From Cancer to Sara & Hanna!!!!!

ADOPTION GRANTED!!!

2012-02-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

OK, so we thought we were supposed to have our Court Date mid-Feb, but I got an email today that our case was submitted and passed court YESTERDAY!!!! We are just waiting on the Adoption order and translations!
What happens now? There is a 30 day appellate period, and at the end, there is a No Appeals Judgment issued. Once that is issued, the I-600 is sent to USCIS and you wait for your approval. Once you get the approval, documents are filed with the US Embassy in Kinshasa for visa. We get the visa, then we get the Exit Letter from the DGM in Kinshasa. Then you go and pick up your daughter - YAY!!
So, here is our Hanna!!!!!!

Update!!!!

2012-01-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

We just got an update that our case is moving along! Looks like on Jan 31st or Feb 1st our agency will introduce the request for a judgment of adoption, which sets the court hearing date!!!! YAY!!!! We got new photos too, but not sure when we can post! SUPER EXCITED!!!!!!!!

Progress!

2012-01-04T15:04:00.000-08:00

Things are moving right along. Here is what I got today:

Your case - Pierre has submitted all docs to court in Mbuji Mayi in order to get her birth certificate. You are now in your 30 day "waiting period" for that process. Once, the 30days are up, the Judgment is signed and the Judgment is then taken to the person in charge of the Registrar. The birth certificate will then be issued in a bout 2-3 days. Once we get the birth certificate, the Adoption documents are then submitted to court. The court date is usually set for about a week later. At the hearing, the adoption will be approved. THEN THERE IS ANOTHER 30 DAY WAITING PERIOD FOR APPELLATE PURPOSES. Then you file your I-600 document along with the child's certified documents. I'm told, this could take 3-6 weeks for approval. Once approved, Pierre files your documents at the Embassy. It takes about 3-5 weeks for approval and issuance of child's visa. At the same time as Embassy is investigating, our staff in Kinshasa will be getting all necessary documents for Exit Letter from DGM.

So, we are hoping we MAY be able to travel in May!!! Fingers crossed!!!!

So, what happens now??

2011-11-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

We got some information on the steps required to bring Hanna home. Here is what we received today:

The next step in the process will be getting her current birth certificate -- it will say her current name. That can take up to 2 months to get documents ready for that, then file them with a court, then there is a 30 day period of waiting for the actual B.C., Once we get the birth certificate, then we file your documents with the Adoption Court. the hearing is then scheduled pretty quickly - 1-2 weeks - and Pierre goes to that hearing. The Judgement is signed and it is registered with the court in a day or two from Hearing date. There is a 30 day appellate period, and at the end, there is a No Appeals Judgment issued. Once that is issued, the I-600 is sent to USCIS and you wait for your approval. Once you get the approval, documents are filed with the US Embassy in Kinshasa for visa. We get the visa, then we get the Exit Letter from the DGM in Kinshasa. Then you go and pick up your daughter - YAY!!

Hopefully, she will be home in the Spring!

Approval on National Adoption Day!!!

2011-11-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

We received our I600-A approval today! This means we have been determined able to furnish proper care to an orphan by the US Dept of Homeland Security! A formality, but an important one. We are one step closer to our little Hanna B!

Info on our daughter today!

2011-11-17T15:22:00.001-08:00

So, this is what we got today:

She was near 1 year old when she was brought to the orphanage on October 20, 2010. She was found abandoned at the city Market (food market place) by Market workers.
Parents and family members are unknown. At the time she was found, her health was weak because she was malnourished. She is healthy now.

So sad! We hope we can bring her home SOON!!!

Getting there AGAIN!!

2011-11-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

Well, we did not get all of our paperwork done, before we left for our Disney trip, but we did get it done when we got back. So, now all of our documents are complete, authenticated, and ready to go to DR Congo (fingers crossed). We also had our fingerprint appointment last week, so we should be getting our approval soon. We also had to send them a change of country request and our updated Home Study.

On another note, we had a fabulous time on our Disney World/ Disney Cruise trip. Here are some pictures. Next time, we will have 2 little girls with us!!!!

Moving forward!!!!

2011-10-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the past few days have been insane! We have had to deal with the fact that our Ethiopia Adoption dream was not going to be a reality. A few people have mentioned the Democratic Republic of Congo program to me; a lot of people are switching over from Ethiopia. Our agency only does Ethiopia and China, which are both out of the question for us. So, I contacted someone I knew from our adoption with Sara, and she mentioned Congo. Long story short, there are over 5 million orphans there in desperate need of homes. I feel so naive not knowing about the horrible things that go on in Congo. There is a beautiful 2 1/2 year old girl available and we all fell in love with her. She is just gorgeous!

So, now we are scrambling to gather additional documents needed, etc before we leave for vacation on Monday!

Does everything happen for a reason???

2011-10-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is so hard to write, but I wanted to give an update. Just when we thought this was too easy, it WAS! We found out yesterday that because I had Cancer more than 8 YEARS AGO, Ethiopia will not let us adopt! We are heartbroken, BUT it may open another door for us. We definitely want a second child, we know that. This just puts a big bump in our plans. We will keep everyone updated. Pray that we make the right decision.

Fingerprint Appointment!

2011-10-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

I was shocked yesterday when we got notice of our fingerprint appointment already! Last time it seemed to take so much longer! We are all pretty excited. Things seem to be moving right along. We are waiting for the courts to open, hopefully next week. Then we should get some answers.

Getting There!!!!

2011-10-07T18:05:00.001-07:00

So, we got notice today that our Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition has been received, which grants us permission to bring an orphan child into the US. So now, we just wait for our fingerprint appt (3rd set of fingerprints). Other than that, we should be going on a list very soon to become eligible for a referral in Ethiopia. Fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!!!

Almost there!

2011-08-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

So, in case you were wondering, this is what (most) of a Dossier looks like. The Home Study is missing, but our agency is finishing that up. So now, all of these lovely documents can go to our Agency and then they are off to Ethiopia!!! We have hit a few bumps, but hopefully everything will work out! Pray for us!!! We are looking forward to this journey.

Summer fun!

2011-08-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

We are having a great Summer. I am so lucky I am able to spend time with Sara this Summer at the pool, the zoo, etc. She is going to camp 2 days a week while I work and is loving it. Wish Summer could last forever! The adoption is moving right along. We are working on all of our documents for our Dossier. Slowly, but surely...

I am working on a bedroom theme for the new little one (Hanna?). I thought cupcakes would be cute. What do you think? Sara says she wants a Justin Bieber room, so she will probably take over the drum room.

The drought in Africa right now is very disturbing. I pray for these people! Can you imagine having to walk hours and hours in the heat for food with 6 children? We are so lucky we have what we have.

Progress!

2011-07-06T13:19:00.001-07:00

We had our 2nd Home Study today. There was not much to it, just verifying the information from our last one. Now, all we have to do is get our medicals and a few other minor documents and we can apply for 1-600 (approval to bring an infant child into the US) and we can start working on our Dossier (documents needed to send to Ethiopia).

Moving right along!

2011-07-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

Well, we had our 1st Home Study Weds. That went really well. It was helpful that we adopted before. Even though a Home Study is only valid for 18 months, the Social Worker could use a lot of our information from the last one. The next one is scheduled for Weds and then we will just wait for her to write it up!

We finally chose an agency and feel really good about it! They are a smaller agency and seem very caring and ethical. For those of you who went through it with us before, you know agency choice is very important! Hopefully, things will go smoother this time. Now we just start gathering documents for our Dossier, this is the stack of paperwork that goes to Ethiopia. Once our Dossier is logged in Ethiopia, we are told 2-6 months for a referral, which is an actual child available for adoption. Hope everyone has a great 4th!

Home Study Scheduled

2011-06-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

We scheduled our Home Study! We are on our way! Things are moving pretty quickly. We still have not chosen an agency for sure, but should be submitting an application this week.

Sara is getting used to the idea of having a new sister. We are thinking it would be a good idea for them to share a room, at least in the beginning. I will try to keep this updated the best I can.

Here we go again?

2011-06-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

So, 3 1/2 years after bringing home our precious angel Sara, who by the way is doing so incredibly well, we have decided to dive back into adoption! We are looking into an Ethiopia adoption this time, a toddler girl between 2 and 3. It is going to be another long road, but I think we are ready! We are very excited.

California

2009-03-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hi! It's been a while! Just a quick note to let anyone interested know that we got to go to the Ellen show yesterday and it will air today. I'm not sure if you will be able to see us or not. More pictures soon!

Happy TET!

2009-01-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

TET is the big celebration for the Chinese New Year in Vietnam. Sara doesn't understand it yet, but we plan on teaching her the tradition when she gets older. Next weekend, I am working, but Sara and Gary are going to a celebration for Families with Children from Vietnam. We went last year and had a really nice time. Other than that, we don't have much going on here.

We had A LOT of snow and ice last week and luckily, I was off and not feeling well, so Sara and I were cooped up in the house for 2 days! She was very happy to go to day care on Thurs!!!

Her funny face
We're in trouble!
She absolutely loves the snowWith her best friend, Nancy

Feeling Better

2009-01-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

Sara is feeling much better. She had a tough weekend last weekend and it lasted through mid-week, then I got sick. We are doing fine now, though. There is not much going on with us. We are back to normal after the holidays. Here are some cute pictures from New Year's.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had an awesome New Years. Ours was good. We went to some friend's who have a daughter Sara's age. The 2 of them had a BLAST! They were partners in crime and played so well together. Sara was up until 12:30 which is 4 hrs later than normal!

