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.

Merry Christmas to Everyone

I just wanted to tell everyone a late Merry Christmas. I was planning on posting before now but I'm sure that everyone can understand how busy you get at this time of year. I also wanted to share a picture of the Christmas ornament that we got for Jacob. I got the idea from the Yeatons blog -Our Journay to Emersyn Grace - the ornament came from a web site called Mandy's Moon. It has lots of great stuff.

I also wanted to share a couple of Christmas pictures of us. We are so happy to finally be on the waiting list but I just know that the first Christmas with Jacob is going to be one of the best of our lives.

Alonzo and I with our baby Sassy.

And here with our best girl - Hailey

So, Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends and hope that you have a great last few days of 2007.

We Are Now a Waiting Family

Lisa and I got our Christmas wish! We came home on Monday and there it was.....THE letter! I grabbed it up and waved it at Lisa.....it was FINALLY here! Ripping open the envelope, we saw what we had been waiting on for almost 6 weeks....our I-797C form....Notice of Action.

The form was a notice of favorable determination concerning the application for advance processing of orphan petition. We were so excited to have it in hand!!!

We have now sent a copy of it to CHI...our adoption agency...and have been placed on the waiting list for a referral. We are number 251 as of today. That means that 250 others are waiting to adopt before us. Of course, that counts for boys, girls, special needs, etc. We are wanting to adopt a boy, aged 0-6 months and healthy.

We have taken another step toward having Jacob in our lives. This little baby has so much love going out to him...and he hasn't even been born yet!!!

The wait is going to be long...but at least we have a number to work toward. Let's hope that there are lots and lots of referrals in the coming months. Perhaps our magic number will come up faster than we think!

In Loving Memory

I have some very sad news - - On December 8, 2007, we had to put our beloved dog Pepper to sleep. Pepper was 16 years old and had become very sick. As her loving mommy and daddy we had to do what was best for her. We would have had her 15 years this February.