Dear Sweet Boy

Dear sweet boy, today we had to say goodbye to you. It is the hardest thing we have ever had to do. The love we have for you has grown so much since we first saw your face almost eight months ago.

Be strong sweet boy. You are going to be reunited with your birth mother. We are so grateful you will have a family even if it isn't the one we longed to provide for you. We are planting a weeping cherry tree for you. It will bloom every year at this time. We will never forget the day we had to say goodbye to you. You will always be in our hearts and our prayers. We love you dear sweet boy...

Still here

We are still here! It's been a month since my last post, but I haven't really had much to talk about. We are still waiting for movement with the police in our baby's province. We are also still waiting for documents requested by USCIS to be prepared and sent. Our agency director has been in Vietnam for a few weeks, but there has not been much news.

The main thing that has changed for us is the difficulty of waiting. It is becoming much harder to deal with the wait and uncertainty. The tears are flowing much more freely. We are still clinging to hope that the issues will be resolved, and we can travel to bring our sweet baby boy home. He turns 14 months old tomorrow.

The highlight of the week was that we received a new picture. He's sad and fussy in the picture. I want so badly to scoop him up and rock him until he's no longer sad.
Thank you all for your encouraging comments, emails, and especially for your prayers.

Clinging to Hope

We are still here... still waiting. We still do not have I-600 approval. We are hoping it will come soon. USCIS has requested some additional documents, so of course, that's another delay.

There was some promising news from our agency this week. We had another conference call with the 23 other families waiting for children from the same province as us. This call was more upbeat than the last one. The agency is still working hard behind the scenes to resolve the issues keeping us from our baby. The director of our agency will be traveling to Vietnam again in about a week. He is very hopeful that we will see some kind of movement in the next month or two. We will be praying that his trip is successful and that the obstacles in our way will be removed.

This month marks 3 years since we turned in our application to adopt. There have been lots of different delays in this process. One thing that has remained constant the whole time is my desire to be a Momma. The ache is in my heart every day and never wanes. I have to believe that God put this strong longing in me for a reason. It may sound ridiculous to say, but in many ways, the trials we have faced during this adoption have been a positive thing. During this process I have branched out of my comfort zone and made some wonderful friendships. I have done an enormous amount of cultural and parenting research. I have had to be an advocate for our child and our family already. I know all these things will make me a stronger parent. In addition, I have learned without a doubt how precious every moment with a child is. Every minute we spend without our baby is lost forever. Once we hold him in our arms we will relish every second. Every cry, every laugh is irreplaceable. I can't wait to drink it all in.

Now, I'm not saying I have enjoyed the wait in any way. I'm just trying to take an honest look at what has happened to me as a result of the wait. The bad parts of the wait are obvious and are increasingly hard to deal with. So, maybe an exercise of looking for the positive will help... maybe.

http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/2007/11/art-glorious-affordable-art.html

Chúc mừng năm mới!

Happy New Year baby boy! I hope you are having a nice celebration at the Care Center. We are praying that this New Year will be a very lucky one and will bring us together very soon. We have lots of Tet celebrations ahead for our family. We can't wait to share them with you!

Birthday Picture

Dear Sweet Boy

Dear sweet boy, I wish with all my heart I was with you today. I would love to share this special day with you. A once in a lifetime... a boy's first birthday... and today is yours.
Know that you are in my heart, my dreams, and prayers today just like every day. I will be dreaming of the day you are home with us. We will celebrate this special milestone in person. Your highchair is waiting, and a yummy cake will be made. Shakespeare and Caesar will be more then ready to clean up the crumbs from the mess you will make.
So many friends and family are waiting with us. They can't wait to meet you. I hope you can feel how much you are loved. As much as I long to be with you, I have faith that God will bring us together soon.
Happy Birthday, my dear sweet boy! I love you!

Kisses in the Wind

Kisses in the Wind
Click to Play
I hold you in my heart and in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, that’s how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are. It’s been so long.
Just remember child that God will keep you strong.

Now go outside, feel the breeze and let it touch your skin.
Soon you’ll have a family, I promise you again.
Miles away we wait for you, but it’s coming to an end.
But for tonight, just as always, I’ll blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hands ‘til we can get to you.
I promise you that we will see you soon.
May He wrap you in His arms and hold you tight,
and let the Angels bring our kisses every night.

Now go outside, feel the breeze and let it touch your skin.
Soon you’ll have a family, I promise you again.
Miles away we wait for you, but it’s coming to an end.
But for tonight, just as always, I’ll blow you kisses in the wind.