Today we took her to an indoor water park. She was a little scared at first, but caught on to the fun pretty quickly. Sara vomited before we left and was acting normal without a fever, so we went. She has never been sick before, so I didn't think she was. On the car on the way there, after eating some goldfish, she got sick again (we were 5 mins from the place). She was still acting completely normal, so we decided to try to stay. She was her normal self until we ate. She wolfed down chicken nuggets and then she got sick all over me! Then, she fell asleep on me and said "go play" when she woke up. She was fine the rest of the afternoon, although she fell asleep in the car, but that was expected. When we got home, it was coming out both ends!!! She is STILL acting normal! She wants to eat and then she gets sick and she wants MORE. Poor little thing. Hopefully, she will sleep tonight and be better tomorrow!

Hanukkah at Great Grandma'sWith her cousin Robbie

Does she look SICK?

Holiday Fun!

2008-12-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

We are having a very fun holiday season! Sara had fun with all of her Hanukkah presents and understands the concept of presents. Next year we will have to explain to her that Santa doesn't come to our house, which seems like a very difficult task. We spent Christmas day with Grandma and Papa and some other family for our traditional Christmas Chinese lunch, then we went my best friend Suzanne's house and Sara had a blast with her kids.

Developmentally, Sara is doing so well. She knows her ABCs and can spell her name! She is saying things she couldn't say before, which is kinda sad because our baby is really growing up!!! She is so much fun!!!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday!!!!!!!!!!!

I got this Burberry bag!

My Princess Tent
My dog Lucky
With Papa!!!

Playing at the mall

Always trying to eat Daddy's food!

SNOW!!

2008-12-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

It has been very cold here in Ohio and this weekend we got some snow. Sara is going stir crazy because she is spending way too much time inside. Not that she doesn't want to go out, we just don't want to take her out in this cold! It doesn't seem to really bother her a bit, though. She does say "snow yucky". I wonder where she got that???

Last week she had her 2 year checkup. She is still a little peanut, not quite 26 lbs, 25th% in weight and 50th in height. The doctor doesn't seem the least bit concerned. She also didn't think Sara was ready to be potty trained yet. Every time I know she is going poop because she hides behind something and won't let me near her, I put her on the potty. She sits there for a while, and then she doesn't go at all. I don't want to mess up her system, so I am going to stop putting her on the potty. She is SO ready though, she puts her stuffed animals on the potty. She even uses toilet paper appropriately, she just won't go, so I'm not going to push it. Here are some cute pictures!!! It's hard to get a smile anymore. Every time I go to take a picture, she turns her head!

She looks so grown up here!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eating a sucker from See's candy!!!!
Our backyard
Throwing a snowball at Nancy!

Thankful!

2008-11-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving! It's hard to believe we brought Sara home the day before Thanksgiving last year. It brings a whole new meaning to the day! Sara's baby cousin Ben who is 4 months came to visit from New York and she was in heaven! She LOVED him! She kept saying "hold it, my baby". It was so cute. She constantly wanted to know where he was and what he was doing. It was precious to see them together.

We are so thankful for our home, our health, and our families.

This is the day of the Ohio State/Michigan game! Go Bucks!!!!!

Feeding her baby!
Ouch! She actually didn't mind!
Both of them were watching Noggin!
Too bad Sara's hair was in her eyes
Great Grandma, Uncle Michael, and baby Ben!
Playing with Otis!
With Grandma and Papa!
Papa got Sara's nose!!

GO OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

We've done our part to help him win!!!! Ohio was BIG and he WON!!!!!!!!!! Sara even says "go Obama"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Too cute! Hopefully, we will wake up and he will be our next President!

The Birthday Party!

2008-11-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

Sara's party was on Sat at Graeter's Ice Cream (the best ice cream in the world, seriously). She was a bit overwhelmed! It was fun, though. There were 17 kids there! What an exhausting (but fun) week! WOW!!!!

Sara and Nancy (Mimi) playing in the play area!
We had the kids all wear their Halloween costumes! Sara wore her Birthday outfit!

She kept taking frosting from the cake!

Happy Birthday Sara (and Mommy)

2008-10-31T18:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Sara's 2nd Birthday! We had a wonderful day. We took her to the Zoo in the morning, a tradition we would like to do every Birthday. We took her to the Zoo in Vietnam last year! After her nap, we had her friends Nancy and Ellen came over for some cookies and then we went to Chuck E Cheese. She had a blast, but she was pretty scared of Chuck E! Tomorrow is her big party, as if we have not celebrated enough!! We are so sorry Gary's parents weren't able to make the trip to Columbus, but we hope to be with them next year! Today was my 39th Birthday! I can't believe I will be 40 next year! I don't know where the time goes!

We can't get over Sara! She is now talking in sentences, counting and working on ABCs. She also is getting to know her colors. She is SO much fun!!! She is obsessed with her electric Barbie Car! I will post pictures of her in it. She constantly says "Barbie Car". It is crazy!!!

This is her "funny face"
Birthday Breakfast
At the zoo
She loves the carousel!
Chuck E Cheese!!!
Go-gurt with Daddy!
She was very slap happy after we got home! I don't know why, but she started doing this pose! We kept laughing, so she kept doing it!
Bonding with Grandma!
Halloween! She kept the hat on for about 10 minutes! It only took her about 2 houses to figure out the whole thing!!
The girls are ready to go!
At Nancy and Ellen's leaving for trick-or-treat
"Daddy, why do these people keep giving me candy?"
Enjoying the candy!!!

One year ago today!!!

2008-10-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, we saw our precious Sara's face for the first time! I will never forget that moment. I was the 1st one in the door and she was in a walker and I scooped her up! She was ours forever from that point on. What a joy this child has been for us! I promise more pictures! We have her Birthday tomorrow with a party on Sat! Yesterday was our 8 year Anniversary! What a week it's been! Sara, we love you so much. Every day with you is such a joy! We are so lucky that you are in our lives.

She looks so scared here! We just returned to the hotel from the orphanage.

Bad blogger!!!

2008-09-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

OK, those of you who are still reading (is anyone??), I'm sorry about my irregularity in posting. As the weather starts to get cooler, I'm sure I will probably be posting more. We haven't been up to a whole lot, just playing and enjoying our time together. My parents had their 50th Wedding Anniversary and all of us kids threw them a party. Sara had a great time, of course and so did everyone else. Other than that, nothing too exciting has been happening and we are just fine with that.

Sara turned 22 months on 8/30. I just can't believe we have had her for 10 months and that she is going to be 2!!! She acts every bit of 2, though. Her vocabulary has exploded and she understands EVERYTHING you tell her. She is such a joy to be around (except for those tantrums). It makes me so happy that she is so happy!!! This kid really loves life! She says "what's that?" to everything and "I do". She doesn't want any help with anything. She is actually a big help around the house! She says "luv u" and then goes "AWWW" because I do that when she says it. We crack up every time.

Grandma and Grandpa's party!!

That's her cousin "Shishi" (Samantha). She LOVES her and will not leave her alone for a second! When they left my parent's house to go to their Hotel, Sara was crying hysterically.
The happy couple!They were there 50 yrs ago, too! Including Great Grandma of course!!!MMMMMMM!!! Cake!!!This shirt says it all (What's not to love?). My Grandma Macklis got this for me!!We had a picnic with my family over Labor Day weekend. Great Grandma just can't get enough of her!Sept 1 was a very sad day! Vietnam adoptions were suspended from the US. My heart goes out to all of those families who were waiting for referrals and I hope they can come up with an agreement soon that will provide homes for orphans in an ethical manner. I can't imagine life before or without our Sara in it!!!!

Sara's best friend!

2008-08-20T17:41:00.001-07:00

Sorry I've been so absent lately, just busy. Last week, Sara had a case of hand, foot, and mouth disease. It was nothing serious, just a pain because she couldn't be around other kids. Well, most other kids. She couldn't bare to be apart from her best friend, "Mimi" (Nancy). Nancy lives behind us and just turned 3. These 2 girls are constantly running from each other's back yards, meeting in the middle and hugging. The second Sara wakes up, she says "Mimi" and when we are out, she is constantly asking for her. Nancy is one of 4 and her sisters are favorites of Sara too. Ellen is 5 and Sara can't say her name. She just rolls her Ls together. It's so funny!!! Sara thinks she lives at their house and loves playing over there. When Nancy's not home, her heart is broken. The two of them go nuts when they have to stop playing. I have to drag Sara away and half the time, we never get to where I intended to go. It's so nice that Sara has such great friends!

Our new daycare situation is working out pretty good! Sara hasn't been much, due to the hand, foot and mouth and this week the sitter's on vacation.

An interesting thing happened to me in the grocery store today. There was an Asian woman there with a very small baby and I took Sara over to see the baby because she LOVES babies. The woman looked at me and said "Is that your baby?" I said "yes" and she said "Why does she have black hair?" I told her she was from Vietnam. That is the first time anyone has ever said anything like that to me. I thought that was very obnoxious!!!!

They love to play dress-up. The only shoes we had that fit Nancy were Uggs, so now she has to wear "Sara's costume with Sara's boots". Of course Sara had to wear boots too.

