I miss my house

Ok its been 3 weeks and I know Ho Chi Minh city by the back of my hand. I can tell the taxi driver which way to go when they try to take you in circles. I can negotiate a good price on items we now need to lug home but ..... I cannot get them to release the baby. It is over 6 months from referral and we have watched families come and go. Both with our agency and not. What gets me most is that those traveling got referrals months after us, and the other family stuck with us. No more answers then when we left just wait and be patient. I would not wish this on anyone. We miss home and our family and want our daughter as a part of that family dont they get it.

So does the phone ring?

6 months later and not a step closer

Today it is 6 months since we got the referral of our beautiful girl. She is now 9 months old and we are not one step closer to getting her home. This is so very sad. Then to make your wait worse your agency says your only waiting 3 months. Does this include the time they lost all the papers in Vietnam? Who would ever imagine this would be the outcome, sure not us. It saddens us to see so many who signed long after us and who got referrals so long after us completing their adoptions. Congratulations to them and we are sorry we are not more excited. Hoping this is the week of more news and less Typhoons in Vietnam.

Beautiful Weekends

How can you ask for nicer weather. That is one thing about California, you can always find a weekend to just walk on the beach during fall and winter. The weather is perfect. Yesterday my mom and I went to meet my brother and we had a great picnic in the park. I had not seen my brother in a long time an on his way through we found a few hours to enjoy each others company and a piece of cheesecake.
I did find time to shop and decided though its lugging a stroller with me I really need to. If I end up alone I will have 2 kids one stroller and if she hates the carrier I am in trouble sooooo. I found a 15% off coupon online for Babies R Us and will buy the double stroller today. I figure at worst it could carry the diaper bag for me :).
Now to the bigger news. I have gone back and forth with our agency. Return phone calls are not happening for the last month, we have gotten a few emails, one saying go ahead and get your Visa which we did apply for. With holidays and such they are slower so in a crunch you can be in trouble. We did find it faster and cheaper again in the San Francisco Consulate so we applied there. It is $45 for a 30 day Visa. We then booked our flight and hope to at least visit our daughter and make headway on a giving and receiving. After we arrive it will approach our 6 months since we got our referral. Very frustrating.
So one more week and we will see you in Saigon.

Where is the Visa

I went to apply yesterday for our Visa and the man kept telling my I cannot use the money order with my Visa. It was to funny as he meant I could not pay for the money order with my Visa. I was not going to but wanted to apply for my Visa to enter Vietnam and he just missed the whole thing. It is now 1 week since they our agency got the last signature as per my email on Friday from the director. So do you think we have a giving and receiving? It is going to be 6 months from referral if they don't hurry. We have been on the phone with airlines and hope to secure a ticket today for the end of the month. It is our hopes that by then he will have the date or they will once I arrive but its way to long and we need to be with our daughter.
Ok so bags are getting packed and weighted but the controversy over how much each can weight. I have two duffel bags with donations, clothes, soft toys and formula. The remainder of formula is in my suitcase. Packing for 2 children is not easy either as I know my sons size but the baby's is a mystery as I have asked for her weight but have not gotten that for awhile.
It is going to be 90 degrees here today so I should get outside and enjoy it before it gets to hot.

Are we there yet????

The weather is warm and its just wonderful outside now if we had a baby to walk around with and share all the pretty trees. It is now creeping up on 5 months from referral and still nothing. Each week it's next week we will hear, who said this would be easy. We got new pictures and I think this is just getting harder by the day. I don't talk to anyone about it anymore since I know little to nothing. Ok frustrated we are. My husband offered ok I asked to go there and just wait it out there. Guess what ?? He said Yes. So we called the agency and are on day 4 of no return call :(. So instead I will share our pictures we got a couple of weeks ago.

So now do you know why the wait is so hard? We watch her grow up through pictures. Ok break time tears again..

Falling leaves

Our trees are so confused at this point. They do not know if they should lose their leaves or just keep them all year. It is now the end of October and it is so warm outside. Most of my trees do not lose their leaves but those that do are green and full. Unless we have a change in weather real fast these Halloween costumes can be worn as is. I never got how they could make them so thin and sleeveless when it is in October. I guess the original designers of costumes lived in California and forgot its October and suppose to be cold.
We are happy to hear more travel news for families but again we are no closer. Wait Wait Wait.... I heard our papers cleared so long ago but they sit. It is 4.5 months and counting :(
Have a great weekend.. Happy Halloween

No more Diapers

Well we took the plunge and took Myles out of his diapers Saturday. It did not go to well as his father seemed to get him to the toilet after he went quite a few times. We are happy to day Sunday went much better. We did wonder though as he wanted to go pee pee but even through Monday still no poop. Well that poop cost me $29 dollars today. Four days later he finally went on the toilet hurray. So I am excited to announce I will only have one child in diapers at a time in our home, this was a concern as dirty diapers are not something we like.
The weather is wonderful and we are spending lots of time outdoors. Only problem with this is Myles loves to dig. He moves the rocks from one pile to the next. How can I possibly get rid of them if he enjoys them so much. Wonder how he will do in the snow since it seems like summer here all the time. If all goes well after we return from Vietnam we hope to visit Mammoth.
Still no new news from our agency. They are sending us the travel information but still no dates. Patience is all we hear, five months later at that.

