Clear skies ahead!

Finally!

I found out on Monday of this week that my documents have been signed by the Department of International Adoption (DIA) in Hanoi, Viet Nam. My I-600 Form (Petition to classify orphan as a relative) is on its way to the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. I have been told that within 8-14 days, I will receive acknowledgement that it has been signed and also be given our travel approval from Viet Nam.

It’s hard to imagine, but the last month has been a delay for everyone because an official in Viet Nam was gone on vacation, and no one could sign in his absence. Isn’t that something? I guess he returned because our papers were signed and we are expecting to travel to Viet Nam by mid-November. It is hard to be patient, but it is also easy to understand that many cultures and bureaucracies are different.

We went to Naples, Florida last week and visited family. It was awesome! My mom is turning 75 years old on October 29 (Happy Birthday Granny!) and the Florida family members (sans Buck and Robin) were on hand to have a cookout and party for Granny. We stayed at my mom’s house so I could visit with the ole’ gal (hehe), and Jordan could spend time with her Granny. My sister Cindy and her husband Willie, their daughter Amber and her baby Julian, their daughter Michelle, her husband Corey, and their daughter Taylor, and hopefully soon foster children Vanessa and Carlos, my sister Betsy and her children Chris and Helen Rose and my brother Butch, his wife Sandy and their son Anthony were all there to celebrate Mom’s ¾ century mark. Not a full clan but “half clan” celebration anyway!

Jordan loved her Aunt Dede’s (Cindy) pool and the beach. She brought home more sea shells for her collection, and enjoyed being the center of attention wherever she could. She is such a good traveler, and we are in a really great stage where she can color for awhile or watch movies on the DVD by herself. Our minimal 25 hour flight to Viet Nam will require stretching every bit of that new focused attention span.

So we are now home again in Texas, and filing for the travel visas, and finalizing packing and preparation. I need to finish my Christmas shopping too! My list o’ things to do is very long! It feels great to have the energy, excitement and enthusiasm readily on hand for the tasks. It seems easy when you know that a baby boy is coming home into our hearts and lives forever.

So before I dive in, I’ll take Annie dog for a walk on this 55 degree sunny beautiful fall day, and start in on tasks one at a time.

We are now proceeding to the hold line and monitoring the tower… stay tuned!

Bac Ninh Orphanage

On Monday I received updated photos of baby Brian taken last week in his orphanage. He is just adorable! The only other photos I've seen were taken when he was 8 weeks old. Now he is 5 months old, and he is getting so cute!

I am not allowed to post his photos on the internet until after he is legally adopted. While we are there in country, I'll upload all of them, so lots of photos will be coming atcha!

I did get a couple other photos of the orphanage. This photo above is a picture of the front of the orphanage building. There are approximately 70 infants at this facility, and 100 or so older deaf children who live there. The other families who have traveled to bring home their children say that the older children get very excited when the prospective adoptive parents come. The courtyard (parking lot) here gets very active with the children running around!



This picture is taken inside one of the rooms at the facility. There are about 5-6 infants per bed and per care giver in each room. I don't know the identities of these babies, or if baby Brian is one of them, but this is the current life he is living. It will be only a short while before he comes here to his forever home!