Aren't they so cute?
This kid just loves being outside!!!! We have had wonderful weather here! Winter is gonna be a real bummer!
At the park!!
She loves this slide with the rollers. This kid is a real dare devil!!!!

21 months!

2008-07-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Sara is 21 months today. Before we know it, she will be 2!!! Amazing! Here are some memorable "Sara" things:

Food:
She still loves to eat! She has become somewhat of a Vegetarian?? Not really, but she used to love chicken and now she won't eat it unless it's a Chicken Nugget. Rice and noodles are still her favorite things. She likes eggs now (a lot) and LOVES purple (red grapes). She is constantly asking for them. Cucumbers are also a favorite. We went to our friend Hanh's house for Pho (traditional Vietnamese soup) and she inhaled it! She still won't eat any beef!

Language:
Sara probably says at least 50 words now. She says new things every day and is putting words together. She is also saying people's names. Her cousin, Samantha is now "She she" and every older man is "Papa". I call Gary "babe" and she has started doing that. It's hilarious!!! She knows all the dogs names in the neighborhood and calls for them. When she doesn't know where someone went, she puts her hands up and says "go?" Her favorite number is 2 and when you ask her how old she is or how old she's gonna be she says "2!" She understands EVERYTHING you tell her. She tries to sing her ABCs and when you read a book to her, she tries to read it. Also, every morning she has to make sure she has her "baby and baba". I ask her what letter they start with and she says "B"!

Personality:
This kid is truly amazing. She is a very happy little girl! Suddenly, she's been very attached to her baby. She can't go anywhere without her. She feeds her and changes her diaper. I have the funniest video of her trying to change her. When we figure out how to post it, we will. One thing she does that's a little disturbing is she is hitting and saying "bad boy". We have NO idea where she got that. She started doing it on vacation in California. We have never hit and would never say that. There aren't even any boys in the house. When you take something away from her, she does it. We try very hard not to laugh, but it really is disturbing. She does it to other kids. On that note, she still tends to be aggressive and is pushing a lot. She does much better with older kids. Kids her age tend to get upset and don't like her pushing. Any advice on this would be appreciated! She loves to play with other kids, though. I have been saying that she needs an older sister. It would make my life much easier!! LOL!! She loves music and dancing. Ring around the Rosie and Itsy Bitsy Spider are her favorites! She's also incredibly active. It's very hard to take her anywhere that requires sitting still! Shopping and going out to eat have become very difficult! My, how our lives have changed!!! She loves to be outside! She will pull us and say "side" and then go get our shoes to go outside. We must have 50 pairs of shoes in our laundry room and somehow she knows when Gary sits on the steps that he is going to put his shoes on to go running. She brings him the right shoes! Too funny! Shoes are also one of her favorite things.

Sleeping:
Sara still sleeps incredibly well! She still takes a 2 hr nap every day and sleeps almost 12 hrs/ night. She never fights going to sleep. We put her down and never hear a peep out of her! We can even put her down in a strange place and she goes right to sleep! Pretty amazing!

We feel like we are the luckiest people in the world to have this precious little girl. She is always making us laugh and appreciate life. We love you so much, angel.

Back to square one???

2008-07-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Monday we found out that we are losing our sitter! It was a complete shock. She no longer wants to take kids part time. It's really sad because Sara really enjoyed it there and I don't like for her to have change. We have some good leads, but it's still very frustrating. You moms who can be at home full time have no idea how lucky you are! Here are some pictures of a few of her favorite things!

Her friend Caroline came over!

Bubbles and Gigi!

"Eyes" (sunglasses)Ready to GO!!!!!!!!!

As promised!

2008-07-12T18:32:00.001-07:00

Here are LOTS of pictures from California!!

Grandma has food, so I guess I will get a little closer to her!!!

Fountains at the mall

I'm ready to GO!!!

It was so great to see Scott and Henry! Henry looks great!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not sure if the kids remembered each other or not. At first, Sara was a little aggressive with Henry. She pushed him and made him cry. We went to Knott's Berry Farm and they both really enjoyed it!

This one they had to maneuver themselves. Luckily, someone was there to help!!

I love the look on her face here! It describes her personality perfectly!

With Aunt Michele

Fourth of July celebration and petting zoo!!

We're still here!!!

2008-07-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry we haven't posted lately! I promise I will post pictures of our trip. Sara had a really great time and she absolutely LOVED the beach! When we took her in Vietnam, she just wanted to eat the sand. She did fabulous on the flights, much better than expected. We are so glad we got to see Scott and Henry. The kids had a lot of fun! I promise pictures very soon!!!!!!!!!!!!

California here we come!!

2008-06-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

We are off to see Gary's family in California today! Wish us luck on the flight with Sara. I have lots of things that I hope will keep her busy. We are going to see Scott and Henry who just so happen to be in California at the same time. I wonder if the kids will remember each other from the orphanage. I will have lots of pictures from the trip!!!!!

HELP!!!

2008-06-17T05:30:00.001-07:00

Friends,
Please help families who are waiting for their children by signing this petition! It takes less than 1 minute!!

(http://www.ipetitio ns.com/petition/ Grandfather_ All_Dossiers/) and sign
the new petition for the DOS to write a letter to Dr.Long requesting
that all dossiers in by July 1 be grandfathered and be allowed to
receive a refferal after September 1. ( Dr. Long is the head of the Dept. of
International Adoptions in Vietnam)

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Daddy,
Happy Father's Day! I am so glad you are in my life. I really enjoy our time together, just the two of us when Mommy is working. I love it when you hang me upside down and swing me around. Mommy is so much more cautious than you are! My Gym classes are so much fun with you! Sorry if I get in the way at your Drum lesson. I just don't like to sit still and I want all of the attention. DADA, you are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!! I love you so much!!!!!

Oh, and Happy Father's Day to my two Grandpas too!!!!

Love,
Sara

Having a blast!!!

2008-06-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend was awesome! I was off and the weather could not have been better.
We enjoyed our time together as a family and I am really enjoying being home more. Sara loves it too!!! The warm weather has been great. She wants to play outside all the time. I fear what will happen when the weather gets warmer.

Sara is becoming very verbal and she is recognizing shapes and colors. Her favorite number is 2 (actually that's the only one she knows) and she's starting to know the alphabet. Did I mention how lucky we were? I think I have a couple of times. Anyways, this weekend we had quite a scare. We were on the freeway and we got rear-ended. Luckily, no one was hurt! Things like that just really make you appreciate what you have!
In action on the play set

Daddy likes it too!At Target AGAIN with Caroline and Gabe!!!
Sara loves wearing Mommy's shoes (and putting on her makeup, and having her hair flat ironed). Boy are we in trouble!!!

Summer Fun /Race for the Cure!!

2008-05-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

Sara has been having so much fun playing outside!!! All she wants to do is go outside. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been cooperating too much, but we manage to get outside as much as we can. We had a great Mother's Day, mainly because we spent the day together. The Tornado Warning kinda put a damper on things, but we had fun with family. Gary got me a gorgeous silver heart necklace from Tiffany's with Sara's initials on it. He did good!!

Sara and Great Grandma just love each other!!

We broke down and bought Sara a new play set. She likes it, but she just goes around to everyone's and plays on them.
We took Sara to a Birthday party at "Pump it Up" this weekend. She LOVED going down this slide. It was like 20 ft high. By the end of the night, she was going down all by herself and refused to ride on our laps. The only bad part was, she couldn't quite climb up the ladder and Gary and I had to climb up with her every time!
Saturday was Race for the Cure. Every year I would look at the babies in strollers and say "maybe next year...". This year, people couldn't stop saying how cute she was. She did great, too.

5 years ago today

2008-05-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

As long as I live, I will never forget May 7, 2003. At 7:30 pm, I got a call from my Surgeon. "I wanted to make sure your husband is coming with you to your appointment tomorrow." Hearing that was all I needed. I don't even remember the rest of that conversation. I just knew that the biopsy I had taken wasn't nothing, it was Cancer. That was the day my life changed forever. I was 33 years old, I had been married for 2 1/2 years and Gary and I were desperate to start a family. The last thing I expected was Cancer. I went through months of grueling Chemotherapy and surgeries. Days would pass that I couldn't lift my head off of my pillow and couldn't even drink water. My friends and family were so wonderful to me and I will never forget that.

The day after my appt with my Surgeon, we saw an Oncologist. The first thing he said to me was "I don't think it's too late." He also told me conceiving a child was out of the question. At that point, I thought my life may as well have been over. I sobbed and sobbed, thinking we could never have a child and Gary promised me we would. I never forgot that. I think that hope helped me get through those horrible days.

Who knows where our lives would have taken us if we didn't experience Cancer. Would Sara be in our lives? Probably not. We had looked into adoption before my illness and considered China. China is out of the question once you've had Cancer. Actually, we thought all adoption was. I never really believed things happen for a reason, but maybe in this case, it's true. Maybe if I hadn't had Cancer, I would have had a different career and never met my dear friend who encouraged me to explore adoption, even with my past illness. I know it may sound crazy, but it was all worth it because now we have our Sara. She was definitely chosen for us. Life is way too short and full of surprises. Anyone "thinking" about anything should "just do it".

6 months ago!!

