Enjoy the shots!
our view:
please leave a comment if you know what type of birds these are...thanks!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
shifting gears...
After the bad news about Vietnam closing down adoptions last week, I decided to focus on some of the good things that were surrounding me this weekend. I discovered so much beauty in my yard, things I usually overlook and often take for granted.
Enjoy the shots!
our view:
please leave a comment if you know what type of birds these are...thanks!
Enjoy the shots!
our view:
please leave a comment if you know what type of birds these are...thanks!
Friday, April 25, 2008
the official statement
We've been praying for a statement that would give us some sense of what is to come, and it arrived today. Vietnam is closing the door to adoptions. You can read the entire statement at: http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/adoption_warning0408.html
Here is a paragraph from that statement:
"On April 25, the Government of Vietnam announced that it will allow adoption to be completed in cases where prospective adoptive parents have been matched with a child and received an official referral prior to September 1, 2008. It further stated that in accordance with Vietnamese law, the DIA will suspend the acceptance of new dossiers on July 1, 2008. On September 1, 2008 any dossier that has not received a referral will be closed and returned to the Adoption Service Provider. In view of the processing time required in Vietnam from placement to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony, an adoption process begun now cannot be completed before the current Agreement expires."
This disturbing statement was also posted today on the irregularities of Vietnamese adoption: http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/irreg_adoptions042508.html
How all of this affects our adoption is not yet clear. The good news is that our dossier has been logged in since November. Unfortunately, our agency hasn't received referrals in awhile, but we are close to getting one if some come along. There is still a chance it could happen. The investigation following a referral will be what determines the outcome. There is nothing else we can do except sit and wait, and pray!
Here is a paragraph from that statement:
"On April 25, the Government of Vietnam announced that it will allow adoption to be completed in cases where prospective adoptive parents have been matched with a child and received an official referral prior to September 1, 2008. It further stated that in accordance with Vietnamese law, the DIA will suspend the acceptance of new dossiers on July 1, 2008. On September 1, 2008 any dossier that has not received a referral will be closed and returned to the Adoption Service Provider. In view of the processing time required in Vietnam from placement to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony, an adoption process begun now cannot be completed before the current Agreement expires."
This disturbing statement was also posted today on the irregularities of Vietnamese adoption: http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/irreg_adoptions042508.html
How all of this affects our adoption is not yet clear. The good news is that our dossier has been logged in since November. Unfortunately, our agency hasn't received referrals in awhile, but we are close to getting one if some come along. There is still a chance it could happen. The investigation following a referral will be what determines the outcome. There is nothing else we can do except sit and wait, and pray!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
news article
The following article was posted today by the AP:
AP Exclusive: US alleges baby-selling in Vietnam
HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam has failed to police its adoption system, allowing corruption, fraud and baby-selling to flourish, the U.S. Embassy says in a new report obtained by The Associated Press.
The nine-page document describes brokers scouring villages for babies, hospitals selling infants whose mothers cannot pay their bills, and a grandmother giving away her grandchild — without telling the child's mother.
"I'm shocked and deeply troubled by the worst of the worst cases," said Jonathan Aloisi, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.
Vietnam's top adoption official called the concerns "groundless." Bribery of orphanage officials may occur, but serious offenses such as baby-selling or kidnapping are not a problem, said Vu Duc Long, director of the Department of International Adoptions.
The dispute comes amid a boom in adoptions from Vietnam. Americans — including actress Angelina Jolie — adopted more than 1,200 Vietnamese children over the 18 months ending March 31. In 2007, adoptions surged more than 400 percent from a year earlier, with 828 Vietnamese children adopted by American families.
While China remains the most popular overseas country for adoptions, a growing number of Americans are looking to Vietnam, which has fewer restrictions. The wait for adoption approval has also gotten longer in China after authorities there tightened rules.
U.S. adoption agencies active in Vietnam said that despite some cases of wrongdoing, most adoptions in the country are ethical.
"Our experience has been a good one," said Susan Cox, vice president of public policy with Holt International Children's Services, based in Eugene, Ore., which has operated in Vietnam since the 1970s. "We are concerned about any unethical practices, but I would not agree that these cases are indicative of adoptions in Vietnam."
Another adoption agency, Families Thru International Adoption, of Evansville, Ind., said that corruption exists everywhere and it is up to the adoption agencies to screen who they work with in Vietnam and other countries.
"There's always somebody that is trying to do something under the table, and when there are children involved, the results are even more horrific," said program director Salome Lamarche. "As an agency, we have a responsibility to be very careful who we work with in a country and to only work with organizations that work in a morally responsible manner."
She said her group has recently stopped taking applications for families who want Vietnamese children — but not because of concerns about corruption.
"We stopped because our waiting list is getting long and we thought it wasn't ethical to accept applications from families when we didn't know if we could match them with children," Lamarche said.
The U.S. suspended all adoptions from Vietnam in 2003 over concerns about corruption. Adoptions resumed in 2006 under a bilateral agreement intended to ensure they were above board.
That agreement expires Sept. 1, and many adoption agency officials believe the Vietnam program will be suspended again, at least temporarily.
"I can't see any possible way that this agreement is going to continue," said Tad Kincaid of Orphans Overseas in Portland, Ore. "There's certainly going to be a lapse."
