A Must Read

Christina has written a post over at VVAI, titled "Not in My Adoption" ...What Price Ignorance? that I hope you will all take time to read. I can hear a few excuses starting right now. You don't have time... It only takes a minute. You didn't adopt from Vietnam... So?

I don't care if you didn't adopt from Vietnam, or if your adoption is completed or any other reason you can come up with to decide that this doesn't "apply to you." Corruption in adoption continues to exist because we all tell ourselves it doesn't apply to us... and we do nothing. We say nothing. We satisfy ourselves by saying "Not in my adoption."

I apologize for getting a little preachy here, but if you are a Christian, you should care about this. If you are a parent, you should care. If you claim to be a socially conscious person with concerns about what's going on in the world around you, you should care. Have I left anyone out? If so, whoever you are, you should care. Especially, if you are involved in any way in the adoption community- If you love a child who has been adopted, if you love someone who wants to adopt, even if you are just beginning to consider adoption as a possibility someday... You should most definitely care. This post is a must read.

Chris, you did an excellent job on this, by the way. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this.

This is it

This is the post I've been dreading and hoped I wouldn't have to write. Our Vietnam adoption has officially come to an end. For those who may only check this blog infrequently and don't understand what I'm saying... you're coming into this story a little late. I won't go through the whole thing again from the beginning right now. The quick version is: A lot of bad stuff happened in Vietnam. Adoptions between the US and VN are closing on Monday. We're not getting our baby... At least not from there. There you go- you are now up to speed. This has not caught us by surprise. We've known for a while now we wouldn't get a referral in time, and slowly started to accept the truth that's been staring us in the faces.

My thoughts are with the children still in Vietnam orphanages who may not be placed in a home now and get to know the love of a family. I'm thinking of all the families whose adoption hopes have been dashed today along with mine. My heart is heavy for all of us. You are all in my thoughts, and I pray your dreams of completing your families will be fulfilled. My hope is that all the turmoil and sadness of the past several months will eventually pay off in the form of a new agreement between the US and Vietnam, and that the VN adoption process will be transformed into an ethical, transparent one that puts the babies and birth mothers first.

I am so happy for the families who received their referrals in time and will still be able to travel to Vietnam, and for those who have already brought their little ones home. These past few months have seen a lot of excitement in adoption land- a lot of families have been born or have expanded. It's been a pleasure following your stories, and seeing your beautiful babies. Cherish those gorgeous little ones! They grow up so, so fast!!

To my Christian family members and friends, I would ask that you please keep us in your prayers as we seek God's direction and try to discern what we should do next, if anything. We might have a Plan B in the works (I hope, I hope, oh please, God)- one that I feel very excited about, but I'm not going to reveal any details until we know for sure. You'll have to stay tuned for that one.

As for me, I'm doing so-so. The bar is fully stocked, so to speak- the M&M's are on my left and the Ben & Jerry's is on my right. I say, if you absolutely must emerge from your Cocoon of Denial, make sure there's plenty of chocolate waiting for you at the exit. I think the hopes of Plan B are helping me keep it together, too- otherwise, I probably would have been a total mess all week.

I would also like to make a request and issue a gentle warning. Please do not tell me how I should just be grateful for the children I already have or that I am so much better off than couples who can't have any kids at all. I already know that. I am deeply grateful. I know I am incredibly blessed. It doesn't erase the fact that I wanted this child with all my heart. Please do not tell me this is probably for the best, since we already have our hands full enough, or any other thing that belittles the feelings I'm having right now and shows me you really don't get it. I will probably momentarily forget my religion and call you a thoughtless horse's butt right to your face. If you can't feel any empathy or compassion for me, or for other families in the same position- fine. No problem. Then don't say anything at all. Please.

I'm looking forward to seeing what's around the corner for us because I still believe God has one more baby in our future. I'll keep you all posted on Plan B- it's just too soon to have anything juicy to tell you.

Have a great Labor Day weekend, guys. Stay safe!

