We are sending our documents via FedEx to the Vietnam Consulate today to be authenticated. Our original plan was to send them off last week, but there were a few minor complications along the way, however, they will be headed out today. If you are following our adoption journey, we ask for your prayers at this time as our agency is having some issues getting their official license complete is Tay Ninh, and that is the province where Samantha will be from.
Well, today we are sending our dossier off to the Secretary of State to get it authenticated. It is a good feeling to finally get it off my desk and out of the house! BUT...the real relief will be when we are DTV (dossier to Vietnam). My goal was to be DTV by the end of July, but July has come and gone, so now I am hoping we will have that accomplished by the end of August. I'm also hoping we hear some news on referrals REALLY soon! That would be awesome!
I'm so happy to report that our I171H arrived today! YEAH!!! Now onto the next step!
Thanks to everyone who spread the word about ROBEEZ Heart & Sole donation program! I received my box full yesterday. Thanks Robeez for this generous donation! We can't wait to get to Vietnam and deliver them to Samantha's orphanage! (For info on their donation program, visit www.robeez.com and follow the links to "Heart & Sole."
Friday we found out that our paperwork had arrived at the CIS office and they are working on our I171H. We are hoping that means we will have it in our hands this week. ALSO....our agency is expecting referrals any day now - SO EXCITING!!! I am hoping and praying that Julie & Jenna (#1 & #2 on the referral list) will get the news they have been waiting for and finally put a sweet little face with Lovey & Ella!!! Although we know that this is all in God's timing, we also know that things are starting to move along in the Tay Ninh province and referrals should start coming in!
Ok, the I171H pitty party is over! Chin up.....movin' foward! We now have the documents they've requested and they are certified and on their way to me via FedEx overnight mail. I will FedEx them overnight to CIS tomorrow and our social worker thinks we should have that stinkin I171H by the end of next week - fingers & toes crossed!!! We plan to sit down this weekend and go through all of our documents AGAIN, double & triple check every last one of them and have it ready and waiting for that final piece of paper. Hoping and praying that there will be no more issues with our paperwork so that we can move foward!
Just as the mailman pulled away, I ran to the mailbox (this is routine for me the past few weeks) and to my MAJOR excitment, there was an envelope from USCIS. Overwhelmed with happiness, I ran in the house to take a picture of this beautiful piece of paper to post on this blog, and then came the let down..... one of the documents we submitted was not "good enough" for their likings. SO, now I have the task of getting this document re-done and re-submitted so that I can WAIT again for this stinkin I171H! This disappointment calls for some major retail therapy this weekend!
I came across this picture on a Vietnam Orphan Relief website. As I look at their innocent little faces, my heart aches for the lonliness they express. Although I have peace knowing that I can make the difference in the life of an orphan child, it is heart wrenching knowing how many orphans will never know the love of a family. Please join me in prayer for the orphan children in Vietnam as well as the orphans in every country, including right here in America. They are all God's children, He hears their cry.
Well, I guess it really hasn't been that long since I posted, only a week. It seems like forever, yet I have no important milestones to tell about. No I171H, no more decorating done in her room and I don't think I've even had any "retail therapy" this past week! I am however hoping to have BIG news to post about this coming week. Maybe referrals, maybe an I171H, you never know, but good things are about to happen, I just know it!
Last week I found cute slippers, this week.....even better......lots of Baby Gap jammies, and the best part.....they were on mega clearance! (For all you shopoholics out there who LOVE a great deal, if you go to the Baby Gap store, all their sale items are an additional 25% off, but only for a few days, and not on the online store.)
I heard back about the status of our I171H. Looks like it will be another 2 weeks until it's arrival. :( If nothing else, we will learn patience through this process!!! Today is exactly 2 years that we have lived in our new home in Texas. Those two years have flown by, so hopefully the next two weeks will breeze by also, but only to lead us to our next wait!
I spoke with our social worker who did our home study and she is going to call the Oklahoma City CIS office this afternoon and find out what's going on as there are people who have been waiting 6+ weeks and they were given a 3-4 week time frame (as were we). I was really hoping to get our passports as well as our I171H back this month and be DTV (Dossier To Vietnam) in July. I guess it could still happen. All in God's time, I have to keep reminding myself of that. I just hope this wait doesn't turn out to be anything like the passport drama!!!
