Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!!
We would like to share some updated photos with everyone. We have had a very blessed Christmas season; as we hope you all have. As far as adoption news. We do not have anything new to tell. We will let everyone know as soon as we hear something.

Well, here we go. There is a lot of back and forth news so I'll try to make everything as clear as possible.
About a month ago there was a problem with the American Embassy in Vietnam and one of the orphanages we work with. They felt like the Americans at the Embassy thought they could do what ever they wanted without going through the proper channels so they quit giving American referrals. They did start up again and we thought everything was ok. Then we got our license to work in the third province, wonderful. We just got word from Vietnam that we are only allowed to get referrals of children who come to the orphanage after our license became valid. There have been children to come to the orphanage since then, but the way it works is that the children, for obvious and very valid reasons are not available for adoption until Dec. For those of you not in the adoption world; the children have to go through health screenings, work has to be done to make sure these children are truely orphans- those types of things.
Now, we received word a couple of days ago that the orphanage director from the province that said he would not work with the US is now saying this again. Relations with the third province are going very well and we should start getting referrals soon, well in about 2 weeks. The first province is still working with the US and things are going fine.
We still expect our referral to come before the end of the year and that is fine. We know that our adoption is in God's hands and he will take care of us. You might remember that in the last blog I mentioned that requirements for the I600 had changed, but that we didn't know when it would go into affect. Well, it has gone into affect. It doesn't change anything for us as far as more or less paperwork, but it does affect our travel time.
With the new regulations the I600 is now filed at the time we accept our referral. That means at the time that we say "Yes, we accept this child." Before; we would have filed the paperwork when we got to Vietnam. They take about 2 days to go over the paperwork, declare her/him an orphaned child, we go to court and so on. Now, we send in the I600 the US gov. then spends 60 days per child to perform this investigation and then we travel, go to court and so on.
So, it is obvious that we will now be in Italy for Christmas. Before we hoped to be in Vietnam around Christmas. Hopfully we will be in Vietnam around Jan. or Feb. We are not going to try to guess at a date because Los Ninos at this time, of course cannot guess at when the referrals we will come in consistantly.
Blessings,
Meg

Good News

I just received an email from the Italian Embassy in Hanoi that they will issue us a Shengen Visa for our little girl after all. I received word today that I will call my contact there and meet with her and she will let me know what to bring with me to the Consular's office. Thankfully the lady that I have been in contact with is the same lady that we will meet with when we get there so that there is no confusion. This means we will have a couple of months to come to Italy with her so that we can adjust to being a family and rest, then come to the US. This, of course also means no trip around the world for the two of us and that Mike and Willow will more likely be able to come to the US when we come to finish the paperwork.

SO>>>God is good all of the time, all of the time God is good......You know the song.

Blessings,
Meg

Thank You Debbie

We would like to say thank you to Debbie with Adopt Abroad. She is the social worker who worked so diligently with us (and many others here in Italy) through our home study process. Debbie has been a great source of information, personable and truly showed each family how much she cares about us and our growing families.
As some of us have had to change agencies, programs, and regulations; Debbie has been nothing but patient and compassionate towards us.

So, thank you Debbie, and may God bless you and your family-

Mike, Meg and Willow

Tips on Saving Money - You Can Do It

Some of you have asked us how we are doing it...saving up that mcuh money for the adoption.
Here goes...First of all we must have faith in God that he will provide and boy has he.

1.) Don't run the AC. If I can do that anyone can-Meg

2.) Make lists and only make one trip in the car to do everything that you can in one day.

3.) Make a menu and only buy what is on your menu plus a little extra just incase someone pops in.

4.) Hang your clothes to dry-even when it's cold they will dry under a fan or in front of a heater

5.) Carry cash and when it's gone, it's gone-it's amazing what you don't remember swiping on that debit card.

6.) Printer ink is expensive so if you have a child that needs to print out reports; put it on a disk and send it to school with them for the teacher to print out or go to the computer lab at the school (thanks Lynsey)

7.) Also if you have many docs. to print- go to your local library many of them will let you print up to so many pages free of charge.

8.) Check how you can save on phone bills using the internet instead of calling from a land line.

