What's G&R all about?

In China, your baby may be placed in your arms for the very first time in your hotel room...or in a small government office...or at the orphanage. Based on what I've read, there usually isn't a lot of ceremony (who cares, really...all that matters is that you get your sweet baby). But in Vietnam, there's a ceremony called Giving and Receiving (G&R for short). I thought you might enjoy reading about G&R from another family who's been there, done that:

G&Rs vary greatly from province to province. Some ceremonies are short and matter of fact; others are more elaborate and emotional. The overwhelming consensus that I have found, though, is that regardless of your style of G&R, it is an extremely unique and unforgettable experience. Parents sign their name in the big adoption book, official papers are signed and many words are spoken.

We were the only family at our G&R and were made to feel very welcome. Refreshments (beer, Fanta, fruit and candies) were put out for us on this occasion. Regardless of how weak a stomach you have, please partake in what they offer; it would be rude to refuse, especially at such an important and official event.

Our G&R went smoothly except for one little hiccup. The man leading our ceremony asked us a question through our translator and we couldn’t understand her, so our agency director repeated the question very softly so as not to be rude. He was asking us if we wanted to change our minds about the adoption! Of course we quickly and loudly replied “NO!” He asked us to return to Viet Nam one day with our daughter; which I truly hope that we will.

It was a very quick, overwhelming experience that was over before we even realized what was happening. It was not the emotional experience that I was expecting. This was probably due to the fast pace of the whole day, the language/translation barrier and the pure shock that we actually were given this sweet little baby and we were getting to take her home!

The Giving and Receiving Ceremony is something that binds us Viet Nam adoptive parents. It is an experience unlike any other and really helps to cement you to the country. I appreciate that fact that the country of Viet Nam makes a point to take the time and formality to officially wish each of their children well and celebrate their new families.

Sounds pretty amazing, huh?!?!

Weekend Warriors

We actually don't have plans for the weekend except the usual assortment of aerobics and church. We might go see a flick at the cheap theatre tonight...The Stephen King movie about the haunted hotel room is playing. I read the short story on which the movie is based several years ago and really enjoyed it. John Cusack stars (he'll never top his role in Being John Malkovich).

I emailed some friends involved in China adoption and asked if they had heard anything about the processing time for paperwork in KC. Just trying to adjust my expectations for the wait on the new I-171H. They hadn't heard anything. With the new, tighter restrictions for China adoptions and some other info I'm gathering, it seems like they shouldn't be too busy at the KC office...but one never knows. Will continue to keep you posted. It will be hard going TWO days without mail: Sunday and Labor Day. At least I'm supposed to be off on Labor Day. I might end up working though as I'm trying to get another story ready for NPR. We'll see...

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Faithful...

One of my favorite hymns is Great is Thy Faithfulness. Some recent examples of God's faithfulness:

*The husband of my cyber friend Crystal got a new job...and a better one to boot!

*My bestest friend, Katie and I had prayed a year and a half ago that we would have babies at the same time. Katie is set to deliver a gorgeous baby girl in November and we're praying we'll be in Vietnam this winter to get Zeke. (We already have decided our children will be bestest friends!)

*God has made a way for the Vietnam adoption to happen!

I hope you all are doing well. Is it me or has this week flown by? Since you haven't heard me scream, you know the I-171H hasn't arrived. I was on the phone with Katie last night when I checked the mailbox and she held the phone away from her ear...just in case...

The Truthiness of her Queeniness

This gives all us pageant girls a bad name...

The Waiting Game

And so we wait. It's been one week since we sent off for our new I-171H. I pray that it comes quickly (i.e. this week or next). When it does come, you'll probably hear me scream, no matter where you live (this goes for Thailand residents too!). To begin to prepare and pass the time, we started a registry at Target this weekend. Lots of fun but we realized we needed to do some more research before we decided on a crib, bedding, stroller, car seat, etc. Thanks to Misty for some great recommendations on a stroller/car seat combo! As we were pointing our Target "gun" at the items we wanted to scan, we had to keep in mind that Zeke will probably be 5 months old when we get him. So anything made for a six month old will have a short shelf life. On the other hand, Asian babies in general tend to be smaller so maybe he could get some mileage out of six month old clothes. We'll just have to wait until we get the photos and measurements of our little guy!

One great thing about Vietnam adoptions is that families who go to your baby's orphanage before you do to get their child will take a care package to your baby. How wonderful to know that you can send clothes, pacifiers, etc. to your sweet babe weeks before you arrive to get him! For China, it's very hard to get care packages to your baby so being able to get something to Zeke before we arrive is a blessing!

