Wait Times

I have been finding more Vietnam adoption blogs again and reading through them without missing a word. Even one from Vancouver! They are very recent, one the family just returned home in March and another family that is currently in Vietnam! So the good news is that adoptions are being completed. The bad news is that wait times between referral and travel seems to be continually increasing. If I think back to blogs that I read from a couple of years ago, wait time between referral and travel was about 3 months, then it seemed to increase to 3 – 5 months, then 4 – 6 months and these latest blogs indicate that it is more likely to be 6 – 10 months. Of course, there were all the problems around Christmas but it doesn’t seem like this is a temporary glitch, trying to get through any sort of back log. It is the reality of some of the changes that have been made and the need for another step to guarantee Canadian citizenship.


I guess it just really makes me wonder how long we will be waiting. I mean we don’t even have a referral yet. Will I be sitting in front of my computer this time next year still complaining about wait times? It is VERY possible. Ahhhh.

Book Review

I just finished reading a wonderful novel that I have to recommend to waiting / adoptive parents. First of all let me say that I truly enjoy reading contemporary fiction and biographies or autobiographies that tell stories of overcoming hardships through inner strength, especially in foreign lands. But I will also admit that in the past couple of years there have been books that I have had to but down, not necessarily because the story was not compelling but because it hit too close to home. The last one I had to stop reading was Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan. It is a series of short stories about children in horrible circumstances (and how they survived); not fit for a waiting adoptive parent to read - in my opinion.

Anyways, you can imagine my reluctance when I come across this fictional book entitled Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda about an infant girl brought to California after being adopted in India. Well I decided to give it a whirl and I am very glad I did. It is a very moving story that intertwines the story of the adoptive parents, the birth parents and the child as she grows up and discovers herself over a twenty year period. Although there are definitely tear jerking moments, it was not a heartbreaking story. Not only did I not have to take a break from the content, it was actually one of those books you can’t put down. So if anyone is looking for a good read, pick this one up!

Medicals...Check

I picked up our updated medical paperwork from our doctor's office today.  I am so glad that we have a doctor who knows us and our medical history and is willing to fill in the paperwork without having to do full physicals and tons of unnecessary blood work every single time we need a form filled out!  He has also never charged us for any of the paperwork through this whole process.  Gotta' love that! 

I will mail off the updated medical evaluations to our agency tomorrow.  Then we will be all up-to-date and ready to wait some more!!

A Get Together

I am very happy that we are finally going to have a Vietnam Family Group get together at the beginning of May.  Our agency first brought it up before Christmas but then with everything that was happening with the Vietnam program it got put on hold.  But now our get together has been rescheduled!

I am excited because now we will finally get to meet other waiting families and families that are already home with babies.  And if that doesn't help me to see the light at the end of this long tunnel, then I don't know what will.  My suspicion is that some of my readers here are also waiting parents from our agency so I cannot wait to make a connection with you, that is not just in the blogging world (and one sided).  Although I am grateful for all of the love and support from family and friends, I think it will be very different to connect with others who are going through the same thing as us.  So far this has seemed like a pretty solitary road for Erwin and I in that respect, so I am really looking forward to meeting other families.  My biggest hope is that we find the other families that are in our same group so that we can start getting to know each other.  Can't wait! 

Moving Along

We received some more information from our agency this week.  There are 18 families left on the Vietnam waitlist.  If everything goes as planned the families will receive proposals and travel in groups of six, meaning there are 3 groups of 6.  We are in the second of those groups.  It is predicted that the group ahead of us will get proposals sometime in May.

In the meantime Erwin and I have been asked to update our medical information.  And yesterday I got Part 1 of our Application for Canadian Citizenship for a Person Adopted by a Canadian Citizen back.  And guess what!! I qualify!!  I must be officially Canadian!!  So things are moving along.  My sister thinks that we will have a child home before the end of the year... me, not so sure...but it would be nice.  Honestly, I am just afraid to hope too much.  So it is up to everyone else out there to send their good thoughts, hopes, and prayers our way to keep us going - we need them!