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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Pending Miscarraige


Yes, that is exactly how this feels. This is a feeling well known to us, "your pregnant, but we are sorry to say you will not keep the baby." Will we have to wait until 9/1? Will our agency give us any hopeful news? If we do get a referral, will the US make such a large case and force a NOID? I know that the only good getting a child at the end of this mess, would be truly knowing as best as possible that the child did qualify as an orphan. I mean come on, the line is drawn in the sand, I do not think the US will make these last 4 months a pleasant process. This is a 3rd world country, birth certificates, personal documents are not centralized like in the US, for that fact some people don't even have birth certificates. So how the heck will they be authenticated? Vietnam creates what it needed to make the adoption happen. If a DNA is ordered, the officials have been quoted as "adoption is a personal matter we will not let our citizens be tested." Where do you go from there?

Not many knew that we were adopting, frankly I told everyone about our other adoptions, however I remember the draining questions, in the grocery, at work, at church, well meaning people but still draining. That's why we kept this a little more low key. With the latest news, there has been fewer people to explain our situation to. Also answering questions about a 9 page government report where Anonymous Vietnam employees discussed Vietnam Orphanage business with US officials. RIGHT! (We will save that topic for another Ranting post) I also have been holding my tongue to several people who's response has been "you should just be happy with what you have", "You should be lucky with your current kids, you really lucked out", "well that's good, you don't want a stolen baby...do you?" I guess if I was stronger, my replies would be more thought out than just a statement of agreement. Remember what I now say....some people do take pleasure in others bad fortune.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

What is needed for a successful adoption in Vietnam


The following ingredients are required for the adoption of a child in Vietnam. Remember if any ingredients are missing or not working together, the entire process is in jeopardy.

1. An ethical Adoption Agency

2. The Family that has a completed Dossier

3. An ethical orphanage

4. The DIA willing to work with the US government & respect for each entity

5. The US government willing to work with the DIA & respect for each entity

6. A very clear set of rules called "Standard of Practice".

7. Hold wrong doers accountable and not penalize the entire group

Monday, April 28, 2008

Check out my Slide Show!

Stop n Smell the Roses




Basically take time out, enjoy life and the surroundings of spring and nature and new life. I will apologize first, my last couple post have been a little graphic regarding bodily functions. This won't be much different so sorry.

So we are coming home from church. I took the back country roads, had on some nice driving music, just taking it slow and enjoying the local farms, trees in bloom and the animals enjoying the new grass. Then we notice about 20 new calf's in the field with the mommies, some are napping, some are nursing. Then around the corner I see one big cow in the back all by herself. I know this means she is getting ready to deliver and by the mooing it sounds like soon. We pull over the car, instruct the kids to stay quiet and we walk up to the fence. My son is more impressed with playing with the dirt roadside, however my daughter looks on with wonder. She knows some of the "birds and the bees" so this was perfect timing. The cow gets up twists around some, continues this for a few more times. This may sound horrid, it turns out we missed the birth, the baby was behind a clump of weeds about 10 feet away, what we were watching was the passing of the "afterbirth" Gross! Did I mar her for life? She still seemed impressed. This probably won't be my last screw up, but at least they will have memories of mom taking time to teach them life and how to observe your surroundings.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Check out my Slide Show!

We will stick this out, "no regrets" right?


Highlights of this week:

Our updated documents are on the way to Vietnam.

We still have a small flicker of hope that we will be ok.

I thought I would never say this. "we got a van"...puke!

I ordered some really neat "stick people" stickers to put on the Van (puke) maybe it will make it look cooler to me. Its of our entire family in sticks, and I did order one for our little baby boy waiting somewhere in Vietnam.

My son did #2 durning naptime all over his carpet, real nice and runny, I had to chop up the carpet and toss it, It was a smeary mess.

The garden is closer to being planted.

I am learning the CVS shopping game, to save money, my sister is teaching me. I just spent .44 cents on laundry detergent. Check out her site for tips My Crazy sister.

Painted the entrance steps to our house.

Our bare patches of grass are starting to fill in.

A dear friend came over with homemade rice pudding for me. (now I am going to cry)

I just can't stand this termoil, I want to wait in happiness and peace. I never thought this process would feel like we were begging for a child. I truly feel the most sorrow for first time families, specially those that have endured inferility, stay strong, if you made it this far, something will happen good for you.

Hold on tight we are in for one HELL of a ride!

Adopted Children Immigrant Visa Unit
Warning Concerning Adoptions in Vietnam
April 2008

The Department of State continues to urge prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers not to initiate new adoptions from Vietnam at this time. The 2005 Memorandum of Agreement, required by Vietnamese law to authorize adoptions between the United States and Vietnam, expires on September 1, 2008. In addition, recent field investigations have revealed incidents of serious adoption irregularities, including forged or altered documentation, mothers paid, coerced or tricked into releasing their children, and children offered for adoption without the knowledge or consent of their birth parents.

The United States is strongly committed to processing legitimate intercountry adoptions from Vietnam if possible. Our primary concern is to ensure that the children and families involved in the adoption process are protected from exploitation. The Government of Vietnam shares this concern. Both countries acknowledge that more needs to be done to address deficiencies in the current system.

On April 25, the Government of Vietnam announced that it will allow adoption to be completed in cases where prospective adoptive parents have been matched with a child and received an official referral prior to September 1, 2008. It further stated that in accordance with Vietnamese law, the DIA will suspend the acceptance of new dossiers on July 1, 2008. On September 1, 2008 any dossier that has not received a referral will be closed and returned to the Adoption Service Provider. In view of the processing time required in Vietnam from placement to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony, an adoption process begun now cannot be completed before the current Agreement expires.