9.) Turn off your cable

10.) Stop eating out- this is a biggie

11.) COOK breakfast-cooking instead of eating all of the fast breakfast foods will go much farther and you will be surprised at how much you will save.

12.) Walk, walk, walk- we are very fortunate to live in an area where many shops ect. are close to one another so we are able to park in a central location and walk. At over $3.00 gallon for gas it is very important to save where ever possible- check tire pressure, tune up your car- all of these things will help to better your milage.


When you get to feeling like you can't do anything - Purchase yourself, your spouse, your sister whom ever needs the card; a card they are inexpensive and bring joy for longer than you would think.
That's all I can think of right off the top of my head. If I remember any more that just are too good not to post I'll add it.

Our log in date

This past weekend was so much fun!! Willow had joined the cheer clinic at the Naples High School and the children were able to cheer in the football game, and perform a dance routine during half time. They were so cute!! She is really enjoying this. Then Sunday was the first time for this school year that the children's praise and worship team was able to lead the congregation in praise and worship. They did a new contemporary version of Agnus Dei. So many people came to me afterwards telling how much the children worshiping God touched them. Praise God!!!!
Monday, yesterday I was also able to pick up a french horn from the high school for Willow to borrow. She really had her heart set on percussion, but that was not available for the elementary school students. As soon as she spotted the french horn, that was it, she knew that was the horn she wanted to play. Of course I was thrilled. We had her try them all and she did, but that was it. And guess what? She was wonderful! This is a blessing for me as well. I now can play on it when she is not, he he... God is blessing our family in so many ways and we are so thankful. Thank all of you for keeping us in your prayers.


Well, it is official. Our log in date with the IAD (International Adoption Department) in Vietnam is Oct. 1, 2007! This is different from the Sept. 11 date. The Sept. date was when our dossier was delivered to Vietnam and it went into the translation dept. From IAD they will approve the paperwork they have received, pass on a reccomendation to the orphanage for adoption in the province with whom we will be working and they will pass on a referral to our agency.

The 28 of Sept.

Here I am sitting at the computer waiting (tick, tock, tick) :)
Our case worker was expecting to hear something from our representative in Vietnam the last week in Sept. I have already emailed him to ask if there is any news. I let him know that I will call him tomorrow if I don't hear from him sooner. I'll keep you all posted.
Thank you for your prayers.
Blessings,
Meg

Today as I ran into many people on base I was pleasantly surprised. Of course there was a moment of silence for remembrance of 9-11. But, that was not a reason for those I spoke with to be down. It sure didn't keep down the ladies at the PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) fall kick off this morning. There is reason for us to celebrate!! Jesus is alive and well and we can celebrate our victory in Him.
One more reason for our family to celebrate today, September 11, 2007; our adoption dossier has been delivered in Hanoi, Vietnam. This is a huge step in our adoption process. Thank you all for your prayers and we will keep you posted on future events.

Yipee!!

Hey everyone, we have great news!! I talked to our caseworker with Tues. night and he received our completed dossier, reviewed it and everything is in order. It was sent Fedex to Vietnam that day. We are getting so close.
It was so cute. Someone came up to me the other day at church and asked "Are you expecting?" I smiled and said, "Yeap, I'm about, oh, this far along. Can you tell?" Holding out my hands at about where you would be if you were 5-6 months along. She looked very puzzled and I immediately told her that we are adopting. We both laughed and of course she was very excited for us and went on to tell me about how she loved the Vietnamese people and spent some time in missions there. Every where we turn God is putting people in our lives that, either have adopted or are adopting and have worked in or volunteered in Vietnam. We have been so blessed.

Love to all of you,
Meg

What A Day

Today is not only the first day of school for Willow's fifth grade year, but Mike and I are also celebrating 13 years of marriage! God has truly blessed our lives and we are so thankfull for all of the ways that he has blessed us.
We sent off our dossier package Friday afternoon. At this point we wait to get the referral and date of travel. The exchange has a wonderful sale and so Willow and I went shopping and bought a few things for Christmas for the new baby. No, we do not know who she is or how old she will be, but there are things that can be bought for any age range. We had so much fun. Get this. God answers prayers in misterious ways. We received a check from Navy housing in Virginia Friday also. This was a check that we should have received a year ago for our deposit. It was dated March 2007 and we just received it. God knows when to send what you need-huh!?

