For those of you so inclined, save the date of July 8 at 2:00 pm for the Christening of Maia and Ilona. We have to book up time well in advance at our parish, so Al went ahead and scheduled a date and time today.
That is, of course, as long as we are home by July 8! I am getting more and more anxious for travel news.
I've heard that this is the hardest time - after referral but waiting for travel dates. I'd have to agree. I am just making myself crazy worrying that something is going to happen, or that travel will be delayed, etc. It must be a Mom thing because about 10 hours after the referral news I went from shock to worrying about everything... are they healthy? will they be healthy until we get there? will they be healthy when we get home? when will we travel? what if something is wrong with the paperwork? what if we don't travel and return before Al is supposed to start school at the end of May? You get the picture.
Anyway, if everything goes as we think it will go as of today, we'll be having the Christening on July 8 at 2:00 - so mark your calendars!
Love Tina
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Faux Baby?
So yesterday my friend Lori brought me a babydoll that belongs to her daughter, Carly.
My idea was to use a doll to give Al a quick lesson in diaper changing! He has never changed a diaper and as the average baby goes through 2,100 diapers in a year, and we are going to have two babies, he is going to be doing more than his fair share of changing 4,200 diapers.
While he will figure it out pretty quickly when we are in Vietnam I decided I'd break him in gently on a doll, and then graduate him to Gracie, one of our dachshunds, because she would hate it and wiggle around, which would give him good practice with a squirmy kid!
Anway, this doll is very realistic looking plus it makes all kinds of baby cooing and giggling noises. When I get home with the doll I decide that it will be a good thing to prepare our dogs for the new babies too. So I walk around the kitchen with the dollbaby over my shoulder, patting its hiney and rocking it. The dogs are pretty interested but are polite. I sit down on the sofa and our dachshund Gracie decides she doesn't like it, so starts barking at it. This was good because it gave me a chance to correct her and show her that everything was ok but that she shouldn't bark at the baby.
Oliver, our other dachshund, decides he very much likes the baby. He doesn't think it is a toy. He thinks it is alive. He gently licks its cheek and then licks its hand and laid down in front of it as if to protect it. This was great.
So as if our lives aren't kooky enough, I plan on spending some time each evening burping and cuddling a babydoll so that we don't have any issues with our two current babies (Gracie and Oliver!) when the two new babies (Maia and Ilona) arrive!
Thanks, Carly, for the loaner!
Love Tina
My idea was to use a doll to give Al a quick lesson in diaper changing! He has never changed a diaper and as the average baby goes through 2,100 diapers in a year, and we are going to have two babies, he is going to be doing more than his fair share of changing 4,200 diapers.
While he will figure it out pretty quickly when we are in Vietnam I decided I'd break him in gently on a doll, and then graduate him to Gracie, one of our dachshunds, because she would hate it and wiggle around, which would give him good practice with a squirmy kid!
Anway, this doll is very realistic looking plus it makes all kinds of baby cooing and giggling noises. When I get home with the doll I decide that it will be a good thing to prepare our dogs for the new babies too. So I walk around the kitchen with the dollbaby over my shoulder, patting its hiney and rocking it. The dogs are pretty interested but are polite. I sit down on the sofa and our dachshund Gracie decides she doesn't like it, so starts barking at it. This was good because it gave me a chance to correct her and show her that everything was ok but that she shouldn't bark at the baby.
Oliver, our other dachshund, decides he very much likes the baby. He doesn't think it is a toy. He thinks it is alive. He gently licks its cheek and then licks its hand and laid down in front of it as if to protect it. This was great.
So as if our lives aren't kooky enough, I plan on spending some time each evening burping and cuddling a babydoll so that we don't have any issues with our two current babies (Gracie and Oliver!) when the two new babies (Maia and Ilona) arrive!
Thanks, Carly, for the loaner!
Love Tina
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Why Adoption and Why Vietnam?
Because a number of people have asked us these questions I thought I'd post a quick thought on the matters.
Why adoption? Al and I decided that although we are able to have biological children we would prefer to build our family through adoption. I probably have alot to do with that choice, as I was adopted myself as an infant through Catholic Charities. I had such a wonderful family - my parents were the best in the world - that Al and I wanted to provide a similar experience to a child that might not have a family otherwise.
