What is your cross?

In life every single person is given a cross. Some are large, some small, some grow as we live and mature, some fade as we live and mature. However what do you do when the cross is so heavy? Lay it down and walk away? Try harder, pick it up and continue, continue to the end? What did Jesus do? A cross has been placed in your hands, an opportunity that you choose to see or walk away from. Then others pray they are never given chances have they ever opened up their eyes to the crosses that are placed in their hand?

Ok world, Here are the facts, what should we do?

We have been in process 2.5 years with our adoption from Viet Nam, second set of fingerprints have a few months left on them. We are #1 with our agency to review the next file of a child. Our agency has no other programs that we qualify for (just found this out TODAY!), so here are the options.

Stay with our agency and not loose the dossier fee of about $4000 hoping for a short closure.

Find another agency and country with a shorter list and loose the $4000 to start fresh

Our agency did not pass the Hague, so even if Vietnam opens what are the new twists going to be (only work with Hague agency's?), hopefully they can reapply this fall.

We are each having another birthday this year, so this make us age out of many options.

To come up with the dossier money:
We auctioned off a very old grandfather clock with an oil painting on the top of it.

Cleaned out a house of a very old lady that died, 70years worth of items, it took about 3mths to do this.

No Movies, No Dinners out, No out of state Vacations or unnecessary travels.

Kept the thermostat very low

Cleaned the snow out of the driveway, not hired done, planted a garden, put up food.

Can't remember the last time I purchased any personal items.

We accepted hand me downs, actually very nice ones, for kids clothes.

Can't remember the last time I used the clothes dryer, all laundry is hung on the line, winter included. I only wash in cold water, never hot.

Still driving the Blazer SUV into the ground, going semi-strong at 190K miles!!!

I am sure we are not the only family having such a hard time, but this is truly a kick in the teeth. No child, no money refunded. I am just sick.

Spring 2008 Local Pancake Breakfast

Photo of family with our Senator after discussions of our issues with adoptions in Vietnam. Not too bad for a family photo, just have to crop him out, Christmas cards already!

Positive talk!

To protect children, central agencies to manage adoption
22:06' 25/08/2008 (GMT+7)

Mr. Vu Duc Long
VietNamNet Bridge – Speaking to correspondents on the sideline of a meeting reviewing the implementation of the bilateral agreement on adoption between Vietnam and the US, Head of the Ministry of Justice’s International Adoption Agency Vu Duc Long said the management of adoption will be centralised.
The case in Nam Dinh revealed that state agencies, including the International Adoption Agency, respond too slowly and ineffectively, didn’t it?
Our difficulties were shortages of information and power.

What is the direction of this case?
There will be no change for the children who were adopted. The violators in Vietnam will be penalised, the adopted children will not be brought back to Vietnam.
Provincial Departments of Justice are in charge of checking and approving adoption files, so what is their responsibility if violations are detected?
It depends on the seriousness of violations. But it is very difficult to verify adoption documents if they are sophisticated counterfeits, because criminals begin forging documents when children enter orphanages.
So who will be sued by families who lose their children?
If their children are kidnapped, they have to sue the kidnappers or those who lend a hand to the kidnappers. We have the Law on Human Trafficking Prevention. In the case in Nam Dinh, it is very difficult to prove kidnapping.
What do you think about provinces permitting the establishment of orphanages which are very poor in facilities?
The happiness of an American couple who have a Vietnamese adopted child.
The orphanage in Nam Dinh is a district-level unit, while district-level management is very poor. This is a lesson. Some provinces have inspected local orphanages and closed down some units, for example the Viet Lam orphanage in Phu Tho province.
Some orphanages in southern provinces are being inspected. If district-level orphanages don’t have good facilities and are not managed well, they will be closed.
The recent US report on adoption in Vietnam said that some officials of the International Adoption Agency received money under the table or accepted overseas tours. What is your opinion about it?
They overstated officials demanding overseas tours or going shopping. The information is inaccurate. It is necessary and normal for officials to be invited to visit adopted children abroad to check and exchange information between related sides. They were voluntarily invited and Vietnam seriously observes regulations.
They said Vietnamese officials raised difficulties to seek profit. That’s not good. We have asked the US side to send us financial reports of Vietnamese delegations. If they overspent, they will be punished.
As an expert in adoption, what solutions do you think will help solve problems associated with international adoption?
The strongest solution is the issuance of the Law on Adoption. This law will basically change the management mechanism. Accordingly, the direct relations between orphanages and international adoption agencies will be abolished. Central agencies will directly manage adoption activities and relations with adoptive parents.
In addition, a national unified adoption assistance fund will be set up to diminish financial ambiguity and the ability to seek profit from adoption at grassroots agencies.
The power to make decisions currently belongs to orphanages and locations where the orphanages are located. This power will be centralised.
What about the experience of other countries in adoption?
One of the principles of the La Haye Convention asks member countries to control adoption activities, so centralisation is the best solution.
Vietnam should follow the model of China. They centralised everything and none of the power is given to local agencies.