Response From Member of Congress

I received the following email Wed. afternoon from Nancy Boyda, one of the members of Congress I contacted regarding A Child’s Right Campaign for Vietnam. I'm sure some of you got something similar, but I thought I'd share it for those who aren't directly involved in all of this and still don't fully understand what's going on.

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office about the situation of adoption in Vietnam. I believe that all children have the right to live with a family that loves and supports them, and I am taking action to make sure that we can make this a reality.

Because of the implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, we are beginning to see changes around the world in international adoption policies. Currently, the Vietnamese government and some adoption agencies within Vietnam are not on track to comply with the Hague standards. As I am sure you are aware, Secretary Condoleezza Rice has justified her reluctance to extend a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government of Vietnam about adoption because of their inability to create a Hague-Compliant system.

Secretary Rice's refusal to sign an extension of our current MOU with Vietnam, which is set to expire on September 1, 2008, would create serious problems for those trying to adopt children from Vietnam. Contrary to Secretary Rice's belief, there are countless legitimate and ethical adoption agencies within Vietnam and if she does not renew our current MOU with Vietnam, many Vietnamese children will not be able to join loving families in the U.S. Further, I have heard heartbreaking stories from Kansans who want to adopt and provide children with a loving home, but are being prevented from moving forward - this is both a financial and emotional burden for them.

As a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, I am committed to working towards a solution. I have joined with my colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary Rice urging her to support an extension of our MOU with Vietnam. I believe that intercountry adoptions must meet the highest standards, like those put forth by the Hague Convention. We must also find a temporary compromise that honors the original intent of the Hague standards - to make sure that all children can grow up in a loving environment.

I've enclosed below the text of the letter that will be sent to Secretary Rice and I am hopeful that she will move forward on this path. If you are experiencing problems with the adoption process, you can contact my office in Topeka (785.234.8111) to receive assistance.

Thank you again for taking the time to make your voice heard about this important issue. Please do not hesitate to keep in contact with me about this or any other issue.

Sincerely,

Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress


The letter she's referring to, that's being sent to Sec. Rice, can be seen here, complete with all the signatures. It's on the JCICS website. Check to see if your Senators and Congressmen (women, persons, whatever) signed it. I was happy to see the signatures of each of the people I contacted (yeah, like it was my personal influence alone that did it). Please pray this letter has a positive impact and brings about a miracle. There's still time to turn things around!! Keep hoping!

The latest

Most of you guys in the adoption community have seen these, but my family and friends probably have not. I posted the complete articles for you, which makes this a little long, but I know you people never really click on my links!!! lol!

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...

First we have this one: http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/?catid=1&newsid=38025%3Chttp://www.thanhnien%5C

Vietnamese official discredits US criticism of adoption system
A senior government official Saturday rejected a US embassy report criticizing the Vietnamese adoption system. Vu Duc Long, director of the Justice Ministry’s Department of International Adoptions, said the allegations in the US Embassy report were “groundless” and “unreliable.”
US authorities “did not cooperate with their Vietnamese counterparts in its investigation,” Long said.
The report, released Friday, claimed the Vietnamese adoption system was riddled with corruption and fraud.
The report, written after a review of hundreds of adoptions by US citizens since 2006, said there was evidence of baby-selling in Vietnam.
The two countries agreed to resume the practice of inter-country adoptions in 2006.
In the 18-month period ending March 31, Americans – including actress Angelina Jolie – adopted more than 1,200 Vietnamese children.
A bilateral agreement on adoptions, which was signed in 2005, will expire on September 1.
Long said the US would use the report as a reason for not extending the adoption agreement.
The Associated Press (AP) quoted Long as saying bribery of orphanage officials may occur but serious offenses such as baby-selling or kidnapping were not a problem.
US adoption agencies active in Vietnam told AP that most adoptions in the country were ethical.
Already, the US embassy’s concerns “have left scores of Vietnamese adoptions in limbo,” the AP report said.
Source: Tuoi Tre



And also, this one: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080428/ap_on_re_as/vietnam_us_adoption