2008-04-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been 6 months since we met Sara! We can't imagine life without her. Tomorrow she will be 18 months old! So much in our lives has changed since we met Sara. We never knew how hard this parenting and working thing would be. That is why I (Sue) have decided to step down from my Manager position and take a 30 hr/ week job as a Sales Associate at Saks. I am so looking forward to having an extra day a week with Sara and so much less stress!

Here are some additional "Sara" things:
Vocabulary- now she says pretty, go, kitty, Jakey (the sitter's son), pee (really! Mommy said it once), T (for the sitter, Teresa)

She is still obsessed with dogs and really loves babies. Now that the weather is warmer, she wants to play outside all of the time. We are so lucky to have this angel (did I mention that before, ever??)
Here are some memories of "then" and some pictures of now!

The day we met!

And NOW!!!

Sad news!!!

2008-04-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

We heard some very sad news today! Effective Sept 1, adoptions will be closing between the US and Vietnam. You can read all about it here:

http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/irreg_adoptions042508.htm

My heart aches for those who have been anxiously awaiting their referrals. Some families started the adoption process the same time we did! We will hug Sara extra hard this weekend! We are so lucky to have this happy, healthy, gorgeous little girl. She's pretty smart too! We have thought at times about getting a second child, but with this latest development, we probably will not pursue another adoption. We are just so blessed to have this precious little angel!

Our first day with our Sara

2008-04-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

Scott, one of our travel mates, has posted video of our trip to the Orphanage to meet Sara. Check it out!
scottlan.blogspot.com
Wow! Does that bring back memories! We feel like we have know Sara her whole life!

17 months old!

2008-03-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sara turned 17 months on Saturday, which means she has been with us for 5. It's hard to remember life before this precious little girl. Here are some things she does:

Vocabulary:
She says "good girl" (my favorite), Gigi (the dog), doggy, puppy, mama, daddy, dada, baby, that, guys, yeah!, uh-oh, thank you, hi, gentle, gotcha.

Food:
Wow! Does she love to eat! Some of her favorites are-
chicken, rice, noodles, edema me, cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, ravioli, egg rolls, cheese, cheerios. She does not like red meat, which is very funny, because Mommy does not eat red meat.

Play:
Sara LOVES to play outside and is mainly interested in the neighborhood dogs. We are dying for the weather to get warm. Our neighbors gave us a Cozy Coupe and she LOVES it. Every time we go to put her in the car seat, she tries to get down so that she can play with it. She loves other kids and babies, although she can be a little bit aggressive at times. As I have mentioned before, she could spend hours buckling the buckles on her stroller and now she can buckle her car seat. She has a play stroller that she pushes around all day long, putting anything she can inside. She also likes to put things inside other things.

Sleeping:
Sara is an amazing sleeper. She naps for about 2 hrs/day and sleeps about 12 hrs/night. We never have any trouble getting her to go to sleep. We just say "night night" and she waves to us and we don't usually hear a peep out of her until the next morning.

Other "Sara things"
She gives kisses, she LOVES animals, she seems to adapt to everything. She is pretty much happy all of the time and has quite a sense of humor. She loves her bath and loves to run around naked before and after while we chase her so she doesn't pee on the carpet. She does not like to cuddle too much, she is way too busy, although mommy is always trying. She is VERY social and pretty much has no fear. When she knows she's not supposed to do something, she shakes her finger no, no, no. We have decided that we got the perfect child for us. Now only if she would stop drooling and putting everything in her mouth.

Kona matches Sara's room!! She loves any house with a dog!!

Our Jewish Vietnamese American Princess with Bunny ears. She loves her friend Caroline!!

Post-placement

2008-03-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had our Post-placement visit for Sara with a Social Worker. I think she was pretty impressed with Sara's adjustment and her vocabulary. Going forward, we are required to send written reports twice a year for the first 3 years, then once a year with pictures until she's 18 so that the Vietnamese government can see how she's doing. Other than that, not too much is going on. We found a new child care provider for Sara. This is her last week at the current sitter's house, which is sad. We thought Sara would be there for a long time.

Dancing Queen!

2008-03-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend was our nephew, Robbie's Bar Mitzvah. Sara had a great time and she LOVED the dancing. It was so great to see her with friends and family. Gary's parents came in town from California. They hadn't seem Sara since we brought her home in November.

Ready for the big day
Sara was the center of attention and LOVED it!
The Bar Mitzvah boy with his sister, Shaina
She was a little unsure at first, but it didn't take Sara long to start dancing
With Grandma and Grandpa Macklis

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!

2008-03-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

Good news: Mommy was supposed to work and got to stay home! Daddy got help taking care of Sara.

Bad news: at least 15 inches of snow and blizzard conditions.

I have never seen this much snow since the Blizzard of '78! We are now under a level 3 snow emergency, which means only emergency vehicles are allowed on the road.

The front yard. See the house across the street?

Our back yard:

Gary spent 2.5 hours digging out a path in the driveway so Sue could go to work tomorrow.

By 5:45 PM, the sun had come out showing off the beautiful dunes that formed in the front yard.

Finally!!!

2008-03-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

Those of you (if you are still out there) loyal readers are probably wondering when we were going to post new pictures!! Sorry! We have been very busy. This working full time and being a parent stuff is harder than we could have ever imagined! There are just not enough hours in the day. On top of that, our sitter quit! Sooooo, after 1 month, we will have to find a new daycare. We are very stressed and upset about this!!

But, today was the perfect day! We had warm weather (50s) and we decided to get an early start by going out to a nice breakfast. Then we headed over to Great Grandma's house. She is always very eager to see Sara. She can't get enough of her! It was so cute. Sara spent most of her time with the buckles on her stroller. She could spend hours buckling buckles. She can actually get things fastened, but she can't unfasten them, which frustrates her to no end. I think we have a future Engineer on our hands. Anyways, I would say, "Sara, can you give Grandma a kiss?" and she would stop what she was doing and run over to her with a great big smile and give her a big kiss. Great Grandma loved it of course. After her nap, we took Sara to the zoo, which she LOVED!

Here are some pictures over the past month or so
We went to a Tet Celebration with other families with Children from Vietnam
Sara would not sit for the picture
Paige is just 2 weeks older than Sara! Notice the lipgloss in her hand!
Waking up from her nap!
I don't know if it was this Backpack or the animals, but she was literally SQUEALING at the zoo!

Sara makes EVERYONE smile!!

2008-02-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

Our 16 yr old niece wrote this for a blog class she is taking. I can't wait to show it to Sara when she can understand! It's so true, all you need to do is look at her and it brings a smile to all!

Sara Makes Me Smile.

The one thing that can always make me smile is this special little girl. I love her to death.
After months of waiting, when I finally got to see Sara, I was too happy for words. Every minute I spend with her is a blessing. I have never been so grateful. Whenever I see her, even if I'm in a bad mood, everything just goes away and she just brightens up my world. I love spending time with her and her parents. She is simply just the cutest thing. I've had many great memories with her. She is so smart! She knows how to use a cell phone. She has taken pictures with my cell phone and has even (accidently) called my mom. My phone background is her picture because she means so much to me and makes me happy. I show it to her and ask her, "Who's that? Is that you?", and she just smiles and shouts happily. Just being around her is like everything is alright and good. I don't know exactly how to explain it. We have all (my family) just waited so long for her to finally arrive and we couldn't be more thrilled. Sara is very independent. She doesn't like to be held for a long time because she loves to move around. She loves music and dances. My other cousins and I are extremely fond of her. On Thanksgiving, they were so excited to play with her since this was only the second time we had seen her, they tried to wake her up from her nap! Sara gives special kisses. We call them "Sara Kisses". She doesn't always give them out. But she is just too amazing. I'm so glad that she came into our lives, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I am crazy about this kid and I try to spend every minute I can with her. She makes me smile, laugh, and forget about all my troubles.

Happy Tet!!!

2008-02-06T17:31:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the Asian New Year! We are so happy to be spending it with Sara! Today we went to story time at Barnes and Noble. The story was about the New Year and they had a parade with a dragon. Unfortunately, Sara slept through the entire thing! Friday, we are going with some friends for a celebration at a Chinese restaurant. Next Sat, there is a gathering for local parents with children from Vietnam with a big celebration. We will really enjoy sharing Sara's culture with her.

Sara is doing amazing. We've been so busy, we don't have any new pictures! She is doing fabulous with day care. She has a new "partner in crime" and she's really starting to talk a lot. She says "thank you, gotcha, that (she just points to what she wants and says "THAT"), and babbles constantly. She's quite the little climber. She climbs completely into her high chair.

Tough Week!!

2008-01-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

It was a VERY tough week with Mommy going back to work! Sara loves going to the sitter's house. She has a partner in crime that she can run around with all day. Mommy doesn't like the fact that she's not with Sara all the time.

This weekend was nice. We had lots of time together. Sara was VERY clingy! She threw up for the first time ever on Saturday night, but she didn't seem to feel sick at all and did not have a temperature. We are still trying to get her adjusted to one nap a day. She seems to adjust so well to everything. We are so lucky to have this precious gift!

Our busy little girl!!!

2008-01-20T19:32:00.000-08:00

Sara went to the Doctor on Friday and had 6, yes 6, shots !!! Of course, she hated being restrained and I had to hold her while the shots were administered, but they didn't slow her down for a minute. She was her normal self the rest of the weekend. The Doctor said she is doing great, but she hasn't gained any weight since we were in Vietnam. She looks much bigger to us, though. The Doctor wasn't at all concerned, she could tell how active she was and said that was probably why she's not gaining weight even though she eats a TON!!!

