Norman Adoption Blog

Right after we received the referral and Binh’s medical records, Patrick and I compiled a list of questions for Laura, Orphans Overseas’s social worker. They are extremely busy trying to get out referrals to the other families and are having to deal with a really slow internet connection. So I as surprised she got back to us so quickly.

We asked her questions like: When will we be able to learn a little bit about her history? Who gave her the name, the people in the orphanage? Is that her real birthday or their best guess? What happens now? Do you have a general idea of when we might travel?

Laura’s email basically said that we might not get any further information regarding Binh’s past. The orphanage may have a little bit more information, but her name and birthday could just be something given to her from her caregivers or those in the hospital who cared for her when she was born.

As far as the process is concerned, we should be getting an email from them shortly that includes an acceptance form. I am guessing we have to tell them that we’ve had the medicals checked out and that we do in fact want to accept Binh. She also said that her best estimate of travel is on or around March 1. That gives us 4 or 5 weeks! I’m thrilled about that because it is shorter than their first guess and that will give us plenty of time to get prepared to travel and get her room together!

The orphanage that Binh is from is in the province of Phu Tho in north Vietnam. I wanted to post a picture and the information from Orphans Overseas blog site at http://www.adoptionbuzz.org/

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“This is another example of a Phu Tho orphanage - a model that is common throughout much of Vietnam. In this particular centre there are about 20 babies and 8 caretakers. The caretakers are regularly holding and feeding the babies, giving them a lot of personal attention until they are able to be adopted either a local Vietnamese family or a family from abroad. As seen in the the picture, this orphanage utilizes twin-size beds, set end to end, with 5 to 8 babies per bed. During these winter months, the babies are wrapped heavily in blankets.”

The waiting is finally over. This past week has been torture. Every hour at least I have been checking my email, hoping to get news about our baby. We had it down to a science, knowing that they are 13 hours ahead, we would check our email in the morning and right before bed. But to our shock, the news finally came, at 2:00 pm our time (which means it was about 3 am their time)
Introducing baby girl Binh Thi Nguyen. Her first name, Binh, means “peace.” She was born November 23, 2006. That means that she is about 2 months exactly!! The medical exams show that she is just over 9 lbs. Everything so far looks normal as far as her health, but Patrick and I are checking with our family pediatrician and are going to call an orphan doctor to get their opinion.

Patrick found out that her middle name Thi (pronounced T) is a common name they give orphan baby girls. It is a possibility that she was abandoned since they used that name…almost as filler.

He also found out that the possible time frame for traveling could be in about 6-8 weeks. They determine the date of travel by the day of our giving and receiving ceremony that takes place. Although, since they have so many babies at this particular orphanage they may try to have the ceremony much sooner. Also, he was told that we were in the first batches of families who are in the same stage in the process as we are. Laura and those from Orphans Overseas who are in Vietnam are working late into the night and are trying to get out all the referrals as quickly as possible.

As soon as I hear more, I will be sure to let you know…!!!

Saturday was the day we heard about Laura’s “offer” -of being able to receive an immediate referral of a baby if we were willing to pay the additional fees of that particular province, which currently house many more babies than their current orphanages. So if we were willing, we would be able to receive a referral of our baby and travel all within a month or two, instead of the original timeline of 4 months. We talked it over and tried to remain as open to God’s direction as possible without jumping ahead too quickly. We could only wait two days.

By Monday morning, we both knew for sure that this was an answer to our prayers and was the path we wanted to take. One of my prayers was that I would not miss my two closest friends, Jenny and Natalie’s weddings. They are getting married early June and I would be devastated if I had to miss it. But if our schedule remained as it was before, we could have been possibly traveling early May. Our trip is projected to be a 2-3 weeks, which wouldn’t be enough time to get back, get settled and really get acquainted with our new baby before I had to travel to New Orleans.

There were so many other factors that came into play. We didn’t want to make a hasty decision because, what if a referral comes through and we get to travel quickly without having to pay any extra amount? But to both of us, this felt like it was our answer. Why wait when God has shown us the door? It also seemed like the other orphanages they were working with did not have as many babies as there were families requesting one. These new provinces had a large amount of babies that are just waiting to be brought home. It seemed at all angles to be the right decision. Others, like Jenny, also encouraged me by reminding me that if we aren’t meant to adopt from these areas, God can close a door just as easily and quickly as He has opened it. He will direct our path to bring us straight to the baby that was meant for us.

So…to the news:

After back and forth conversations with Laura and others at Orphans Overseas, Laura wrote back today and gave us quite a surprise. She said…

So stay tuned and hopefully early next week I can report to everyone about all that we know about our little one and hopefully be able to show you a picture!!