Vietnam to halt American adoptions after damning US report
By CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press Writer Mon Apr 28, 6:09 PM ET
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - Vietnam, where growing numbers of Americans have turned to adopt a baby, announced Monday it is halting all U.S. adoptions following allegations of baby-selling, corruption and fraud.
The abrupt cutoff cast a cloud of uncertainty over pending adoptions in the Southeast Asian country, which have surged in the face of tightened restrictions in China, Guatemala and elsewhere.
The announcement came days after The Associated Press published details of a U.S. Embassy report that outlined rampant abuses, including hospitals selling infants whose mothers could not pay their bills, brokers scouring villages for babies and a grandmother who gave away her grandchild without telling the child's mother.
"It is tragic for children that the U.S. government has not been able to find ways to work with the Vietnamese government to prevent adoption abuses while at the same time processing legitimate adoptions," said Tom Atwood, president of the Washington-based National Council for Adoption, a research and advocacy organization.
"Many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children will not have families as a result of this failure of leadership."
U.S. adoptions have boomed in Vietnam, with Americans — including actress Angelina Jolie — adopting more than 1,200 Vietnamese children over the 18 months ending in March. In 2007, adoptions quadrupled from a year earlier.
In its nine-page report, the U.S. Embassy said some American adoption agencies paid orphanage officials as much as $10,000 per referral, while others took them on shopping sprees and junkets to the United States in return for a flow of babies.
It said questions arose after routine investigations turned up widespread inconsistencies in adoption paperwork. There was also a suspicious surge in the number of babies listed as abandoned, making it impossible to confirm the children were genuine orphans or that their parents had knowingly put them up for adoption, as required by U.S. law.
Vu Duc Long, director of Vietnam's International Adoption Agency, called the U.S. allegations "groundless." On Monday, he said Vietnam was scrapping a bilateral agreement with the United States that sought to regulate the adoption system.
"They (the Americans) can say whatever they want, but we are not going to renew it," Long said.
In a letter to the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam said it would stop taking adoption applications from American families after July 1, but would continue to process applications of families matched with babies before that. Adoption arrangements with other countries were unaffected.
The U.S. Embassy said it respected Hanoi's decision, but was confident of the accuracy of the report.
"The government of Vietnam has made their own decision, but we believe that our report speaks for itself," said spokeswoman Angela Aggeler.
It was not immediately clear how many U.S. couples were affected by the decision.
Linda Brownlee, executive director of a Washington-based international adoption agency, said it was a bitter blow for 20 families on its waiting list who will not be able to be matched with children in time.
"Now their dossiers will be returned to them," said Brownlee of The Adoption Center, one of more than 40 U.S. agencies that arrange adoptions of Vietnamese children.
She said the embassy report did not cover positive aspects of adoptions in the country.
"They didn't say how many visas they had approved with no problem," she said. "I know many agencies who have done great work there and that doesn't get reported."
Keith Wallace, CEO of Families Thru International Adoption, agreed. "The (abuse) cases reported by the embassy ... are such a very small fraction" of U.S. adoptions in Vietnam, he said. "It is wrong to imply that Vietnamese adoptions are corrupt through and though."
Vietnam suspended all adoptions with foreign countries in 2003 over concerns about corruption. U.S. adoptions resumed in 2005 under a bilateral agreement intended to ensure they were above board. It was due for renewal on Sept. 1.
Vietnam is only the latest country where U.S. adoptions have been halted or severely restricted. Suspected fraud and other irregularities have cast a cloud over the nearly 3,000 pending U.S. adoptions from Guatemala, the second-largest source of U.S. adopted children after China. Under State Department pressure, Guatemala is allowing those to go through, but would-be parents were warned last year not to initiate new adoptions.
By contrast, adoptions from Ethiopia are on the increase, growing 71 percent to 1,255 last year. "Ethiopia has become a country where, because of the transparency of the system, many are adopting," said Wallace.
In the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, American adoptive parents have become a common sight in the city's hotels.
On Monday, J.B. Sikes, of Anselmo, Neb., cradled his newly adopted son Binyam.
"It was my desire that my family represent what the Kingdom of God looks like, and that's all different colors," the 39-year-old corn farmer said.
Adopting in Ethiopia, which cost about $30,000, was less expensive and restrictive than in the United States, said Sikes, who has two other biological children.
"We started out wanting to adopt domestically, but we found we were the last one on everyone's list, because we have other children," he said.