Sara will start her regular day care this week since Mommy is going back to work full time. It's hard to believe it has been 12 weeks already! It's going to be a very tough week. She has basically been with her Mommy 24/7 for the past 12 weeks. Sara loves the sitter's house, but Mommy is VERY sad!!!

Here she is trying to feed herself yogurt!
Here's our future Doctor, just collecting a few samples.
Here she is at Grandma and Granpa's with a friend's grandson. They both liked "GAGA".
We are taking Sara to My Gym weekly. It's a class where she can play, sing songs, and tumble.

Citizenship!!

2008-01-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

What a week it was! On Friday we received Sara's official certificate of citizenship! YEAH!!! We took our first car trip this weekend to Sue's parents' house in Toledo. Sara didn't like being in her car seat for such a long time, but she did great. She slept there more than she does at our house! Of course, she was into EVERYTHING at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but they really enjoyed showing her off!

The letter from George Bush:

Readoption!

2008-01-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had Sara's Ohio adoption! Now she is officially Sara Elizabeth Thao Macklis. Before her official name was still her Vietnamese name. We should be receiving her Birth Certificate shortly. What a great day it was!!!

The judge gives all adopted children one of these bunnies. They are actually made by 2 prison inmates as their community service.
A typical American kid!Sara still LOVES balloons!
SO HAPPY!!!

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! What a roller coaster 2007 was. We hope 2008 isn't quite as exciting for us as 2007. We are just looking forward to all the amazing things Sara will do in 2008 like talking! She already says a few words. All animals are GAGA, because her dog is Gigi. She also says the usual Mama, Dada, and I think now she's saying thank you.

Oh! This is the LIFE!!!!!!!

New Year's Eve. She even let our friends Hanh and John hold her!!

2 Months Ago Today

2007-12-29T19:27:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe we met Sara 2 months ago. In some ways it seems like we have known her forever and in some ways it seems like time has gone by so fast. Every second with her has been amazing. We can't get over how resilient she is and how well she has adjusted to her new life.

We left Sara alone for the first time! Her cousin Robbie (who she LOVES) did a great job! She didn't even miss us!
Sara still likes to eat! The new nipple on the bottle was not a big hit!
This nipple is much better. Sara can climb up the steps and go down the slide all by herself (of course she expects applause each time).
Her 2 new obsessions, dogs (well any animal really) and balloons!We went to the Zoo to see the incredible light display. I think she liked it.
Some friends came over with their daughter Marisa who is exactly the same age as Sara. It was really neat to see the girls play together. They had a good time and loved the new toaster Mommy got at Pottery Barn!!Her cousins can't get enough of her. Here she is with Alexandra (left) and Samantha (right)

Learning new things every day!

2007-12-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

Each day is such a joy with our little girl. She has changed so much in the past 7 weeks since we have had her. She babbles A LOT and imitates everything we do. Not only has she mastered climbing up the stairs, but she now climbs down too! Gary went back to work on 12/18 which was very hard for him. He feels very lucky to have had 7 weeks with Sara (and Mommy).

Here's Sara at a visit to Great Grandma's house. Boy, did they enjoy her and she enjoyed entertaining them!!
Proud to be an American!!!
We took Sara to COSI (Center of Science and Industry)She really enjoyed playing in the water! Good thing they had raincoats. She still got soaked!!
Daddy's teaching me how to play the drums!!!
Sara had her 1st (American) haircut. She HATED it!!! (but she liked the suckers)

Hanukkah

2007-12-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

This weekend, we celebrated Hanukkah with Sara with a dinner at the Temple on Saturday and with the family here in town on Sunday. Sara had a ball! We had to go back to the Adoption Clinic today and they said Sara tested positive for TB, which means she was exposed to an adult with the virus. It is dormant, but will require medication for the next 9 months.

Here she is at the Temple. These 3 girls were quite fond of her! With the family. Sara was much more interested in the boxes and bags!

Here she is with her cousins Shaina and Samantha.

Who needs toys? Sara would much rather play in the drawers in the kitchen! Our house will NEVER be the same again!

Visit to the Adoption Clinic

2007-12-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

Today we took Sara to the International Adoption Clinic at our Children's Hospital. She saw a physician, a nutritionist, and a physical therapist. Monday we have to go back and she will have her sight and her hearing tested. We found out Sara is a normal (well, above average in some areas of course) 13 month old! She impressed the physical therapist quite a bit with her motor skills and her speech. She does have a severe case of eczema on her face and her legs, so we got some medicine that already seems to be helping. We also found out she is 75th% in height and 25th% in weight. They were a little concerned about the weight, but we got some good suggestions. She had a blood draw that she did not like at all and also got poked for a TB test. Overall, she did fabulous! Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures.

Yesterday we took her to her future baby sitter's house. She seemed to be very comfortable there and will probably really enjoy playing with the other kids. She liked their BIG dog! Here are some additional pictures!

A visit to Saks Fifth Avenue (Sue's work) More like Mommy every day!

Having fun in the play area at the mall!
SO PROUD that she can climb all the way up the stairs!
You expect me to wear THIS??
We didn't take her out in it, but here's what the front of our house looked like!

Some of Sara's favorite things!!

2007-12-03T18:17:00.001-08:00

Playing in the kitchen drawers Meeting new friends, our inspiration for adoption.

Pushing the button to the aquarium and
playing the music in her crib. Playing with boxes.

Life at the Macklis house

2007-11-30T10:53:00.000-08:00

Things are still going very well. Sara is enjoying meeting new friends daily. She has a runny nose, so we took her to the Doctor today. Luckily, it is just a cold and we got her a Humidifier for her room. She is still in a pretty good mood, but seems to be having trouble breathing through her nose which is interrupting her sleep. Hobbes is still missing! Here are some pictures since we have been home!

Great Grandma (94 yrs old)!!

Grandma and Grandpa Chabler
Grandma and Grandpa Macklis
With Mommy and my cousin Shaina
My dog, Gigi , my cousin Robbie
Aunt Leslie
1st bath at home!

MISSING CAT

2007-11-28T07:23:00.000-08:00

With all of the baby excitement, one of our cats, Hobbes has disappeared. We are very upset about this. He has never been outside before and has no front claws or tags. Please pray for Hobbes' safe return. His brother, Calvin, is very upset. They have never been apart before.

Sara is doing amazing. All of the house guests are gone and we are adjusting to our new family of 3. Today we are going to take her into Gary's work.

Getting Back to Normal (Sort Of)

2007-11-24T07:39:00.001-08:00

We are slowly adjusting to being home. We still have the 4 grandparents as house guests and we are still sleeping on an air mattress on the floor of the baby's room. Jet lag is still a problem and it is too cold in Ohio.

Thanksgiving was wonderful but went by in a blur. It was great to be back in the US and with our families. Sara's 4 cousins, age 12-15, are especially in love with her.

Sara's baby naming was during Shabbat services last night. Sue and I as well as her 4 grandparents and 1 living great grandparent stood on the Bima. The Rabbi blessed her and we gave thanks to G-d for our beautiful daughter in front of the congregation. Sue lost it during her part so I had to take over and finish. Several good friends including Hahn and John Wyman, Suzanne and Caroline Sproule, and Sue's surgeon from her breast cancer surgery , Linda Han, were able to join us and see Sara for the first time. Pictures to come.

Today, we are having a small get together at our house for more of our friends to meet Sara.

By Tuesday evening, everyone will have left for home and Sue and I can begin to adjust to being a 3 member family.

We're going home!!
On the flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles.
First ride in a car seat to Aunt Michele's house.
Squirming away from Aunt Michele.
In my new crib.
With Grandpa Chabler (Sue's Dad).

Welcome Home, Sara

2007-11-22T02:01:00.000-08:00

It's about 4 am in Columbus and we are lying on the floor of Sara's room while she plays in her crib. Three of Sara's 4 Grandparents are in the house also but fast asleep.

The return flights went smoothly or as smoothly as possible on the day before Thanksgiving. The 12 hour flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles was a breeze. Sara didn't care for her bassinet, only sleeping in it for a couple of hours. It was handy for changing diapers and clothes, however. Getting through immigration and collecting our baggage took 1 1/2 hours and we were met at the end by Aunt Michele, Gary's sister.

Since we had a 10 hour layover in LA, we went to Aunt Michele's house in Redondo Beach to spend the night. Aunt Michele loved baby Sara and wanted to keep her. It was great that she got to meet Sara on her way home. Again, Sara was the only one who slept and we were back at the airport by 4:30 am LA time to catch our 6 am flight. LAX is a crazy place even at 4:30 on the day before Thanksgiving.

Sara slept the entire 3 hour flight from LA to Dallas. Then, another 4 hour layover in Dallas during which Sara entertained hundreds of people waiting at our gate. Unfortunately, the last leg of our trip was delayed 1 1/2 hours for a blown fuse on the plane. Sara slept through this wait as well as the 2 hour flight home. In fact,she had to be woken up on the way to baggage claim so she could see all of the people who came to meet her. About 15 people were there including her grandparents, her 2 other aunts, her 4 cousins and some good family friends. They made signs and a lot of noise even with all of the other people at the airport.