We've been reminded by several people who are home with their baby to savor this time...our lives will soon change. I guess that's why we went out of town a couple of weeks ago for one final "escape" and why we're renting a lot of movies...speaking of which...

We highly recommend "The Lives of Others." Yes, it's in German but there's a reason it won the Oscar for best foreign film. I was moved to tears at the end. I think I was so moved because it's about the Stasi, the secret police who struck fear and terror in the hearts of East Germans and I have visited the Stasi building in Berlin that's featured in the film. I've looked at those files. I've walked those hallways. I've interviewed people who were victimized by the Stasi. The ending is so poignant. I highly recommend this movie. Another from the foreign film category that is a close second to "The Lives of Others" is "Pan's Labyrinth." An excellent film from Spain that's in the same vein as "Life is Beautiful." It's about the stories we tell ourselves and children to cope with unspeakable violence in the world.

A Couple of Signs

Our Sunday School classroom doubles as a prep school classroom during the week. So, we sit in our "grown-up" chairs on Sunday morning, surrounded by colorful posters highlighting the months, the days of the week and the alphabet. Anyway, it's the start of the school year for the prep school and so, the names of the students in this particular class are written on individual pieces of poster board shaped like big crayons. Brad nudged me shortly after we sat down in class this morning. He pointed to the chalk board where the name placards were hanging. The first one was Lily. I smiled. I had actually noticed the week before that there was a child in the class named Lily. Then, he said, "Look at the one below it." It was Ezekiel!! So, there were the names of our two children Lily and Ezekiel, hanging on the chalk board in our Sunday School classroom together. The spelling was the same as we'll use for our children. And there were many other name placards on the board but those two were placed together and at the top of the list. How cool is that?!?! It just confirmed something I've believed in my heart...that we're absolutely on the right path to finding our children.

A Little Piece of Heaven

That's what our aerobics instructor said when we finally got around to stretching this morning after an intense weight routine. This gal is a "substitute" aerobics instructor and she's da bomb! She has the best mix of music-from Credence Clearwater Revival (Travelin' Band) and Patti LaBelle to Avril Levigne and Black-Eyes Peas. Sweet! We were rocking out and sweating like crazy!

It's rainy here so Brad can't mow as he normally does on Saturday. We may go out and look at baby stuff. Fun! Have a great weekend!

4 Month LID Anniversary...

...was yesterday. I was so busy, I didn't get to post. Anyway, it's a little hard to believe that 4 months have gone by already. Our dossier has been translated and is pending review. The Chinese officials are reviewing dossiers that were logged in July, 2006 so we'll be "pending review" for a while.

In other news, school started back this week. The students in my classes seem especially sharp and eager to learn. That's the opposite of what it was like last fall so I'm quite pleased! We'll see how long the enthusiasm lasts as the semester progresses.

Any big plans for the weekend? I think we may rent the movie "The Lives of Others," which won the Oscar for best foreign film earlier this year. It's supposed to be about a Stasi spy whose views change as he eavesdrops on other East Germans. I've heard nothing but rave reviews. A couple of weekends ago, we watched Chris Cooper in Breach. An excellent film and Cooper is fabulous, as usual (he's a Mizzou alum, I might add). It's the TRUE story of Robert Hanson, the American who spied on the US government for the Russians. It's a chilling character study of a movie. (Mom, I think you'd like this one too! You dig true stories!)

(For those who may wonder why I always mention my mom when I talk about movies...she can count on one hand the number of movies she likes so she doesn't give very many movies a chance...she is right that there's a lot of schlock out there...But I'm always trying to get her to see more, confident that there are great films out there waiting to be discovered if she'll just give them a chance...The Way We Were is her top pick and nothing has ever measured up to Robert Redford's Hubble...though she and I did get a lot of enjoyment out of last year's Holiday with the gorgeous scoundrel Jude Law, the hilarious Jack Black, the fashionable Cameron Diaz and the endearing Kate Winslet...anyway, I enjoy the quest to get mom to see some more good flicks because if mama likes it, you KNOW it's good.)

The Half Marathon is Officially On!

I just registered for the half marathon I'm going to run on Sunday morning, September 16th! I'm pumped and a bit scared that they'll have to carry me over the finish line! The really bad part is that Brad won't get to be there. He's in Gypsy and has a performance the night before and that afternoon. Wah-wah. Anyway, maybe I can still figure out a way to get a photo taken when I finish the race. I don't run quite as religiously as my sister but I'm trying! I feel like I'm ready...Should be fun!!

USCIS has our paperwork!

