more april showers...

(again, hoping these showers bring us a may baby)!

Ed's mom and sisters threw me an amazing baby shower this weekend (yes, that makes 4...we're so blessed and very well stocked!).  It was perfect.  Great company, great food.  Of course, it was centered around our adoption and the very lovely Ella, it was also at the same time, a welcome distraction from the crazy and sad world of adoptions right now.   A few pictures of the day!

   

[This next gift below, was a big shock.  It was from Ed's aunt Sue.  As you may know, our Ella is named after Ed's great grandma Ella.  I've spent many nights with Ed's family hearing about her life and the old farm where she lived and raised and raised Ed's grandpa Art.  I've also had the opportunity to see the old farm house, which is  just amazing.  You can literally see so much beauty and history there.  Ed's aunt scanned and printed pictures of great grandma Ella, the farm house, and Ed's grandpa and grandma and put them into a great antique pink frame for us and for our Ella.   She also passed along a beautiful handkerchief that was Ella's.  It says Ella at the top and then 1917 State Fair at the bottom.  Totally brought me to tears (but don't worry...I didn't stain use it to mop up my mascara mess!).  Great Grandma Ella is in the lower right corner with the dog.  Ed's grandma and grandpa are on the left side of the handkerchief and the farm house is the big white house...]

We are so blessed...I can't say it enough.  The kindness, generosity, support and encouragement are endless and for that we will be forever grateful!

the verdict is in...

It's been a long time coming and there has been endless speculation about the future of the Vietnam adoption program. The official statements have been posted and the verdict is in. The Vietnam adoption program will be closing it's doors to the Unites States on September 1st. While it remains possible that a new agreement between the governments can be established, it will likely take a good amount of time to see it come to fruition. Here is an excerpt of the statement made today by the US Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam.

"On April 25, the Government of Vietnam announced that it will allow adoption to be completed in cases where prospective adoptive parents have been matched with a child and received an official referral prior to September 1, 2008. It further stated that in accordance with Vietnamese law, the DIA (Dept. of International Adoptions) will suspend the acceptance of new dossiers on July 1, 2008. On September 1, 2008 any dossier that has not received a referral will be closed and returned to the Adoption Service Provider. In view of the processing time required in Vietnam from placement to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony, an adoption process begun now cannot be completed before the current Agreement expires."

Click here for the entire statement.

Although we haven't completed our adoption yet and "shouldn't" have any problems doing so, we feel very fortunate to have been a part of the rather turbulent Vietnam adoption program.

I have thought a lot about the "triangle" of adoption that is referenced often in the adoption world. The triangle signifies the birth parents, child, and adoptive parents. I can't help but wonder if a star shape would be more appropriate.... to include the local and foreign governments (or the agency for that matter). While I understand the complete necessity and obligation to regulate adoption cases so that corruption and illegal measures are not being taken, the governments have also been successful in instilling an incredible amount of fear and panic into the lives of thousands of innocent adopting parents.

Adoption is a beautiful experience and something we will do again without second thought, but I can't say that so much of the joy hasn't been lost. I am sad that Ella's first sibling will not be from her birth country. My heart breaks for the families who will not be able to complete their adoptions, but more so, for the children who won't have the opportunity to meet these incredible families. It's really a tragic situation. Please keep them in your prayers.

waiting...

today is 'working' day 15 of the official I600 wait.

(well, we think...they seem to have a lot of holidays in VN, I'm not sure how many days they have actually worked, but for my sanity, I'm sticking with 15!)

---

18 months ago today we sent in the application to our first agency.

---

...just waiting...

FINGERPRINTS ARE UPDATED!

 

nope. no approval.  but, another family from our agency DID get their approval and her son is at the same orphanage as Ella, so things are definitely moving (they waited about 30-35 days)!!

How big is your ecological footprint?

CLICK HERE to find out (well worth the few minutes)!

Happy Earth Day!

 

[photo: a recent solar array that ed (and co-workers) installed on top of a local university building]

the green minute is back :)

• Laundry - If everyone in the US swapped just ONE 100oz. bottle 2x ultra petroleum-based laundry detergent with the equivalent size vegetable-based detergent, it would save enough barrels of oil to heat 27,000 houses for a year! (source: seventh generation website)

• Light bulbs - If every home in the US replaced at least ONE standard light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 MILLION homes for year ...which saves over $600 million in annual energy costs! (source: 50 simple steps to save the earth from global warming)

• Water Bottles - Did you know that almost all 'disposable' plastic water bottles are made from petroleum?  According to the Container Recycling Institute,  it takes more than 1.5 million barrels of oil/year just to make enough bottles to supply the United States only...(which is enough fuel for 100,000 cars for a year)!  Go for a reusable bottle!

until next time...think green!

tears. thank you.

Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it. (Albert Smith)

Thank you so much for the words of encouragement and support while I get over this slump!  I feel so much better knowing I'm not alone while having this bizarre out of body feeling!  The comments (and stories...) have meant so much to me!  I have to share how my Friday continued...I came home, still feeling weepy and emotional and Ed came into the house to chat with me.  Tears started flowing again...

me: "we need to go out for a drink" (as I'm crying - and fyi...I very rarely drink if you're now concerned!)

ed: "oh my god, are you okay?"

me "yeah" (but in the whimpering/crying voice)

ed: "did something happen?"

me: "no"  (again, in "the" voice)

ed: "then what's wrong?" (now utterly confused)

me: "I don't know. I just can't stop crying. (insert ed trying really hard not to laugh right now!!!) I just need this to be over.  I'm so overwhelmed trying to get caught up at work in case we leave before the end of the year, trying to get our crap together at home, and then my obsession to get our approval, etc!  I'm loosing my mind"

ed: "give me a hug, it will be okay.  We're getting our approval on Tuesday, I told you.  Then she'll be home"

me: "okay, I hope you're right.  thank you...you can go back to cleaning your truck.  I know you don't know how to react to me right now so I'm going to sit and cry for a little while while you clean your truck and then your taking me out to dinner so I can get wine"!

ed; "okay, we'll leave at 5..see you in a few"

*it was really quite comical as we recapped this odd exchange.  I'm happy to report I'm feeling better and almost back to myself again.  It's true...a good cry does really help!  I just hope the approval comes fast so the next round of tears can be out of total joy!*

thank you again.

The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.  (John Vance Cheney)

did you ever wanna...

crawl in a hole to hibernate? That's how I feel right now. Seriously, I don't know what is wrong with me. I had a meeting this morning with a big group of co-workers. I haven't seen most of them since we got our official referral, so when I happily stood up to share our news...I totally got choked up and could hardly talk! Despite my overflowing excitement and love for Ella, this is SO not like me to do! I'm usually all smiles and giddy...but not a crier (at least not in public). I was (ok, still am) so embarrassed! I just feel so unlike myself... I just want to get on a plane and go to my "happy place"!

fingerprinting continued...

Oh, these USCIS emails are keeping my adrenalin pumping! For a brief millisecond tonight, I thought we got our approval. It was actually just a reply in reference to the fingerprinting issues. Here is what it said:

Thank you for advising this office that you have an appointment for fingerprinting. The I-600 has to be filed before the expiration date of the I-600A (I-171H) which you have done.

Regards,
Adoption Unit
U.S.CIS - Ho Chi Minh City

So...I think that means we're safe, right? I don't think I can handle seeing their email address in my inbox again...unless it's the real deal!

giving credit where it is due...

Today marks working/business day 10 of our "official I600 wait". I cannot imagine the families that have been waiting over 60, 90, 100+ days. My heart really goes out to them/you! I'm trying very hard to keep myself busy and not stalk the computer, but I'll be honest...it's harder than I expected it would be this early on in the wait. I think a very large part of my eagerness comes from seeing two other families, who are adopting/adopted babies with clefts, get their approval in less than 3 weeks! One of these families is in Vietnam RIGHT NOW and I couldn't be happier for them (and beautiful baby Tori)! I know we aren't even at three weeks yet...but I cannot seem get the "maybe it could happen to us too" vibe out of my head. My fingers are permenantly crossed!

Anyway, the other day I came across this Operation Smile video and of course, it made me cry...but it was cool because it was a mission they did in Vietnam last year. Check it out!

starting to feel real...

We got our Visa's today!  It's so weird seeing something in our very bare new crispy passports.  We don't need them yet, but we decided to get the 6 month visas so it was one less thing to do during the real "crunch time".  Now, we just need our approval, and we can officially go!

We also found a pediatrician on Friday and we love her!  (Lucky for us because she was the first one we interviewed).  She has two younger sisters who were adopted (one from Korea and the other from Ethiopia).  Her sister from Korea also had a cleft lip/palate, so we chatted about that for a while. They used one of the surgeons we are considering and her lip reconstruction was amazing (in the pictures at least)!  We also like the fact that her office is affiliated with Children's Hospital here - which has both the International Adoption Clinic we had review her file and has the craniofacial surgical team...so she can communicate with those doctors easily and pull up all records and files from her office.

We still aren't sure about the fingerprinting.  We haven't gotten responses from either our local or the HCMC office, but I'm not going to sweat it...by next Wednesday the new ones will be done anyway.

...I love crossing things off the list :)

april showers bring may...babies??

I think it could happen, don't you?  Ed predicts that despite our fingerprinting "issues" (which haven't been fixed-yet)... we will receive our I600 approval next Tuesday, the 22nd...and we will travel on May 1st. I hope his little crystal ball is right!

My school threw me and a co-worker a lovely April shower today!  I felt like I had permission to talk about Ella all day...not that any other day is different :)  She's always the topic of conversation (especially when it's "I got new pictures" day)!

Anyway, here are a few snap shots of our shower!

the shower was in our 100+ year old gymnasium if you're wondering about the decor :)

pretty roses (I also got tulips...but kept them at school)

this is a knit blanket that one of our assistants made...yes, with mini 3-D bear faces!  This is her signature baby gift that we all look forward to!  She even did Ella's in pink and brown to match her room!

and because we can't work in an elementary school and not give out cute books...how perfect!  A great day!