Prospective adoptive parents should be aware that documents relating to adoptions in Vietnam, such as birth certificates, abandonment reports, relinquishment agreements, and investigative reports are generally issued by orphanage directors, local People’s Committees, Provincial Departments and the Department for International Adoptions (DIA). The facts asserted in these documents are not verified by the issuing officials. Attempts by U.S. officials to verify the accuracy of these documents have routinely uncovered evidence of fraudulent or inaccurate information. Therefore, documents issued by the authorities listed above, and any other documents containing information not verified by the issuing authority, cannot be considered adequate evidence of the facts claimed. They may be used in conjunction with primary and contemporaneous secondary evidence, or must be independently verified by U.S. officials in Vietnam, before they can be considered valid for immigration purposes. (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciprocity/reciprocity_3705.html)

Consular officers have routinely completed field verifications of orphan status in over 35 provinces in Vietnam. However, in some cases, Vietnamese officials have prevented the U.S. Government from conducting independent field inquiries into the status of children identified in I-600 petitions. Embassy outreach, as well as support from adoption agency officials, have thus far allowed independent investigations to resume in some areas that were previously impeded. We continue robust efforts to resolve this issue. Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict when we can complete the field inquiries in areas which are still closed to our staff.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and the Department of State have instituted procedures to verify that children identified for placement meet the requirements of Vietnamese and U.S. law, before the child has been adopted under Vietnamese law. Information about these procedures is available from USCIS or through their website http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis. The Embassy strongly advises prospective adoptive parents not to travel to Vietnam until they have received notification from the Embassy that their case is ready for final processing and travel is appropriate. Parents should contact the Embassy immediately if anyone, including their adoption service provider, encourages them to travel to Vietnam prior to receiving this notification. The Embassy can work together with adoption service providers, Vietnam’s Department of International Adoptions, and local authorities to resolve issues such as the scheduling of a Giving and Receiving Ceremony.

SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT/UPDATE

Adopted Children Immigrant Visa Unit
Summary of Irregularities in Adoptions in Vietnam
On October 25, 2007 in response to “growing concerns about irregularities in the methods used to identify children for adoption in Vietnam and the resulting difficulties in classifying those children as orphans,” USCIS required that I-600 petitions be filed in Ho Chi Minh City, with the processing of these petitions to be completed before prospective adoptive parents travel to Vietnam. These procedures enable USCIS to determine whether a child qualifies as an orphan, as defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act. In the six months since this program was instituted, US officials in Vietnam have investigated over 300 I-600 petitions. This report presents a summary of our findings.


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Country Fraud Profile
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Vietnam is considered to be a high risk country for immigration fraud according to the Department of State. Fraudulent documents are routinely submitted by Vietnamese applicants in both non-immigrant and immigrant visa applications. These include both documents that have been fabricated outright and official documents issued improperly or based on incorrect information. Birth certificates, household registry documents, and marriage certificates can easily be purchased from corrupt local government officials or brokers. Marriage fraud, in order to obtain immigration benefits, is common and has resulted in multiple arrests in the United States.

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Adoption Legislation and Administrative Structure
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Intercountry adoption in Vietnam is regulated by two decrees: Decree 68/2002 and Decree 69/2006. These decrees divide responsibility for adoption between the Department of International Adoption (DIA) in the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) at the national level. Most of the actual administration of adoptions, however, is handled at the provincial or district level, with minimal oversight from DIA or MOLISA. For example, the matching of children and adoptive parents is the responsibility of the district-level Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. In many cases this authority is delegated to the orphanage director. If DIA feels that a child is not eligible for intercountry adoption, they can request the office that made the match review the file, but they cannot block the match or prevent the completion of a full and final adoption.

The definition of an adoptable orphan is provided in Decree 68/2002 Article 44, which states that a child cannot be released for adoption without "the written voluntary agreement of the father and/or mother of that child." The decree lists only three exceptions to this rule. The first is if both parents are deceased; the second is if the child "has been abandoned or left at a medical establishment;" and the third is if "the child's parents have lost their civil act capacity" [sic]. Decree 69/2006 clarifies that the orphanage or People's Committee must prove that a child is covered by one of these exceptions. Otherwise, a child is still considered to be under his parents' custody, whose consent is required prior to any adoption being authorized. Decree 68/2002 and Decree 69/2006 also establish that in the case of a child who has been abandoned or left at a medical facility, a 30 day search must be made for the birth parents, and in all cases a separate 30 day search must be made for domestic adoptive parents. These searches are conducted by the orphanage or local People's Committee.

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Financial links between ASPs and Orphanages
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Vietnamese law requires that an Adoption Service Provider (ASP) sign a donation agreement with an orphanage before the ASP can arrange adoptions from the orphanage. These agreements are generally not released to the public. Several orphanage directors have told the Embassy that they actively bargain with multiple ASPs, and choose to work with the ASP that offers the highest donation per child referred. While these donations can be a mechanism to assist in the care of the children at the orphanage, they can also have a distorting effect on the adoption system.

Orphanage directors in four provinces have reported to the Embassy that there is a strong financial incentive to maximize the number of children available for foreign adoption in their centers. The donation provided per child (available for intercountry adoption) can be up to 10 times the standard government funding. Hospital and social workers have reported that orphanage directors offer them financial incentives for each child sent to their orphanage.

As a result of the autonomy given to orphanage directors by MOLISA, individual orphanage directors, in conjunction with representatives of their sponsoring ASP, have broad latitude in determining how donations will be made, what the amount will be, and whether applications from prospective domestic adoptive parents will be processed. For example, one orphanage, which is entirely funded by an American ASP, submits expense reports and receipts to the ASP on a monthly basis. The ASP then transfers funds to reimburse the orphanage for its expenses. The number of infants in this orphanage has remained steady for the past three years. The orphanage is clean, well stocked with medicine and has an RN on duty. This orphanage prioritizes reuniting children with their biological parents, and processes equal numbers of domestic and intercountry adoptions. By contrast, another orphanage receives a fixed monthly donation for each child in the orphanage who is available for international adoption and the payment is made in cash directly to the orphanage director. This orphanage has seen the number of infants in its care increase by over 2000% in the past year, but it has not made significant increases in staff and does not have an RN.

