds! Keep your fingers crossed I have a good feeling about this week.

Possibly number 21?

So the update this week is that it will take another month or so until accreditation. No one is telling me why they believe it will be another month but at least it's not the worst news in the world. Also, from past e-mails I have concluded that we are probably number 21 on the Vietnam adoption list with our agency. I also think that we are the 2nd family in line open to adopting a boy. I'm not really sure how they will be processing the files, but in my head being 2nd to getting a boy sounds pretty good.
I'ts estimated to be approx. 6 months after our dossier is filed in Vietnam to referral of a boy, and then travel is 4-8 weeks later. I'm able to wait that long I hope. I really believe we will be referred a boy and it's getting harder to pass by the baby section and not pick something up. I just don't want to buy tons of boy things only to turn around and "SURPRISE your getting a girl" (not that I wouldn't want a girl, but I'd be surprised). I suppose I could always donate the other items to the orphanage. I'm not saying that we haven't bought anything... We purchased a stroller/carseat, and a few 12 month old gender nuetral sleepers. Hopefully we hear more soon from the agency and then I will be more comfortable with buying baby things because the adoption will be moving forward.

No Update

I am seriously upset with me agency right now. I feel totally lost, I don't even know if we are going to continue this adoption journey any longer. Our VN rep is refusing to update anyone until friday when the weekly update comes out. This is unacceptable, families have been waiting weeks, months even longer to hear about the agency accreditation and what is going on with that. I am so unhappy my phone calls and e-mails have gone unanswered except from the receptionist who told me I had to wait until friday. This is very cold of them, they don't seem to care about what we are going through. If there were any other agencies dealing with Vietnam I would switch right now.
Also, with regards to the new house - we have had our closing date pushed back another month. This is the third time it's been pushed back. So I can tell you we will probably NEVER buy a new home ever again! Why are we being punished over and over in one day??
Thanks for listening everyone, if you have any suggestions please comment.

stalking the agency

I'm officially going nuts.
I have convinced myself that "NO NEWS" = "BAD NEWS"
I have so much trouble believing that our VN rep has been in Vietnam for two weeks and there has been no contact with him. Clearly (to me) there is something wrong with that. I have let myself believe that things are not going smoothly and no one wants to write that so that the people in the office do not have to respond to the mass e- mails and phone calls from waiting parents. This must be what it is. So what do I do instead of wait calmly and patiently? I phone the agency anyways. They will not be darting all of the incoming calls by not e-mailing an update. Somehow this makes me feel better, of course I have to leave a message and hope that someone phones me back. The last time the rep was in Vietnam they had kept in contact with him, what's different now? I'm sure I'm not the only one frustrated with this. If I hear back from them and learn that they have indeed heard from the rep. but didn't report that I'm going to be seriously angry. Listen to me, not knowing anything is making me CRAZY!. Why did I not phone them last week when I had this worry? it would have saved my sanity this week.
For future reference I'm not going to feel badly for phoning my agency we pay them enough money, the least they can do is keep us informed.

Will SCREAMING help anything?

"NO NEWS" how is this possible? I wait a long 7 days every week to receive an update from my agency, and they have "NO NEWS". Our VN rep is in Vietnam hoping to finalize accreditation, how is it possible to have heard nothing from him in a week ? GRRR. I would have appreciated something, anything. They could have e-mailed me and told me that he had a great dinner last night, the weather is great, he's seen some cute kids at the orphanages, ANYTHING would have been better that NOTHING!.
Not everything is going terrible, we received the information we needed to begin our immigration paperwork. We got this in three business days not the five to ten business days like they had originally told us, so at least that's moving along.
I had someone come by and view our home today (we are moving around Christmas and are considering puting our house for sale in the fall) and they loved our house!. She's going to take another look at it with her father before she decides for sure, but it looks like we may have found a buyer before we've even listed. Great news on the home front!

Bringing you up to date

My husband and I have finished our homestudy and have received Ministry approval. There is one thing holding us up though, and that is that our agency has not received accreditation. As I type this our Vietnam rep is in Vietnam trying to finalize things, let's hope he does quickly. There are well over 100 families with our agency hoping to adopt from Vietnam, in Canada there are not that many agencies that deal with international adoption.

If this process relied only on me I'd have been to Vietnam and back months ago, but I am in the "waiting game" just like many of you. I am so happy for those that have received their referral and for those that have travelled to get their babies already, my CONGRATULATIONS goes out to all of you.

Welcome

My husband and I are adopting a baby from Vietnam.
Please join us through our adventure.

[Warning, this may be a bumpy ride!]