How Old is Adam?
Friday, April 27, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Paperwork completed - again!
After a morning of running around NYC, I got the copy of my new I-171H county certified and got the apostille and its on its way to the agency via fedex! I should hire myself out as a consultant to people completing international adoption paperwork!
I also received on update on Adam from my agency today -- he weighs 16 lbs and is 27 inches long. It helps make him real to be able to imagine his size.
Now, some more waiting.
I also received on update on Adam from my agency today -- he weighs 16 lbs and is 27 inches long. It helps make him real to be able to imagine his size.
Now, some more waiting.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Good News/Bad News Update
Much to my delight, I received a new I-171H, with a signature of a Homeland Security official added to it! Whew! Have to have the copy notarized, county certified and get the apostille and then -- I hope -- I'm home free!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Doggie mama drama
Now, if you are not an animal lover, you might as well stop reading right here or just resign yourself to thinking that I am completely insane in making a comparison between parenthood and dog ownership.
We always had dogs growing up, but in all the years since I moved out of my parents home, I was petless. I used to say that if I was going to get a dog, I might as well have a baby because its almost as much responsibility, except you can't leave the baby home all day with a bowl of food and a bowl of water. LOL!
Well, a special dog came into my life with a renewed relationship with an ex-boyfriend and we fell in love with each other. After 5 years together the human relationship ended -- not for the first time in the on-and-off relationship of many years -- and he and the dog exited my life. A year later, he turned up again. He had lost his apartment and couldn't have the dog where he would be staying -- would I take her? I jumped at the chance and restrained myself from telling him I had missed the dog far more than I had missed him.
Nea has been with me for two years now. She is a 14-year old dachshund/terrier mix with the sweetest disposition and lively as a puppy. She is smart as a whip, makes me laugh every day, and is great company. No matter how tired, stressed or even cranky I am at the end of the day, I forget all about it at her joyous greeting. Last fall she developed disc disease in her back and while at the vet, I learned she also had a heart murmur AND a mammary tumor and would need surgery to remove the tumor and spay her (tumors are hormonally fed) after we got her stabilized on meds for the back pain. It took several months to gradually taper the steroids to the lowest possible level that would control her pain. It was like having a sick child, totally dependent on you, with all the big decisions in your hands.
Because of her age and the heart murmur, the vet was concerned about her ability to tolerate anesthesia, so she also had to have an EKG. The results looked good, but I was scared of the surgery, afraid she wouldn't make it and I put it off. But I was the mama, and as much as I hated having to make the hard decisions, I knew I had to do it. Once I received Adam's referral, I knew I couldn't wait -- I needed to have her well by the time he comes home.
I did the responsible doggie mama thing and, shaking all the way, took my girl in for her surgery on April 3. Well, she did amazingly well! I brought her in at 8 a.m. and was able to take her home at 4 p.m. the same day. She was still wonky from the drugs and I was so exhausted from not sleeping the night before that by the time I got her home, we both collapsed on the couch. When I woke up a few hours later, she had moved up near my head and my face was inside the e-collar they put on her so she couldn't rip her stitches out. LOL! She was groggy, and a little intimidated by the e-collar at first, but was completly back to normal by the next afternoon. It was, apparently, much harder on her than on me! She had her stitches out this past Saturday.
I think back over my relationship with Nea, developing our indepedent relationship and growing into a "family" of three with her and my then-boyfriend, losing and grieving her, now just the two of us back together , and these few months of her health crisis. She has brought such joy to my life and taught me so much about love and life. And now we are soon to be a family of three again! I can't imagine the love I will have for Adam eclipsing the love I have for this dog -- but I know it will. Its a little scary! I can't wait!
We always had dogs growing up, but in all the years since I moved out of my parents home, I was petless. I used to say that if I was going to get a dog, I might as well have a baby because its almost as much responsibility, except you can't leave the baby home all day with a bowl of food and a bowl of water. LOL!
Well, a special dog came into my life with a renewed relationship with an ex-boyfriend and we fell in love with each other. After 5 years together the human relationship ended -- not for the first time in the on-and-off relationship of many years -- and he and the dog exited my life. A year later, he turned up again. He had lost his apartment and couldn't have the dog where he would be staying -- would I take her? I jumped at the chance and restrained myself from telling him I had missed the dog far more than I had missed him.
Nea has been with me for two years now. She is a 14-year old dachshund/terrier mix with the sweetest disposition and lively as a puppy. She is smart as a whip, makes me laugh every day, and is great company. No matter how tired, stressed or even cranky I am at the end of the day, I forget all about it at her joyous greeting. Last fall she developed disc disease in her back and while at the vet, I learned she also had a heart murmur AND a mammary tumor and would need surgery to remove the tumor and spay her (tumors are hormonally fed) after we got her stabilized on meds for the back pain. It took several months to gradually taper the steroids to the lowest possible level that would control her pain. It was like having a sick child, totally dependent on you, with all the big decisions in your hands.
Because of her age and the heart murmur, the vet was concerned about her ability to tolerate anesthesia, so she also had to have an EKG. The results looked good, but I was scared of the surgery, afraid she wouldn't make it and I put it off. But I was the mama, and as much as I hated having to make the hard decisions, I knew I had to do it. Once I received Adam's referral, I knew I couldn't wait -- I needed to have her well by the time he comes home.