Blessings,
Meg

A draft I didn't realize I hadn't posted!!

Another day and a large dent made in the process.

After talking to a courrier service today I found out a lot of great info. They were willling to tell me things to look for to make sure everything had been done properly. Thanks to this wonderful couple at the Assistant Stork we were able to keep our process moving along at a smooth pace. Come to find out, the Vietnamese Embassy in DC didn't mark some of our paperwork correctly and thanks to The Assistant Stork we were able to check the paperwork as it came in and send it back to be corrected without loosing any time. They even let us send in some other paperwork to them that I wasn't sure about and they looked it over for us, had the corrections made and then sent it on the Los Ninos. Isn't it amazing how God puts people in our lives to help us out when we just lean on and trust in him?!
Thank you Assistant Stork for all of your help.
Blessings,
Meg and Mike

Dossier Documents

Well our I-171H has come in and that was the last form we were waiting on. All of the documents that we had sent off for authentication from the US gov. and Vietnamese Consulate have come in also. One form for each of us has to be sent again because a step was missed so I'll send that off today along with the 171 for authentication and we are done!! Then on to the waiting pool. Thank God for smooth sailing. His hand has been on our adoption process the entire process through. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

Love and blessing,
Meg, Mike and Willow

Eternity According to Willow

We were sitting with my sister, Kerrie in Tuscaloosa, Al and Kerrie said that she used to think that life here on earth was so long, but that really it isn't. We all agreed. She then went on to say that times just seems to be flying by and she couldn't believe how quickly this year seems to have g0ne by. You see, we were having a conversation about how things are going to be in heaven and that here on earth is only a preparation place.
Willow then spoke up and said:
Being on earth is like dropping a drop of kool-aid in a full glass of water. Compared to the glass of water the kool-aid is so small. We all just looked at her in amazement (then agreed). Sometimes the wisdom that God has given Willow still amazes me.

coming back to Italy

Hi everyone,
As we sit here at Mike's mom's house in Chesapeake, Va, finishing up the last of the laundry so that we can go to the airport and catch the MAC flight back to Naples, I thank God for family and friends. We have had the most wonderful vacation. We were able to spend lots of time with family even those whom we haven't been able to see on trips prior to this one. And, were able to visit with friends that we were unable to find before also. We were so blessed. We also spent lots of time riding motor cycles, yes, even me!!!
I received a call from Mike's mom Patty a few days ago letting me know that we had received a package from the Vietnamese Consulate, of course I knew right away what it was. Our dossier docs!! Yes we have now received our first set of- certified, verified, and authenticated documents and they are ready to be sent to Vietnam. The rest should be waiting for us when we get back to Naples. Then we'll send them off to Los Ninos to send to Vietnam to be registered. Please keep us in your prayers for the funding to come for the adoption. We know that we are financially able to raise another child, but are still in need of the funding to adopt. We are putting this in God's hands and know that his will will be done.
God has worked miracles in our lives. Mike was given the opportunity to give his first sermon at the First Baptist Church in Grand Bay, Al. Hopefully it is the first of many to come. Keep us in your prayers as we pray for God's will to be done in our lives. We have been able to go to our home church in Decatur, AL and rejuvinate, learn some new music and have fun in the Lord.

Blessings,
Meg, Mike and Willow

Visiting Home

Today Mike will go on leave and turn in the paperwork for us to be able to fly MAC into Norfolk. Monnie, Mikes step dad, has been gracious enough to offer to pick us up at the airport and give us a ride to Alabama. Talk about answered prayers.
We are so excited to get to see all of our family and friends and visit our home church again. We would love for all of you to keep us in your prayers for smooth travel as we are trying to make it to Decatur, Al in time for church on July 1st.
If anyone needs to get in touch with us while we are in the States we can be reached at Meg's Mom's house in north Alabama- Debby 256-302-5455 or Mike's Dad and Mom's house Ed or Jackie 334-981-8770 in south Alabama.
Please be praying for Willow and our dog, Bama as we are leaving her in the care of our competent neighbor, but it is a long time for them to be apart.

