New Number

Hi all!

We have a new number. We are now #154 on the wait list. There has not been any news out of Vietnam about a new MOU. The only thing that we have heard is that Vietnam has named a lead negoitator and have sent a diplomatic note to the US asking that formal talks about a new MOU be started.

Everyone keep praying!!!!!!!!

New Number

We are now #163 on the waiting list. We have been considering other options since Monday and the temporary suspension of adoptions from Vietnam but have not made any decisions yet. We e-mailed our agency and asked some tough questions and were somewhat calmed by the answers. Keep praying for a fast end to the suspension.

I hope the visit this week by the deputy Sec. of State to discuss issues between the two countries will include talks about a new adoption agreement. Keep your fingers crossed.

So Now We Wait..........

"One of the great lessons God wants us to learn on earth is to trust his love and timing. But the only way we can learn this is by having to wait on things we long for. "Rick Warren, author The Purpose Driven Life.

Now we wait....for Vietnam and the US to come to a new adoption agreement, for patience to get through the following months, for Jacob to become part of our family.

Good News

In our weekly update, our agency finally told us that the US and Viet Nam ARE in discussions about a new MOU. This is the first time that they have officially told us that some discussions are going on. This MOU would be a temporary agreement until Viet Nam becomes a Hague Nation. This was very welcomed news.

Also in the good news category, we are now #165 on the waiting list.

Finally, some good news that gives us more hope and keeps us believing that staying with Viet Nam was the right choice for us.

(You might have noticed that I am spelling Vietnam as two words now. I read that the Viet Nam people consider this the correct way to write it.)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!!!!

Sorry it has been so long since we have posted. The past few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions and news out of Vietnam.

First the Good: We are now #171 on the list. We have moved 80 spots in the past 7 and a half months. Some of that has been referrals and some of that has been people changing countries. We are happy about the referrals and sad that people are changing.

Also Good: Vietnam has make comments about joining the Hague Convention on International Adoption. This would be a very good thing. Their national assembly (like our Congress) has decided to put the matter to a vote by the end of the year. Most of the members are in favor of this as well as the United States, France and Italy. I do believe that this will happen and be a good thing for every country involved.

Also Good: Vietnam has been working very hard to catch people doing illegal adoption paperwork and have made many arrests.

The Bad: CHI was denied their Hague accreditation and will have to reapply. This was a blow to all of us, both PAPs and CHI. CHI is working on correcting their paperwork and reapplying to the Hague Convention but they may have to wait a year to submit their new paperwork. They are making plans for Vietnam families to move to another agency if they have to wait a year and Vietnam opens up again in that time. As of right now, if that happens we will be working with Holt International (a very good adoption agency) to complete our adoption of Baby Jacob.

The Ugly: Sept. 1 is right around the corner and with that date comes the suspension of adoptions from Vietnam until a new MOU is signed or they become a Hague nation. Everyone pray that this suspension is short and that adoptions will open back up as soon as possible.

So, there you have the good, the bad, and the ugly. Alonzo and I had seriously looked at moving to the Russian program, going so far as to talk to CHI and have them look over our paperwork and get a tentative approval to switch countries. We then made a list of the pros and cons about both countries and even with the suspension coming up decided to stay with Vietnam. We both feel that everything will work out and that Baby Jacob will come home to us from Vietnam. It may just take longer then we planned but we feel that this is the right choice for us now.

July is here...and we have a new number!

Hey there! Sorry that we haven't posted in about a month. We have been keeping busy with vacations and having a yard sale with our friends, Rod and Corrinna Middleton, at Cave Run Lake. We did pretty well with the yard sale and cleared out a lot of old junk.

Our vacations have been nice. Florida was great! You can read about our vacation at my Class Action blog http://www.classactionarticle.blogspot.com .

Just to keep you up-to-date, we are now at number 184. We are so excited. It seems that the USA and Vietnam are trying to work things out. I have very positive feelings about this! I just feel that things are going to start picking back up again!

Well....that is all for now. I will try to post again when we get our new number! THINK LOW NUMBERS!

New number!

Happy Father's Day everyone! Hopefully we will have Jacob with us for next Father's Day. That would be the greatest gift ever! I can't wait to be a dad.

We have a new number. We have moved to 188. Slowly but surely we are making our way down the list. I can't wait to get to number 1! I want to get our dossier done and sent in to Vietnam. Hopefully things will start to pick up soon.