I did the responsible doggie mama thing and, shaking all the way, took my girl in for her surgery on April 3. Well, she did amazingly well! I brought her in at 8 a.m. and was able to take her home at 4 p.m. the same day. She was still wonky from the drugs and I was so exhausted from not sleeping the night before that by the time I got her home, we both collapsed on the couch. When I woke up a few hours later, she had moved up near my head and my face was inside the e-collar they put on her so she couldn't rip her stitches out. LOL! She was groggy, and a little intimidated by the e-collar at first, but was completly back to normal by the next afternoon. It was, apparently, much harder on her than on me! She had her stitches out this past Saturday.
I think back over my relationship with Nea, developing our indepedent relationship and growing into a "family" of three with her and my then-boyfriend, losing and grieving her, now just the two of us back together , and these few months of her health crisis. She has brought such joy to my life and taught me so much about love and life. And now we are soon to be a family of three again! I can't imagine the love I will have for Adam eclipsing the love I have for this dog -- but I know it will. Its a little scary! I can't wait!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Good news and bad news...
The good news is I just received my log-in date -- March 28th. This means my dossier is logged in in Vietnam and all the formalities are proceeding. This is also the date they estimate travel from -- so, the earliest I would travel is the end of June. From what my agency tells me, traveling is averaging 4 months from log-in.
However, I was told 1-3 months for a referral -- and had one two days after going on the waiting list. I was told it would likely take 1-2 months for a log-in date -- and my log-in date is 23 days after my referral. I'm hoping that trend will carry through for travel as well!
The bad news -- a problem with my I-171H. The I-171H from the state of New Jersey does not have a space for a signature by a government official. Hanoi wants one. Anyone who has ever dealt with the Department of Homeland Security will understand how daunting a task this is. I searched their website for some time yesterday, trying in vain to find a phone number. There is no listing in the state of NJ. Good thing this wasn't a Homeland Security emergency! Finally found a number for the National Customer Service Center - what a joke. Got stuck in an endless loop of options, none of which had anything to do with the I-171H or led to an actual person. I finally chose to be transferred to a department that was not the right one, just hoping to get a person. I explained my story to her and asked for the phone number of the Newark office. Her response? "We don't have that information?" Huh? Are you kidding me? I found that very hard to believe. I could have understood "We're not allowed to give that information out", but "We don't have that information"? It is maddening. I have really been so patient through this long, stressful process and I suddenly felt like every last drop of patience I had was now completely used up now. I think the fact that yesterday was Adam's birthday wasn't helping my mood.
Thankfully, I whined on my assorted e-groups and two different people were able to come up with not only a phone number, but the name of a person to speak to. Of course, when I called, they weren't available, but at least its a start. I'm cautiously optimistic.
However, I was told 1-3 months for a referral -- and had one two days after going on the waiting list. I was told it would likely take 1-2 months for a log-in date -- and my log-in date is 23 days after my referral. I'm hoping that trend will carry through for travel as well!
The bad news -- a problem with my I-171H. The I-171H from the state of New Jersey does not have a space for a signature by a government official. Hanoi wants one. Anyone who has ever dealt with the Department of Homeland Security will understand how daunting a task this is. I searched their website for some time yesterday, trying in vain to find a phone number. There is no listing in the state of NJ. Good thing this wasn't a Homeland Security emergency! Finally found a number for the National Customer Service Center - what a joke. Got stuck in an endless loop of options, none of which had anything to do with the I-171H or led to an actual person. I finally chose to be transferred to a department that was not the right one, just hoping to get a person. I explained my story to her and asked for the phone number of the Newark office. Her response? "We don't have that information?" Huh? Are you kidding me? I found that very hard to believe. I could have understood "We're not allowed to give that information out", but "We don't have that information"? It is maddening. I have really been so patient through this long, stressful process and I suddenly felt like every last drop of patience I had was now completely used up now. I think the fact that yesterday was Adam's birthday wasn't helping my mood.
Thankfully, I whined on my assorted e-groups and two different people were able to come up with not only a phone number, but the name of a person to speak to. Of course, when I called, they weren't available, but at least its a start. I'm cautiously optimistic.
Monday, April 2, 2007
The Generosity of People
Since I posted Adam's referral picture, I've been lucky to receive pictures of him from other people on my assorted adoption mailing lists. Rachel, from my Dillon Vietnam group, was traveling to the orphanage where Adam lives to pick up her daughter a few days after I annouced my referral. She immediately emailed me and offered to go see him and take pictures while she was there. What a lovely gesture! She sent me several adorable pictures and was able to describe his demeanor while she was there and give me an idea of what size clothing he wears.
Susie, also from the Dillon Vietnam group, recognized Adam from a picture she took back in September when she was picking up her child and was able to give me a look at him at an earlier point in his life that I might never have had. Rachel's photos are imbedded in this post --Susie's is posted below. Thank you to both of them!
Susie, also from the Dillon Vietnam group, recognized Adam from a picture she took back in September when she was picking up her child and was able to give me a look at him at an earlier point in his life that I might never have had. Rachel's photos are imbedded in this post --Susie's is posted below. Thank you to both of them!
I can't wait to "pay it forward" when I travel and do the same for other waiting parents when I travel.
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