I got confirmation from FedEx that our package arrived at the USCIS office this morning to be processed. WHOO-HOO! In March, I got our I-171H form in 13 calendar days. I was in SHOCK! I had been told to expect a 6 week wait. It was GREAT to get the form so quickly. I would LOVE to see another fast turnaround this time. Of course, we will keep you posted. I'm hoping to get all our other dossier documents certified this morning. That's done here in town and takes about 30 minutes. No big deal. Once that's done, we'll just be waiting on our new federal form. What happens after that? We send our papers to San Francisco for authentication, a much easier process than getting authentication from the China embassies. We had to send documents to two different embassies and had to use couriers to take them there and pick them up. No couriers this time and the Vietnam embassy doesn't charge a premium for expedited requests like the China embassy does. Then, the documents are translated and two weeks later, we actually get our LID (log-in-date). That's when the official wait begins! For both China and Vietnam adoptions, you don't officially count the paperchase phase as part of the wait. I guess they figure you are so busy with all that, you don't really feel like you're just waiting. Sending off your paperwork and waiting with nothing else to do is the really hard part. The people who are receiving referrals now through our Vietnam agency were LID in June! So, it's a really fast process. Our wait time will be busy as we will spend the time getting our home and lives ready for Zeke!

And we're baaaaack!

We had an amazing time on our trip. We didn't do much, which was the whole point. We did get some good eats at one of my all-time favorite Italian places. They give you warm, olive oil-y garlic cloves to smear on the homemade bread. Then, I had the gnocchi with gorgonzola cheese sauce. Hey, a half-marathon runner's gotta eat! The portions are actually quite reasonable (and the prices are too!) so you don't feel stuffed afterward. We walked around and saw the sites...we watched movies in our tree-top suite. (Sweet Home Alabama was sweet and better than I expected and Mona Lisa Smile was very enjoyable...Consider renting them...Mom, this means you! You might like them!)

We bought a hat for Zeke! Oops! Did I just say, "Zeke?!?!" I did indeed. Brad calls this name our "working title" for the baby. For now, we're calling him Zeke and that's short for Ezekiel Buu. Buu is Vietnamese for "leader." It's pronounced Boo. We love the name Ezekiel Buu. Plus, Travis rightly pointed out that "Lily and Zeke" make a darling combination. (Ok, Travis didn't use the word "darling.")

Anyway, here are some photos of a little reversible hat we bought for Zeke while we were on our trip. Too cute! I've also included some kitty photos. Enjoy!

PS Yes, the last post referenced Big Business (Mom and Weedy get a prize!). A while back, I had "Run, Freedom, Run!" as the title of a post. That's a song from the fabulously hilarious musical "Urinetown." Definitely see this musical if you get the chance and you'll LOVE this song!!

And we're off...

We're off this afternoon for a fun long weekend at one of our favorite hideaways...a last hurrah, if you will before it becomes all baby, all the time.

I hope it will cool off, even a little so that we can enjoy some front-porch sitting while we're away...you know, when the mountain casts a shadow that comes up on your porch like an old friend coming for a visit...(name that movie, anyone?)

A Shout Out to Joel, Misty, Garrett and Baby Makes 4!

I've updated the link to Joel and Misty's new blog. If you haven't heard...THEY'RE EXPECTING! We are so, so happy for them!! When God blesses, God blesses richly!

HOME STUDY IS APPROVED!!

Can you see me turning back flips?!?! Now that World Child has approved our updated home study, we should be able to get the federal paperwork filed later this week or early next week...depends on when we get the actual notarized copies in our hot little hands!! Now, we just pray, pray, pray that the federal paperwork gets back quickly. In March, it only took 13 calendar days to get our approval. Amazing! It was so surprising to get it that quickly. So, I know they can work fast!!

On a completely unrelated note...check out the music of Randall Goodgame. Thanks to the Mattson boys from church, I've discovered a fabulous singer/songwriter. His music is like the soundtrack of O Brother Where Art Thou, Ben Folds Five, Hem, and your bluegrass faves all rolled into one. Excellent piano, great melodies.

By the way, Little Buddy and Pierre Clovis wanted me to post these photos to remind everyone that they are the original babies in our family!

Cribz

We spent part of yesterday checking out baby furniture...mainly cribs. Who knew there were SO MANY designs?!?! It's really overwhelming! We noticed that the convetible cribs are very popular. Basically, they can change into a toddler bed and finally become the headboard and footboard for a full size adult bed.

We also looked at baby carrying devices. They are very popular with the international adoption set and come highly recommended by adoptive parents who've gone to China and Vietnam. There's actually a whole "movement" of people who advocate "baby wearing." I just thought it seemed like a logical choice if you're traveling light and don't want to bring a stroller (most adoptive parents who have been to Vietnam strongly recommend against taking a stroller as sidewalks are packed and traffic is crazy). We're just starting to really look at all this baby stuff. Once we begin actually making some purchases, we'll post photos!

