Tuesday was the scheduled date for my homestudy interview and the walkthrough of the house, which looked great. Alas, when you think everything is going smoothly, there is always a kink in the chain.
I got home from work on Tuesday a little early because I had to stop by my doctor's office to have bloodwork done for my medical clearance form. And by bloodwork, I don't mean a routine chemistry screen, I mean tests for HIV and syphilis. The lab tech, who happens to know Larry, looked at me and asked if Larry and I were still married, since I was having tests for all these STDs. "Yes we're still married, but we're adopting and we have to have this medical form...blah,blah,blah...like it's any of your business anyway."
After the doctor's visit, it was straight home, where I found Loba, our black cat, laying in his litter box, obviously not feeling well. He recently had surgery for a cancerous tumor, so I freaked out. I moved him to the sofa where he hung out during the homestudy.
Our social worker arrived as schedule and the interview was a breeze and actually a lot of fun. She had some really great questions. And then she did the walkthrough which was also a breeze.
Once Larry came home, we conferred about the cat...and it was off to the Kitty ER for the Bowens. Loba had a fever of 105.5 and some underlying infection. He's doing better now, but still not back to his old self.
In other news, today is our 4th wedding anniversary and we're off to my brother's wedding. What a great celebration!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
A first time for everything
Over the weekend, I headed over to Richmond to visit friends and their new baby. The purpose of the trip was to hang out with Leanne, her husband Ingram and baby Thorn before she left for China. And we had a blast, at least Leanne and I think so. I'm not so sure what Thorn thinks, since he managed to spit up on me three times. But Thorn and I got in some quality snuggle time, which is really what's important.
Thorn's just hanging out
We got the chance to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch, which was my first experience with the cuisine. LOVED IT!!!
We had steamed pork dumpling and wonton wrapped fried shrimp as appetizers. I was a bit thrown off when the shrimp's little legs were sticking out of the wonton wrapper. On to the main course which included fried rice, a seafood hot pot (with flames shooting out of the dish) and shrimp grilled on sugar cane. There was a lot of laughter, particularly when I tried to wrap my food in the rice paper wrappers provided. Not a pretty picture. Leanne and I had planned on trying a drink called crazy bubble tea, but we were simply too full to even try.
After lunch, it was off shopping. And I bought our first nursery purchase. I've been trying to refrain from buying anything for a nursery, for fear of jinxing myself. But with the homestudy looming, I broke down and bought curtains.
Finally, our day was over and I headed back home to prepare for our home study visit and walkthrough.
Thorn's just hanging out We got the chance to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch, which was my first experience with the cuisine. LOVED IT!!!
We had steamed pork dumpling and wonton wrapped fried shrimp as appetizers. I was a bit thrown off when the shrimp's little legs were sticking out of the wonton wrapper. On to the main course which included fried rice, a seafood hot pot (with flames shooting out of the dish) and shrimp grilled on sugar cane. There was a lot of laughter, particularly when I tried to wrap my food in the rice paper wrappers provided. Not a pretty picture. Leanne and I had planned on trying a drink called crazy bubble tea, but we were simply too full to even try.
After lunch, it was off shopping. And I bought our first nursery purchase. I've been trying to refrain from buying anything for a nursery, for fear of jinxing myself. But with the homestudy looming, I broke down and bought curtains.
Finally, our day was over and I headed back home to prepare for our home study visit and walkthrough.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Homestudy and Walkthrough Preparedness
For the last few days, Larry and I have been working on the house, making sure that it is in great shape for our upcoming homestudy. The house is as clean as it has been in some time...I just hope that we can keep it this way. If something had not been used in over six months or was just plain ugly, it went into the yard sale bin. I'm hoping for quite a haul, as I've got my eyes on several ebay auctions.
So, we've dusted and vacuumed and mopped and swept and swiffered...and then done it all a few more times. I became the Tasmanian Devil of cleaning. Larry even tried to vacuum Tobie. (For those of you who don't know, Tobie is our border collie/Jack Russell mix.) Tobie, on the other hand, contributed very little to the cleaning endeavor. We're ready for the home study walk through. I've even put children's books on the shelf in what will eventually be the nursery.
...and then our social worker calls with a medical emergency. So our visit has been postponed until Tuesday evening. This almost led to Freak Out #2...but I went shopping instead. We've also got enough stuff going on in the next few days to keep us both occupied. Work on Saturday and then a trip to Richmond to see my best friend Leanne, her husband Ingram and their new baby Thorn, also known as Baby Bowen's future best friend. Leanne and I are planning on hitting a Vietnamese restaurant. Stay tuned for that entry.
Publish
Tobie is very excited about the home study!!!