According to DIA, orphanages are required to refer one child for foreign adoption for every x dollars donated by the ASP. Thus, if the ASP funds a $10,000 project and the per-child donation is set at $1000 per child, then the orphanage would be required to refer 10 children for intercountry adoption to the ASP. Should the orphanage not have 10 children who are qualified for intercountry adoption, then, according to DIA, the orphanage director is required to find the additional children to complete his side of the agreement. Two orphanage directors have confirmed to consular officers that they are feeling pressure to find more children for their orphanage to "compensate" ASPs for their donations.

Another effect of the donation system is that it can reduce the protections that Vietnamese law grants to birth parents, such as the required 30 day search for birth parents and/or domestic adoptive parents as described above. Since, in most cases, the ASP has a close relationship with the orphanage, the ASP representative may be informed as soon as a potentially adoptable child enters the orphanage. This can result in the issuance of a "soft referral," where adopting parents are notified that they have been matched with a child before the completion of the two consecutive 30 day search periods. The DIA has stated that such pre-referrals are illegal. Nonetheless, in over 40 documented cases, DIA has taken no action to punish or prevent the issuance of soft referrals, noting that all they can do is to inform provincial or district officials of the law and request their compliance.

Local officials throughout Vietnam have reported that they have never received any calls in response to ads run seeking the birth parents of a deserted child. In fact, officials at the Ministry of Justice acknowledge that such advertisements are ineffective as many families in these provinces have no access to TV or radio and are often illiterate. Vietnamese social workers also note that if a child is abandoned, the birth family is most likely to reclaim the child 3-6 months after the abandonment. However, the ads are run only one week after the abandonment, further decreasing their effectiveness. Further, provincial officials have stated that the advertisements are made in a manner that significantly decreases the likelihood that they will be heard or seen by the birth families. Investigations by the Embassy have also confirmed that the ads are not effective. In 6 cases where investigations by the Embassy have located the birth family of allegedly deserted children, the birth families said that they never heard or saw any ads seeking the parents of the child.

Orphanage directors in two provinces have confirmed to the Embassy that while they receive applications from families interested in domestic adoption, they do not process these applications. They have said that the reason these applications are not processed is that their orphanage will receive a donation from an ASP if the baby is adopted internationally, but not if the child is adopted domestically. One orphanage director stated that he would need "permission" from the ASP funding his orphanage in order to release a child for domestic adoption, noting that the monthly support payments the ASP made for the children gave the ASP the "authority" to decide the child's future.

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Types of Adoption Cases
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Under US Immigration law, children can be adopted if they are orphans due to the whereabouts of their birth parents being unknown (desertion) or if one or both birth parents have permanently relinquished custody of their child to the orphanage, (termed "abandonment" by US Immigration law, but commonly referred to as relinquishment). Prior to the suspension of adoption in 2002, 80% of cases were relinquishments, and 20% were abandonments. Since the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) went into effect in 2005, those figures have flipped with over 85% of the cases involving desertions. Orphanages not involved in intercountry adoption, however, have reported to the Embassy that they have not seen any increase in the number of deserted children, and the vast majority of children in these facilities are children in care . Post has received multiple, credible reports from orphanage officials that facilitators are deliberately staging fraudulent desertions to conceal the identity of the birth parents.

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Relinquishments
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Cases where one or both birth parents have permanently relinquished their child to an orphanage account for 15% of cases filed under the Orphan First program. 75% of birth parents who were interviewed by a consular officer stated that in addition to payments for food, medical care and administrative expenses, they received payment from the orphanage in exchange for placing their child in the orphanage. On average this payment was six million Vietnamese Dong, which is the equivalent of 11 months salary at minimum wage in Vietnam. Many of these families cited these payments as the primary reason for placing their child in an orphanage. The majority of these parents also state that they had not considered placing their child in an orphanage until a health care worker or orphanage official suggested to them that they should do so and informed them that they would receive a payment for doing so. Many of these parents also report that orphanage officials told them that the child will visit home frequently, will return home after they reach a certain age (often 11 or 12), or will send remittance payments from the United States. In these cases, the majority of birth parents have said they do not consent to the adoption if any of these conditions are not kept.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has stated that the payments to birth parents described above are unauthorized and not funded by government sources. The Ministry of Justice has likewise confirmed that such payments are illegal under Vietnamese law. MOLISA has stated, however, that there are absolutely no regulations on how orphanage directors can spend the money given to them by ASPs and that orphanage directors can give this money to anyone they wish, as long as the recipient did not have to take any action, such as relinquishing a child, in order to receive the donation. Accordingly, while MOLISA can confirm that the reported payments from orphanage officials to biological parents must have come from ASP funds, they do not have the ability to take action or to investigate reports of child buying.

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Desertions
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Throughout Vietnam, officials at orphanages connected with intercountry adoptions report a sharp increase in the number of deserted children has since 2005, the year that the adoption agreement with the United States was signed. Orphanages in 7 provinces report a 17 fold or greater increase in desertions. Officials at orphanages not connected with intercountry adoption, however, have not seen an increase in desertions. A statistical review of child desertions reveals a series of facilities that have an unexplained high rate of child desertions.

Provincial records also document an unusual pattern of "desertion pockets." For example, in one province in 2007 there were 77 cases of child desertion. Of these, 76 occurred at one particular orphanage. The director of this orphanage told the Embassy that before he signed an agreement with an ASP, the orphanage was home to 10 children, most of whom had been relinquished. By January 2007, the orphanage was home to 23 children, of whom fifty percent had been deserted. By January 2008, the orphanage was home to 70 infants, with over 90% of them having been deserted. The orphanage director attributed the growth in the number of children and the number of desertions to the fact that the orphanage was receiving funds from the American ASP. He also stated that the orphanage had hired contract employees to find children between zero and six years of age whose families were in a particularly difficult situation and encourage the families to put their children in the orphanage. The orphanage guards also confirmed that desertions were extremely rare before 2006, but now they “find” five infants per month on average.

In other cases, individuals report finding children in a field or by the side of the road. Often the individual who purportedly found the child (child finder) is a police officer, a village official or a member of their immediate family. These individuals are often related to the orphanage director or the local official who approves adoptions. Embassy investigations have shown that many of these reports are fraudulent. These include cases in which those individuals, who only months or weeks before had signed statements claiming to have found a deserted child, told consular officers that they had never in their lives found a deserted child. In one case, the child finder could not remember finding a child, even though the purported event had happened the day before. In another case, the child finder stated that the police told her if she did not sign a fraudulent statement claiming that she had found a child in 2007, they would arrest her for kidnapping in connection with a child finder statement that she signed in 2006.

