Norman Adoption Blog

Adoption Buzz posted another video, but this one is of Phu Tho Orphanage where Binh lives.  I watched it a couple times already and couldn’t figure out if she is there. It is hard to tell if this is the only room of the orphanage.

Take a look and see if you can spot her!

Cindy and I spoke yesterday on the phone during our weekly phone meeting. She told me that their best guess for the date of our ceremony is March 19. She explained that there are 8 families waiting to receive their date. First they need to be approved by DIA (Department of International Adoption). They have to look over the baby’s dossier as well as the families. Once we have been approved we will then know our exact date of travel.

We have been set back a little (from our previous guess of March 1 or so) because the offices in Vietnam were closed all last week due to Tet, the New Year. Once we get the official approval, we should know the date of travel. Hopefully in the next week or two we will hear something.

Cindy said since there are so many families who will be traveling at the same time, they are going to break all 8 into 2 groups. Our trips may overlap, but the first group will probably have their ceremony (best guess) on March 12. Our group- March 19. Our ceremonies may be one week apart, but we still may see the other families. The great thing about traveling with other families is that we won’t be the only ones in the giving and receiving ceremony. We will have the other 3 with us that day. We are part of the 2nd group because they base the dates on when our dossier was received in Vietnam (first come first serve basis).

As soon as we know for sure I will of course be letting everyone know. This is the closest guess they can give us. We are anxious to book our flights and hotels. We are even considering going up a day or so ahead of when we have to be there to give us time to get adjusted first. All those decisions we will put on hold until we know for sure. Stay tuned…

Orphans Overseas posted a video clip on their Adoption Buzz site. It shows footage of a typical type of orphanage. But as Tad mentions, they all differ depending on the province or maybe even agency. This is not the orphanage that Binh Thi is located in Phu Tho. Her orphanage keeps the children (8 or so at once) on twin-sized beds. Not sure about caregiver to baby ratio at her orphanage either. The little 3 minute video is enlightening. It also breaks my heart. There are so many babies there. It seems even though they are held and cared for very well, they would never have the chance to mature as a child that had the devoted on-on-one attention. They seem to lay in their cribs for a majority of the time.

Brad and Raegan are a couple that are adopting a baby from Vietnam just like we are.  They contacted us a while back through our comments and told us they too are using Orphans Overseas.  We have been talking back and forth since then. But I am excited to see that Raegan is able to post on her blog while in Vietnam.  She left a couple days ago and has been able to update her blog since.

Journey to Jackson

Check out their blog.  It is encouraging to see how their experience is going, knowing we will be doing the same thing in just a couple of weeks!

Here are a couple pictures taken from Hannah’s room. One is an exciting picture of her closet. The second is Hannah’s bed and bumpers. The third is a picture of David playing with the baby doll in the baby swing.

We are still waiting to hear when our date of travel is going to be. I thought I would provide you the links to the two hotels that we could possibly be staying in.

Horison Hotel

This first hotel was the hotel they originally recommended. It is very close to the US Consulate and they offer free breakfast, an on-site ATM, great dining services, workout facilities, free medium speed wireless internet, and a small market next door for bottled water and snacks. The bell captain will arrange a driver for us to the orphanage.

However, Cindy told us that the team that was just in Vietnam for about a month (they just got back last week) stayed at a new hotel. They recommend this one now because it is brand new, much cheaper and is very comfortable. They also serve free breakfast. The team prepared the staff by telling them about the families coming in for adoption. They are very excited to have us there and are willing to help any way they can. You can see this hotel by checking the link below.

Hoang Ngoc Hotel

They have WIFI internet in each room and many of the same amenities. When we get our date, then we’ll decide which hotel to chose. Either way, I know that we will be very comfortable during our trip!