Grief

That's what it is. It's a thick, heavy, suffocating grief. I feel as if I'm mourning the loss of a child I've never even laid eyes on. A child who was never even mine, except only in my imagination... and in my heart.

That's the thing with adoption that I think a lot of people just don't get. You start to love that kid long before a referral. I think it happens as soon as you choose to say "Yes" to adoption. Once you decide to take that leap, something in your heart transforms. Your common sense is still telling you to be cautious- Don't be silly. Nothing's final yet. Don't get too wrapped up in this. Be careful. But your heart doesn't care. You're a goner. You think, you wonder, you stress, you fantasize, you worry, you daydream, you plan. You love. You begin feeling and thinking with the heart of a parent months, and sometimes years, before you sign the final papers. Your heart aches to hold this little one who is completely yours. Except they're not. Whether it's right or wrong to do it, a mental picture of this child is created. He or she is so very real. Hopes are formed for his future. For many of us, this child already has a name, a room, clothes, toys, and even siblings who ask, "How much longer until we bring the baby home?"

Sam never existed. But now he's gone. Just like that. Overnight. And I miss him. The Sam in my mind may not have been real, but the hole his absence leaves in his mother is. It sure hurts as if he's real.

Maybe we'll still adopt. But, unless some miracle happens before Sept. 1st, we won't be adopting Sam. Sam is a beautiful, Vietnamese, baby boy who was going to have a diaper bag covered with dragonflies, and a quilt made by his mama, with jungle animals on it, out of material that was carefully and lovingly chosen just for him.

Was I stupid to concoct this vision of a child when I knew there were no guarantees; no certainty? Of course I was. Was I irresponsible to discuss it with my children so soon and allow them to become excited? Probably. How many of you did exactly the same thing?

I want to make it clear that I absolutely, in no way, would disrespect or devalue the grief of parents who really have lost a child by comparing my feelings to theirs. I'm not doing that. I know many of you have come to adoption through a long, difficult road of infertility, pregnancy loss, or the death of a child. I have never experienced anything even remotely close to that level of pain, and here I sit with my six healthy children complaining about my grief. Please know that I don't mean to be insensitive. And yes, I do know that I am incredibly blessed. Even if we never adopt again, I have been allowed to enjoy and experience motherhood to its fullest and I don't take that for granted. Many of the parents whose hearts have just been broken by the latest developments in Vietnam were waiting for their first child. For some the waiting has come after years of struggling and hoping and Vietnam seemed to be The Answer, finally. I'm so, so sorry.

I guess there is still hope that that miracle I mentioned will still happen. God is certainly big enough. Darrell believes it. He's not giving up until Sept. 1st. He''s faithful and optimistic. Too bad he's married to such a pessimistic old hag. I'm hoping and praying he's right, but for now his faith will have to be big enough for both of us.

Looks like this is it...

The official announcement that I have been expecting and dreading has been released. Read it here: http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/adoption_warning0408.html

And here is the Embassy's Summary of Irregularities in Adoptions in Vietnam: http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/irreg_adoptions042508.html

Please take a moment to go to VVAI and read Nicki's post on all this. It's long, but she's done an excellent job of summing it all up- much better than I can do right now. If you are a friend or family member who still doesn't quite understand what the big hold-up is with our adoption (because I've done a poor job of keeping you informed), it's worth your time.

I'm going to go soak in the tub and sob for a while. Talk to you later.

U.S. alleges baby-selling rackets in Vietnam

Embassy report says lax policing lets adoption fraud flourish

Associated Press

HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam has failed to police its adoption system, allowing corruption, fraud and selling babies to flourish, the U.S. Embassy said in a new report obtained by The Associated Press.
The nine-page document describes brokers scouring villages for babies, hospitals selling infants whose mothers cannot pay their bills, and a grandmother giving away her grandchild — without telling the child's mother.