Why Vietnam? When I was a young child - maybe four years old - my Mom and Dad took me back to the orphanage that I had stayed at as a baby just to show me around. I remember there was one room full of African-American toddlers, running around in white diapers and playing with toys. I remember a beautiful white woman in a fur coat stepping over the baby gate and a little child coming running up to her to hug her. I was very young and being young thought that the woman was going to be adopting the baby. I asked her if she was going to take the baby home and she was sort of embarrassed and told me no, she would not be taking the baby home. The answer wasn't good enough for me and I pestered my parents for the duration of the visit for a reason why the woman wasn't go to adopt the baby. It appeared to me that they loved each other and I couldn't understand why the baby was staying in the orphanage. I remember my Mom gently telling me that most of the time parents wanted to adopt children that looked like them, and that the baby did not look like the woman. I remembered back to the room of toddlers and remembered that they all had dark skin. I remember as clearly as if it was yesterday looking down at my white arm and thinking that if my skin wasn't the color it was I probably wouldn't have my family. This was a scary realization for a little one, and I think somehow in that moment I decided that I when I grew up I'd help give a family to kids that might not otherwise have one. Not to be dramatic or holier than thou... it is just the plain truth.
When we began to exploring adoption our agency told us that Vietnam was begging for families. The country had just opened up again and there were many children that needed homes. So we settled on Vietnam and the rest is history. Ironically, of all children in Vietnam, twins can have a hard time being placed, because of the work and the expense. So we are happy and feel we are blessed to be able to provide a home for our two girls.
Why adoption? Al and I decided that although we are able to have biological children we would prefer to build our family through adoption. I probably have alot to do with that choice, as I was adopted myself as an infant through Catholic Charities. I had such a wonderful family - my parents were the best in the world - that Al and I wanted to provide a similar experience to a child that might not have a family otherwise.
Why Vietnam? When I was a young child - maybe four years old - my Mom and Dad took me back to the orphanage that I had stayed at as a baby just to show me around. I remember there was one room full of African-American toddlers, running around in white diapers and playing with toys. I remember a beautiful white woman in a fur coat stepping over the baby gate and a little child coming running up to her to hug her. I was very young and being young thought that the woman was going to be adopting the baby. I asked her if she was going to take the baby home and she was sort of embarrassed and told me no, she would not be taking the baby home. The answer wasn't good enough for me and I pestered my parents for the duration of the visit for a reason why the woman wasn't go to adopt the baby. It appeared to me that they loved each other and I couldn't understand why the baby was staying in the orphanage. I remember my Mom gently telling me that most of the time parents wanted to adopt children that looked like them, and that the baby did not look like the woman. I remembered back to the room of toddlers and remembered that they all had dark skin. I remember as clearly as if it was yesterday looking down at my white arm and thinking that if my skin wasn't the color it was I probably wouldn't have my family. This was a scary realization for a little one, and I think somehow in that moment I decided that I when I grew up I'd help give a family to kids that might not otherwise have one. Not to be dramatic or holier than thou... it is just the plain truth.
When we began to exploring adoption our agency told us that Vietnam was begging for families. The country had just opened up again and there were many children that needed homes. So we settled on Vietnam and the rest is history. Ironically, of all children in Vietnam, twins can have a hard time being placed, because of the work and the expense. So we are happy and feel we are blessed to be able to provide a home for our two girls.
Monday, March 19, 2007
More about travel timing
We don't have any specific information about travel at this time, however we did just learn that once we receive our "signing" date from the Vietnamese government we will have to travel within two weeks. Which doesn't give us alot of time to get visa's and figure out flights, etc. We were hoping to use frequent flyer miles for the trip, which would save us alot of money, however we are hearing that with that short notice it can be hard to get a flight. Also, if we finish the process early (it would be great) or late (let's hope not) the miles are often very inflexible and hard to change.
We'll see.
Other than that, Al and I pretty much finished the nursery this weekend, got baby clothes off the living room floor and hung up, folded, put away, etc. The dogs were not happy about this turn of events as they've decided rooting around in the baby clothes is their new favorite thing. The nursery completion is a great relief to me, because I've been a banshee trying to get ourselves setup in case we have to leave quickly. I can relax alittle bit now. The second crib should arrive next week and that will be the last thing we need to have the room ready for the girls.
