First post!

Hi, welcome friends! The purpose of this blog is to keep track of the progress made towards adopting our baby from Vietnam. The title "Long Journey" symbolizes not only our journey down the long road called adoption, but also the journey our baby's birth parents are making towards choosing adoption.

First, a bit about how we got started... Even before I found out I had a genetic disease that would keep us from having biological children, Dan and I talked about the possibility of adopting one day. So many children out there need loving parents. Instead of producing another mouth for this earth to feed, why not adopt a little one? So, after a health scare in the spring/summer of 2006, another reminder that there are no guarantees in life, we decided to seriously look into adoption.

We attended an informational meeting and said "what the heck, lets send in our $300 and the application". After that, its like buying a house. They move on your application right away and you start collecting documents, the story of your life. They want financial forms, medical exams, proof of employment, background checks, fingerprinting...the list seemed endless. After all the background checks clear, you are invited to workshops to help you understand the process of adoption and what it means to be an adoptive parent. There are definitely going to be some special challenges! A reporter was at our class taking photographs for a story about a single mom rushing to adopt from China before the laws changed in May 2007. Wouldn't you know it, but our photo ends up front page news!! We hadn't told anyone about our plans yet, so thankfully nobody noticed that couple sitting at the table from Somerset, NJ.

Eventually, you have the dreaded home visit where a social worker comes to interview you and "inspect" your home. Shall we put the dog outside? Should I hide my cane? Should we offer her drinks and food? What will she ask? Will we pass? Yes, in the end it was all very easy and we passed with no problems. She really is just trying to identify any issues that may be a sticking point, so that you can "fix" them before the baby comes.

After our home study was approved, another round of document collecting started and a critical form was sent to CIS. Surprisingly, CIS returned their approval form to us in record time! At this point, we had to get all of our documents authenticated by the states of New Jersey (where we live) and Pennsylvania (where we were born and married). Dan took off some days from work, first dropping off the forms at Trenton, then driving out to Harrisburg, PA. Everything was authenticated just before my business trip to Washington, DC. Now all the forms had to be authenticated by the Vietnamese consulate, which happened to be 5 blocks from my hotel (photo is of me waiting outside the embassy). After some dismay (the consulate was closed for Chinese Labor Day), the forms were submitted and we waited for them to return via Fed Ex. It took a little longer than expected, but we were forewarned by a kind courier waiting in line with me that everything with Vietnam takes longer than expected!

The forms were then sent over to Vietnam sometime in mid-May, I am not even sure of the exact date. Now everything is in the hands of the Vietnamese government. They will search for a child that we have requested. You request the gender, age, and any conditions or limitations that you are willing to accept. This wait time is very uncertain. It deepens on how many people are waiting ahead of you, and how quickly they can find a child matching your description. They estimate this part of the process could take 2-6 months...so we wait.