Sara spent the rest of the evening getting to know her grandparents and the family pets. At first, she was afraid of Gigi, our 90 lb dog (that's 40 Kg in Vietnam), but after an hour, while Gigi was lying quietly, Sara walked up to her and touched her paw.

We will have more pictures to post and now we can look forward to Thanksgiving and Sara's baby naming ceremony on Friday.

On The Way

2007-11-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

We are currently at the Hong Kong airport waiting to board our plane to LA. Everything it Hanoi went relatively smoothly. The flight from Hanoi to Hong Kong was also routine. Hopefully the 12-1/2 flight to LA will involve a lot of sleep for everyone. The kids are busy running around a play area tiring themselves out. See you all very soon and Michele the soonest

Almost home

2007-11-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

We are enjoying our time here in Hanoi (founded in 1010) Hanoi is full of beautiful lakes and lots of tall trees. The weather is also much cooler. Yesterday, we went to "Baby" Street and got Sara some really cute things, including a pink faux fur jacket for like $6!!! We will not be used to US prices when we return. Sara continues to be cute as ever. She now gives kisses.

We are looking forward to coming home on Weds. at 6 pm from Dallas on American Airlines. We can't wait to see everyone..

For those of you in Columbus, we will have Sara's Baby Naming (officially giving her her Hebrew name) on Fri, 11/23 at 8 pm at Temple Beth Tikvah in Worthington. All are welcome. Then, on Sat, the 24th we are going to have a small gathering at the house to celebrate Sara and her belated Birthday. Let us know if you are coming to the house so we can plan appropriately.

With my mommy at an outdoor cafe:

I like it when my Daddy feeds me.

My Daddy even changes my diaper which is not so easy because I am sooo squirmy!

With my partner in crime in the Hotel lobby.

Hoan Kiem lake in the middle of Hanoi:

Another botanical garden.

The future's so bright I gotta wear shades.

Somewhere on "Baby" Street.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Ohio

2007-11-16T17:53:00.000-08:00

Well, par for the course, things did not go smoothly in Hanoi. Our plane was 1/2 hour late arriving so we rushed to the embassy. When we got there, they had no record of our appointment. Turns out Mr. Hiep only requested one. The embassy is very backed up so was unable to confirm our appointment. The soonest they can see us is Monday at 1:30 pm. This means a visa at 11 am on Tuesday and a flight out of Hanoi at 7 pm on Tuesday. After a lot of hard work by mommy and Todd Gallineck (PAPs, if you don't use him for travel, you are CRAZY), we can now fly into Columbus via Dallas on Wednesday at 6 pm.

We were sad to say goodbye to everyone at the Thien Xuan. We are staying in a much nicer hotel in Hanoi. The room is bigger and the floors are carpeted. The breakfast included cereal and pancakes. The weather is also much cooler. The highs are in the 80s and the lows in the 60s.

Mexican menu in Hanoi:

On to Hanoi and the Western Hemisphere

2007-11-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

Yea, we're only a few days from home!!!We met the infamous Mary Ann Russell today. Things got off to a rocky start, but everything worked out. While we were waiting, Sara and Kevin helped entertain the waiting room. We leave for Hanoi at 6:30 am tomorrow. We will file our paperwork at 10. This means that we will most likely get Sara's visa on Monday and leave for home that night. Because of Thanksgiving, we cannot get a flight to Columbus until Tuesday morning. We are scheduled to arrive from Chicago at 6:30. Of course, a small chance remains that we could receive her visa tomorrow and could leave Hanoi earlier. However, it is still Thanksgiving week and most flights are already booked.

What do you mean it's only 40 degrees in Columbus?!

IT'S TODAY!!

2007-11-14T17:13:00.001-08:00

We woke up to an overnight email from our Senator Brown's office that the trouble was a backlog of cases. We really began to worry that we would be here for weeks.

Then at 8:15 we received a call that our appointment with INS is at 10:30 am today!!

STILL nothing!!

2007-11-14T05:47:00.000-08:00

Nothing new to report today. INS interviews are only done in the mornings. When we hadn't heard by 9 am we knew it would be another day. We played with Kevin and Bau some and did some laundry. We had dinner at a pretty good restaurant called Black Cat Glass Noodle that had Mexican food. Sue had a chicken burrito and Gary had beef. Finally, no noodles and no rice. Well, actually there WAS rice in the burritos. Sara does not like quesadillas!! She better learn to love Mexican food!! We didn't even take any pictures today, so here are some additional pictures of our trip!

This is what our hotel lobby looks like. We come down every morning to eat breakfast. The servers all love Sara. They serve everything from omelets, to tuna sandwiches to spaghetti with meat sauce. Of course, you can always get Pho if you get there early enough.
Another cute picture of Sara at the beach.

This is typical traffic in Ho Chi Min City. The Scooters far outnumber the cars. They are everywhere. Crossing the street is pretty much at your own risk. There are very few traffic lights in the whole city, maybe 10 that we have seen. The sidewalks are filled with people selling stuff, Scooters and people and it is very hard to walk.

Back in HCMC

2007-11-13T07:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's getting to be like Groundhog Day. Every day is beginning to be the same. Needless to say, we did not have our INS interview today and probably won't make it home next Friday as planned. We are, of course, still enjoying our time with Sara. We are hoping to make it home for Thanksgiving at this point!!!!!

Here's another dress my parents got me in Vietnam.

A Much Needed Change of Scenery

2007-11-12T00:58:00.001-08:00

Sunday night we went to the beach City, Vung Tau, with Bau and Kevin. Sara was a little scared, but she liked the Ocean and the sand. The sand made a huge mess! At least she got to wear her bikini while it still fits!

Here's the Hotel we stayed in. It was $25/night including Breakfast!

Here I am in my new dress and new shoes my Mommy and Daddy got me in Vietnam. Don't I look cute? The shoes squeak when I walk.

Mommy is constantly freaking out that Sara will fall of of the bed. Sara thinks it's very funny.

Sara wanted to eat the sand.

Bau's cousins took us to a nice Seafood Restaurant. Look at the size of the Shrimp!
This is actually Sea SNAKE! See the skin? We passed on eating that. Gary DID drink Snake Blood, though. They actually serve it. He had it mixed with Vietnamese Vodka. YUM!!! Apparently, it's supposed to make men stronger!
Sara was very antsy until she got to eat!
At the Harbor on our way back to HCMC. It's about a 1 1/2 hr boat ride.

Dragging On

2007-11-10T06:09:00.000-08:00

We are just plum tired of being here. Tired of the having to eat every meal out without the benefit of a high chair, napkins, or knives. Tired of our small hotel room. Tired of people aggressively selling sunglasses, postcards, and balloons. Tired of risking our lives every time we cross the street. We don't mean to complain and we love having nothing to do but bond and enjoy our new daughter. We know our way around really well now. When we needed a new nipple for our Avent bottles, we knew exactly where to go to buy one.

We didn't get an INS interview on Friday so now it will be Tuesday at the earliest that we get in. Then another day for an approval and 2-3 days in Hanoi for a visa. The flight we have booked for Friday doesn't have any bassinet seats available so we may have to hold Sara for 14 hours. She doesn't like to be restrained for a minute.

Here is Sara's first sushi experience. She threw food on the floor and dumped a glass of water all over daddy and onto the floor. The waitresses just glowered at us. This is the first place Sara has been where she didn't make any new friends.
One of the shopping plazas had a babysitting service . Instead of leaving Sara there, we played with her for a couple of hours. She enjoyed rocking in the police car and she got acquainted with Winnie the Pooh and friends.

Mommy has even been sharing makeup tips with the little one.
Since Sara fell asleep in the Baby Bjorn, daddy was forced to take a nap with her.

Another Free Day in HCMC

2007-11-08T19:47:00.000-08:00

We are still awaiting word of our INS interview. Monday is a US holiday, so it probably won't be until Tues which means we probably won't make our flight on Thurs. Meanwhile, Sara continues to entertain the city! She imitates everything and thinks she's very funny! Getting her to go to sleep at night is quite a challenge, so any tips would be helpful!

These 2 girls LOVE Sara. The one on the left is the one who drew the picture for her.

I like to play with my sunglasses, but I won't wear them. Don't I look cute?

Another admirer!

Tonight we went to Alley Boo for dinner. Sue's meal came in this Pineapple. The whole meal costs us $12 US. We won't go into detail about the 1 1/2 hr cab ride. During the entire meal people were walking up to us trying to sell us anything from Chicklets to lighters to books. It was very sad. One little boy was about 5 and his mother had him selling gum to people. There were 2 women with babies about Sara's age selling Chicklets too. I t made me think about what kind of life Sara may have had and how lucky we all are. There is a lot of corruption going on in the Vietnam adoption process and it is very sad for the innocent children and prospective parents. We hope the program will continue and children continue to find good homes with parents who love them and can provide for them.

Medical Exam Day!

2007-11-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

Today we took Sara for her Medical Exam! She did better than we thought she would. Of course, she cried when she had to lay down on the table. Our little girl hates being still for a second.