Love Tina
We'll see.
Other than that, Al and I pretty much finished the nursery this weekend, got baby clothes off the living room floor and hung up, folded, put away, etc. The dogs were not happy about this turn of events as they've decided rooting around in the baby clothes is their new favorite thing. The nursery completion is a great relief to me, because I've been a banshee trying to get ourselves setup in case we have to leave quickly. I can relax alittle bit now. The second crib should arrive next week and that will be the last thing we need to have the room ready for the girls.
Love Tina
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
A few more details...
In between the freak out sessions that Al and I are having trying to get a new (bigger) nursery in order and to prepare for two babies instead of one, we are finding out a bit more about our girls.
We found out that it appears, at least initially, that Maia and Ilona are identical twins, rather than fraternal. They are sleeping in one crib right now, but when they are big enough they'll move to two cribs. I am happy that they are together and want to make sure that we are setting up things at home so that they will be as comfortable as possible during their transition from Vietnamese Orphanage to Forever Family.
We have heard that the girls are an extreme rarity. In almost 400 adoptions our facilitors have not ever had a set of twin girls. They have had a couple of sets of twin boys, but no girls. Of course, from the moment we saw them we knew they were special :-) but now we are starting to see that they are a special blessing not just for us but for our families and friends too. It is funny how things work.
It has been amazing to see the outpouring of excitement, encouragement and enthusiasm that we've been experiencing from all of you. Your hearts are all so big to want to help us and to want to be a part of our girls. It is overwhelming, really, to be on the receiving end of so much love.
We can't wait for each of you to meet Maia and Ilona - or as my wonderful friend Kim refers to them - the Vietnamese Princesses!
Love to you all,
Tina
We found out that it appears, at least initially, that Maia and Ilona are identical twins, rather than fraternal. They are sleeping in one crib right now, but when they are big enough they'll move to two cribs. I am happy that they are together and want to make sure that we are setting up things at home so that they will be as comfortable as possible during their transition from Vietnamese Orphanage to Forever Family.
We have heard that the girls are an extreme rarity. In almost 400 adoptions our facilitors have not ever had a set of twin girls. They have had a couple of sets of twin boys, but no girls. Of course, from the moment we saw them we knew they were special :-) but now we are starting to see that they are a special blessing not just for us but for our families and friends too. It is funny how things work.
It has been amazing to see the outpouring of excitement, encouragement and enthusiasm that we've been experiencing from all of you. Your hearts are all so big to want to help us and to want to be a part of our girls. It is overwhelming, really, to be on the receiving end of so much love.
We can't wait for each of you to meet Maia and Ilona - or as my wonderful friend Kim refers to them - the Vietnamese Princesses!
Love to you all,
Tina
Thursday, March 8, 2007
A little more about travel
We had our travel meeting with the agency Tuesday via: conference call along with 14 other families. We found out a bit more about our travel plans.
The next step in the process is that we will receive our "signing" date from the Vietnamese governement. The date refers to the date that we will have our Giving and Receiving Ceremony. This is the ceremony where the Vietnamese government "gives" you the child and where you "receive" the child. At this point, as far as the Vietnamese government is concerned, the adoption is final. This ceremony occurs the first full day we are in Vietnam. Once the Giving and Receiving date is assigned by the Vietnamese government our agency will contact us and we can start making our travel plans. We'll need to have visas issued, our airline and hotel arrangements made, etc.
We will be staying for two weeks in Ho Chi Minh City at the following hotel:
www.somersethochiminhcity.com
We'll have a two bed two bath apartment that is fully equipped with kitchen, laundry, etc. The hotel has a restaurant, a store, room service, laundry service, etc. The flight will take a long time, probably a minimum of 24 hours and it could be quite a bit longer depending on our route and layovers, etc.
