At Last!

As of 4:30 pm today our home study is on the way to USCIS. Here's hoping for a quick turn around!!!

I was smiling all afternoon and evening. I feel like this is such a big accomplishment.

Houston...we have a home study

Almost five months into this journey and we finally have a completed home study, ready to go to USCIS. If all goes as planned, it will be in the mail tomorrow morning. Finally, it seems that we are ready to move on to dossier preparations. We've collected about half of the documents we need for the dossier. It actually feels like we are making some progress.

What I wish I could say!!!

Anne over at MN to VN posted this. And I think that it's hilarious!! I wish I could say this to some people!!!

Freeze Tag or Blog Tag????

Yeah!! I love to play tag. Stacy tagged me, so here goes nothing!

Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged, you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged & to read your blog!

Here we go:
L- Listener. I'm a therapist by day, so I get paid to listen. And listening to music of all types is
one of my favorite past times.
E- Excited about being a mother. I've enjoyed seeing one of my best friend begin her journey
into motherhood this year and I can't wait to join her.
I- Impatient. I am so so so impatient. I'm working on this. I promise!
G- Gossip Blogs are my biggest weakness. I can't get through the day without reading at least
three celebrity gossip blogs.
H- Harry Potter is one of my biggest weaknesses. I LOVE anything having to do with HP!

So, there you have it. I know that I'm supposed to tag five people, but it seems that I am one of the last people to get tagged. So, if you would like to play, then please do.


In adoption news, I have it on very good authority that we should be receiving our home study any day now. All I can say is that it's about time.

In non-adoption news, I had a chance to see Kenny Chesney in concert this past weekend. My dear friend Taryn and I took our usual summertime jaunt to Virginia Beach to take in the latest Chesney show. Kenny was fabulous, but I must say that Sugarland, who opened the show was INCREDIBLE. I love Sugarland anyway, but seeing them live was amazing.

Venting, Insensitive People and Some Good News

From the very first time Larry and I began to tell people we're adopting, the majority of responses have all been pretty positive. Family members immediately embraced this unknown life as a welcomed addition to the clan. Close friends started doling out parenting tips. Coworkers eagerly ask questions about where we stand in the process and when we might know something more. We both know that our child will be welcomed and accepted, just the same as a child who would share our DNA.

I realize that international adoption is not really something that you encounter on a routine basis, particularly in small town Virginia. However, in recent weeks I've come across some rather insensitive people who have a tendency to say some rather insensitive things. I realize that not everyone understands everything about adoption or international adoption or Vietnam. But I wish that people would ask questions and wait for answers rather than say something really, really stupid and hurtful.

Since this is a subject that has really bothered me, I figured I would post a few answers to these questions.

• We are not paying for the baby. We are paying for the agency's services, mailings, education, orphanage service fees and medical exams, among other things.
  

• I don't know exactly why it takes so long to process things. It takes nine months to complete a pregnancy and we are well within the time frame.

• Just because I'm not going to experience natural childbirth does not mean that I am not going to be a real mother. Nor does it mean that Larry is not going to be a real father. We struggled with infertility for awhile and decided that it meant more for us to be parents than to continue down the fertility treatment road.
  

Sorry for the rant! Some things have been getting to me lately.

In more positive news, we should have three original copies of our home study in our hands by Monday at the latest!!!!!!! And then it will be on its way to USCIS office. We are working diligently to get the rest of our dossier together. The dossier is a packet of important documents that will go to Vietnam. This is a huge step for us.

We've also started working on pulling together a nursery. So far it looks great! I'll post pictures when it's completed.

While in Vietnam...

While we are still in limbo concerning our home study and fingerprints, Larry and I are growing more and more excited about the prospect of meeting our child sooner rather than later. But this state of limbo impedes the blogging process. I was chastised about not updating often enough, so I am going to make an effort to blog at least every few days.

We watched two very interesting shows on the travel channel throughout the week about food in Vietnam. One was with Anthony Bourdain, who I love, and the other was about bizarre foods. (Thanks Jilian for the recommendation.) I must say that the program featuring bizarre foods, had a few choice moments, which caused all of the color to drain out of my face. I'm not sure if it was the snake cracklings (like pork rinds) or the stewed bull penis. At one point, Larry looked at me and said through his laughter "You're not going to eat anything when we there, are you?" While I hope to not eat the aforementioned delicacies, I am looking forward to most of the Vietnamese cuisine.

I also thought I would post a map of Vietnam. Our agency works with orphanages in the provinces of Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Quang Ninh, Danang, Quang Nam and Yen Bai.

Stealing Quizzes

I saw this at MN to VN and had to take it. I love books and thrive on reading. Typically, I have at least three on the nightstand. But, I was surprised with the outcome, because it is a book I absolutely love. I don't buy the analysis that came with it, but love the book choice. According to the book quiz, I am most like:

You're A Prayer for Owen Meany!

by John Irving

Despite humble and perhaps literally small beginnings, you inspire
faith in almost everyone you know. You are an agent of higher powers, and you manifest
this fact in mysterious and loud ways. A sense of destiny pervades your every waking
moment, and you prepare with great detail for destiny fulfilled. When you speak, IT
SOUNDS LIKE THIS!

In Motion Once Again

After three trips to Roanoke, two trips to the county jail, three sets of smeared prints and numerous miles logged into the car, I can finally rest easy in the knowledge that my husband actually has fingerprints and he is not a criminal or from another planet. That is correct...Larry's fingerprints have cleared. Larry had his fourth set of prints scanned, rather than inked. And I must say...they were fabulous prints. I must confess I was starting to believe my husband was dipping his fingers in battery acid when I wasn't looking.

So, where does this leave us now? Well, hopefully this means our home study will receive its official stamp of approval and head to the USCIS office. Once there, we will wait for our I71H, which is approval to bring home our Vietnamese cutie. I'm not sure how long this will take. There have been rumors that the office we have to go through is picking up the pace, after becoming notoriously slow. In the meantime, Larry and I are beginning to compile our dossier, which I will discuss in a later post.

Needless to say, we are both relieved to have officially jumped through this hoop. I must confess I was beginning to wonder if the wheels would ever start moving again.

Where is the nearest brick wall?

After Friday, I feel like we are beating our heads against a large brick wall. Once again, Larry's fingerprints were thrown out because they were smudged. This was the third attempt. And I was so upset. Last time they were thrown out, I was angry. This time, I felt defeated. I'm beginning to wonder if we will ever get over this hurdle. In reality I know that we will, but this really took the air out of my sails.

I really just don't understand what the problem is. I mean, the people doing the prints fingerprint inmates every single day. It's their job. You would think they might realize the prints are bad.

So, I'm asking that everyone send some postive thoughts our way. Larry is going to have his prints scanned on Monday. Hopefully this will do the trick.