Full article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24298193

Adoption Status: Stalled

According to my little tickers at the bottom of the page, it's been one year since deciding to begin our adoption and 3 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days since our dossier went to Vietnam.

As I've told you before, I'm sometimes asked why I don't ever mention our adoption progress on our adoption blog. Where are the updates? My answer is always the same: There is no progress. I have nothing to report, so I talk about the idiotic details of my boring house frau life instead. It's depressing to keep trying to talk about an adoption that I'm beginning to fear will never happen.

Yes, we are still trying to adopt. Yes, we still want to add one more child to our family. In fact, I'm currently having the mid-life-crisis-baby-cravings so bad I can hardly stand it sometimes. Which is exactly why I don't like to talk about it. My "baby" is turning 7 in a week. I've never, in 18 years of motherhood, had a kid that old before without a baby or toddler coming along behind him. That's a lot of years caring for little ones. Bottles, diapers, Sesame Street... That's what "normal" is to me. Babies is what I do! lol. So this feels pretty foreign. I don't like it.

For family and friends that don't know, the situation between the US and Vietnam continues to look bleak. As I said last time I recapped this, no one knows for sure yet what will happen after September 1st when the agreement between our countries expires, but each new statement issued and every new bit of news sounds like another nail in the coffin. It's not looking good. I'm feeling increasingly hopeless, although I'm trying not to. For those interested, details on the latest scoop can be found here at Bring Our Children Home, and Christina has written about the most recent turn of events over at VVAI.

On a personal level, our agency has still NEVER received a single referral, EVER, from Vietnam. So even if the Vietnam situation turned around overnight, and all is suddenly resolved, we are with an agency that is having trouble establishing a good working relationship in Vietnam. It's very frustrating. We never hear from them. They, I'm sure, are just like me and have nothing to report, so I can't fault them for that. We have handed over thousands of dollars to them, which I'm sure would be difficult to get back, and we still have no idea what we will do in the event that Vietnam closes. It's scary.

In my last conversation with our coordinator, we discussed our other options. She said they are strongly encouraging their VN families to "dual enroll" in another program. If we chose to do that, it doesn't mean we would end up with two concurrent adoptions. We'd enroll in two and go with whichever one gives a referral first, then the dossier would be withdrawn from the other country. "We" (read that as Darrell) aren't sure "we" want to do that, because "we" want to wait to see what happens. Apparently "we" are very patient people who like waiting.

I believe we qualify for: Ethiopia, Kaz, (possibly) Russia, (possibly) China special needs, and domestic African American.

Our hearts were so set on Vietnam that we are having trouble even trying to seriously consider and talk about what we'll do. With all of these, there are so many factors to consider and drawbacks to each one. To make it all extra fun trying to decide, I've recently heard rumors of trouble brewing in Kaz and Ethiopia, too- although I don't have any reliable information on either one.

I would do the domestic AA program in a heartbeat, because I do love the idea of getting to have a baby baby again; a tiny newborn would be wonderful! But we have to be completely honest and consider what's best for the child, not what's best for the mommy. We live in a ridiculously small town that is far from diverse, racially speaking. We know people (quite well) who could make the life of our AA or Ethiopian child "difficult." I'm trying to be delicate here, but you get what I'm saying, right? There are idiots out there. Some of the same people who fawn and fuss over how cute my Chinese daughter is may not feel so warm and fuzzy about my AA baby, which brings up the interesting topic of the degrees of racism so many of us carry around every day, but that's a whole other post. Anyway, am I prepared to handle those idiots on a daily basis? Is it fair to bring a child home knowing they will have to deal with those idiots every single day? I just don't know how I feel about all that yet.

I like the idea of bringing home a special needs child who may have otherwise not found a family. Darrell and I both were sure, going into this, that we wanted an Asian child, mainly so that Bri could have that common link with her sibling- so that would be a point in the China SN column. However, how serious of a special need we feel able to handle is another matter. And we're not even completely sure we would qualify for that program.

