Travel Congrats!

To my daughter's housemate's parents -- safe, speedy and fabulous travels to you all!!! Some of you in this group waited as little as 29 days from Acknowledgement to Approval. That means I may realistically hear something very, very soon!

And if anyone happens to be in Room 11 and happens to take a quick pic of the beautiful baby(ies) in that room (that's Room 11).... feel free to share!!

Learn From My Mistake....

Blogging is hard work. I know it seems like a little post here, a little post there, some pictures, and SHAZAM - you have a blog. But it's not that simple. Like when you try to be extra-specially super-creative, and all of a sudden all of your stuff is gone. G-O-N-E. Gone. Adios Amigo - Sayonara. Goodbye, old chum....everything is gone except the actual typed stuff. BUT i do have a really cool background now. And if you don't like it, keep it to yourself. I'm not quite at the point where I'm ready to say it was all worth it for the cool background.

So, the lesson for today, children, is to PAY ATTENTION when your computer asks you (in big red letters, no less) if you're SURE you want to delete all the previous widgets. Your answer should be NO! Absolutely not! Go Back, Go Back! Cancel! Make it stop, please!!!

At least now I know what a widget is.

Wish me luck on my reconstruction.

Still Waiting (in case you were curious)

I have become an expert at the "hurry up and wait" game. Every time we reach a big milestone, we rush around like crazy people for a few days to make sure no one, especially the USCIS is waiting on us for anything. Then we submit our work. Then we wait. And wait. And wait. So that's what we're still doing. Today, next week, next month....hopefully the month after that we'll be rushing around to make travel arrangements. We went to get our fingerprints retaken AGAIN. Apparently fingerprints expire. Explain that one to me. I'm sure the government knows better than I do, but seriously?

So we ventured to our neighborhood USCIS office (clear across town, in a Mexican shopping mall) to get this redone. Brian was on his way to the Courthouse, so he couldn't wait with Connor and I when we had to come back "in an hour". There was no explanation for that except that they were busy. There were about 8 employees taking care of 6 people. HUGE rush, right? So we make our way down to the conveniently located mall playground where Connor played and made friends with a little girl whose parents were also going back "in an hour".

When our hour was about up, we returned only to be told that I had to go back to my car and leave my cell phone in it. I'm sure my CrackBerry was receiving terrorist messages and instructions from K and R, and that they could be perceived as a threat to our sovereignty. I mean, deciding who R should date is quite controversial, and of specific interest to Homeland Security. So I dragged Connor back to the car, mumbling choice expletives about the USCIS that he pretended not to hear out of pure shock, I'm sure. Mere minutes later, we were back in business. Since Connor wasn't being fingerprinted, he wasn't allowed within the imaginary confines of some imaginary area that was not marked nor fenced in. But as soon as he stepped over the "line", one of the 8 employees would rocket over and tell him to move back. He did look especially menacing that morning. Who can blame them?

Employee number 4 finally was the one to do the deed. All the while talking about the new Batman movie and how he's seen Ironman 6 times, and it gets better and better every time. And how he can't wait for Dark Knight to come out on DVD so he could watch it whenever he wants. While enamored with his encyclopedic knowledge of Batman, I just needed to get out of there before I committed a federal offense. At least he wasn't yelling at my kid.

As we walked to the car (again), Connor asked why those people couldn't be just a little nicer, "we're just trying to bring my baby sister home for goodness sake!" I couldn't have said it better myself, kiddo.

Loss

Heaven has another angel. A 4-month old little girl in our daughter's orphanage died on Friday in VN. She was sick for many weeks and although she fought as long as she could, she was not able to overcome her illness. She is now healthy and whole in heaven, watching over the other babies in the orphanage. She was about a week younger than Kenna.

I am so sad for my friend and her family. They previously lost a referral, and now this. It's unbearably tragic. Losing a child is the worst possible pain in the universe. Hands down. I am utterly convinced of this, and sadly I know from personal experience. And although this little girl had not come home to her Forever Family yet, she was my friend's daughter. It does not matter one bit that she did not grow in her womb, or that she had not yet felt her mother's touch. She was loved as only a child can be loved by her parents, and I'm sure my friend's loss is no less heartbreaking and painful than mine. A loss of a baby cuts your soul so deeply that there are days that I still feel physical pain. Time does not heal all wounds. Things that don't kill you do not necessarily make you stronger. Life will not return to normal. You have to find a new normal without your child.


To those who are not experinced in adoption, the moment you see your referral picture is very similar to seeing your baby's hearbeat on the sonogram for the first time. I know it sounds strange, but that's how it was for me. I was flooded with the same joy, happiness, fear and bewilderment when that tiny flickering light representing Connor's heart appeared on the screen. The referral picture that pops up on the computer screen is your child. The agency tells us not to get too attached, but it is impossible for most of us. You are immediately in love with this little person who has instantly filled your heart with such immense gladness that you feel you might burst.

I wish my friend peace and healing as she grieves her loss. I wish there were more I could do or say, but I know there isn't anything. I pray her family and friends surround her with gentleness and grace.

Acknowledgement

I love that the word "acknowledgement" made my heart leap when I saw it in my inbox yesterday. It's strange what this adoption journey will do to a previously sane person! We received a 2 sentence letter from USCIS in Vietnam saying that they have received our I-600 for the baby. Ok, the fact that it was sent "overnight" 2 weeks ago from California was briefly overlooked. But it is there! It has been seen and stamped by someone seemingly important! No government paper-pushers here....only 2 measly weeks (mere nanoseconds in a 3 year adoption!) for a person to open an envelope and stamp its contents and send an acknowledgement! That's your tax dollars at work, folks! And I'm more than happy with it at this point.

So what all this means is that in about 60 days, someone else will put an "approved" stamp on our baby girl's application, and we can make travel arrangements to bring her home!! I hope whoever holds that stamp isn't going on vacation any time soon...