Many of you know that we have friends who are adopting from Ethiopia. Well, they will be leaving to visit with him on Sat. They are very excited and have a great peace about the upcoming trip. They would love to have everyone's payers as we all know how powerful prayer is, that they would have a safe trip and that their son will be comfortable with them.

A little hang up, but not to worry

Well, in our last post we told all of you that the I-600A had come in. We were then waiting on the home study. The home study made it to Rome on the 19th, but we then received word that the recommendation and other paperwork needed didn't make it so they were unable to send off for adjudication. Of course I was upset and calling everyone to find out what had happened.
Ok, hold on....
The paperwork the embassy in Rome needed was there, they just didn't realize it. And, for that matter so was the recommendation. Adopt Abroad, though sent new paperwork just to make things easier and all is ok.

one more step out of the way

We received word today that our I-600A has come back to Rome from the States. For those of you who don't know, that is the immigration paperwork and federal background checks. The home study has still not reached Rome for them to ok it with the I600A, but as soon as it does they review the entire thing and seal it and that part will be over.
Also the dossier is now complete!!! We are just waiting on verification and authentication of the Gov.
We'll update everyone when we get more news.

God Bless,
Meg

Here are new pics

Some of these pictures are very good and with some of them, my batteries were dying so they aren't that great, but I wanted everyone to see Willow and the baby's room.









This is our home.. I will get a better picture when the sun is not in front of the house, but for now you can at least get a look at it.

We are now with the Placement Dept.

WOW, We received an email yesterday that let us know that we are now with the placement department at LNI (Los Ninos International)!!

We are trying to finish up the dossier so that we can send it to LNI and they can send it to Vietnam. We are waiting on just a few documents to come in and some are already at the Department of State in DC for Verification and then on to the Vietnamese Consulate.
In order to send in the dossier we are now trying to raise another $6000.00 so keep us in your prayers.
At this point we are painting Willow's room and the new room, and taking lots of pictures for an album to be sent to our little girl and tying up loose ends of things that may have changed. Like, yesterday we were a new packet of docs. to look through to see if any of ours had changed and they had so we need to redo some of our docs.

May God bless your day as he has ours.

The home study is finished

Finally!!! Debbie got final approval on our home study over the weekend. This now means that she will send the home study to Los Ninos (LNI) for them to send off for verification and authentication. Thank God they have decided they will take care of that for us. We will then sign the contract with LNI, send them the agency fee, get our dossier together and send it off for verification and authentication. LNI will then send the dossier to Vietnam for them to approve it. Once that happens, we will be "in the waiting pool."

No news from Rome

I called the US Embassy in Rome yesterday to find out if they have received anything back from immigration for us and so far they haven't . They expect to know something in a few weeks. Adopt Abroad, who is the agency that our social worker, Debbie works through also hasn't given us final approval on the home study yet either. We were hoping to hear word last night, but didn't.

God Bless,
Meg

Adoption News

As many of you know, we have been working on the adoption process for almost a year now. We thought that we were going to adopt a little girl from China, but when the regulations changed we no longer qualified.
After lots of prayer we decided that Vietnam was where our hearts were called. Now due to the fact that the agency we were working with only worked with China we then needed to find a new agency.
We are happy to say that we found an agency located in Texas, Los Ninos that we are now working with.

Our social worker, Debbie has been very accommodating and patient as she had to reformat a lot of our home study and even lengthen it. Los Ninos requires many items and education that many other agencies do not. We have been working very hard together to get this done. Plus we have had numerous mail issues so our home study was held up a little due to the fact that our reference letters just could not seem to get to us.

Diana, Cathy Dan and Kevin we have now received all of your letters of reference. Thank you so much for your support and kind words. Thank you to everyone who is keeping us in your prayers and supporting this adoption.

We have been waiting on Los Ninos for 2 weeks to find out if our home study is going to be approved or not. Just today I received an email from Debbie stating that only a few minor changes need to be made, but that there is nothing else that needs to be added!!!