Not your typical US Hospital! These people are all waiting for the Medical Exams they need to obtain a Visa
You can see she was not too thrilled! The Doctor even commented on her hair! The exam wasn't too thorough, just a "formality".
Next step: INS interview, but that probably won't be till at least Tues, then we are out of HCMC and off to Hanoi for Sara's Visa. Meanwhile, Sara continues to make friends. One of the servers at the Hotel made her a beautiful painting of her village. It will be a great memory of this trip that we will have forever. The staff just loves her!

It's Official!!

2007-11-06T02:36:00.000-08:00

We are now officially recognized by the Vietnamese government as Sara's parents. We got word
late yesterday that our Giving and Receiving Ceremony might be on Tuesday. This morning around 10:00 am we got a call from Mr. Hiep that he was coming to pick us up in 40 minutes. We had just gotten back to the room from breakfast and hadn't showered or gotten dressed. We hurriedly got ready and as we were leaving the room, received another call saying he would pick us up at 1:30.

The ceremony was fast. It involved signing a bunch of papers with the director of the orphanage and the "President" of Binh Duong Province. All in all, it lasted 10 minutes, but was quite emotional nonetheless. We were the 36th family to adopt from the province.

Now we just need to get past the US government requirements and we get to come home. Hopefully, our first INS interview will be Friday. Next Monday is Veterans' Day and offices will be closed.

The Terrible Twosome:
Yesterday, we visited the Reunification Palace which is the former residence of the President of South Vietnam. This is where the famous photograph of the NVA tank crashing through the gates was taken.The palace is still used for official functions, but it otherwise still looks like a 50s-60s style house.
A display of gifts given to the President was in one courtyard including real elephant feet.

Another Cafe on Ly Tu Trung Street

2007-11-05T00:27:00.001-08:00

The network at the hotel is still down so we found another cafe with free wifi. Sue is sipping pineapple juice with the baby while Gary has grapefruit.

Lovely in green (yes, it's actually not pink). Pizza Hut had high chairs so we went back twice.

This time in white.

Playing with the boys in the balls.

Finally some Pho (pronounced like huh) for breakfast.

Still Struggling

2007-11-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

The internet is an iffy thing here in Vietnam. The networks often go down for extended periods of time. Of course, Gary thinks that it is something he is doing wrong. We are currently at Highlands Coffee connected to the wireless network of a cafe across the street.

We don't have anything new to report. Our adoption decree supposedly came back from Hanoi on Friday. It will be filed with the local Provincial Department of Justice today. Mr Hiep says our Giving and Receiving ceremony could be Wednesday or Thursday. In the real world, this means we'll be lucky if it is before next Monday. The 17th is as soon as we think we'll be home.

We have visited all the malls and bought new shoes for the baby. She has worn a variety of really cute outfits which we will post as soon as possible. We have gotten together with Bao and Scott a couple of times. Sara and Kevin together are double trouble. Pictures real soon, we promise

Gary and Sue

Internet Down!

2007-11-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

For some reason, our computer has decided that it won't connect to the internet. The network in the hotel is working but we can't connect. Life has settled into a pattern of naps, going out for walks and more naps. All is well with us. Hopefully, we can get up and running soon.

Making the Best of It

2007-11-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

With no G&R date in sight, we are just trying to make the best of our situation. We are enjoying ourselves, but want to know when we can come home. Being away is not going to be fun for too much longer. At least we have Sara to provide constant entertainment.

We had dinner with our friends, Bao and Chris, tonight at a restaurant called D'Liss. Chris is returning to Texas tomorrow night and Bao has hired a nanny here is HCMC to help him take care of Kevin.
The staff there just loved the babies! This guy in particular love Sara and kept playing with her. She would run into his arms when he held them out! We may go back there!

Sara had a bath after dinner that she did not enjoy at all!

Believe it or not, being a parent is exhausting. Now we know what all the other families were going through all these years in restaurants, etc.

A View From Afar

2007-10-31T21:21:00.001-07:00

Not everything is about the baby, right? Wrong! I'm going to post some pictures of some of the things we've seen anyway.

Here are a couple of pictures from the zoo. You can purchase sugarcane and feed the elephants. Compared to the Columbus zoo, the monkey and ape houses are small. Most of the animals seem well taken care of and healthy.

Before Sara, Sue would have wanted to go in this store. Now she just wants to shop for her baby. Even on her birthday. Happy birthday, Mommy, but no Louis this year.

Here is the opera house in HCMC:
Here is the People's Committee building:
For all of you GIS Specialists (I know at least one is reading), HCMC is 10.774 degrees above the equator and 106.70 degrees East of the Prime Meridian. By comparison, our house is 40.212 degrees above the equator and 83.117 degrees West.

Last but definitely not least:

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Out and about in Ho Chi Min City

2007-10-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

Sara is such a happy little girl! She drools a lot if you didn't notice!!

Today was pretty uneventful! We did some shopping and then we went to Bau's hotel so Sara could play with Kevin. The kids had a blast. Scott, Henry and his mom came later. We just ordered Pizza while the kids played. Sara is still eating everything in sight! She's really warming up to Gary.

What a difference a day makes!!

2007-10-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

We think Sara had a very nice Birthday today! I'm sure she would have rather been at home with friends and family, but we were with new friends. Well, not new to Sara. We went to the zoo with Kevin, Bau's son, who she was with at the orphanage and of course Bau and his friend Chris. Sara was not interested in the animals very much, but we think she had a good time. She ate some interesting soup with beef and noodles. She loved it! That girl can eat! After the zoo Sara took a much needed long nap! She would not let Sue lay her down, every time she tried she would wake up crying, so Sue sat there for 2 1/2 hrs holding Sara. She was very playful this evening! We met Bau and company at their hotel and went for dinner. Again, she ate up a storm. She liked Mommy's watermelon juice and Bau's coconut milk, which really did the trick for a constipation problem she had. She also ate Daddy's noodles and some of Mommy's vegetables. After dinner the kids played a little and we went home. She let Gary hold her from the Hotel all the way home! That is huge! After we came home she was so giggly and playful, we thought she would never go to bed. Especially after we gave her a little chocolate cake we bought for her Birthday. We are both beat!

Happy Birthday Sara!!

2007-10-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Sara's 1st Birthday. We are so happy to be sharing it with her. She is doing very well with the adjustment and we are biased, but we have been told she is very smart. She claps, shakes her head no, and babbles a lot. She loves to eat! Last night we went to dinner with the other families and she ate a lot of my Singapore Noodles. She also likes Goldfish and Cheerios. She had a good night last night. She went to bed about 8:30 and woke up twice for a bottle, then went right back to sleep when I rocked her. She is starting to warm up to Gary as we speak!

Beyond words. . .

2007-10-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

We just don't have any words to describe our feelings today. It has actually happened. We are parents. We left for the orphanage with Mr. Hiep and the 2 other families and their friends about 8:30 am. We got there about an hour and a half or so later. We started in a reception area where we met the director of the orphanage and were then led upstairs to a room where our 3 babies were waiting!! Sara was right inside the door in a walker and Sue scooped her up. Amazingly, neither Sue nor Sara were crying. Sara is as tiny as she looked in the pictures. The caretakers said she was a very good baby, very playful and smart. She understood Vietnamese when Bao spoke to her.

Here is Scott with his son, Henry. Henry had the most difficult time with the transition. This is Bao's son, Kevin.We stayed at the orphanage for 30-45 minutes playing with Sara and trying to get questions answered. We then rode back to our hotel with 8 people and 3 babies!!!

Now we are back at the hotel. Mommy and Sara are playing with toys. She has only cried a little bit when mommy tries to put her down. Daddy has to observe from the other bed.

Our G&R date may not be until next week, but until then we get to enjoy getting to know our new little girl.

When in Rome...

2007-10-28T04:04:00.001-07:00

Today we had an authentic Vietnamese experience. We went to our friend Hahn's cousin Hong's house for lunch. Gary was picked up by a motorcycle and Sue rode a taxi with Hong. Hong lives with her husband, son, her grandmother and her mother. There is also a maid and a cat. The food was delicious. Hanh told her about everything Sue doesn't eat, no beef or pork! It was all shrimp.

They are building a new house that will be ready in a couple of weeks. The houses are very narrow and tall. The house has a spiral staircase in the center. On each floor there are rooms on either side of the stairs. There are balconies on both the front and back of each floor. They are planning to plant trees, flowers and grass on the back patio with the stone walls.

Sue said she would never go on a Motor Scooter... Oh well! They are everywhere here and there are no traffic rules, at least not followed. You have to just cross the street with motor bikes and cars coming right at you!

Go Bucks

2007-10-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

Isn't the internet amazing? It lets us keep in touch with all of you like we were still in Ohio. It also let Gary follow the Ohio State-Penn State football game play by play. Looks like another dominant performance for our #1 ranked Bucks. He was also watching the World Series live while we were getting ready to go down to breakfast. Now we are waiting for our friend, Hong, to take us to her house for lunch.

We are to be at Mr. Hiep's office tomorrow morning at 9 am. He is going to take us to SARA!!

