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.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Saturday, April 07, 2007
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!
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!
Monday, April 02, 2007
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:)
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!
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!
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