Looks like the G&R may be delayed by a couple of days. Not certain why, but we got an email from our adoption agency saying we should anticipate the delay. But, we’re still going on the same date and will hang out in Vietnam for a few extra days, if necessary.
At least we’ll be able to see Alyssa!!
Looks like the G&R may be delayed by a couple of days. Not certain why, but we got an email from our adoption agency saying we should anticipate the delay. But, we’re still going on the same date and will hang out in Vietnam for a few extra days, if necessary.
At least we’ll be able to see Alyssa!!
Finally all is in place and we’re off to Vietnam on Saturday, August 26, to get our daughter, Alyssa. We don’t have an exact date for the Giving & Receiving Ceremony, but expect it will be either August 29 or 30.
Once we get Alyssa we need to process paperwork with the Vietnamese, Turkish and US governments before we can come back to Ankara.  So, we’ll probably spend about two weeks in Vietnam. In addition to Ho Chi Minh City, we’ll also travel to Phan Tiet province where the orphanage is as well as Hanoi to complete visa documents.
Obviously, we are all very excited to finally be on the last steps of this wonderful journey. Will try and update the blog in Vietnam and, hopefully, even be able to add a few pictures.
Finally all is in place and we’re off to Vietnam on Saturday, August 26, to get our daughter, Alyssa. We don’t have an exact date for the Giving & Receiving Ceremony, but expect it will be either August 29 or 30.
Once we get Alyssa we need to process paperwork with the Vietnamese, Turkish and US governments before we can come back to Ankara.  So, we’ll probably spend about two weeks in Vietnam. In addition to Ho Chi Minh City, we’ll also travel to Phan Tiet province where the orphanage is as well as Hanoi to complete visa documents.
Obviously, we are all very excited to finally be on the last steps of this wonderful journey. Will try and update the blog in Vietnam and, hopefully, even be able to add a few pictures.
Still no definitive word on when we can get Alyssa, but it looks positive for the last week in August. We’re going crazy waiting!! Our adoption agency says that we’ll only have about two weeks notice from the Vietnamese government once they set the date for the Giving & Receiving Ceremony. We’re starting to move forward with plans so we’re ready once we get the word.
Meanwhile, we’ve been collecting all the necessary items that a family needs when a five-month old baby enters the home. The crib has been in place for several months, but we’ve also now cleaned off Jessie’s old infant car seat and got that ready for Alyssa. We also bought a new bouncer so Alyssa has a place to ’sit’ and can join the rest of the family as we sit in the living room. Of course, we also got new clothes, although not too many until we know Alyssa’s exact size.
All-in-all, we’re ready and now just have to hear from the Vietnamese government!! Jessie has expressed the family’s desire to have Alyssa with us the best with a beautiful drawing, shown below.
We finally got the call from our adoption agency last night. Our referral is official!! Our new daughter’s name is Alyssa Mai Hayes. She was born on March 21, 2006. A recent picture is below. We don’t have much more info than that and hope to be able to travel to Vietnam in late August to get Alyssa.
Nothng definite from Vietnam yet although everything points toward a possible referral ‘real soon.’ The latest news from our adoption agency is that the medical check is still planned for the next week or so and that they hope the Vietnamese government will make a referral after June 15.
We’re not certain exactly what that means, but are eagerly awaiting the day we get the email from our agency telling us that the Vietnamese have made an official referral. Until then, we can only wait.
If this all works out as planned, it looks like we’ll be traveing to Vietnam in early August. We don’t know yet how long we’ll be staying there. We hope to know more on that front in a couple of weeks. The first families from our adoption agency to travel to Vietnam under the new process and pick up their newly adopted children are going in the end of June. Once they go through the process, everyone will have a much better idea of how things work.
More news to follow as we get it.
A glimmer of hope arrived yesterday from our adoption agency. Apparently the baby girl who had entered the orphanage a few weeks ago is doing OK after having some medical issues, which we don’t fully know about yet. If follow-up medical checks are positive, it looks like this may be the baby that gets referred to us. If so, we may be able to travel sometime in the summer (July or August) to get baby Alyssa.
Our fingers are crossed that this will work out. The roller coaster ride with its ups and downs continues.
Obviously since several weeks have passed since my last post, the greatly anticipated referral did not come through. Details are not clear, but the infant girl that entered the orphanage had some problems so a referral is not in the works at this time. Maybe later, but no one knows for sure if/when it might happen. So the waiting game continues!
Meanwhile to pass the time, we (Nancy, Jessie and I) are thinking of ways to welcome Alyssa into our family when she does arrive. Jessie, in particular, has been using her newly honed writing and drawing skills to write notes to Alyssa along with wonderful illustrations. When I get a few extra minutes over the next couple of days, I’ll post some of her work for all to see.
We heard from the adoption agency yesterday that they hope, and I stress hope, to be able to make an official referral to us this week or next. The referreal would be an infant girl who was recently placed in the orphange that our adoption agency sponsors.
So, with fingers crossed and knocking on wood, we hope that we will be able to take the next big step soon. If that were to occur, of course, the next big question is when we could go to Vietnam to get Alyssa.  We’re still being told it will take four months, which seems like a long time and will seem like an eternity once we get the referral.
Stay tuned for more info as we get it.