If only I had put my time to better use.

I got an email today that we should be getting news hopefully this week I will read the email again 10 times to make sure I got it right. It seems that two of us are ready to go in our province. Now you can read past posts this wait has been anything but easy and here I will say oh no I don't have anything done. The packed bags got unpacked when we flew to Missouri and since it was a longer wait I do not think we have the right size clothes. This could also pose a problem due to the conference in Vietnam but I cannot wait longer this is way to hard. So we are hoping, praying its finally going to happen and though we thought we would travel with more families at least it seems two of us are there.
So if that is not enough I am working on my house and figuring our where to put the wonderful wood pieces my brother makes. First thing I got was a jewelry/keepsake box.

Then my clocks...... Yes clocks

So in the mail came my 4th clock. They are all different wood and I love them all but am running out of places to hang them. I have not taken pictures of the new one but will this week.

Its now over 4 months since we got our referral and still no news. We just are told be patient. Now how is it that for 2 months of any day now and patience belong in the same sentence? We are frustrated and wish we knew if this is really going to happen. So far 9 months after getting their license they have 3 families in country and no completed adoptions.
In the mean time our busy life goes on. We hope to have the kids bathroom done this week. I found some great fish tiles in Missouri to add to what I had so incentive. Thank goodness we have 4 bathrooms in our home, taking one out has not been a major issue yet.
I got my latest purchase last week for Mai. I ordered a Mai Tai over 1 month ago and the first never showed up so they had to make it all over again and send it to me. When my daughter brings back my camera I will take pictures.
Happy Sunday all.......

Farewell

I have never been to Missouri before but so far the people we have met have been wonderful. It is so different than home here but we have been treated so warmly by everyone. Ok so not one store :) but heck they cannot be perfect.
We met some wonderful people from Life Goes On after we arrived and I want to thank them personally for their compassion and care your wonderful people.
So do you think my kids took advantage of this? I cannot imagine how my mom will survive when we travel to Vietnam. It seems either she called the kids or the kids called her and they went shopping today. I know what this means, department stores. Homecoming is this weekend do they not give notice? Odd how this always works that my mom gets talked into looking for 1 yep 1 dress and I hear jeans, shoes, shirts seemed to jump into the picture.
We head home Saturday morning.

I have not written in awhile took a break from the whole adoption hoping that it would make the wait easier. It hasn't at all and we still wait with no real news on when we will travel. Seems they know little at our agency.
Yesterday was 4 months since we got our referral. My packing skills were put to a test on Tuesday night though. I had bags packed and thought we were ready for this. I got a call and now have a pile on my bedroom floor to deal with as we had 6 hours to get a flight out and we are now in Missouri. We made it to the airport and thankfully though we took the red eye Myles did great on the plane slept a lot so we hope he will do the same to Vietnam. I don't think we my husband and I were prepared for how bad thing were when we arrived as we got a phone call and just booked a flight but with the saddest heart I announce that we lost my mother in law at 5:05pm yesterday. We met an amazing team of 3 who stayed with our family by her bed and we now pray for the family who awaited a liver and pray that our loss turned in to their future. Our flight home was for Saturday night but we think we are going to take the flight early tomorrow home earlier.

This is a long week....

I went shopping again. If not there some orphanage is going to get a lot of clothes..

These are just a few of the outfits I bought to give to the orphanage this week. I made sure I got more then pink but heck those boys look so cute in pink. Ok so that did not end my shopping though. I plan ahead.....

Yes a snowman suit. It fits 0-9 months and I think just a picture in it is worth the $2.00. Yep it was a whole 2 dollars as most of the clothes you see are under $3. I bought long sleeve onsies today for $2.00. There are 2 in the pack. Now you see my problem, such a deal how can you turn it down. They keep making things lower and lower and form a Karrie pile at Babies R Us.

How early do you pack

Holiday weekend meant a good time to go through things paint rooms and tile bathrooms. All on the list and only a little done so far as Sunday approaches. It must be the beautiful weather and any excuse to go outside.
I had a change of heart on colors so the babies room is now white. Ok its the primer but its white anyway. I hope to have the final decision made today so we can get some color on the walls. My mother what's to know if the square footage on the house is less since I paint the rooms so much. Nothing like a fresh coat of paint.
Also going to tackle the kids bathroom. I am tiling he counter since I had the builder put in white tile and my husband who preped it for me did not make it level this time. This does create more work but it will get done.
More like it has to before I leave to get our baby. Speaking of which we know little and wish someone would tell us for sure we are going in September.
If your by your local Toys R Us today check out the sales on clearance clothing . I say this laughing because I just bought about 20 more outfits to take over.
Have a great day......

