Serenity now....not

OK. The snow day was lovely and gave us some inner peace. The next morning we awoke to an email telling us our I-600 application has been returned to the Dillon staff in Vietnam, to be resubmitted when it is complete. This was paperwork we mailed in October. The new way of submitting for I-600 approval changed and was anticipated to take "about 60 days." Now we're told that the 60 day time period will RESTART when our application is resubmitted in its entirety. Please note that the paperwork required is apparently unavailable until our child's dossier is gathered, which in his orphanage province doesn't happen until Step 8, which we're at now. If this seems confusing, it's because it is. The bottom line is, more delays and disappointment.
It is desperately hard to remain positive today. It is a powerless feeling.
Please pray for us. There are 4 other families in our agency who are stuck in this same delay. We're just trying to get our children home.

marathons and snowfall

Leave it to Arkansas weather to surprise us.
Brian's marathon on Sunday was a little warmer than he would have expected. He did great, though, and finished with a time he was proud of. Whether that will be a cure for the marathon bug or not will remain to be seen. Either way, according to Zoe, Daddy rocks.


Yesterday was a rainy rotten day; the rotten news we got seemed appropriate for the day. We got a very bizarre email from HoChiMinh reporting that our paperwork was incomplete and that they were soon to return our documents to us. What the !#%? Needless to say, it was a stressful day of trying to get it all straightened out. It isn't yet, but there are hopefully people with Dillon who are trying to figure out exactly what needs completion. Sam felt very very far away yesterday. It was a trying day.

This morning, we awoke to a beautiful carpet of snow and a heavy slow snowfall that continued most of the early hours. It brought with it the most peaceful feeling I have had in a while. It was my day off anyway, and Zoe and I had a snow day together that allowed me to unplug my brain, veg out, and savor the moment. We stayed home, played in the snow, watched a movie, and just in general had a wonderful Zoe and Mommy day. It gave me perspective and peace. It was a welcome feeling. By early evening the snow had melted, but hopefully that serenity will last as long as the snowballs we made and stored in the freezer to show Sam later.

Step 8

We were at Step 8 right before Tet. We're still there. I guess we were optimistic that some of the paperwork might have made it through during their celebrations, but alas.
Hopefully we'll get the Step 9 email we're anticipating in the next week or so. Then, look out, visa applications.
Sam, buddy,we're trying to get there.

Hopefully good news this week!

I understand that February is the shortest month, but it definitely felt like the longest one this year. We knew we wouldn't hear much in the way of updates this month (because of Tet--see post below), and it's been tough just....waiting. We've been told that we can expect updates later this week. We have yet to get an update from Vietnam that puts us at or farther ahead than expected, and in fact most of our updates have been painfully slower than what we'd expect. Maybe our luck will change this week. Fingers crossed!

We received our "travel packet" this past week, which is a 30-page list of instructions that we'll need to apply for our travel visas and some other paperworks tasks in the upcoming weeks. It also includes packing suggestions--no mittens or parkas included there. Toasty Vietnam requires much lighter attire. Sounds appealing right this minute on an cloudy cold Sunday, but don't worry, I'll be whining about the heat when I get there!

A good bit of happy email arrived from a family who traveled to Ninh Thuan this week to pick up their sweet son. Amy said that our Sam was very cute and that her husband held him, and he went to sleep in his arms. It's nice to know he's getting some love! They took pics of him too, so hopefully in the next week or so we'll get to see those little round cheeks again!

In the category of "15 minutes of fame", our group of "Vietmoms" got profiled on a local television station the last two weeks. The segment highlighted our group of moms and the tremendous support we provide for each other during the Vietnam adoption process. Several of us got interviewed about our respective stories. I'm glad to be part of the group, and the moral support during all of this, particularly from those who have been through the same frustrations, has been tremendously uplifting. One also wonders if there might be someone who hears our stories and begins to think about adoption for their own family. Maybe!

Happy Tet!

Well, this weekend is the very significant holiday in Vietnam called Tet. It is their New Year celebration, and it goes on for a couple of weeks. I'm sure when Sam is home with us we'll enjoy celebrating the holidays that come with his home country--it's kind of hard not to call it !%& Tet this year, though, because it introduces a bit longer delay in Sam's paperwork.
We will celebrate a bit tomorrow though, because one of our Vietmoms is having a Tet celebration. We'll celebrate, American-style, by jumping on large, brightly colored, inflated contraptions at Pump it Up. I'm thinking that Sam will find many American traditions a bit odd.
Happy Tet, Sam! We'll bounce for you!

No progress on the paperwork.

Does an update count as an update if you're told you are at the same place you were a month ago? We're still at Step 7. The email we received today told us we will be at Step 8 in "a week or so", and it also warned us that the timeline for THAT step will likely take longer than normal because of the Tet holiday in Vietnam that apparently shuts down the government offices for almost the entire month. Our expectation of January travel got readjusted to February, then to March. Now I suppose March may be optimistic.
Very disheartened tonight.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Well, little buddy, sorry we couldn't make it to celebrate your birthday. Don't worry--we'll make up for lost time really soon. We are anxiously waiting news on the paperwork progress. Kinda bummed that we're still at Step 7, but hopefully something next week. Hang in there and happy birthday!