Check out Sam's new feeties!!! I just couldn't resist, and clearanced for $6.00, what a deal! Does it get any cuter than this???
We continue to wait (IMPATIENTLY) for that I-171H! Hoping & praying that it will be here by the end of this week. If it's not, our social worker who did our homestudy said she will check on it for us. This is the final document we need to be finished with all of our paperwork and complete our Dossier. I would start stalking the mailman if I thought it would do any good!
For all of you who do not know, we had an addendum written to our homestudy stating that we would accept a child 0-30 months. Originally we requested a child 0-12 months as we were told that toddlers would not be availible. Our agency is now working with a new orphanage that should have toddlers as well as infants. Currently, we are the only family with our agency requesting a toddler, so we could have our referral shortly after submitting our dossier. It is so exciting to think about who she might be, how old she will be and what type of personality she'll have. We just can't wait for her to be a part of our family!
This book was recommended to me by a friend who adopted from Vietnam. It is an excellent book to have for your child as they grow up and are able to learn about their adoption. It is filled with lots of great pictures and is written on a child's level of understanding. You can purchase this book at www.tapestrybooks.com
This special blanket was handmade with love for Samantha by her Granny (my mom). It is just beautiful. All of Granny's babies have had a special blanket made for them. This is something I will treasure forever and save for them when they get older.
This is my other favorite blanket, so far! It is so unbelievably soft and cuddly and I just love little piggies! I think this one will travel with us when we go to Vietnam to bring her home!
Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there! A few thoughts I've had today: This time next year, Charley will be a Daddy for the 5th time! We have been blessed with four amazing children and Charley is such a wonderful Dad to them. I cannot wait to see him touch the life of our "soon to be" little girl from Vietnam. There is something so specail about a father/daughter relationship. I just cannot help but thing about my Dad. I was adopted and I thank God every day for the family He placed me in. Although I was adopted, they are my family, they are my parents and I love them and respect them for all they have been to me growing up, for all that they are to me now and for all that they are to my children. Adoption is such a beautiful thing and I feel so privelaged to be on this adoption journey. My prayer for our little Samantha is that she will feel as loved and wanted as I feel by my parents who welcomed me into their lives & hearts! I love you Mom & Dad!
WE HAVE PASSPORTS!!!!! I think the FedEx man was a little surprised by my enthusiasm, so I explained our situation & he replied, "I've had deliveries for several people doing international adoptions in my 7 years of doing this job, you guys are by far in your own league when it comes to excitement over an envelope!"
Our passports have finally been mailed and we should have them today or tomorrow!!! Now we are just waiting on our I171H approval from CIS! We're getting so close!
Well, I talked to a rep at the passport center and the expedite phone request was granted! Right now that means we will not have to go to New Orleans for the expedite appointment. But the rep did tell me that although the request was granted, that is still not a guarantee. It is scheduled to be delivered by Fedex overnight mail next Monday and we are hoping all will go as scheduled, but we're not cancelling our New Orleans appointment til those passports are in our hands!
Well, if this whole passport thing wasn't crazy enough, it has gotten crazier! The Houston office does NOT have any availible appointments, so I spent another 2 hours on the phone trying to schedule an appointment at a different regional office. Finally, we have an expidite appointment in New Orleans on June 20th @ 9:30 am, so it looks like we will be flying out of Dallas at 6:30 am! We are still keeping our fingers crossed that a miracle will happen on Monday and they will have taken care of it from the request we put in over the phone, but the chances of that happening are very slim. I will post the outcome of all this chaos on Monday evening.