Lisa and I are keeping the faith. Many people have been bailing from the Vietnam program, but we are staying put. I feel that everything is going to start moving along. I just have a positive feeling that everything is NOT going to shut down between the USA and Vietnam.

We are leaving on vacation tomorrow. 9 days in Florida should put a tan and a smile on our faces! See you when we get back!

Hatfield Reunion 2008

Our Trip to Gatlinburg and the Smokies!

New Number....Maybe a New Agreement

Well...in case you all haven't heard, there has been some squabbling between the USA and Vietnam. Their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is set to expire in September of this year. At the moment, there hasn't been any move to draft a new one. This means that as of Sept. 1st, all adoptions between Vietnam and the USA will come to an end.

Now...at first we were alarmed. Rightfully so! However, CHI (our agency) stated that all is not as bad as it seems. Vietnam and the USA are still talking. In fact, the president of Vietnam is visiting the USA in June. Hopefully they will work things out!

Right now, Lisa and I are at 198. We have moved up the list quite a bit. However, if the adoptions shut down...this number won't really mean anything. Let's hope that they work things out.

If it looks like things are definitely shutting down, Lisa and I are already making alternate plans. We will let you all know what they are if things continue to go downhill between Vietnam and the USA. Keep us in your prayers! Let's hope that these two countries work things out!

New Number

Just a quick post to share our new number. We are now #207 on the wait list. Like the old turtle we are slowly getting there.

Playing the Waiting Game

Hey everybody. I thought that I would just check in with you and let you know what is up with us here in Kentucky. Lisa and I are just playing the waiting game right now. That is about all that we can do. Every time that our number goes down, we do a little cheer...and then we wait some more.

We are trying to keep our mind off of it. However, it is hard. Keep us in your thoughts!

We have been keeping busy. We just bought a new Toyota Corolla because it is cheaper on gas! We also went to a Loretta Lynn concert. Halfway to Hazard opened for them. Here is a pic of me with Halfway to Hazard. If you haven't heard them, give them a try. They are really good!

Happy Easter

I hope that everyone has a great Easter Sunday and that next week will be better than this week.

Not for the Faint of Heart- Three months down!

Well, finally some good news, we moved one spot on the list. We are now #220. We might be lower then that since some people are leaving the Vietnam program. I will e-mail Angie at the first of the month for the offical number.

It looks like the current MOU will not be resigned. That doesn't mean that they will not come to a new agreement in the future. I have all the faith in the world that they will at some point sign a new agreement to allow adoptions to take place. God would not have led all these people to adopt from Vietnam if he was just going to close the door in our faces.

Before we started our adoption journey, we kept hearing that adoption was not for the faint of heart and that every day was a roller coaster of emotions. Truer words have never been spoken or written.

Like all good roller coaster rides, in the end, when we have Jacob in our arms, it will have been the ride of our lives.

**** Side note**** Thanks to all the people who have told me that they read our blog and are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. Knowing that people care about us and baby Jacob means more to Alonzo and me then words could ever convey .

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day

No new news here. We are still holding steady at #221. I hope that by the end of this month we will hear good news about the MOU. Everyone keep praying.

Waiting List

We have now moved to #221 as of today. I had e-mailed Angie and this morning she e-mailed us with the new number. I can only guess that we moved so many spots because some more people have changed programs. Alonzo and I thought about changing but decided that Vietnam was where we are meant to adopt from, so for now we are sticking it out. We have talked about what we would do if Vietnam adoptions are closed again or slow down, but we still feel that Vietnam is the country for us.

Keep us in your thoughts and keep your fingers crossed that all goes well the next few months with the signing of the MOU.

Two Months Down.........million more to go!

It has been two months since we were added to the wait list. In one way it seems to have went by so fast and in some ways it has went so slow...................... We have moved from 251 to 233. That number still seems huge to me. International adoption is such a roller coaster of emotions. One day you are so happy to have moved up on the list and the next day you can be so sad because of the long wait still ahead of you.

Still good news is good news and that is what counts. Alonzo and I know in our hearts that we will get the baby that we are meant to have. We have come to believe that we were meant to complete our family through international adoption so we have to just hang in there and one day we will be one of the lucky ones showing pictures of our baby to everyone that even just looks at us. LOL

Tet Celebration

Everyday, Lisa and I check our email in order to see if there have been any updates. As you know, we are anxious to move on up the list! There probably won't be much news from Vietnam for the next few weeks though because of Tet.