In over 10 cases, Embassy investigations have discovered the identity of the birth mother in cases where a child was purportedly deserted. In all of these cases, the birth mother was known to orphanage or hospital officials, but these institutions fraudulently document the case as a desertion. In some cases, this was to conceal payments to the birth family. In others, children were declared to be deserted with unknown parents after the birth parents failed to pay outstanding hospital bills.

In one of these cases, the official Vietnamese documentation the child was born at Hospital X and then the birth mother left the hospital and was untraceable. An Embassy investigation showed that the child was born by C-section at a different hospital. The child was pre-mature and had significant respiratory problems and thus was transferred to Hospital X. Based on information from the hospital director, the Embassy located and interviewed the birth mother, who stated that she had visited her son at the hospital several times, but that the hospital director would not let her hold the child until she paid a 12 million Vietnam Dong hospital bill. She stated that she applied to have the bill reduced due to her low income, but the director refused to consider the application. Additionally, she stated that she had been told that her child would require lifelong treatment for water on the brain and that, as a result, her son had been transferred to Orphanage Y for care. She was shocked to hear that the medical report from the U.S. panel physician stated that the child was healthy. After considerable pressure from the U.S. Mission, this adoption was canceled and the child is now back with his birth parents.

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Unlicensed Facilities
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In five provinces, the Embassy has discovered unlicensed, unregulated facilities that provide free room and board to pregnant women in return for their commitment to relinquish their children upon birth. None of these facilities openly advertises its services. Women learn of the facilities existence solely by word of mouth. While the facilities are open and the women are free to come and go as they please, they incur a debt for each night that they stay that they have to pay if they do not relinquish their child. Recent Vietnamese media reports of such facilities have revealed that women often live in squalor and in many cases are forced to labor during their stay. In several of these facilities, there is a policy that the birth mother cannot see her child after delivery, in order to prevent bonding. Women in these facilities report receiving up to 6 million Vietnam Dong as payment for their children. While the source of funding for these facilities is unclear, they appear to have close connections with nearby orphanages.

When the Embassy visited these facilities, we saw up to 20 women living in a single home. These women reported that orphanage officials came to the house in order to have them sign paperwork relinquishing their children. The women would then receive the promised payments. Often, the child is then taken to a nearby hospital or orphanage where a second set of paperwork is produced stating that the child was deserted. This is the paperwork that is submitted to the DIA and to the Embassy to support the claim that the child is an orphan.

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Vietnamese Documents - Issuance Procedures
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Documents relating to adoptions in Vietnam, such as birth certificates, abandonment reports, relinquishment agreements, and investigative reports are generally issued by orphanage directors, local People’s Committees, Provincial Departments and the Department for International Adoptions (DIA). The facts asserted in these documents are not verified by the issuing officials. Attempts by U.S. officials to verify the accuracy of these documents have routinely uncovered evidence of fraudulent or inaccurate information. Therefore, all documents issued by the authorities listed above and any other documents containing information not verified by the issuing authority cannot be considered adequate evidence of the facts claimed and, at best, may be used in conjunction with primary and contemporaneous secondary evidence or must be must be independently verified by U.S. officials in Vietnam before they can be considered valid for immigration purposes.

In cases involving the desertion of a child, local officials usually issue birth certificates and reports of abandonment at the request of orphanage or hospital officials without speaking to the individuals involved. For example, the People's Committee in one southern province told the Embassy that they issue whatever documents a local midwife requests without verifying the accuracy of the statements. This is done to "help her with her business with the orphanage." In a different province, village officials issued an official statement that a birth mother was single, even though their own registry book showed she was married and had four children. Further, MOLISA has confirmed that for deserted children a birth certificate can be issued showing the date and time of desertion as the date and time of birth and listing the birth parents as unknown, even if the true facts have been previously recorded in official documents.

The Embassy has received credible reports that some ASPs pay $10,000 per referred child to local facilitators. According to one of these facilitators, a significant portion of this money goes to the orphanage director, who is responsible for finding children. The facilitator and orphanage director then work together to create a false advertisement claiming that the child was abandoned, regardless of the child's true origins. This ad is then used to obtain the necessary paperwork from local officials and DIA. The facilitator noted that as long as the right fee is paid, no one tries to verify the facts of the case, and the documents are issued with no questions asked.

Fraudulent police reports have also been submitted to the Embassy in connection with adoption cases. For example, in one adoption case the original file stated that the birth mother was unknown. However, hospital records revealed the mother's name and address. When the Embassy requested an explanation as to why DIA approved the adoption case without a police search for the biological mother as required by Vietnamese law, DIA blamed the omission of the birthmother search report on the village police and provided a document dated March 21, 2007, stating that a police check had been done and they could not find the birth mother. However, the police officer who purportedly did the check stated he had not actually done a physical search, and that the date on the document was inaccurate. He stated that "about 20 days ago" the police chief in another village visited his office with a prepared backdated report about the search and asked him to sign, which he did.

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Vietnamese Documents - Verification Procedures
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Once a child has been matched with a prospective adoptive parent, the provincial level Department of Justice conducts a review of the file to ensure that it contains the proper documents required by Vietnamese law. According to provincial Department of Justice officials, the review consists of physically verifying that the child is in the orphanage and verifying that each required document is signed, sealed and in the file. There is no requirement to verify the accuracy of the information contained in the file. Further, there is no requirement to verify that a birth parent intended to relinquish their child or to verify the circumstances of a child's desertion. According to DIA, even if this review were to uncover any discrepancies, DIA and provincial Department of Justice officials are prohibited from conducting an independent review of the facts or speaking directly with the witnesses in the case. Instead, they are required by Article 45 of Decree 68/2002 to return the case to the official who prepared the original report. If this individual recertifies that his original report is correct, then the case is allowed to proceed.