So, we've dusted and vacuumed and mopped and swept and swiffered...and then done it all a few more times. I became the Tasmanian Devil of cleaning. Larry even tried to vacuum Tobie. (For those of you who don't know, Tobie is our border collie/Jack Russell mix.) Tobie, on the other hand, contributed very little to the cleaning endeavor. We're ready for the home study walk through. I've even put children's books on the shelf in what will eventually be the nursery.
...and then our social worker calls with a medical emergency. So our visit has been postponed until Tuesday evening. This almost led to Freak Out #2...but I went shopping instead. We've also got enough stuff going on in the next few days to keep us both occupied. Work on Saturday and then a trip to Richmond to see my best friend Leanne, her husband Ingram and their new baby Thorn, also known as Baby Bowen's future best friend. Leanne and I are planning on hitting a Vietnamese restaurant. Stay tuned for that entry.
Publish
Tobie is very excited about the home study!!!
Resolution of Freak Out #1
Following my freak out from Wednesday, I had Larry call the adoption agency on Thursday and speak to the Vietnam Coordinator. She calmed my fears regarding the medical concerns and does not feel that there will be a problem. Much to Larry's excitement, she also gave him the names of several hotels in Hanoi, which is where we will have to travel. He has spent a lot of time in the last few days looking up hotels in the area.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Freak Out #1
And I'm sure that it is the first of many freak outs on the road to our child.
Before I left work today, I called to check the message on our home phone. Since Larry and I only check messages typically once a month, there were several new messages. One of them was from our adoption agency, left on Monday. The worker said that she needed to ask a few questions and she would only be in on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So at 4:57 pm, I called her back. She was incredibly sweet and seemed excited to hear back from me. She quickly told me that everything looked good so far, but she was concerned about some of the responses under the medical section of our application. She specifically wanted to know about Larry's stroke (which happened over 5 years ago) and his rapid heart rate. I told her that both were controlled and Larry had no deficits left over from the stroke. I added that his doctor has filled out a medical form for our homestudy and stated that Larry would be able to care for a child and that medical conditions would not interfere with that. The nice lady told me that Vietnam should not have a problem with this and it would have to be documented in another form later in the process anyway.
So...if you know me, then you may know that at times I can be a bit irrational. After I hung up, I FREAKED OUT!!!! FOr a bit, I was convinced that Larry and I would not be able to adopt and we may as well forget about the entire process.
My wonderful husband was able to calm me down and I did a bit a research on the topic. I feel a little better. However, Larry is calling the agency tomorrow to talk to someone else, just to get a better idea about the situation.
The plus side to this is that the agency has given us the greenlight to move forward and is mailing us a packet of documents and information to help through the next steps.
Before I left work today, I called to check the message on our home phone. Since Larry and I only check messages typically once a month, there were several new messages. One of them was from our adoption agency, left on Monday. The worker said that she needed to ask a few questions and she would only be in on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So at 4:57 pm, I called her back. She was incredibly sweet and seemed excited to hear back from me. She quickly told me that everything looked good so far, but she was concerned about some of the responses under the medical section of our application. She specifically wanted to know about Larry's stroke (which happened over 5 years ago) and his rapid heart rate. I told her that both were controlled and Larry had no deficits left over from the stroke. I added that his doctor has filled out a medical form for our homestudy and stated that Larry would be able to care for a child and that medical conditions would not interfere with that. The nice lady told me that Vietnam should not have a problem with this and it would have to be documented in another form later in the process anyway.
So...if you know me, then you may know that at times I can be a bit irrational. After I hung up, I FREAKED OUT!!!! FOr a bit, I was convinced that Larry and I would not be able to adopt and we may as well forget about the entire process.
My wonderful husband was able to calm me down and I did a bit a research on the topic. I feel a little better. However, Larry is calling the agency tomorrow to talk to someone else, just to get a better idea about the situation.
The plus side to this is that the agency has given us the greenlight to move forward and is mailing us a packet of documents and information to help through the next steps.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Immigration here we come
So, I went to the post office this evening to drop off our I-600A application. I forgot that it was the tax deadline. However, I braved the crowd...and our application is now in the mail. I hope that it gets there quickly.
Larry and I are busy getting the house ready for the home study walk through on Friday. Our social worker said that the house did not have to be spotless, but I would like it to be presentable. I have a feeling Larry will be spending his next few days off cleaning.
On another note, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Blacksburg and all the Hokies out there.
Larry and I are busy getting the house ready for the home study walk through on Friday. Our social worker said that the house did not have to be spotless, but I would like it to be presentable. I have a feeling Larry will be spending his next few days off cleaning.
On another note, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Blacksburg and all the Hokies out there.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Owen Bowen???
Some of you may be wondering why the address of this blog is owenbowen.blogspot.com. I can promise you that we will not name this child Owen Bowen. However, for quite some time now this is been what we have called our future child.