They better hurry or I will have 10 Suit cases

School started hurray. The kids are back in school and yet I still feel I don't have enough time each day. Maybe once Myles starts pre school in a week. My 18 year old is home to much though and requires a lot of attention so this could be a cause too. I think my husband is not talking to me again after the latest arrival. Do you need updates on on home studies when your family grows. My daughter brought a kitten to live here. DH says and who takes care of this animal? Umm :).....
They told me last year they needed shoes and I collected over 60 new pairs of shoes for the orphanage. This time we learned they do not get enough formula. Yeah you got it right but not 60 cans yet. I think closer to 30 though hurray.

Then it was clothes they always need clothes and you could not even imagine the great sales I find. So this is only a small dent on what I have purchased. My husband looked at me as though you bought all this for Rylee-ann. Nope its to leave there.

So now that I have all this stuff do you think they could send me already? I wonder how long they can tell one family they are waiting on the call to set the G&R date. I sure hope it comes soon I am running out of room for my clothes.

Ok its Monday in Vietnam

My brain is always 14 hour ahead. I even gave my agency permission to call me at 3am if that is when the notice comes that we can get our daughter. It is a bit hard when one says plan on September travel (do they know that is 4 days away) and then the other person in the office says plan on October/November travel. Yes you read this right as you can see its a guess. I never thought waiting would be so hard but it is. So today I found so many shirts/jumpers and other items on sale at Babies R Us and bought as much as I could. More tomorrow and I sure hope the orphanage likes them. I bought crayola crayon packets ok 40 of them, markers and paper to give to the older kids. My thought was if it breaks you tear the paper off but if I got pencils and they broke they would end up in the trash. I want to bring a few toys to hang from cribs as well.
So do you see my suitcase expanding already? Here I thought I would go lighter this time around haha...
Now lets get the phone ringing I cant wait forever to get my daughter :)

Where did the week go.....

Can you believe another week has passed and summer is coming to an end? School officially starts next week but the freshmen go to school this morning to get their books, schedules and buy there year books. Ok so what is with the cost of year books anyway? If you want to just buy a year book its $70 till next week that is, if you want to attend football games add to that. So the check for today is $110 without P.E. clothes thank goodness she is taking dance. I am sure they will want special shoes and outfit that will cost me more then PE clothes :).
We are headed out to the Asian Garden Mall today as I need to feel like I am getting closer to Vietnam. I will take picture and post later.
Superman has made his appearance in my house and we have had to buy several of these pj's as he will not go to his normal clothes. I did try to tell him that Clark Kent changes to regular clothes but he will have none of it. Now if he could use his super powers to clean the house for me that would be great. Myles better known as Superman will start school in September.
My purchase getting me closer to Rylee-ann this past week is her car seat.

It has the best ratings and seeing she is so small the Britax seemed to big so it is being put aside a bit. So now that I have her car seat do you think someone can call me and tell me to pick her up? I am told we should know something in the next week or so.

Have a great day.....

Movie to see

My daughter invited me out to a movie last night. I have to say since Myles joined us we do not see movies that often unless they are power hero's, animated kids who sing, or the little bear who gets in trouble (curious George). I am not so sure this was the movie to see when you are awaiting travel news but "World Trade Center" is what we saw. My daughter has offered to baby sit so I can take my husband. I am not sure anyone walked out with a dry eye but I will say it was good.
On the adoption front no more news. We are being told that things are moving along and hopefully travel will come in September. Do they know how hard it is to look at a picture know its your child and not be able to even touch her? Then I read this on the internet.
When you go to the orphanage you should be very polite to everyone you meet. The person who has been taking care of your child may want to hold him/her for most of the time you are there. Please let her do this. She has taken care of your child and this will be the last time she will see him/her. Give her a few last moments. She may also show you how to hold and feed your baby. Again, let her do this. You will soon be on your way home and you can do what ever you please. You have the rest of your life with your child; she has only a few more minutes.
This cannot be an easy job and I sure hope I find a way to thank them properly for caring for our daughter.

Sunday is a new week?

I am so ready to start a new week. Our family seems to have had a tough week. My ex sister in law and Aunt to my kids lost her battle to breast caner and my children had to try again to understand losing a family member. Than my father decided to scare us and ended up in the emergency room and then the hospital. Though he was released the next day it was only to have him return Tuesday for a pace maker. So as you see I needed a new week.
When the going gets tough take out your referral pictures. Do not go in the baby's room and realize you have nothing ready though :). I have bought toys and clothes but have not gotten the necessary items. Why wait? I still think I is this real?
Ok my favorite thing is the zoo which I have not been to in a few weeks but this is a picture of the elephant at my last visit. I did not know that they played in water but this elephant had the best time. Have you ever seen an elephant take a bath?