DIA's explicit position is that, as long as the appropriate papers have been signed by the correct officials, DIA will certify that the adoption complies with Vietnamese law. DIA has stated that it does not actually have the authority to declare an adoption illegal, revoke a Giving and Receiving Ceremony, or cancel a referral. The lack of verification and accountability regulations in Vietnamese adoption law creates a situation where an unscrupulous orphanage director or local official who fabricates a "desertion" or "relinquishment” is also only that official who can investigate the alleged fraud in the case.

A provincial Department of Justice official told the Embassy of cases where under Vietnamese law children had been matched with adopting families and the cases were referred to her office for verification. In one case, hospital records stated that the birth mother had registered at the hospital under an assumed name and then died shortly after the birth. The child was listed as deserted. However, the DOJ official found a reference in the hospital file that the woman's family had come to the hospital to claim her body. As a result the official contacted the family, who stated that the hospital had transferred the child to the orphanage without their consent and that the orphanage had denied them visitation rights. The family has now been reunited with the child, who is being raised by his maternal grandparents. However, the official noted that under Vietnamese law no one had technically done anything wrong in separating this child from his family. Only her personal interest in the case and her ability to persuade other local officials to do the right thing prevented this child from being permanently separated from his family.

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Reports of Corruption in Adoption System
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The Embassy has received credible reports from current and former employees of ASPs working in Vietnam regarding corruption in the adoption system, beginning with the licensing procedures. Several ASPs have reported that they were told they had to fund tours to the United States for DIA and other government officials in order to receive their licenses. According to ASP employees, these tours included shopping sprees, where ASP employees were expected to pay for all of the purchases of the Vietnamese delegation. Others have reported being asked to pay bribes in order to obtain provincial licenses.

In addition, statements from adopting parents and ASP employees show that many ASPs ask adopting parents to pay cash donations to orphanage directors and staff. These payments are illegal according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice, but the Ministry acknowledges that they are widespread and that they are a key factor in the irregularities seen in the adoption system in Vietnam. Further, ASPs have reported that cash and in-kind donations have been diverted by orphanage officials and used to finance personal property, private cars, jewelry and, in one case, a commercial real estate development.

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Official Response to Reports of Irregularities
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DIA has acknowledged that when it receives reports from the Embassy regarding fraud in adoption cases, they meet with the ASP or local facilitators to develop a strategy to refute the Embassy's evidence. Frequently this consists of a second investigation where child-finders are notified in advance that they will be re-interviewed in front of the People's Committee. When they arrive they are reminded that they can be punished for having previously made false statements to the People’ Committee. In other cases, birth mothers from rural provinces who had told the Embassy they did not agree to relinquish their children were summoned to Hanoi at their own expense and ordered to appear before DIA to sign new relinquishment papers. Under this pressure, child-finders and birth mothers have recanted the statements they had made to consular officials.


The Embassy has informed the DIA of cases of potential fraud and illegal activity. However, the DIA has acknowledged that it has not taken any action, criminal or administrative, against any individual or organization for any violation of Vietnamese law or regulation concerning adoption. They have also stated that they have taken no action to address concerns or allegations of wrongdoing submitted to them by individuals, ASPs or the U.S. Embassy. Instead, DIA has stated that it is in the "humanitarian" interest of the Government of Vietnam to ensure that every proposed adoption is completed as quickly as possible. They note that the ASPs have made a donation for the child, and thus, even if they had the authority to revoke a referral or an adoption, they would not do so because they could not break their contract with the ASP.




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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The Day Before Thursday


Yes, Thursdays is my goal each week, get to Thursday and hopefully the update will be good. Most times its a huge let down. As most we are on the edge of our seats regarding the status of adoptions in Vietnam. Rumors of deadlines, DNA memo with no clear direction or public notice yet. Families that wish to wait in peace are now waiting with uncertainty and sometimes panic. Financial strain for those that have managed to keep it together so far. What once was a 6-9mth wait is now creeping up to excess of 2years. My sister followed lead of a fellow blogger and posted a St. Joseph photo on a condo she has been desperate to sell. In the last two days she has had some serious inquiries. Lets hope a deal comes together for her. So for this post we will learn about the Catholic Saint that "Keeps Watch" over the orphans. It only seems fitting for the state that we are currently in. So enjoy the following.

St. Jerome Emiliani

(1481?-1537)

A careless and irreligious soldier for the city-state of Venice, Jerome was captured in a skirmish at an outpost town and chained in a dungeon. In prison Jerome had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned how to pray. When he escaped, he returned to Venice where he took charge of the education of his nephews—and began his own studies for the priesthood.

In the years after his ordination, events again called Jerome to a decision and a new lifestyle. Plague and famine swept northern Italy. Jerome began caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense. While serving the sick and the poor, he soon resolved to devote himself and his property solely to others, particularly to abandoned children. He founded three orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes and a hospital.

Around 1532 Jerome and two other priests established a congregation dedicated to the care of orphans and the education of youth. Jerome died in 1537 from a disease he caught while tending the sick. He was canonized in 1767. In 1928 Pius Xl named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children.

Comment:

Very often in our lives it seems to take some kind of “imprisonment” to free us from the shackles of our self-centeredness. When we’re “caught” in some situation we don’t want to be in, we finally come to know the liberating power of Another. Only then can we become another for “the imprisoned” and “the orphaned” all around us.

Quote:
“‘The father of orphans and the defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. God gives a home to the forsaken; he leads forth prisoners to prosperity; only rebels remain in the parched land’ (Psalm 68).... We should not forget the growing number of persons who are often abandoned by their families and by the community: the old, orphans, the sick and all kinds of people who are rejected…. We must be prepared to take on new functions and new duties in every sector of human activity and especially in the sector of world society, if justice is really to be put into practice. Our action is to be directed above all at those men and nations which, because of various forms of oppression and because of the present character of our society, are silent, indeed voiceless, victims of injustice” (Justice in the World, 1971 World Synod of Bishops).

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Happy Earth Day!


A wonderful tip for living a Green Day....

