Married and Blessed

I havent posted in so long. We have had a wonderful summer. On August 21st I married the love of my life. We eloped in Florida got married on the beach. We brought the kids and took them to Disney afterwards. It was a great trip. All is well here. This picture is of the kids on wedding day.

One Year Old

What an amazing past 3 months it has been. We are having so much fun and I am feeling really blessed. Tai turned 1 this past thursday. What an extraordinary guy he is. He has added so much to our family. The girls love him up every day. He is walking like a mad man now. He went from taking a few steps end of May to running across the living room now. Here are some pictures.

New Post

I have been absolutely terrible about keeping my blog up to date since getting home with Tai so I figured it was time for a post. Everyone is doing really well. Tai is doing great! He took his first steps 2 days ago. He is such a happy guy and I swear he has the best sense of humor I have ever seen. He loves his big sisters so much and they are really good with him. I am so thankful to have him.

We're Home

What an amazing trip. We got home on Thursday morning. The trip ended up being 8 days which was wonderful. I am so glad to finally have Tai home. He is great and I am loving him so much. I will post more about the trip later, but we stayed at the Hong Ngic which I would highly recommend.The staff is beyond amazing and they became like family real fast. Tai adored them. Staying in the heart of the Old Quarter was perfect. The flight home was really tough. I definintely think traveling alone made the trip more difficult than it needed to be.
Tai is adjusting beautifully and he is a happy little guy. The girls are eating him up and he thinks they are the greatest. I'll post more pics later.

Having a great ime in Hanoi. Tai is doing really well. He smiled at me when he woke up this morning and he is laughing a lot today. I am exhauseted, I forgot what having a 9 month old is like. But I am blissfully exhauted :) Today we went and applied for Tai's passport. Things are moving along. Here are some pictures from today.

Amazing !

I will post more later, but wanted to say that I had my G&R today and Tai is oficially mine. He is amazing, such a good baby. He is gorgeous and tinier than I thought. I am totally in love.
I will try to post pics tomorrow.

Leaving Monday !

I am leaving Monday morning for Hanoi. I can't believe it is finally happening. I have lots to do in the next few days and I am going to miss my girls so much. But I cant wait to have Tai in my arms. And next Friday is my birthday. This is the best birthday present ever!!!

APPROVAL !!!!!

Well, after 92 days it finally happened! I checked my email around 5:00 and no email. Then I checked again at 6:00 and there it was..my I600 Approval.
I am so happy that I am almost there to hold Tai and bring him home.
It is bittersweet though, as I have many friends still waiting. I hope they receive approval soon and we cna all be home with our babies.

Blew A Gasket

Well I have been saying for months now that this adoption is making me crazy and I was gonna blow. So it happened. I blew a gasket. LITERALLY. Brought my car to the shop the other day thinking I needed a new thermostat and the shop called me to tell me I blew a head gasket. I love that car too. Has way too many miles on it to pay the 2300$ for a new head gasket so I guess I will be car shopping this weekend.
On the adoption homefront, no approval yet. I am hoping to hear something next week.I better, I hit day 90 tomorrow. Ugh.

Still waiting...

Well, I am now at 84 Days and still waiting for approval. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. My case is still under review and I have no idea when I will hear anything. Any prayers for us would be appreciated.

......80 days......

Here I am again, up in the middle of the night checking my email for any news, unable to sleep. I cant believe 80 days. I sure never thought I would be still waiting after all this time. Better go off to bed...

Grasping at Straws Here

Ok, maybe I am getting desperate but here goes. We had chinese food for dinner tonight. I just noticed one fortune cookie sitting alone on my kitchen counter. I opened it and here is what it said

"YOUR PRESENT PLANS ARE GOING TO SUCCEED"

Hmmmm. Sounds good to me.......

