2 Months...Time Frame Changes...and Education....

Well, it has been two months since DTV (documents to Vietnam)!! ... and, our agency has just adjusted the time frames expected again... (In all fairness they have always told us the time frames are subject to change...but it is still frustrating not knowing what is going on).

From what I understand the overall time frame has not changed, but the timing of the components of the process have. The agency is now saying that it will be 6-12 months from DTV before we get the referral (the picture and medical report identifying the child) and that permission to travel will take only 30 days. So, to apply that to our situation...we could expect referral between the end of August '07 and the end of February '08.

Guess we will just keep waiting, since there does not appear to be anything that we can do to change anything anyway:)

In other process news, I am attending adoption classes from 10-3 this Saturday (Nate has a choir concert this weekend, so he is going to watch a DVD of the training later...can't miss dress rehearsal...even if it does mean watching a VERY long DVD), and we have another day of training on the Vietnam program in particular in May. So, I will keep you posted on any learnings...or timing changes...or whatever.

Meanwhile, I am having a great time with the quilt project. Click here to check out all the beautiful squishes!

Congrats to Jess and Adam!

Nate and I were both in Jess and Adam's wedding this weekend, and it was a beautiful day! The weather was gorgeous, and all of the pieces came together. They had a lot of special touches including 1000 paper cranes that they had made for the occasion! They also included candles for new life in their ceremony and lit one for the child that we will adopt!:) Congrats and all the best to them!

We do not have any news on status of things in Vietnam...just waiting. As you can see from the ticker below, it has been about two months... Meanwhile, I continue to gather baby items. I am currently coveting a Svan high chair in espresso color. Click here to see a picture.

Also, we have been getting so many gorgeous squishes from family, friends, and other adoptive families throughout the US. Click here to see them or go to the link at the right of this page.

Diaper Bag and Other Baby Items...

Last night was ICADV (Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence) inaugural auction event. Since I had served on the event committee with friends, I attended ready to bid on all the fun items in the auction.

I ended up buying quite a few baby related items. Including a cute gender-neutral (so that Nate can wear it too!) diaper bag by ju ju be. Click here to see it. I also got hawkeye colored baby items and other cute baby gear!

The event was a lot of fun!

March Meeting with Agencies Licensed n Vietnam

Although I have not heard any info from our agency, there is an interesting post on AdoptionBuzz that details some Vietnam adoption process changes that were apparently discussed at a meeting of licensed agencies in late March.

It appears from the post on Adoptionbuzz that there may be increased checks that the US embassy will undertake with respect to health of the children and agreements between agencies and orphanages. It also appears that there will be increased requirements on the amount of time that children that are abandoned must stay in orphanages (60 days) and stricter checks around public notification of abandonment.

Not sure whether that will impact us or our time line...

Meanwhile, we continue to get squishes for our quilt project. To see them go to our quilt blog at www.quiltofsquishes.blogspot.com.

Our First Squishes!!

Squishes are starting to come in!! (If you are asking yourself " did I miss something? what is a squish?" please see the post immeidately under this one.)

Usually I will post these on a blog specially created for squishes, but since these are our first ones, I decided to put them here as well:) To track our progress and to see more squishes as they come in click on the link at the right of this page under "Quilt of Squishes Project" or go to www.quiltofsquishes.blogspot.com anytime!

Our first squishes:

#1 from soon to be Grandma and Grandpa Daniel:



#2 from soon to be Aunt Andrea:



Keep them coming:) We love them!

A Quilt of Squishes Project While We Wait...

While we wait, I have decided to embark on a project (described below).

I have been reading adoption magazines, and I came across an article that had ideas for projects to undertake while you wait for your referral/travel. One of the projects struck me as especially interesting.

In parts of Asia (China, to be precise), there is a tradition in which family members and friends of expectant parents give them scraps of cloth or old clothing as well as good wishes. The fabric can then be made into a quilt, which will surround the child with the energy of good luck and wishes. In addition, the wishes can be kept in a scrapbook for the child to see how many people cared about them even before meeting them! Even though our baby will be from Vietnam instead of from China, the idea of making such a lovely keepsake seems completely worth emulating (and it seems to be catching on in the adoption community for those waiting for babies from many different places)!

I would love to invite you to participate in my quilt project by sending a squish. We have had wonderful support from so many people during this process, and we thank you very much for all that support as well as for your participation in this project of creating a beautiful gift for the baby.

CREATING A SQUISH (A Square plus a Wish):

1. Choose any 100% cotton fabric that you like - any design or color (preferably quilting fabric weight - not fleece or flannel). You may use a piece of old fabric that is special to you, or a new fabric that inspires you feel inspires good feelings, good luck and good wishes.

2. Cut one 9" x 9” square from the fabric.

3. On a 3"x5" or 4"x6" card attach a small piece of the fabric (so we can to match which fabric goes with which wish) and write your wish on the card.
Your wish can be your own original writing or a favorite poem, quote, or anything else you like. Please sign your wish and include your city and state on the card.

To see sample squishes click here.

If you would like to share a squish, please email me at martineandnate@yahoo.com, and I will send you our address. I will track progress and post squishes on a special blog that I created for the quilt project www.quiltofsquishes.blogspot.com. It contains links to sample squishes that other people have collected if you need ideas. If you feel moved to send more than one squish, please feel free:)

Please do not stop checking this blog. I will continue to track the adoption progress and story here on this blog. I just wanted to be able to track the project separately. I am creating a Quilt Project link to the other blog to the right on this blog, so that you can easily check status of the project if you would like. You will note that the first post on the Quilt Project blog is very similar to this post:)

Right Now In Hanoi...

I wish I had some news on the status of our wait...but there is nothing new to tell. So, I have been occupying myself by beefing up this blog.

Tonight, I added a new section on the right entitled "Right Now In Hanoi", which has the current time, date and weather in Vietnam. So, just imagine our documents getting processed during those daytime hours!

This weekend, I was in Minneapolis with girlfriends celebrating the last single days of my good friend, Jessica. We had a great time, and I did not check my elephant ticker once:) However, I did end up looking at baby stuff at Ikea... It is hard to stop shopping for adoption related gear. I have just found some sites that I had not seen before that have cute paper pregnancy gear...check out Adoption Mama and Not Showing.

Well, hopefully, right now in Hanoi...our process is going smoothly and quickly!