Hope you've had a great weekend!

Good Morning Vietnam!!

We have some big news! After much prayer and discussion, Brad and I have decided to adopt a baby boy from Vietnam!! YAY!! We are SOOOO excited!!

Some FAQs:
Q. Does this mean you won't be adopting Lily from China?
A. No!! That's the really great thing. We can "stay in line" for Lily through the China adoption process while moving forward with an adoption from Vietnam. Lily will be our second baby instead of our first.

Q. Did I read that right? You're getting a boy?
A. Yes! We are requesting a boy. The situation in Vietnam is the exact opposite of the situation in China. China has an abundance of abandoned baby girls and Vietnam has an abundance of abandoned baby boys.

Q. So, when do you get your little guy?
A. We hope and pray that we get to travel to Vietnam in December or January. We are compiling our dossier right now. It's not nearly as extensive as China's so we hope to be done in a few weeks.

Q. When will you get a photo and info on your baby boy?
A. Our agency said that we should get a baby referred to us within 60 days of sending our dossier to Vietnam. I'm hoping the timing will work out so that we get to see our little guy for the first time in October, close to Brad's birthday...of course, sooner than that would be fine too!

Q. How old will the baby be?
A. The baby could be as young as 3-4 months old. We won't know til we get our referral.

Q. How long will you be in Vietnam?
A. Our agency is telling us to prepare to be there for three weeks. That sounds like a long time but you get your baby right away and then spend MOST of the rest of the trip sightseeing (cool!). There are various appointments you have that are spread out over a couple of week to finalize the paperwork. The entire process (from Giving and Receiving--the official ceremony where you get your baby to flying home) should be three weeks.

I hope that helps answer some of your questions. Let me know what other questions you might have. While Lily's name came to us easily, we are having a lot of discussion about names for our baby boy. So stay tuned for a "Name Game" post.

It's the heat...the humidity (said with a "Deep South" accent)

Yes, it's still oppressively hot where we are. I spent yesterday evening staining a bookcase that I got in college. We've had it and used it but I had never gotten around to painting or staining it. I thought I was going to pass out from the fumes!! Gag! But in the end, it turned out very well! I'm letting it air out in the garage before moving it into the house. I did this while Brad was at rehearsal, even though it turned out, he didn't need to be there.

Can I just say that there's NOTHING on TV in the summer? At least a couple of summers ago, you had the premiere of Dancing With the Stars with Peterman from Seinfeld (or am I just imagining that that show was a summer program?). The episode of Last Comic Standing was kind of amusing last night. But maybe it only seemed funny because I was still high on the fumes from the bookcase.

We did go see Bourne Ultimatum this weekend. A most excellent suspense movie! Brad and I like to make fun of Matt Damon (think Team America) but you have to hand it to the guy...He's really, really good in the Bourne series. We are a couple of "Johnny Come Latelys" when it comes to Jason Bourne but we're definite converts. These are fun movies with good twists and turns. Highly recommended if you like international intrigue, espionage, etc.

Hot, hot, hot!

It's hot!! How are you beating the heat where you live? I'm basically doing very little outside. I went for a brisk walk in a park near work yesterday with one of my co-workers. We were drenched by the time we got back to the locker room. I know my sister is beating the Thailand heat by waking up at 4AM to run. Good for her! I couldn't do that. Just not got the motivation to get up early...especially when an air conditioned gym is at my beck and call every day of the week.

Hope your week is going well!

By the way, I got to hold little Garrett for the first time last night. He's an absolute CUTIE!! Misty's sister-in-law had a time capsule shower...we all brought letters to Garrett that will go in a time capsule that he will open when he's 16 or 18. What a wonderful idea...Misty, I think I'm going to have to steal that one! Thanks to our hostesses Robin and Sarah for a fabulous evening!

Run, freedom, run

My sister just ran her first 10K (read the fine print and you'll see she actually ran more than that)!! Check our her blog for some rockin' photos and all the details.

(Bonus points if anyone knows the name of the musical referenced in the title of this post.)

And now, on a more serious note...

A passage from a book written by an adult adoptee, "Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew"...She imagines God writing a letter to her adoptive parents:

Dear Retha and Mike,
One of My children needs a home--a mother and father who will love her and provide for her. I know how much you wanted to have children. I know the tears and anguish you have experienced. But the only way I could make a place for this child in your home was through the open door of your infertility. I am loaning her to you for a while to take care of. Do the best you know how to do, for she is precious to Me. Someday, when you are gone, I will be her mother and father. She will learn to trust Me and depend on Me as she did on you. Thank you for being willing to love My daughter and give her a home on earth.
Love,
God