Don’t forget to check out Orphans Overseas Vietnam blog.  They have been great about updating it and continually adding new information about the process, timelines, what to expect, and what all the different forms are for.  They are also going to be updating it regularly while they are in Vietnam.  They may be posting more pictures too…so be sure to check it out!

Adoption Buzz 

Now that the holidays are behind us and life is returning to it’s normal pattern, Patrick and I are getting more serious about preparing for the arrival of the new baby. We have a lot to move around to make our current guest bedroom into the new babies room. But the first item we needed was a crib for our new little one. This is what we found…

Our baby bed will be in Midnight black. We had to order it from a local store here. They at first said that it would take 8-10 weeks to come in. We explained that we don’t know for sure if we have that long (we would like to have it here in case we have to travel sooner than expected). The lady looked at me funny, since I am obviously not pregnant.  We just had to explain that we are adopting and feel we will need the bed much sooner than 8 weeks.  She was able to speak with the store owner, and he thought we could get it in about 4 weeks instead.

So first we just need to make room and clear out the guest room and move baby furniture from David’s room to hers.

Patrick and I are in the process of making a decision. There is not much of a question as to the answer we would like to give, but we still want to wait and pray so we can determine what it is we feel God leading us to. Instead of explaining the recent events, I am going to let you read for yourself the conversation between Laura, the social worker with Orphans Overseas, and our family…

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Dear Vietnam Adoptive Family,

While we are writing, motorbikes, bicycles and vendors with Vietnamese cone hats file by the windows at our temporary residence, the small Hoang Ngoc Hotel in Hanoi. Several of our Orphans Overseas’ staff traveled to Hanoi on January 12, 2007 to further develop our humanitarian and adoption work in Vietnam.

Since your dossier is in Vietnam, we know that you are anxious for some news about the referral of your baby, and we have been anxious to give you an update. For many years, since the referral of our first baby in 1994, Orphans Overseas has worked in Vietnam, placing hundreds of children with permanent families. When Vietnam reopened to American adoptions, Orphans Overseas started slowly and registered our work in a limited number of provinces to ensure stability and control.

In fall, due to the number of families who have submitted applications to our Vietnamese program, Orphans Overseas responded by expanding its work to other provinces to accommodate your, our families, with the goal that you would not have to wait exceedingly long times for referrals of your babies. At this point in time, we have expanded our work to several additional provinces and thus are able to offer you an option from which to choose for your referral.

Since each province in Vietnam operates autonomously, you can imagine that timelines and expenses might vary between them, and this is the case. In our first provinces, the procedure and foreign fee will remain as they have. In our new provinces, the referral time is immediate at this time because the availability of babies is much greater but the fee, set by the individual province, [-is somewhat higher. We don’t want to disclose the amounts because they are not important in the decision process].

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If you are interested in receiving a referral in one of these new provinces, please let our office know as soon as possible. If you are not interested, you do not have to do anything at all. During our time in Vietnam we will be visiting each of our provinces and orphanages and should be able to advise you of your referral status. Of course, we will notify you as soon as a baby referral is available for you.

Please be aware that there is no pressure from us at Orphans Overseas to choose a referral from a province where the fees are increased. Rather, we wanted to provide an option for families who may want a faster referral.

Sincerely,
Laura

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Laura,

I am so excited to think that you are there, spending time in the country that has grown so strongly in our hearts. I am encouraged by Orphans active participation with the country and how familiar you all are with everything that goes on. You aren’t just detached and just trying to get the job done. You all are so passionately involved and it really touches my heart to know that through this whole process everything has been done because of your love for God’s children and for the families that desire these children.

Patrick and I will want a little bit more time to consider your offer and to pray about it to make sure it is the right decision. But when we first read your offer, we both were very excited and felt the fee would not be an issue. We both have some questions though that might help in the decision. How would this change the travel plans if we received a referral from one of the new provinces? Would we still be staying in Hanoi and are these new provinces around Hanoi? Would this change the length of our waiting period if we received a more immediate referral? Also, do you know the ages of the children in the new provinces? Patrick and I have been praying for a child that would be significantly younger than David, 18 mon.

We will try to let you know as soon as we make a decision. Thanks so much for giving us this opportunity. We hope that you continue to have a fun, successful, and safe trip.

Thanks!!!

Elise and Patrick Norman

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Hi Elise.

Thank you for your email and encouraging words.

No worries about needing more time. This is not something we want you to rush into. You need to feel comfortable with your decision, which is why we gave the options. The way it would change your travel plans is that you would travel much sooner, possibly within a month or two. I don’t have a confirmation on time line, but it appears that it will be much sooner than anticipated. Yes, you would still be staying in Hanoi, as the provinces are still near to Hanoi. The babies are all within a few months old.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Take care and we will continue to be in touch.

Laura