We are back from our vacation in sunny California. Where we had a great time including enjoying Calistoga mud baths and attending ZAP (red Zinfandel festival). We also joined the Cosentino reserve wine club, the Chimney Rock wine Club and the Black Chicken Society (the Biale wine club). Since we also shipped a bunch of wime home and since we already belong to Rosenblum, Coturri, and Bella, this means the cellar will be full of great wine! All in all it was a great trip for Martine's 30th birthday.
In fact some of the wine we bought can be stored so long that we should be able to drink it on the baby's 21st birthday:)
While on vacation, we heard from our agency, and on the 25th, they sent our completed dossier to be translated. Translation is estimated to take approx. 3 weeks. Then, the dossier will finally go to Vietnam!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Ready for Translation
We have all the documents we need...so, after sending off a big check, we expect that the docs will now go to D.C. to be translated into Vietnamese (we are told that they will likely be sent sometime next week, and that translation will take about 3 weeks). So, we are back to waiting. We are thinking that if all goes well, docs will be in Vietnam by March (then we do not know how long things will take before we get the referral).
In the meantime, we are reading books and shopping:). We are going on vacation to Napa next week where Martine will celebrate her 30th birthday on the 27th!! Martine just got her birthday gift in the mail from her parents, and it included a cute shirt that says "baby" and then has an arrow pointing down to a heart shaped Vietnamese flag that says "(Vietnam)" under it. see Shirt Design. This will help when going shopping for baby items (since baby store people keep looking at Martine's stomach and asking how far along she is... now they can hopefully just read the shirt:)...)
In the meantime, we are reading books and shopping:). We are going on vacation to Napa next week where Martine will celebrate her 30th birthday on the 27th!! Martine just got her birthday gift in the mail from her parents, and it included a cute shirt that says "baby" and then has an arrow pointing down to a heart shaped Vietnamese flag that says "(Vietnam)" under it. see Shirt Design. This will help when going shopping for baby items (since baby store people keep looking at Martine's stomach and asking how far along she is... now they can hopefully just read the shirt:)...)
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Government Approved!
The I-171H (Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Application) has arrived! Our fingerprints came back clear! This means that we can take the I-171H (and certify it by an attorney --which cannot be Martine, of course) and add it to the huge pile of other documents (our "Dossier") and send it to D.C. to be translated and then sent to Vietnam.
Our agency has the rest of our dossier, and the two agency employees that have worked with us are currently in Vietnam. So, we are thinking we may need to wait until mid-week, when one of them is back to get things sent off.
The other interesting thing about the I-171H is that it will expire if you do not file the I-600 (which is the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative) within 18 months. That means that if, in 18 months, a specific child has not been identified on an I-600 submitted to the CIS, then we will need to reapply for a new I-171H (of course, we are hoping that it will not take nearly as long as 18 months!)
Another interesting point is that the fingerprints expire in 15 months (which is actually good, because if our fingerprints had returned as IDENT, which means there is an FBI record on file, the fingerprints would only be valid 12 months). So, if we do not get through the process before 4/02/08, we will need to re-fingerprint.
Anyway, we hope to finally be done with our Dossier very soon. (It has been about 4 months of paper chasing!! - see the timeline to the right)
Our agency has the rest of our dossier, and the two agency employees that have worked with us are currently in Vietnam. So, we are thinking we may need to wait until mid-week, when one of them is back to get things sent off.
The other interesting thing about the I-171H is that it will expire if you do not file the I-600 (which is the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative) within 18 months. That means that if, in 18 months, a specific child has not been identified on an I-600 submitted to the CIS, then we will need to reapply for a new I-171H (of course, we are hoping that it will not take nearly as long as 18 months!)
Another interesting point is that the fingerprints expire in 15 months (which is actually good, because if our fingerprints had returned as IDENT, which means there is an FBI record on file, the fingerprints would only be valid 12 months). So, if we do not get through the process before 4/02/08, we will need to re-fingerprint.
Anyway, we hope to finally be done with our Dossier very soon. (It has been about 4 months of paper chasing!! - see the timeline to the right)
Monday, January 08, 2007
Waiting, Working and Spending...
Well, we got fingerprinted last Wednesday. Unlike the last fingerprints that I had done (for the Iowa Bar admission)was with ink, but the FBI fingerprints were done with electronic equipment. Apparently the squiggles in my fingerprints are very small, so it took us many tries before we got the right computer image. Now, the fingerprints are with the FBI. Once the fingerprints are analyzed, the CIS will issue the I171-H. Then we just have translation before all the docs go to Vietnam. In the meantime, we are waiting again...
We have been nesting. Clare was in town last weekend, and she helped us rip out carpet and paint. We have a few more home improvement projects we would like to get done before the baby arrives.
Since the agency advised we start buying baby products little by little to spread out the cost (because we have big expenditures at the time of travel/adoption), I have been shopping! Andrea and Matt were in town this weekend, and Andrea and I went nursery shopping and purchased some green furniture and a big yellow rocking, reclining chair. We also decided on themes: stars and frogs in yellow and green (with purple accents, since the room is purple). Matt and Nate helped with assembly...so, we are on our way:) The baby also received quite a few Christmas gifts from his future grandparents and aunts!
We have been nesting. Clare was in town last weekend, and she helped us rip out carpet and paint. We have a few more home improvement projects we would like to get done before the baby arrives.
Since the agency advised we start buying baby products little by little to spread out the cost (because we have big expenditures at the time of travel/adoption), I have been shopping! Andrea and Matt were in town this weekend, and Andrea and I went nursery shopping and purchased some green furniture and a big yellow rocking, reclining chair. We also decided on themes: stars and frogs in yellow and green (with purple accents, since the room is purple). Matt and Nate helped with assembly...so, we are on our way:) The baby also received quite a few Christmas gifts from his future grandparents and aunts!
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