Our main drawbacks with the Kaz program are: 1. Blind referrals, and 2. 6 weeks in country. I don't even know who would care for our kids for 3 weeks in Vietnam. Who on earth wants to be responsible for 6 kids for 6 weeks?

The biggest thing that's keeping us from acting on any of the other choices is what I said above; the fact that Darrell really wants to wait it out and see what happens with Vietnam. He feels that we believed at the time God was leading us in our decision, so we should believe it now, regardless of what the circumstances tell us. We need to be faithful and see what happens. OK. I guess that's what we'll do then. I do believe God led us into this adoption. I do believe He has another child in store for us. I just don't feel as confident that it was God who chose Vietnam. Maybe that was just us. But, Darrell is right. We need to be faithful and patient. Oh, yea! A chance to show off my strong points... :0

So there you go. There's your adoption update! In all honesty, I've been having serious thoughts about stopping this blog for a while now. I'm not a blogger. I never intended to start a blog to talk about nothing in particular, and since the only adoption news I can give is basically a rehash of a previous update, I'm struggling to find a reason to keep doing it. There are plenty of adoptee blogs, parenting blogs, motherhood blogs, etc., all doing it better. So I don't know. We'll see what happens on that, too, I guess.

Vietnam 'baby-smugglers' arrested

By Nga Pham BBC News, Hanoi

Vietnamese authorities have arrested three women and a man for allegedly smuggling newborn babies to China.

The suspects were detained with two baby boys, aged one month and one week old, in Hanoi and Ha Tay provinces.

Hanoi police said they had also detained an eight-month pregnant woman who confessed to agreeing to sell her unborn baby to the gang.

The woman was being transferred to China, where she is expected to give birth to the child.
All the babies were sold for eight million dong ($500) each.

The police said they would be offered for adoption to couples in China for around $2,000 each, because they were boys.

Girls would be sold for half the amount, according to investigators.

This is the first time the Vietnamese police have uncovered the smuggling of unborn babies.

One of the boys has been returned to his birth mother, while the other is being looked after at a children's hospital in Hanoi.

Story from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7257123.stm
Published: 2008/02/21 15:59:00 GMT© BBC MMVIII

JCICS Standards of Practice

This news has already been posted on VVAI, but in case you haven't seen it yet- JCICS has released the Standards of Practice that many in the VN adoption community have been awaiting. You can read it here- too long to include it all in this post.

New York Times Article

For those in the adoption community, this article may be old news. It was posted on one of the groups, so you may have already seen it. However, family and friends who are still unclear on what the fuss is about in Vietnam might find this interesting.

National
Families Adopting in Vietnam Say They Are Caught in Diplomatic Jam
By ELIZABETH OLSON
Published: February 11, 2008
The State Department says that the adoption system in Vietnam fosters “baby buying,” but some complain that the U.S. is singling out individual cases to embarrass the Vietnamese government.

Happy Chinese New Year/Tet!

First and most importantly- I have a "renewed" prayer request for Lavender at Sweet and Sour Chicken who is having her first surgery today for her cleft repair. Please take a moment to pray for this little girl's safe and successful surgery, quick recovery time, pain relief, peace of mind and freedom from fear for Sabrina (her mom), and that her doctors will be blessed with wisdom and steady hands. The last time I requested your prayers for her, the surgery was put off due to illness. Let's ask the Lord to allow the doctors to get started, with no complications, and make a lot of progress today. I appreciate your prayers!

Do you say, "Happy Tet," "Merry Tet," or what?

I don't know, but whatever it is, it's TODAY!

So...

HAPPY, MERRY TET
and
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO ALL!!
The lanterns are hung over the chopsticks with care,
In hopes that Mom's chicken soon will be there...