Larry and I were discussing potential names one evening. After he rejected one of my favorites, Xander, I asked Larry if he had any suggestions. He responded with:
"I really like the name Owen."
"Owen? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Owen. It has a ring to it"
"I think Owen is a perfectly fine name...if our last name wasn't Bowen. We cannot name our child Owen Bowen. "
"Why not?"
"Because he'll get beat up on the playground on a daily basis."
Thus is the origin of Owen Bowen. We've made quite a joke out of calling our child Owen Bowen. But never fear, that name is simply out of the question.
Larry and I were discussing potential names one evening. After he rejected one of my favorites, Xander, I asked Larry if he had any suggestions. He responded with:
"I really like the name Owen."
"Owen? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Owen. It has a ring to it"
"I think Owen is a perfectly fine name...if our last name wasn't Bowen. We cannot name our child Owen Bowen. "
"Why not?"
"Because he'll get beat up on the playground on a daily basis."
Thus is the origin of Owen Bowen. We've made quite a joke out of calling our child Owen Bowen. But never fear, that name is simply out of the question.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Homestudy, here we come
One of the crucial parts of adoption is the home study, where we meet with our social worker who then determines if we can adopt or not. She meets with us together, separately, talks with family members, and walks through our house to see if there is room for a child.
We met together on 3/27/2007. During that meeting, we were given copious amounts of paperwork to fill out, including an assignment of having to write ten page autobiographies...each. Most of that paperwork, including the autobiographies, has been completed.
Larry met with the social worker on 4/11/07, for his individual interview. He says that everything went well. He even disclosed to the social worker my fondness for pouting. Thanks alot!!!
My individual interview is on 4/20/07, along with the walk through of the house. I'm pretty sure that I will be cleaning all week.
We met together on 3/27/2007. During that meeting, we were given copious amounts of paperwork to fill out, including an assignment of having to write ten page autobiographies...each. Most of that paperwork, including the autobiographies, has been completed.
Larry met with the social worker on 4/11/07, for his individual interview. He says that everything went well. He even disclosed to the social worker my fondness for pouting. Thanks alot!!!
My individual interview is on 4/20/07, along with the walk through of the house. I'm pretty sure that I will be cleaning all week.
Where are we now...
Larry and I started the adoption process officially on March 10th, 2007 and have made some significant process since then. Passport applications have been sent. Homestudy has been initiated. And our I600A application will be sent to the Citizenship and Immigration office hopefully this week.
Once that application is delivered to CIS, then we wait...and wait...and wait. We'll wait for our passports, we'll wait for our completed homestudy and then we'll wait for Citizenship and Immigration to send our I71H.
What comes next? Then we send our dossier (sounds like we're spies) to Vietnam and begin waiting all over again.
Once that application is delivered to CIS, then we wait...and wait...and wait. We'll wait for our passports, we'll wait for our completed homestudy and then we'll wait for Citizenship and Immigration to send our I71H.
What comes next? Then we send our dossier (sounds like we're spies) to Vietnam and begin waiting all over again.
Here we go...
Welcome to our new blog. I (Megan) hope to keep family, friends and anyone who reads this up-to-date on the status of our adoption. If you don't know already, Larry and I are in the process of adopting a child from Vietnam. Here are a few questions that people are asking us these days, along with our answers.
"Why adopt?"
We have been contemplating adoption for some time, but never pursued it any further than reading information packets from adoption agencies. However towards the end of February 2007, it hit us that it was time to move forward with expanding our family. It is more important for us to have the chance to parent together than it is for me to actually carry a child.
"Why Vietnam?"
When it came to programs available, there were many options to choose from. After hours of reading information packets and researching adoption programs, it became apparent to us that Vietnam was the right country. It may sound hokey, but we felt called to adopt from Vietnam.
"Why not adopt in America?"
Please see the answer to the above question
"How long will it take?"
Well, we're not exactly sure. But the agency we are using says between nine months to one year. However it is important to remember that with international adoption, anything can happen.
"Why adopt?"
We have been contemplating adoption for some time, but never pursued it any further than reading information packets from adoption agencies. However towards the end of February 2007, it hit us that it was time to move forward with expanding our family. It is more important for us to have the chance to parent together than it is for me to actually carry a child.
"Why Vietnam?"
When it came to programs available, there were many options to choose from. After hours of reading information packets and researching adoption programs, it became apparent to us that Vietnam was the right country. It may sound hokey, but we felt called to adopt from Vietnam.
"Why not adopt in America?"
Please see the answer to the above question
"How long will it take?"
Well, we're not exactly sure. But the agency we are using says between nine months to one year. However it is important to remember that with international adoption, anything can happen.
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