Take one bottle of Green Food Coloring add 1/2 cup vinegar to a nice warm bath...dim the lights and have a relaxing soak.

Anyway at least I thought it was funny! Seriously, I have many going green tips, but recently heard of a real neat one: Bring your own cup to your coffee/coco place and instead of one time use and toss of the foam or cardboard cup into a land fill, use your own. How cool is that? If you have any neat ideas please share. Have a great night.

Monday, April 21, 2008

My sister is so funny!



She is leaving crazy coments on my site! Just read what she said under my Bambi story. Ok now that you had a good laugh, here are things my sister is good at, buying and wearing makeup, wonderful with the computer, making you laugh, loosing and gaing lbs with a sneeze, scaming CVS for all the freebies & stocking her shelfs like a store, makes wonderful banana pudding, does not embarrass easily, if encouraged will act crazy even more to get the laughs, she will rent a haloween costume just to look the hottest in the entire group! (see photo rented "wench outfit") & her avitar.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Battle with Bambi


The kids and I put in about 7 hours today prepping the garden, picking rocks and pulling out dead plants. We have 6 huge piles that have to be burned where they sit. Then plow the plot, de-rock again and plant! We love seeing the rewards of our efforts and talking about what we are going to grow. However....it is very defeating when the plants come up about one inch to only wake up to deer tracks and chewed up plants down each row. I think the deer spy on us durning the day making their plans for a midnight feast. Last year the first three rows of corn took quite a beating. This year I am more prepared for battle. First I will stake long sticks around the premise and string fishing line, from the line we will clip dryer sheets, then purchase a spray bottle and after rains we will re-spray the sheets. The apple farmers do this process to protect the new trees. It seems like the deer do not like the perfume smell. Other methods include grating Irish Spring soap around plants, or even human urine around the boarder of the garden. Urine around the garden is a great task for my potty trained 3yr old, so that will be our second defense! I am open to other suggestions, just remember I am not looking to spend tons of money on a cure.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Our documents have arrived safely


Well, the UPS site has confirmed that our 3 updated documents have arrived at the Vietnam Embassy in Washington. So I figure it will take them about 10 days to review, attach the seals and send onto our agency. However I will still check the tracking numbers each day. Because THATS HOW I AM!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Chemical Safe Child products?


I never realized that the sippy cups we were using were leaching toxic chemicals into our child's drinks. I mean come-on! I am smart enough to know not to microwave plastic bottles or sippy-cups, and I never reheat food on plastic, or for that fact even cover my food in the microwave with plastic wrap. But last winter the news first stared reporting that cancer causing chemicals in cheaper plastic would transfer into the liquid. The news said the grades of plastic, I only remember that a #2 on the bottom of the cups were acceptable. So you guessed it, the same night I threw away about 80% of our cups, and these were the major player names, Playtex, Gerber ect.. So we are basically down to two cups! That's right, I know our kids should really be done with them, but man they are so handy. I also still love getting cozy with the kids and rock them while they are drinking. So my new mission is to find a product that I trust and feel good about using. My mind is thinking about Glass baby bottles and toxic-free sippy cups. I am currently reading the website Nuturepure.com they have some pretty good products and the information makes sense to me. **Here is a news article below. Let me know what you think.

Watchdog Group Sounds Alarm About Plastic Baby BottlesTuesday, February 27, 2007 | 5:51 PMBy Denise DadorFebruary 27, 2007 -- Environment California's top five baby bottle offenders are the clear, hard plastic ones sold by Gerber, Playtex, AVENT, Dr. Brown's and Evenflo.
"Every one of those five brands of baby bottle leached a toxic chemical called Bisphenol A into the liquids inside the bottle," Lara Tabor, of Environment California, said.
The group used independent labs and found the chemical Bisphenol A leached more into liquids whenever a bottle was heated or washed with harsh detergents.
"Bisphenol A has been linked to cancer, obesity, diabetes and a lot of other serious problems," Tabor said.
Story continues belowAdvertisementThe group also claims excessive exposure to Bisphenol A can lead to hyperactivity, impaired learning and impaired immune function.
"Well it's pretty troubling to think that you'd be giving your baby toxic chemicals," Arthur Egeli, a father, said.
Bottle makers maintain all their plastics are FDA approved and recognized as safe for food contact.
"Philips AVENT bottles are manufactured using polycarbonate plastic ... manufacturers of consumer products and medical devices choose to use polycarbonate because it prevents cracking, shattering and other hazards that can lead to injuries," the company said in a statement.
"Gerber's manufacturing practices comply with the regulations established by the FDA and it believes these products are safe for us as intended," Gerber Products Company said in a statement.
And Platex says "many scientific studies have provided evidence that the potential exposure to BPA from sources such as plastic food contact containers is minimal and poses no known risk to human health."
Besides baby bottles, Bisphenol A can be found in a wide variety of consumer products including eye glasses, reusable water bottles and microwaveable food containers. However, Environment California says baby products should be the first to be regulated.
And while some parents agree - "I think that's the role of the state to regulate such things and I hope they would do something like that," Melinda Pearson, a mother, said.
Some parents say they're not worried.
"I really haven't seen any effects, any negative side effects from all the mothers that I have known who have used these bottles," Leann Alexander, a mother, said.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Short break ...but not really!


We just came home from a wonderful visit with friends that traveled to China in our same group. We see each other maybe 2 or 3 times a year. It was nice just getting away, don't get me wrong still tons of work and returning home is still work. You should know the cycle. If anything my head was somewhat cleared of constant "email" panic and needing to read and search for any news. I did cave in on Monday night about 11pm, huge mistake, got myself all worked up over a "rumor posts" that I did not have any control over anyway. But I should known better. Anyway that post took my sleep away, took my attention way from the good time I was having and panicked me. I was quite surprised when my CHI rep returned a reply to my email, I would of been happy with a next day reply. It did easy some of my worries. All I can say is, anyone that is currently doing a Vietnam adoption "you deserve tons of credit!" This entire experience has torn at every nerve, made me guess our choices and really grounded us down. Some days the feeling is so defeated, we are considering ourselves the lucky ones, we have hung in there (so far) and look forward to our weekly updates. But it's like holding our breath each week waiting for someone to say, its all over. I will post a few photos from our trip.