And my purchases today is a new doll for Rylee-ann. I wonder if I will be able to take any of these things with me? I am going to buy a few like it to give to the orphanage to hang on the cribs for the babies though.

Over and over I go back to the same picture. Is she real or a doll? I have asked our agency about getting formula to the orphanage as it seems they are all small and do not get enough food. All that were checked were low on weight which is a concern.
So does this look like a doll? I am also enquiring about the girl holding her. Is she in the orphanage is she available? Hopefully we will learn this soon.

Ok so I get pictures of our daughter and a few extras and first I say what in heavens name is that? I guess I deserve a trip to Hawaii or at least somewhere that has coconuts. What ever happened to that brown fuzzy thing I see in the market. So I ask my husband what is it and he says the outside of a coconut. Has he been to Hawaii without me?

I do like the green on it though and wonder how that would look with pink on the walls in the baby's room. I better start this week as time is flying and I really need to have more then clothes for her. I have bought way to many outfits and way to many toys. My husband wants to know if they allow full size carry on because I keep telling him this is a toy for the long flight home.

Referrals

I think today has been one of the better days. When you read other families posting their referrals it just makes it more real. From the beginning I have watched one families blog and you would think it was my child. She talked about her baby then all of a sudden nothing. How do you write someone asking what happened. Well today she posted pictures and I feel like I got my referral all over again. Congratulations I am so happy you got your beautiful daughter. I am sure from reading your blog you both will make wonderful parents.

I hesitated putting much on our referral scared you can say but now reading a few others we are happy to announce Rylee-ann Mai who is in Can Tho. We got so many pictures the other day and some of her medical. Now if only we could get more. Can you imagine I got on the phone and insisted (ok asked nice... begged) to get my daughter formula. It seems she is anemic and in need of good formula. The orphanage does all they can I am sure but can we not do more? I await news that they can do this for me and all the babies there that need this.

Wow how the weeks fly but we are not closer to Vietnam. I keep reading others pages and get so excited. We decided to finally do the baby's room this weekend now to choose a color. My daughter is moving down stairs and chose green for her room. I want to know when normal colors will appear in my home though.
Can you believe Halloween costumes are out and I found the cutest lady bug. Hope it brings good luck and that we have her by then.

As of July 10, 2006 we have our official referral of our daughter Rylee-ann Faith Mai Mikulus. We have had her picture for a month but until this week we were unsure if we would really get her.
Does this mean we can officially buy clothes? Paint her room and get ready for an infant again. I sure hope so because Monday night I bought an outfit.


Our daughter resides in Vietnam being well taken care of in an orphanage. She is now 4 months old and our last weight was at 3 months and she was 9 pounds. Can I send some formula? She is beautiful and we cannot wait to actually touch her. We are told a total of 4 months to travel and without knowing we have passed the first month.

I sat here last night thinking wow a mom again and the quilt squares meant something. They now are for someone how exciting. I cannot wait to get all my squares and make her quilt.

More waiting

So the weeks go by as we still have little on our adoption. We thought we were going to have to start over when our dossier was pulled. Wait was it really? I guess it depends on who you speak to at the agency. Last we heard it was not then we got an email asking if we were interested in a girl. Of course we are, didn't we sign on with you and pay you to find her.
I took on a part time job nights to help with the added expenses and make a few dollars to spend in Vietnam for gifts but I spend what I make on baby stuff. Ok so choosing a baby store to work in may not have been that wise.
Congratulations Doug and thanks for making me an Aunt, cant wait to find out if its a boy or girl.
Hoping to hear more about the girl so CALL ME...

Ok its been a long two weeks and lots going on. We first had major miscommunication with our agency. Teach me to not go to the top. We got many things worked out but also learned a lot about the process in the mean time. Nothing good comes easy right? So I guess fear made me take all the baby clothes back to costs that were under 12 months size. They will offer me a boy right? No I told them not to call me with a boy that we really wanted a girl and if they offered a boy we would take it. So the pink dresses went back and I moved up to 12 months. Seems you cannot get young referrals anymore if you talk to some agencies.
Now on to my fun new job. I wanted to make a few extra dollars to help dh support this adoption process. We considered two and I really thought nights would help. And what do you think I chose yeah Baby's R US.
This customer comes in one is 2 months pregnant one is 4 months pregnant to register. Ok am I losing it?
Ok enough ranting its time to get things in order around here. We are waiting on a girl so lets get to the rooms.
Have a great night.

Journey to Rylee-ann