Our flight will likely arrive late in the evening and then early the next morning we will go to the orphanage to pick up the girls. We'll then leave the orphanage to make a string of official appointments, all with the goal of having the passports ready as soon as possible. For most of the two weeks in Ho Chi Minh City we will be waiting around for the passports, so there will be tours organized for the adopting families to sightsee and learn as much about the culture as possible. Our agency has already warned us that families with twins often cannot get it together enough to make most of the tours, so we are setting the bar low on being able to do anything other than get a cup of coffee in the morning and calling in for room service. I would probably be content to hang by the pool, and the poolside lounge. Look on the website to see what I mean!
After we receive the girls passports we fly to Hanoi for our appointment with the US Embassy. We will be staying for about a week here:
www.sheraton.com.vn
You have to drill down into pictures to see that the hotel is actually waterfront on a beautiful large lake.
Both hotels look great and have alot of amenities that should make our life as easy as possible.
Overall timing still looks like we'll be leaving in two to three months, or the end of April into May, and that we'll be in the country for about three weeks.
We also found out that the girls are sleeping together in one crib right now, that they are very small so that we should plan on bringing 3-6 mos clothing, and that the orphanage that they are in is called Picasso because it was founded by the neice of Pablo Picasso.
Our facilitor, Sandy, who is beyond wonderful, knows our girls very well and assures us they are just adorable and in good health.
Thank you to all of our family and friends who have responded so wonderfully to our news. We are still reeling a little to try to get prepared for two instead of one, but it has been so heartening that so many of you are excited for us and can't wait to meet Maia and Ilona. They are lucky, as are we, to have such a loving family and group of friends.
I'll update as soon as we get more news. We've been hearing from a few of you that you'd like to see the site update more often so once I have any more shards of information I will pass them on in this site!
Love Tina
The next step in the process is that we will receive our "signing" date from the Vietnamese governement. The date refers to the date that we will have our Giving and Receiving Ceremony. This is the ceremony where the Vietnamese government "gives" you the child and where you "receive" the child. At this point, as far as the Vietnamese government is concerned, the adoption is final. This ceremony occurs the first full day we are in Vietnam. Once the Giving and Receiving date is assigned by the Vietnamese government our agency will contact us and we can start making our travel plans. We'll need to have visas issued, our airline and hotel arrangements made, etc.
We will be staying for two weeks in Ho Chi Minh City at the following hotel:
www.somersethochiminhcity.com
We'll have a two bed two bath apartment that is fully equipped with kitchen, laundry, etc. The hotel has a restaurant, a store, room service, laundry service, etc. The flight will take a long time, probably a minimum of 24 hours and it could be quite a bit longer depending on our route and layovers, etc.
Our flight will likely arrive late in the evening and then early the next morning we will go to the orphanage to pick up the girls. We'll then leave the orphanage to make a string of official appointments, all with the goal of having the passports ready as soon as possible. For most of the two weeks in Ho Chi Minh City we will be waiting around for the passports, so there will be tours organized for the adopting families to sightsee and learn as much about the culture as possible. Our agency has already warned us that families with twins often cannot get it together enough to make most of the tours, so we are setting the bar low on being able to do anything other than get a cup of coffee in the morning and calling in for room service. I would probably be content to hang by the pool, and the poolside lounge. Look on the website to see what I mean!
After we receive the girls passports we fly to Hanoi for our appointment with the US Embassy. We will be staying for about a week here:
www.sheraton.com.vn
You have to drill down into pictures to see that the hotel is actually waterfront on a beautiful large lake.
Both hotels look great and have alot of amenities that should make our life as easy as possible.
Overall timing still looks like we'll be leaving in two to three months, or the end of April into May, and that we'll be in the country for about three weeks.
We also found out that the girls are sleeping together in one crib right now, that they are very small so that we should plan on bringing 3-6 mos clothing, and that the orphanage that they are in is called Picasso because it was founded by the neice of Pablo Picasso.
Our facilitor, Sandy, who is beyond wonderful, knows our girls very well and assures us they are just adorable and in good health.
Thank you to all of our family and friends who have responded so wonderfully to our news. We are still reeling a little to try to get prepared for two instead of one, but it has been so heartening that so many of you are excited for us and can't wait to meet Maia and Ilona. They are lucky, as are we, to have such a loving family and group of friends.
I'll update as soon as we get more news. We've been hearing from a few of you that you'd like to see the site update more often so once I have any more shards of information I will pass them on in this site!
Love Tina
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