Xuan Linh

My Peeps!

Ok, so we have raised our chickens, they are no longer required to be in the fish tank in the laundry room! We have 5, two roosters and 3 hens. Why two roosters? because that's what we ended up with. However the "book" said if one rooster does not make it over the winter months (croaks)we will have a back up rooster. They just started crowing, sounds like a crackly broken record for now.

1. Rooster #1 name is VV
2. Rooster #2 Dumb Dumb...because he walks past his open door and is not smart enough to enter.
3. Hannah Montana (with the pretty white feather on her tail
4. Brown Eyes
5. Pecky (no explanation needed)

So when they were little and cute my husband said he would make a hen house, 3 months later the lumber is sitting in the lawn and we mow around it! Well today I guess the chicken project marinated enough (no pun intended) he got started. I am impressed he even used a level! *Imagine the money we will save when they start laying eggs! ~~~sarcasm

Good News? Bad News? at least its in the News and being discussed

Early this week, police were seeking forgery charges against the heads of two charity centers in Nam Dinh.

At a meeting in Hanoi Friday to review the three years since the Convention on Adoption between Vietnam and the U.S was implemented, experts recommended stricter regulations to manage adoption.

Financial aid to orphanages should be handled solely by the Ministry of Justice’s Department of International Adoptions (DIA), the department’s director Vu Duc Long said.

He said related authorities were considering restructuring adoption procedures to prevent direct contact between international adoption agencies and orphanages. DIA would connect the two.

He said it would prevent possible unhealthy relations between the agencies and orphanages.

“The financial aid in cash and flexible financial structures have created loopholes in adoption,” Long said.

“It has offered opportunities for unhealthy relations between international adoption agencies and the orphanages.”

DIA’s Vice Head Le Thi Hoang Yen said: “We are very worried with the recent fake adoption documents. We had been confident about the legitimacy of documents appraised by police. But in recent cases in Nam Dinh Province, there were fakes which police appraised.”

Recently, 134 U.S. senators – including Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John D. Rockefeller IV – and hundreds of adoption associations and 8,460 U.S. residents petitioned for the extension of the Convention on Adoption between Vietnam and the U.S., after the U.S. decided not to extend the convention when it expires September 1.

DIA’s statistics show 1,700 Vietnamese children have been adopted by families in the U.S. since the convention between the two countries took effect in 2005.

The Ministry of Justice has authorized 69 international adoption agencies to operate in Vietnam, of which 42 agencies were from the U.S. Orphans at the Humanity Assistance Center of Y Yen District in Nam Dinh Province.

Nam Dinh Police were seeking charges against the center’s director, Tran Thi Luong, early this week for allegedly faking babies’ documents.

Reported by Thanh Phong

An open door is the sign of "Welcome"

When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." --James 1:2-3

Joint Council Survey Request-USA Families only

If you are anywhere in process of adopting a child in Vietnam please take a moment to fill out a quick survey. Its about ten questions.The survey Link will be above this post.

CLICK ABOVE TO SIGN THE PETITION

The petition
Honorable Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung,

It is with utmost respect that we, American citizens, seek your assistance in the matter of continuation of intercountry adoption between the US and Viet Nam.

During meetings with President Bush in June, you indicated an intent to speed up preparations for early accession to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions. Your visit to the White House was quite well-received and suggests that perhaps you are willing to assist us in two urgent matters.