We're celebrating with a dinner of Chelle's World Famous Super-Delectable Sesame Chicken, which I will be slaving over all day. It's a pain to cut up enough bite-sized chicken pieces to feed eight hogs, but it's worth it... Sooo good! Incidentally, "Life Change 08: Operation Chelle Reduction" is on hold until dinner is over (if I have to kill myself cooking it, I get to eat it. Them's the rules, folks, and they are unflinchingly rigid). Michael can sometimes be convinced to do the chicken cutting for good 0l' mom, so maybe I'll luck out and get out of it. Just depends on whether he likes me today or not. If I had to put money on it, I'd say I'll be cutting the chicken.

We're also going to celebrate by taking a day off school and having a house-cleaning party, instead. Since cleaning is an important part of this holiday, I want to be a good mom and help my kids experience it in a culturally significant way (do you think they'll buy it?).

Want to say "Happy New Year" in Chinese? You have a lot of choices...
Xin Nian Kuai Le (Mandarin- pronounced: Shin Knee-Ann Kw-eye= Happy New Year)
Gong Xi Fa Cai (Mandarin-Gong Shee Fah Ts'eye= A pronouncement of blessing... "I wish you to be prosperous," or "Congratulations on being rich")
Gung Hay Fat Choy (Cantonese- Gung Hay Fat Choi= similar blessing of prosperity)
Hey- these remind me a little of the preferred expression of my favorite Trekkie (you know who you are): Live long and prosper! Did you know that phrase did not originate with Spock? It is actually adapted from a Jewish blessing, and Leonard Nimoy is (was???) a Jewish man. Supposedly, he worked it into the script and they kept it. Interesting little bit of Trekkie trivia there, entirely free of charge from your old Aunt Michelle, to share at the next convention. Just one more valuable service I offer.
Gong Xi Gong Xi (Gong Shee Gong Shee= Means "Congratulations," ...I think)
In Vietnamese, the greeting is "Chuc Mung Nam Moi," but don't ask me how to pronounce it...

Keep in mind- if I don't know something, I sometimes just make it up. So there are no actual guarantees that any of the above information is accurate, except for the stuff about the chicken.

P.S. This is the "Year of the Rat" (or mouse), by the way. Just in case that fact was not made obvious by Cartoon Chelle's choice of headgear in the picture at the top, and the rat sitting at her feet... If you were born in 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, or 2008, you are a Rat Baby and this is your year! That means that some of you waiting PAPs may have Rat Babies on the way this year!
Of course, I am a ...

HORSE!

How funny is that? As if my self-esteem needed to take another hit... Geez.

Another VN Article in the Ventura County Star

Paperwork problems in adoption of two Vietnamese orphans bring heartache
A nursery awaits its second occupant
By Rachel McGrath, Correspondent
Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Note the last lines of the article: "Rummery (a California spokeswoman for USCIS) said the U.S. government has always encouraged people adopting abroad to file all their paperwork first and get visa approval before traveling to get their children... 'Whenever you travel first and then file,' she said, 'you take a risk.'"

I had no idea that it was *always* an option to file the visa app. and be approved before travel. I thought this was a new change because of all the recent problems. Were you guys aware that this was always an option in the past?

CNN Video

"Baby in Adoption Limbo"

A U.S. couple has been waiting 7 weeks to obtain a visa for a Vietnamese boy they adopted. CNN's Alina Cho reports.

Worst Vietnam floods in decades kill dozens

Reuters... THANH HOA, Vietnam - More than 50 people were killed or missing after a typhoon, floods and landslides cut power and closed roads in what officials in two Vietnam provinces on Sunday described as some of the worst flooding in decades.

Click here for the full article. I don't know anything about these two provinces, but thought I'd bring it to your attention. Really terrible.

Vietnam Update

We received an email update from our agency today saying one of their directors just returned from Vietnam and they are trying to get approval to work in several other provinces (they are currently licensed in the Thai Binh province). Also, they are still unable to predict wait times at this time, due to the large number of families wanting to adopt from Vietnam compared to the number of available children. The last time I asked, our coordinator said they sent the first dossiers over at the end of April, so it will be interesting to see how long those families wait for their referrals. I'll post when I hear something.