Things we do while we wait...

1. Start making Christmas gifts (saves money and takes up some time)
2. Scrapbook/Lifebook - we have started this and it is so fun!
3. Organize photos that we have taken over the past year
4. Minimize our "stuff" - we both purged our closets and have more to go!
5. Pray - for her birth mother, for the nannies at the Orphanage and for her health
6. Get in shape, get strong - babies look light but after a while...
7. Practice Yoga often - keeps me in the moment and mellow.
8. Tim plays a LOT of tennis - stress releif and great for his bod.

Baby's First Doughnut?

Just got this at lunch today!

It is a knit doughnut with a rattle inside. So cute and I love the pink frosting with the white sprinkles on top.

Time line

WOW! I was just entering my time line and can't believe how busy we have been with all of this. There may be some dates changing and I may add some things, it is a lot to remember and last night I literally got out all the paperwork and tried to attach a date to each thing.
Currently, we have a little bit of a break and are just waiting for the fingerprinting appointment from USCIS (which can take 4-6 weeks). After we get that done then 4-6 weeks we should get the i-171h approval letter. Once we have the approval letter our adoption agency can send all of the paperwork to CA Secretary of State to be authenticated and then it goes to the Vietnamese Consulate to be stamped and authenticated as well. After that entire process our paperwork will be on a plane and on it's way to Vietnam to be translated, reviewed and then matched with a baby girl that will become the newest member of our family!

Referral Time

Had a call with my social worker on Tuesday and found out that the referral time went from 1-3 months to 3-6 months. So we have a bit of a longer wait than we thought. For a while there, they were telling us we may have our baby girl by the end of the year, but now, it looks like she may be home in 2008. The way I look at it, is when God has the right baby for us, he will bring us together. These things cant be rushed.
Anyway, trying to update the time line on my blog, it is still under construction.

Operation Olive is up and running

Just thought I would try and chronicle the adoption adventure for anyone out there who is interested. If this blog helps anyone or motivates anyone to adopt, then my work is done. The world of International Adoption can be daunting for some people, but we have made our way though the paperwork unscathed and are now just waiting for our fingerprinting appointment and then the coveted CIS 171-h approval letter.