We are respectfully requesting your immediate involvement, Prime Minister Dung, in the establishment of an interim adoption agreement between the US and Viet Nam. Please appoint a high-level negotiator to work with our Department of State to implement a temporary interim agreement that leads to Hague Compliance. While Dr. Vu Duc Long, Department of Intercountry Adoption, has made significant gains toward this end, further support from the national government is imperative to the success of these negotiations.

In addition, we respectfully request that the government of Vietnam hold all US dossiers not yet matched at September 1st rather than returning them to those families. These families could then be matched quickly when the interim agreement is implemented.

We respectfully implore you to act quickly as the September 1st deadline is rapidly approaching. We appreciate your time and attention to this important matter.

*SIGN THE PETITION WITH THE ABOVE LINK, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE MONEY AT THE END OF SIGNING. JUST SIGN AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Loose Tooth

Yes, our daughter is ready to loose the 1st tooth, I thought maybe one more photo with "the tooth"....going forward that little smile will look like a pumpkin! Oh no she is growing up. Gotta stop, ready to cry more.

Raise Your Hands!

Our priest use to be a teacher in Africa, today I listened to the cutest story and I will share it with you. In the years of his teachings the teachers would have surprise reviews. This was to grade the teacher. Were the children responding? Could they answer questions from the topics being taught ect. A good response from the students would mean the teacher was doing a great job. The teacher instructed the students, if there is a day when officials enter the classroom, know that I am being graded. I want you all to raise your hands to my questions and be active in the class. When I ask you a question, raise your hands. However, if you are unsure of the answer raise your "left hand" if you know the answer raise you "right hand". This will always ensure a good review!

Regarding #7 on list below AKA Lucky #7

If you have an "URGE" to email Michael Moore regarding any comments or ideas regarding the current state of affairs with Vietnam adoptions and the 9/1 deadline, please email him as soon as possible. He will be sending a letter to the DIA asking numerous questions on behalf of orphans and adoptive families currently in process. Here is the address info@ccainstitute.org

August 1st Meeting Notes/ DOS ,CCAI (Lonley? "Hold a Meeting") just joking!

The meeting was led by Michael Valverde, CIS-Chief of the Children's Issues Branch, International Operations, Michelle Bond, Dos- Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Services Carrie Rankin, CIS- Presidential Management Fellow, Children's Issues Branch, International
Operations, and Gerry Fuller, DoS- Unit Chief for Adoptions. There was "standing room only, two people deep" and though it was scheduled to last 1 hour in total, to
cover Ethiopia, Guatemala and Vietnam, 1 1/4 hours were consumed by discussion of Vietnam. DoS members in DC seemed "compassionate" and "get it".

2. DoS appeared "shocked" by the overwhelming turnout and "'intensity" of the crowd.

3.One of the staffers attending (no name available) is himself attempting to adopt from Vietnam.

4.
DoS "painted a stark picture of how difficult it has been to work with
the Vietnamese government." The frustration is that there not a
central authority from which to obtain information. DoS is currently
waiting for a response from the Vietnamese government on the following:
- how many of the 1,729 applicants are waiting to be matched

-what are Vietnam's intentions regarding PAP who are not matched by
Sept. 1, Could those families not matched by Sept. 1 be placed first in
line for upcoming referrals? Could children be matched prior to birth?

5.
DoS has received authorization to permanently double its staff size in
Vietnam in anticipation of an potential flurry of referrals by the end
of August.

6.DoS will enhance communication on all levels via
the internet, possibly establishing a specific website for Vietnam
adoption.

7. CCAI is following up on this meeting by writing an other letter to the Vietnamese government addressing the concerns brought up at today's meeting.

8.DoS, again, voiced concern about using its limited time for answering questions versus processing adoptions.

Still got the butterflies!

You know we have been told no way no how,with 9/1 approaching nothing can be done in time regarding getting a referral. I thought I was at peace with this, NOT. We have 4 good weeks left, there is still time for talks, extensions, miracles. I am starting to think that maybe just maybe something will come together for us. Might be just setting us up for a huge let down, who knows at this point? In all of this process, government reports, any bits of news, I really have heard goodness of Dr. Long, it does seem he would want as many orphans placed as possible. Its very hard to read our position.