We got our fingerprinting appointment letter in the mail today (10 minutes after I posted on the blog that we were hoping and praying for it to come soon!) OK, so who prayed, becasue that was FAST!!! We go tomorrow morning at 8:00am and we'll be eating breakfast somewhere fancy afterward to celebrate being one step closer to Samantha, YEAH!!!! ***PRAY FOR PASSPORTS!***
Well, In May we accomplished our homestudy, in June we hope to get our passports in hand (which are now officially 2 weeks late) as well as get our fingerprinting appointment for CIS done and be waiting on our last document, THE I171H! Please pray for us that our journey continues to go smoothly. Also, please be praying for two of our "adoption friends" who are also in the big middle of this process - Cheryl & Sylvester, our friends from church who are almost ready to send their dossier to Vietnam, and my "blog buddy," Jenna & her husband Ed who have been waiting on their referral for quite some time now. Hoping and praying for June to be filled with happy news that will bring us steps closer to having our daughters in our arms!!!
I am so happy to report that the final written copy of our homestudy has finally been finished and sent to the CIS office. We hope to receive our fingerprinting appointment soon and then we'll be waiting on CIS to issue our I171H (the final document for our dossier that allows us to bring an orphan into the country). Please pray that this process moves quickly. We are so ready to get our referral, see her picture and find out all about our daughter who waits for us!
We continue to make foward progress, slowly but surely! Patience doesn't come easy to Charley or I, so this adoption process is a learning experience for the both of us in more ways than one! We keep reminding ourselves that this is all in God's timing and that helps us to remember that this will all happen according to His will. Right now we are waiting on our social worker to get us the official written copy of our homestudy to send to CIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services). She has been sick for a few days and is a little behind, so looks like it will be next week sometime. In the meantime, I have lots to keep me busy. Be sure to go and check out our family blog ( www.fieldbunch.blogspot.com ) after the weekend is over. We are going to Six Flags tonight and taking the boys racing on Sunday. I'll be posting pics there of our busy weekend!
One more BIG step behind us on our adoption journey! Yesterday we had our homestudy visit and it went great! The final copy of the study should be ready by Friday or next Monday to send to CIS (the Citizenship and Immigration office) then they will give us a date to get our fingerprinting done, then we should have our I171H (the final document we need for our dossier from CIS) back 3-4 weeks after our fingerprinting. Once we reach that point, we'll be ready and waiting to receive our referral (a packet of information on our daughter that will include pictures, medical info, her DOB, and possible some information about her birth mother - if availible). SO EXCITING!!!
Well, once again we were busy-busy-busy all weekend! Samantha's room is ALMOST finished! I know, I keep promising pictures. SOON! I decided to start a family blog, so check it out at www.fieldbunch.blogspot.com there isn't much on it yet, but Kalee's room is finished and I posted a picture on the family blog. We had some new friends over for dinner Sunday night. They too are adopting from Vietnam and they also go to our church. We had a great time getting to know them and talking about ADOPTION for hours! They are just getting ready to turn in their application this week they too are adopting an infant girl. Samantha will have a little friend!
I thought "real" mean didn't need instructions!!! Well, the crib finally got put together and between Charley and our friend Rich they got the rest of her furniture brought upstairs and set up. I will work on the finishing touches (curtains & decor) this weekend and have the final pictures of her room posted on Sunday.
It's really looking cute & girly! I will also try to get the girls rooms finished up and pictures posted too! As far as the adoption process, our home study is in 3 weeks, and we are waiting on our passports to come back so we can have them ready for our dossier.
Hope everyone had a great
Easter! We spent the weekend in Oklahoma and both mine and Charley's family spent Easter together at my mom & dad's house. It was great to see everyone. Saturday, my parents had a surprise party for my 30th B'Day! That was a lot of fun! We got home this evening (Easter Sunday) and got motivated to work on Sam's room. Here are some "sneak-peak" pics of her room (Charley putting up the chair-rail). We will paint it white tomorrow and hope to have her room finished next weekend. So exciting!
Waiting & paperwork are a big part of the adoption process. Although the paperwork can be overwhelming, waiting is really hard. I wish I had some major updates of our progress, but nothing yet, just ticking away days of the waiting period. (By the way, there are two big waiting periods: one while you're waiting on documents to complete your dossier, and one after you get your referral, which is the picture and info on your child, as you wait for your travel date.) Unfortunately, we are still in the middle of the first waiting period. I think the second waiting period will be easier though as I'll have her sweet picture to look at whenever I want. It will seem so much more real then. Oh, and as far as the bedrooms go, we are moving along well! I will probably end up posting pictures of them soon. We are still finishing the details of Kalee & Kristen's rooms. Charley painted Samantha's room last night, but we still have to put up the chair-rail and get her furniture set up in there. It's going to be so "little girly!"