Tet is the abbreviation of Tet Nguyen Dan which means the first morning of the first day of the new period. Tet marks the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar, and the beginning of Spring. Vietnamese are constantly aware of the phases of the moon. All events are planned by the lunar calendar. The New Year begins on the first night of the first moon after the sun enters Aquarius. This is sometime between January 21 and February 19 on the solar calendar.

Tet is a huge celebration lasting three days. Families save money, store food, and plan far in advance for Tet, major holiday in Vietnam. The Vietnamese take extreme care to start the New Year out right. They buy new clothes, paint and clean their homes, cook three days worth of food, pay off all debts and make amends to rid themselves of all bad feelings. Cleaning is frowned on during Tet because one would not want to sweep out any good luck. Digging and drawing water is also not allowed so the ground and water can enjoy the holiday.

The atmosphere is very festive. Incense is burned in the homes. The color Red, symbolizing good luck and happiness is seen everywhere. Games of gambling are in the streets, homes and in cars. If a gambler wins then he is said to have good luck gambling in the new year. If a gambler loses, he is said to have good luck in other affairs. There are dragon dances at night. Food is plentiful, homes are decorated, parks are full of crowds of people dressed in their best new clothes, and for three days the people have an ultimate celebration.

Tet is a time for visits from family and friends. The first visitor to a home is very important. If the first visitor is rich, prestigious, or happy then the family will have good fortune that year. Usually this visitor is a relative, but sometimes the family will invite a special guest that they feel will bring them good luck. The first day of Tet is reserved for visiting family and relatives. The second day is set aside for special guests and close friends to visit, and the third day is for teachers and business associates to make a visit. Negative talk, and arguments are taboo. Visitors end their visit with a farewell wish for the family such as, "I wish that money will flow into your house like water, and out like a turtle."

Food plays a major role in the Tet celebration. Tet is a time of excess, one does not enjoy Tet, one "eats" Tet. The first day a feast of boiled male virgin chicken, sticky rice, a special soup made with clear vermicelli and bamboo shoots, boiled pork, and 3 or 5 duck eggs is offered to ancestors who have returned to their homes. Sticky rice and salt are also offered in the streets to any hungry ghosts who might be wandering in the neighborhood. A traditional food is Earth cake, a square cake made with rice beans and pork. When a watermelon is cut they believe that the redder the watermelon the more luck for the family. Several different desserts and dishes are made with coconut. On the third day another feast of virgin chicken is served to say farewell to ancestors returning to their ethereal abodes.

During Tet, Vietnamese families plant a New Year's tree called Cay Neu in front of their homes. A bamboo pole is often used as a Cay Neu. All the leaves are removed from the tree so that it can be wrapped or decorated by good luck red paper. Legends have it that the red color scares off evil spirits. On the seventh (the last) day of Tet, the Cay Neu is taken down. This is the last ritual of the New Year celebration.

So I guess with all the parties and celebrations, there won't be much news from Vietnam for a while. However, I know that one day that Lisa and I will incorporate the celebration of Tet into our home. We have already been researching some Vietnamese recipes. We haven't actually tried them yet....but soon. I will post our results....and they may not be the best...LOL! Oh well...life is an adventure!

Happy New Year.....a little late.

Sorry it has been so long since we lasted posted. This has been a very busy time for us. The biggest and most important news is that we have moved from 251 on the waiting list to 240. That was the best news ever. Now if we can only keep moving like that this will be a wonderful year.

I turned 40 years old on Jan. 3 and everyone has been giving me a hard time about being over the hill. LoL To me age is just a number and it's your attitude about life that counts. Still, I worry some at being 40 or 41 and a new mother, but if Nancy Grace can have twins at 48 I think I will be ok. (Even without all the help she has to have)

Alonzo has been busy playing his new X-Box 360. He had been wanting one for so long that I finally got it for him. I figure that he needed to have it now to play because when Jacob gets here he will have little time for anything else.

We have been buying things for Jacob's room and if he doesn't come soon, he will have to sleep in the guest room. Alonzo and I can not help ourselves when we see something cute or that is a really good deal. We are not going to start putting his room together till this summer. It will give us something to work on over the long summer break.

I will post some pictures next time of some of his things. Till then everyone take care.