Anatomy of a Trip to the Other Side of the World

2007-10-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

Our trip started out well enough. We got to the airport and checked our bags all the way through to Vietnam. As we were going through security, Gary was "randomly" chosen for a more thorough check. Also, Sue had put 2 cannisters of bug spray in a bag Gary was holding and it was flagged by the x-ray guy. So there was no way Gary was going to get through. They pulled everything out of the 2 bags Gary was holding, swabbed them, and tested them for bomb dust. That was ok and our flight got off fine and we even got to LA about a 1/2 hour early. This was 12AM EDT. Gary's parents came to the airport to meet us since we had 4+ hour layover. We walked over to the international terminal, had some dinner and talked for a while about Sara. They left around 3AM and we went to the gate to wait for our 4:50 AM flight.
The gates are hot and crowded and we are exhausted. For some unknown reason, they board our flight late. We stand around barely able to keep our eyes open. We finally leave for Hong Kong around 5:30 AM. We have a a window and middle seat. We fall asleep immediately but they serve dinner shortly after takeoff. We barely remember eating and fall right back to sleep. After having a little trouble sleeping, Sue takes and ambien to help her sleep, but she has a sensitive stomach to medicines. She gets very sick and spends the last 7 hours of the flight puking and feeling miserable. It's hard for her to get to the bathroom because the women on the aisle is fast asleep and the bathrooms are always full. They serve breakfast in the morning but she can't eat.
We get to Hong Kong around 8:15 AM and our flight to HCMC is to board at 8:25. Someone meets a group of us at the gate to walk us to the new gate. Having just gotten off a plane we naturally have to go through security again. We are among the last to get on the plane.
The flight to HCMC leaves about 40 minutes late. The 2 hour flight goes uneventfully but Sue still feels horrible. We arrive in HCMC and go through customs with no problems. Two of our 3 bags are waiting for us at the gate except for Sue's. We wait on another line to fill out a missing bag report. No one is at the airport to meet us so we take a cab. We have no reservation at the hotel we are supposed to have booked but they have room for us. We get to our room around 1 PM.
We took a nap and had a very nice evening with Scott. We got to know one another while eating some dinner at Highlands Coffee and doing some grocery and baby shopping. Sue's bag was at the hotel when we got back. It must have taken a later flight. Now it's about 10:20 PM and we're off to sleep.

We Made It

2007-10-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

After a very long trip that seemed to last forever, we have arrived safely.
We are going to meet Scott, another PAP, and get something to eat. We will fill you in about our trip later tonight. Just a little preview. Only 2 of our 3 bags made it here with us.

Forgot Something

2007-10-25T06:22:00.001-07:00

Because of our relief and exhaustion from yesterday, We forgot to thank G-d for whatever did happen yesterday. We guess he wasn't done testing our resolve.

Sue and I are blessed in more ways then we can even comprehend. We have a big, loving family here in Columbus and Toledo and in Los Angeles where Gary's from originally. We have great friends both in our personal lives and our work lives who have been incredibly supportive. Here is just one example of the support we received. We got this email this morning:

Hey --- I know you're going crazy getting ready for your flight. Know that I am praying for you all. Here -- let's pray together -- :-)

Dear Lord, I just thank you so much for Gary and Sue and their desire to adopt a little girl in their life. God, they have waited so long to add another to their family. I pray dear God for you to have your hand on them, keep them safe on this journey Dear Lord. I pray that when they get to Vietnam all will run smoothly and they will have no more bumps in the road.

You are a loving God Dear Lord, I thank you for loving each and every one of us. And may we remember that through our suffering there is always something we can learn. And I thank you for when we do suffer we can draw close to you and be comforted by your truth and love.

Bless this family Dear Lord and let them draw close to you and feel your hand in this adoption.

Amen

Okay, Sue Sue -- go get your daughter. And know that ALL is good. I will continue to pray for you on your trip. AND! Can't wait for your return!!!!!

xxo

We also have great friends who we have never even met. It is amazing to see how PAPs (prospective adoptive parents) support one another through this long process through email and blogs.

We have the means to adopt from being DINKs (Double Income No Kids but with 3 pets) for so long. We have a wonderful house in a safe neighborhood with good schools for Sara. The list goes on and on.

For all of this, we are truly, incredibly thankful.

We hope that the changes in the I600 filing procedures are positive for families still waiting!!! Hopefully, it will be a good thing that leads to consistency in the program. We are thinking of you and hoping you get your referrals SOON!!

We will probably not be able to get Sara until Monday in Vietnam, Sun in the US!!

Sue and Gary

BACK TO PLAN A

2007-10-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not exactly sure what happened today. I woke up and went to work thinking we wouldn't be traveling tomorrow. Sue's father is an attorney and he called our agency first thing. The head of our agency didn't know that we had been told to travel. We sent her the email from her Vietnam coordinator telling us to book flights and obtain visas. He also called our agency's partner which actually has the license to do business in Vietnam. I'm not sure what he discussed with them or what his tone was.

In the meantime, I had called my Congressman, Pat Tiberi, yesterday afternoon and spoke with them. Sue called both of our Senators', George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown offices. Also, her parents called their Congresswoman's, Marci Kaptur, office. All 4 offices wanted more information right away and promised to look into our specific case for us.

Next thing we know, Sue gets a call from the head of the licensed agency. She told us that everything was in place for us to travel as originally planned. Their people in Vietnam promised that we would get Sara this Sunday and that the G&R ceremony would be Monday. However, we were told there may be delays and we may be in country longer than expected. We don't care we just want our Sara.

I don't know what to expect when we actually get to Vietnam. We've been told so many things that we don't believe any of them, but we remain, as ever, cautiously optimistic. The last 24 hours have been the biggest emotional roller coaster we have ever been on.

Gary

CHANGE OF PLANS!!!!!!!!!????

2007-10-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

OK, NOW WE ARE BEING TOLD WE CAN GO AHEAD AND LEAVE TOMORROW!!! WE HAVE BEEN PROMISED WE WILL HAVE SARA ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STAY TUNED!

THE TRIP IS OFF

2007-10-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

Just when we had hope that our 6 year wait to have children was finally going to end, we got devastating news today. Now, we will not be able to travel on Thursday and it may be several more months before we are able to go.

First, this whole mess with the USCIS changing the rules about how I600s are filed. It sounds like the rule is changing, but it is not clear when it will go into effect. Our agency called us today, just 2 days before we were to travel to let us know. They provided us with no guidance as to what we should do and left it totally up to us. As of now, the old rules still apply but by the time we get to Ho Chi Minh City, they mayhave changed.

The second and worse news is that we found out through our friends in Vietnam talking to Mr. Hiep that we do not have a signed adoption decree. We were told that we had a G&R date of 10/29, but that can't happen w/o an adoption decree.

Mr. Hiep wanted to know who told us that is was alright for us to travel in the first place. He said since we had tickets, we could come and visit Sara every day in the orphanage but we could not bring her home.

Now we most likely will have to follow the new I600 rules which will add 2 months to our travel date. Also, many of our documents, like our I171H, are going to expire and will need to be redone.

Sue is inconsolable and I am just numb.

Gary

VIVA LA CURE!!

2007-10-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

Weds night I was in a Fashion Show at Saks Fifth Avenue (I manage the Cosmetics Dept there) for Survivors! I felt like a Princess for a day. Here is some video. Through Sun, Saks will donate 2% of sales to Women's Cancer. SHOP! SHOP! SHOP!! They have great kids clothes!!!

Come and get me Mom and Dad!!!

2007-10-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

We are still so excited about getting to meet Sara. It will be hard trying to contain ourselves for the next 9 days. We have lots of packing and planning to do.

Our Giving and Receiving ceremony is officially scheduled for October 29th.

We received more pictures of Sara today. Finally, a smile!!

Sara will be in our arms soon!!

2007-10-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

We are planning to leave on the 25th now!! We should have Sara on the 28th! So much to do between now and then!

Making arrangements!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-10-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we don't have a firm Giving and Receiving Ceremony, but our final letter has been issued. We were told we could go ahead and make arrangements for 10/28 (our Anniversary)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep your fingers crossed for us. We SHOULD have Sara on her Birthday if all goes well!

10 reasons why I love October!!

2007-10-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

10. The leaves change color

9. I get to wear all my cute Fall clothes

8. Get to decorate for Halloween

7. It's my dear friend Suzanne's Birthday! (10/8)

6. Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Happy to be here!!!)

5. It's Gary and my Anniversary (10/28/2000)

4. It's my Birthday (10/31)

3. It's Sara's Birthday!!!!!!!!!! (10/30)

2. It started out by getting new pictures of our precious little girl!

1. Hopefully, we will travel to Vietnam!!

One of the families from our agency pleasantly surprised us with some new pictures! They got to see our precious Sara and assured us that she is well taken care of!!! I can't believe her hair! She is sooooooooooo cute.

WAITING FOR GOOD NEWS!!

2007-09-21T05:35:00.000-07:00

WELL, still NOTHING!!! Long story short, another family got their travel date to leave Thursday, 9/27. We hope we are a week behind. I was trying not to post until I got some GOOD news, but no luck! Please, Sara, come home before your 1st Birthday!!

Happy 41st Birthday Daddy!!

2007-09-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Daddy,
I don't know you yet, but my Mommy says you're pretty special. Thank you for taking such good care of my Mommy when she was sick. I know I will immediately take to you, my Mom says everyone does. When Grandpa asked her what she liked about you, she said "he gets along with everyone". I can't wait to meet you. I've heard you have ALL the qualities that make a GREAT DAD! You are compassionate, understanding, and patient. I will need lots of all of that. I hope I never miss another one of your Birthdays! Happy Birthday Daddy! I hope we can celebrate soon!

Love,
Sara (with help from my Mommy)