Sorry, I don't have much of an update at the moment. We planned to have Kalee's room finished over the weekend. We're running a little behind but it's just about done. We are waiting to get the drapes back from being altered. I will post pictures as soon as I get the drapes back and hung. Charley painted Kristen's room last night, but we still have a little more decorating and "moving in" to do before it's finished!
As for the adoption, we are expecting the BIG BOOK titled, "How to Prepare Your Dossier for Vietnam" to arrive Fedex either today or tomorrow. Then we will once again be swamped with more paperwork. I have to say, although it's a ton of paperwork and money, so far it beats morning sickness and labor pain by miles!!!
Well, our homestudy is scheduled for Saturday, May 5th. I was a little bummed at first that it was so far away, but it will take us at least that long to prepare the rest of our documents for our dossier, so everything will work out ok there. OH....and Kalee's room is almost finished. I will post pics soon!
Well, so far we have had a busy weekend! Charley & I had the day off yesterday. We took all four kids to the doctor for well child check-ups (it is mandatory for the adoption that we all have them done) and then we went to the Southlake Post Office and waited in line forever to get our passport applications submitted. Today we went funiture shopping for Kalee & Samantha and we found just what we were looking for! Kalee's furniture will be here on Wednesday. She is changing bedrooms and moving down the hall to what used to be the upstairs computer room. She decided now that's she's a teenager she should have the room farthest from the other "children!" Charley is busy painting her new room (as I type) LIME GREEN!!! Once we get Kalee moved, Kristen will move into Kalee's old room. Bradley & Cody are staying right where they are, but we will be painting their room. Samantha will get Kristen's old room. I can't wait to get it all done. I will post pictures of each room as it's completed.
Well, I don't really have a whole lot to update about today, so I decided to post about a few things that I have thought about today! For one, last night we traded in my mini van for a GMC Yukon XL. It is roomy, pretty & perfect for our growing family! I love it! I just can't wait until I can look back at her in her car seat as I'm driving down the road! The other thing I thought about today was trying to find somewhere that does framed name meanings to hang on the wall in her room. All of our other four children were named simply becasue we liked the name. Well, not only do we both love the name Samantha Grace, the meaning is beautiful. Samantha means "LISTENER OF GOD." What more could we hope for our little girl than to be a listener of God? And the name Grace has many meanings; Ellegance, Mercy and The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. A perfect name for a special little girl. And all that said, we will call her SAM!
Yet another step!!! Last night we signed our names at least a dozen times on the official contract with our agency, Adoptions International Inc. Today Charley took it to the post office and now it's on its way to Jody Hall, our adoption director. The next step is our homestudy. We should have a date for that by next week.
Our application was mailed to our agency on March 5th, received on March 6th and officially approved on March 8th!!! With every little step, we become a little closer to holding our Samantha Grace, and we give God all the glory and thanks for each little step we make in this amazing journey.
Today is a special day for us as we sent our first official papers to the CIS (Citizenship & Immigration Services) office. We filed our I-600A form which will give us our I-171H Letter of Approval (LOA). This allows us to re-enter the United States with our adopted daughter. It should take 2-4 months to recieve our I-171H form from the CIS. Pray that it comes as quickly as possible as this is one of the many documents needed to prepare our dossier. Once our dossier is complete, it will then be translated and sent to Vietnam. We should then shortly receive our referral (a picture & info about Samantha)!
This blog site was created for the family & friends of the Field Bunch to follow along on our journey to bring home Samantha Grace. It is with great joy that we begin this amazing time in our lives. The seed of adopting a little girl was placed in my heart as a very young child and has now grown to a greater understanding that this is God's plan for our family. Please keep us in your prayers as we work through each step of the process, starting with the heaps of paperwork through our trip to Vietnam to bring home the child that God has chosen for us. We have chosen to use Adoptions International Inc for this amazing adventure in our lives. They are a smaller local agency here in Dallas and Jody, the director of the agency is so kind and helpful. We know God has brought us to this agency.