*....one of my best blog buddies just found out her father has cancer and he will begin receiving chemo very soon.  please keep them in your prayers!*

6 loves for 6 months

Our sweet Ella is 6 months old today!  In honor of her 1/2 birthday, I've decided to post the 6 things I love most about her...

1.  I love her deep dark eyes that are full of wisdom

 

2.  I love her lips...full and beautiful just the way they are

3. I love her sassy trouble-maker smirk :-)

4.  I love her looking so peaceful

 

  5. I love her cute cheeks that are almost going to smile

6.  I love...well, I love everything about her

Happy 6 months peanut!  We love you!

deep breath jenna

So I woke up this morning to find an email from HCMAdoptions (yes, on a Saturday).  Heart stopped...shaking started.   For those who don't know.  This is the SAME email address that popped up on April 3rd to say that our I600 application was received and was being reviewed.  This is the SAME email address that will pop up to say that our I600 has been approved and we can go get Ella!

So, I freaked out when I saw it in my inbox..."could it be...already?"  Here is what it said:

Dear Mr. /Ms. Stoll,
Records show your fingerprints have expired. Please advise if you have updated fingerprint results.
Regards,
Adoption Unit
U.S.CIS - Ho Chi Minh City

First of all...I have my I-171H in front of me and it clearly states that our fingerprints expire on April 25th.  On March 26th, I mailed in our request to be re-fingerprinted.  We received the appointment notices YESTERDAY in the mail saying our appointments to have them updated will be on April 23rd.  So I emailed the HCMC USICS office back asking for clarification on the actual dates...and I got this:

Due to the high volume of inquiries received by this office, please be advised that a response to your inquiry may take 7 working days.

Thank you for your patience.

So, I just proceeded to email our local office to see what's up...not sure when I'll hear back.

My thoughts......

1. PLEASE don't let this cause any sort of hiccup in the wait for approval...

2. PLEASE tell me this means they are reviewing our file already and our approval could be coming soon (!!)...

stay tuned - we'll see what happens...

because one wasn't enough...

We are now the proud owners of two orange strollers!

...and it wouldn't be right if we didn't take another picture of Emma Lu in it.  She looks thrilled doesn't she?  I really need to get my baby home!

This week's progress(aside from STARING at the new pictures of our girl):

-scheduled meeting/interview with a pediatrician

-packed most of Ella's suitcase (!!!)

-sent in applications and fee for our 6-month Visa's

we're getting there...slowly but surely!

new pictures of ella!

* a word of caution...the new music selection that you are 'enjoying' is complements of Ed*

Woke up this morning to the most wonderful surprise!

thank you mom

My wonderful mom came down today to help sew little gift bags for all of the nannies at Ella's orphanage.  I am getting very girly stuff for them (nail polish, files, lotion, lip gloss etc.) and putting it all in a little cloth tote bag.  Thank God for my mom...she whipped out ALL of the cloth bags for me!  They are great!  One more thing off my list! 

  

She also brought down Ella's dress for the Giving and Receiving ceremony!!  I couldn't find one that wasn't too frilly or too cutsie...but I loved this fabric!  So I handed it off to mom, and bam...this lovely little creation!  Matching bloomers, a hat, and barrettes too (if she has enough hair)!  How lucky are we?

nesting

It's official...I'm nesting!  Even my co-workers noticed!  I have been trying to get my ducks in a row both at home and at work in the [miraculous] event that our I-600 clears quickly.  Since I will probably miss the end of the school year, I'm trying to get my paperwork done, reports written, and room assembled for my sub.

At home, I've been busy collecting packing lists from fellow adoptive parents and I'm beginning the 'still need to do or buy' list (it's long!).

I also took a big step this week (at least it was for me) and did my very first load of Ella's laundry!  I didn't think it would seem so strange for me, but it did...a good strange!  It was like a big pink crayon exploded in my washer!  I was just grinning the entire time I was folding.  I've never loved laundry so much.  So much so...that I even took a picture!

This weekends ambitions:

• Start packing Ella's bags
• Shop for the missing items on the packing list
• Start assembling gift bag items for orphanage staff

...wish me luck...

I600 Update #2

We just received our acknowledgement of receipt this morning! Today is also my dad's 60th birthday! Happy Birthday dad! It's a great day!

This means the clock is now officially ticking to get our final approval to bring Ella home! This process has a history of being terribly nerve wracking, to say the least. The USCIS/Dept. of State offices have taken anywhere from a day to over 100 days to approve these cases. Please say your prayers her case is cleared quickly!

We're coming Ella!

happy I600 update...no april fooling

We got an [exciting] email from our agency this afternoon saying that our I-600 was submitted to USCIS on Friday!!!! Friday was exactly 4 weeks since we received our referral. I never NEVER EVER thought I would use the word "fast" when referring to anything in our adoption, but that was fast! We are now waiting for the confirmation email from USCIS...then the clock starts ticking for the coveted approval!