Friday, April 11, 2008

No More Baby Seat!


Thursday, April 10, 2008

What does Brown deliver for You?


Each time I hear that commercial I think "yes they deliver adoption documents, referral photos, Visas and passports". Would that not be a cool commercial. I am sure many of you have seen the surprised drivers getting hugged, photographed and totally caught off guard by moms running to the truck even before he the driver gets his feet to the driveway. Well today we ran to meet the UPS driver in our driveway, he delivered our brand new car seats. I can't wait to see them installed and the old ones out.

We are currently waiting for our 3 documents to return from the Sec of State, they should be here VIA- UPS tomorrow by 10:30, at least that's what I am told. (I have the tracking numbers memorized.) If so, I have the Money Order and cover letter and address ready to send right back out to the Vietnam Embassy. If I can get this out Friday, it will be at the Embassy first thing Mon am, I love Monday deliveries, I feel it saves an entire work week of processing and waiting. We can not afford "The Ast Stork" so we will chance our luck a second time. I will include a pre-paid envelope for the Embassy to forward directly to my agency, why pay to get it sent back to me yet again?

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Hello My Name is:


Boy what a personal choice, naming your child. In most cases you choose your child's name because its one you have been thinking about for years, you place your hopes, dreams and family honor in naming your kids. An even more complicated decision when naming an adopted child. Do you keep the their birth name? Did the birth family name the baby? Was it an orphanage name? (like baby #24 with mark on face) & yes some are named this way. What does the name translate to? Is it easy to pronounce? Will they be picked on in school? Will the name give them success in later years? Imagine if Oprah's name was Mable. Would she still be successful? Will it be a name easy to pronounce in the business world? Look good on a business card or will people struggle pronouncing it? Or all together just not say it in fear of saying it wrong.


In both of our prior adoptions we totally changed the names. Our daughters Chinese name did not translate to anything that gave honor to her. So we had a family member (whom is Chinese) help us pick a new Chinese name. Her new middle name is Mei Fei (May-Fay)which means beautiful and intelligent. A Chinese name keeps her link to her heritage. Our sons name translated also very plain and nothing special. His new Chinese name is En-Lai (in-lie) which is after a great ruler in China : Chu-En-Lai, he was very good to the Chinese people. So our son has a name after a great leader. He should be very proud of this later in life.


Now onto the American names. While I love trendy names and have fallen in love with many. I still have the opinion that naming your child, specially and adopted child ; the name should place your child on the family tree with a family name that links them there. This also announces to the child that they are included in our family history and demonstrates this to other family members. Our daughter was named after my middle name, which is also the name of another family member whom is also Chinese. Her American middle name is my husbands middle name. Our daughter truly loves hearing about how she was named after each of us. Our sons first name is my husbands name,and a version of his fathers Spanish name. His middle American name is after my deceased father.


Now for our 3rd and probably last child (you never know) he will also have a family name. It will be James, my grandpa was a James, my father was a James and my brother is a James. My brother had first dibs on using James, but he used it as a middle name for his middle child. So we will claim it as a first name for our 3rd child! His middle American name will be Carmen after my husbands late mother. We were saving this name for a girl, thinking that our current son would be a daughter but China surprised us! (there was 2 boys out of 59 babies referred that month). A great suprise for thinking we were expecting a girl. I had to sit down. Well anyway I hope this post has given you food for thought. Got to go check all my chat rooms. Peace for now.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Well I did it! Finally



We visited family this past Easter and my Sister in Law who is the "Official Car Seat Family Inspector" OCSFI, put us on notice that our daughter has outgrown her car seat. Her head is over the top of the back seat and shoulder strap a little cutting, our son starting to hunch with the straps on the highest setting. Where does the time go? We paid dearly on the existing ones, figure it out, two cars, four car seats, Two Kids. (Most would say why 4? just move them from car to car. Believe me once they are in, they stay in. If installed properly it should take an act of GOD to move them.) I sort of knew we needed upgrading but kept on waiting for that extra chunk of money that was always due to me. So this am, got online and researched some. Kinda knew what I wanted, I remember seeing a very sad YouTube video about a mom who regretted not having a proper car seat, so that stuck in my head for years. I will post it later. Our first set was the Triumphs highly rated still today, holds up to 60lbs. Great for rear facing. We got a good 3yrs out of them. Our new baby will still use them. The new ones BRITAX REGENT will hold age one yr at least 22 lbs and up to 80lbs. Yes 80lbs! Only forward facing. I will pledge to keep my children in a 5point harness as long as there is a seat to hold them. So we should get good use from these. I purchased them at bestbuybaby.com free ground shipping and no tax. So I pretty much got two seats for the price of 1.5. That's how it makes sense in my head. I urge all families waiting to research car seats, don't just buy one because its cute or has little ladybugs on them, you will regret it later when you have to make the purchase all over again. *Pink one was $249, Camel one was $229 from Bestbuybaby.com

http://youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ To view copy link to your address bar for this extrememly informative video on "The Importance of a 5 Point Harness" I urge you to view this before you purchase anything.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Does Anybody Else Look Like Me? By Donna Jackson Nakazawa


(meeting brother for the 1st time)
I have read this years ago, and flipping through it found some highlighted areas that I wish to share. I really did not read this until after our 1st child came home from China, I was so oblivious, looking back I wish I was a little more "in tune" and prepared. Well here it goes,,,if you like buy a copy,you will not regret it.


Book Quote:

"Why do people so often make comments about multiracial children? Of course they are beautiful-we as their parents know that. But why is it that our children garner so much extra attention from strangers when other,clearly adorable kids don't garner as much?" End Quote


This entire scene use to play out every time we left the house to run errands. I use to avoid eye contact with people just to avoid a conservation regarding adoption in front of my child. When I did have a conservation I was very brief but polite. For truly interested people I even went as far as giving them my phone number. Please remember protect your child at all costs. If they are made to feel like an item,(like a puppy) or draw attention of how beautiful they are by strangers it will make them draw into a shell or not have solid self esteem.