Day 77...received an email, but

...no, unfortunately it wasnt THE email I have been waiting for.
I did receive an email from Hanoi DOS though telling me they are still reveiwing my case. Here is the jist of it:

Thank you for your inquiry.
Please note that USCIS is currently continuing its review of the I-600 petition. As noted on U.S. Embassy Hanoi’s website, for security reasons USCIS is not able to inform petitioners of the status of their case between the time the receipt e-mail is issued and the time that a decision is made on the case. The case is being prioritized as the estimated 60-day time frame for processing has passed, and we expect that you should receive an update on the status of his case in the coming days.

This whole thing is just scaring me and stressing me out and I just pray that my petition will be approved. Now if i only knew what "in the coming days meant". Does that mean a few days, several days, many days, ugh...
Say some prayers for my sweet Tai please, that he comes home soon.

Its Time for Answers

Well, its almost Monday morning in Vietnam and I am ready for some answers. I can't take much more waiting around and checking my email every time I pass the computer. This just has to be the week to find out something. I am ready to get on a plane and bring Tai home to his big sisters. I am praying for amazing news this week.

DAY 75

Unbelievable that I am at day 75 and have heard nothing. I havent posted in a while as we have had a crazy past couple of weeks, scary health stuff for myself and my daughter that thank God have turned out okay. So I am able to concentrate again on bringing Tai home. My poor boy has spent way too long in the orphanage. Next week I will hit day 80 and I am hoping to find out something...

Happy Valentines

I havent posted in a while. This wait is getting so depressing. I am officially at Day 66....with no end in sight.
I just wish we would hear something soon. Tai has been waiting way too long for me.

Day 55

...at least I think it is day 55. I am starting to lose track as ridiculous as that sounds. So the state dept closes on Wednesday so there are 2 more nights to get approval before they close. That would be a great way to start the week...

The Big 50

Well it is day 50. Actually being that it is 8pm here in NY, it is 8am in Hanoi. So technically day 51. It would be so good to hear good news tonight.

Sweet Jade

Today I went out to the mailbox and found such a sweet note. My 11 year old daughter is learning about letter writing in school. So she had to write a letter to me. Here is part of what her letter said "Dear Mom, I am at school and I wanted to tell you I love you and hang in there. I say hang in there because you are being very strong in this adoption." Love your daughter, Jade" I am reminded today of my blessings. This adoption has become such a part of all of us. I forget that the kids too, endure this wait, and that they are always watching and learning.

Little Peanut

I was really happy to receive new height and weight for Tai last night. He is a little peanut. He is 7 months old now and his weight is 15 pounds and height 24 inches. It is so nice to have a better idea of how big he will be when I get there. Now....I just have to get that approval.

Day 44 Pictures

Well, no I600 approval yet, but we have new pictures. Tai looks wonderful. He is so gorgeous and looks really healthy.
I wish I could post a picture but I have to wait until he is in my arms to do that. I can say that seeing his picture today made my heart ache more and more for him. Maybe tonight's the night........

DAY 43

Ok, I am officially going nuts. I have spent the last 43 days waiting for an email. A bunch of days before that waiting for my I600 to go out. Bunch of days before that waiting for my travel call.Geez. Enough already.
I am ready to go get my baby boy. I am ready to kiss his sweet face and bring him home to love him up. C'mon email, let tonight be the night

Nothing

Well, no approval for me last night. I swear I am getting so tired of being disappointed that the email isnt there when I wake up. That and waking up every hour or so all night to check. I am hoping this week is the week. I am ready to go get Tai.

Rise and Shine

Ok, well it's Sunday night here/Monday morning in HoChiMinh City. I so hope tonight is the night. Basically if I dont hear this week then I think I won't be traveling before Tet. So, please....c'mon approval...

I think we are close

I have been haivng this feeling all day today that I600 approval is very close. God I hope I am right. Its been a little over 3 weeks siince I received my confirmation from USCIS. I am so ready to go get my little guy.......c'mon let tonight be the night that wonderful email arrives!