Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Baby Drew. This is your first Christmas. Next year you'll be home and we'll be celebrating our first Christmas together. We love you very much and wish that we could be with you. It won't be too much longer and then you'll have a great big brother to guide you. It was difficult at church without you tonight. Just thinking about having all of my boys with me next year, was a bit more emotional than I had anticipated. But, as usual, God touched my heart and calmed my soul. We wait for you baby Drew as we celebrate the birth of our Savior...Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas sweet angel....I hope you get a special kiss from one of the nannies today....and if you do, that will be from me...I'm sending kisses and hugs to you all the way from Oklahoma.

That's It...

That's it...enough whining for now. International adoption is an emotional roller coaster....so I just need to hang on and enjoy the ride.

Baby Drew....we sure wish you could be with us for Christmas...but we'll have many, many more to share as a family. We'll do lots of celebrating when you come home.

All I Want For Christmas.....

Is some news that our paperwork is moving. Still nothing. A couple of families received word that they're now on Step 7. But...not us. I'm thrilled for Lori and Shelley!!!! I have to believe that we're right behind them. Oh well...what's a girl to do? I'm going to hug my sweet Ian and eat a cookie.

Drats!

The update we received today, was not the update I wanted. Our paperwork is still somewhere between steps 2 and 6. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH. I had so hoped that we'd be on at least step 7 by now. It looks like my hopes for a January travel date are fading fast. I'm officially bummed today :(

5 Months Old

Happy 5 month birthday baby Drew. We're thinking about you today and praying that you'll be home with us soon.

Growing, Growing, Growing

We received a height and weight update today. Our chunky money, Drew, is up to 14 pounds and 24 inches. It's good to see that he's growing. However, it's hard to think of him growing up without his mommy,daddy and big brother. Oh well....I'm going to get off my pity party and just be thankful that he's growing and developing.

We heard today that 3 of the Ninh Thuan families that received their G & R date on Monday will actually be traveling next week. Their I-600 is supposed to be approved in the next few days. Woo, hoo!!! I'm thrilled for those families. Plus...I'm also hopeful that they'll be able to love on our little guy a little bit for us...and snap a picture or two.

Things are moving right along. I'd love to hear some really, really good news before Christmas.

A Little Good News

Today brought some good news for several Dillon families. At least 3 families are leaving next Monday to pick up their sweet little ones in Ninh Thuan. They will hopefully be able to get some pictures of Drew for us since he's in the same orphanage. We're hoping and praying for those families because their I-600's have not been approved yet. I'm confident that it is going to be fine and these families will be able to travel and have their babies in their arms before Christmas.

I had a nice, long conversation with Jynger this morning. I must tell you how wonderful I think she is. Even though she didn't give us any real news, she made me feel better. Just talking through the thoughts racing through my head with her calmed me. I'm still not giving up on a January travel date...a girl can dream and pray, right? Still no word from the Consulate's office...which is frustrating beyond belief. But after talking with Jynger, I'm not as worried as I was yesterday. She's hoping we'll have an update by the end of this week on our paperwork.

The big Summit meeting last week seemed to have produced many positive things. It's not a lot of "clear" information, but I think things are moving in the right direction. There have been so many horror stories out there recently of families traveling to Vietnam to bring home their little ones, only to be denied. There are two provinces in Vietnam that have currently been shut down...fortunately Dillon does not work in either of those provinces. We are so fortunate that Dillon is such an above board and ethical agency.

Also today, my blogging pal Julie and her husband Chris received their referral. Bennett is in the same orphanage as Drew. He's about 5 weeks younger than Drew. I'm so thrilled for them. There were also several other referrals today, but I don't know what families yet. But...congratulations to all who received referrals today.

I'm still yearning to hold my baby. Still want to kiss his sweet little cheeks. Still want to whisper in his little ear just how much his mommy loves him. But for now....I'll take a deep breath and hope for more great news as the week goes on.

In Need Of Some Good News

I'm stressing over the silliest things lately. Maybe not the silliest, but things that I have no control over. We filed our I-600 on October 26th and it was delivered to the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City on October 29th. Several other families from our agency have received an email notification, from the US Consulates office, that their package was received and in some cases requesting additional information. To date, we have not received that email. I'm a little worried about that. I've talked to Jynger about it and she assures me that not all families received something from the Consulate's office. I trust her completely. But, I'm seeing on other discussion boards that several families have received their I-600 approval...all after receiving the initial email acknowledging receipt of their package. So....now I'm really concerned. I know I shouldn't be. There are many families ahead of us that need to get their I-600 before we do because they are much closer to receiving their travel date. But....that doesn't make me feel a whole lot better at the moment. I just need to know that they truly do have our paperwork and it is being worked on.

The big summit meeting was held in Washington, DC last week regarding the future of Vietnam adoptions. From everything I'm reading, it sounds like things went well...but again....we don't know yet. I know Jynger and Katie are swamped this week...but I think we all need to hear some news. We're all hanging by a thread right now.

Drew will be 5 months old next Monday. It's only been 2 months since our referral. But...I really want my baby. I know it's going to happen and I know that God is in complete control of it. But...this human heart that He gave me is longing to hold my son.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring some news...preferably good news.