OK this second quote was a perfect argument to my husband on why we should adopt again. He did not need much convincing as his heart was all for a second adoption even before the plane left China with our daughter. Anyway this helped move it along a little more faster.


Quote:"The benefits of having Siblings"

"For children who are biracial, the presence of siblings may have a remarkable positive effect on each child's self-esteem, giving each child a concrete sense that there are others like them, not only in their own home but within the greater world. Psychologist Beverly Daniel Tatum points out that "when a sibling comes along, the first child often has a great sense of relief in seeing someone like them in their family. It gives them a much bigger sense of seeing themselves reflected in the world around them." End Quote


Yes this was very true in our case, even today our daughter takes great pride pointing out to her brother that she was born first in China and that we had to go get him. Even today she said no matter how many birthdays he has, he will never be the same age as her! Always thinking that one! They have a beautiful bond that I enjoy watching grow everyday. In most cases she is his "little mommy".

Friday, April 4, 2008

Paperwork Cake Walk


I feel we moved up on the list some today, I have to wait for word from my adoption consultant. Anyway because we updated our fingerprints and have a new approval document from USCIS. We need to get it Notarized, Certified and Authenticated. We had to update 3 documents, Express mailing $109 (4 envelopes) $150 Vietnam Embassy (3 documents @$50) Sec of State $30 (3 documents at $10) County Clerk $9 (3documents at $3) grand total $297 , I could of saved about $50 if I had the SOS send my docs onto the Embassy, but at the time this seemed the less confusing,they will come back to us, then I must send on to Embassy. My son and husband were with me, need I say more? This small paperwork task did seem easy. In fact I learned a neat time saving short cut, being this is our 3rd adoption I should of seen the big picture sooner. Oh Well, here it goes....instead of running all over trying to get a bank notary, town office notary, ect. Just use the Notary at the County Clerks office and the same day get the clerk to authentic each document. This saves time, saves using more than one Notary, limits that you may use notaries from different counties causing more running around and last but not least reduces the ERRORS that many notaries make causing you precious time and money.*ps might be a challenge with the doctor note and employment letter but for the rest...easy breezy.


Thursday, April 3, 2008

Mom the Hero!


We had about a 3hr window of special time today. I was busy working on drywall & cleaning, son watching the morning reading show. Then it dawned on me, "lets get the heck outa here". So with 3hrs before the school bus, we took off for the Zoo! The weather was so nice, you could feel spring in the air. He got ready super fast for the car. I want him to grow up remembering special times with just mom, or times when he is totally the center of attention. Believe me his days are numbered, when sharing me will not be easy. But anyway, I have a friend with 3 kids, and they make a point of each week to have a "date" or alone time with each child separately. I think that's cool! Ok I got off track of why I am a hero....Well, thinking of how he will have wonderful memories of seeing the animals, playground etc.. The only thing that impressed him was "skittles" were in the vending machine. Guess what? Only one package left. I had a one dollar coin and the machine accepted it, only to partially uncoil 89% of the package, leaving that poor package hanging for dear life. Ok tap the machine lightly, nothing, no one looking, give it a nice BANG...nothing no movement. no one looking still "lets rock it and let it BANG down! " Yes.. success we have skittles! My son was so proud, only for me to hear another parent that was watching. "boy you have a nice technique". I was a little embarrassed, maybe others would of just put in more money, but what the heck money is money right? (or I am just cheap) It really made me happy that my son enjoyed his Skittles, they were all his, and he did not have to share.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Vocabluary Time Kids...Yes new USCIS process

According to USCIS the word ABANDONMENT means: A child is left by the parents and the authorities know who the parents are. For that child to be adopted the biological parents needs to have a DNA test to prove they are the parents, and sign a document that they are truly abandoning the child. The adoptive parents will pay for the testing of baby, and both parents. If needed the test maybe performed twice.(normally a month to process)

OK now..The word DESERT means: The child is left with no family or connections. An investigation will be ordered and if biological family is located, then see above.

So going forward, this will be the new step right after referral. I have seen that about 80% of children are deserted. I am sure once all the process is ironed out things will be OK. No one is very good with change, specially when a new one is issued it seems every week now. Well tomorrow is Thursday do I dare think our agency may get some referrals?? until then Peace!

Dedication....


This current song is dedicated to my blooger buddy (you know who) Yes finally getting her fingerprint appointment tomorrow. Lets hope she does not soak in the bath too long tonight and make those prints all water logged!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Peas & Carrots, Carrtos & Peas!




My feeling with the Vietnam adoptions are still medium, I guess it depends what Yahoo groups that you read, still tons of conflicting information. The MOU will not be resigned, however Vietnam still wants to work with non-Hague agency's, against what the US is pushing for. Since our agency is non-Hague I keep hoping that Vietnam will keep with their plan to continue working with non-Hague agency's and still process applications that have been in Vietnam for months. The current agreement expires this Sept. so no official announcements yet.. Our agency hopes to be accredited by then. Still its nerve racking. No one ever said this was easy. I wonder if it was easy for Brad & Angelia, did they read and cling to every chat room?
We did have a nice burst of warm air today, almost spring like. We tried to fly a kite, but most of the time was "stop stepping on the line" "get it out of the trees" "watch out the string will cut your hand" At one point it reached the top of our home, only to crash to the ground.
Our neighbor has a huge garden area, they shared it with us last summer, we managed it, watered, weeded ect. Her husband died late fall, the garden was still not fully harvested, so I wondered all winter if we would have the joy of a garden again this summer. Then she came over today, (see nice weather brings out people!) YES! She started telling the list of things to do before planting, we started today pulling out 20 rows of dead corn stocks and various plants. The ground was nice n soft so pulling them out was great. Last summer, we ate vegetables all summer and fall, even pulled leftover carrots in the winter thaw. It will be so nice to have that again this year. Even the daily fight with the local deer, its worth it! On a side note, this garden is like medicine to me, it helps to endure the waiting, keeping the mind and body busy. Going to bed nice and tired with no time to ponder.