The U.S. Embassy report is based on a review of hundreds of adoptions since they resumed in Vietnam in 2006.
Already, the U.S. Embassy concerns have left scores of Vietnamese adoptions in limbo, as American families wait for U.S. permission to bring the babies home.
Victoria Krebs of Chapel Hill, N.C., said that she and her husband have been waiting more than four months to find out if U.S. visas will be approved for the two girls they plan to adopt. They have pictures of the children and feel like they are already part of the family.
"They don't reply to my e-mails," Krebs said of U.S. immigration officials. "I don't have any specific information about my case."
A suspension in Vietnamese adoptions would not only put families on hold, but also threaten humanitarian work in Vietnam that is largely funded by American adoption agencies, such as foster care and programs that help keep families together, Cox said.
That occurred when the U.S. suspended Vietnamese adoptions in 2003, Cox said. "Since there were no adoptions, the groups didn't have the means to stay and help," she said.
Many people involved in Vietnamese adoptions strictly adhere to adoption laws, U.S. officials say.
But others have been flooding the system with cash to get babies for American parents, who pay up to $25,000 for an adoption.
With 42 U.S. adoption agencies licensed in Vietnam, the competition for babies is intense.
Some agencies have been paying orphanage directors $10,000 per referral, the report says, and some have taken orphanage directors on shopping sprees and junkets to the United States in return for a steady flow of babies.
"Adoption service providers have reported that cash and in-kind donations have been diverted by orphanage officials and used to finance personal property, private cars, jewelry, and in one case, a commercial real estate development," the report says.
Aloisi gave the AP a list of 10 particularly egregious cases, including the grandmother who gave away her grandchild.
The mother, working in another province for several weeks, had left the baby with her mother-in-law. She returned to discover the baby had been given up for adoption. Eventually, she got the baby back after U.S. officials uncovered the ruse during investigations as part of the U.S, visa approval process.
In another case, a baby was allegedly taken by hospital officials and turned over for adoption because the mother couldn't afford to pay her $750 hospital bill.
Hospital officials had inflated the bill, claiming the child had serious health problems. U.S. Embassy officials say they discovered the child was healthy. Again, the child was returned to its birth mother.
The report also says some orphanages have pressured birth mothers to give up their babies in return for about $450 — nearly a year's salary for many.
The problems have prompted U.S. officials to seek revisions before renewing the adoption agreement, including DNA tests for birth mothers and permission to conduct surprise investigations in provinces arranging U.S. adoptions.
Both of those conditions are unacceptable, said Long, the Vietnamese official.
Vietnamese law requires that Vietnamese officials approve and participate in any investigations, he said. And requiring DNA tests is impractical in a country where adoption is considered a private matter.
"The American side is trying to make it seem like this agreement is ending because of violations by the Vietnamese side," Long said. "It's not fair for them to blame us."
U.S. Embassy officials began raising questions last year, after their routine investigations turned up widespread inconsistencies in adoption paperwork.
They also noticed a suspicious surge in the number of babies listed as abandoned on adoption papers. That makes it impossible to confirm the infants were genuine orphans, or that their parents had knowingly put them up for adoption, as required by U.S. law.
In adoptions before 2003, 20 percent were abandoned babies. Since they resumed under tighter rules, that has risen to 85 percent, the embassy report says.
U.S. officials believe paperwork problems and reports of abandoned infants have risen in part because corrupt adoption workers are trying to cover up baby-selling.
They say their efforts to investigate have been blocked in six provinces, holding up adoptions for about 70 American families who have been matched with babies.
Please pray that we will be able to bring our baby home soon.
We just never imagined that after all we have already been through, we would have to wait and wonder about this adoption completing. We are still hoping for the best.
If you haven't already, please go to www.bringourchildrenhome.org and read about what you can do to help. The letters are working, but we could use more. Be sure to sign the petition as well. Thank you so much for your support!
AP Exclusive: US alleges baby-selling in Vietnam
HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam has failed to police its adoption system, allowing corruption, fraud and baby-selling to flourish, the U.S. Embassy says in a new report obtained by The Associated Press.
The nine-page document describes brokers scouring villages for babies, hospitals selling infants whose mothers cannot pay their bills, and a grandmother giving away her grandchild — without telling the child's mother.
"I'm shocked and deeply troubled by the worst of the worst cases," said Jonathan Aloisi, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.
Vietnam's top adoption official called the concerns "groundless." Bribery of orphanage officials may occur, but serious offenses such as baby-selling or kidnapping are not a problem, said Vu Duc Long, director of the Department of International Adoptions.
The dispute comes amid a boom in adoptions from Vietnam. Americans — including actress Angelina Jolie — adopted more than 1,200 Vietnamese children over the 18 months ending March 31. In 2007, adoptions surged more than 400 percent from a year earlier, with 828 Vietnamese children adopted by American families.
While China remains the most popular overseas country for adoptions, a growing number of Americans are looking to Vietnam, which has fewer restrictions. The wait for adoption approval has also gotten longer in China after authorities there tightened rules.
U.S. adoption agencies active in Vietnam said that despite some cases of wrongdoing, most adoptions in the country are ethical.
"Our experience has been a good one," said Susan Cox, vice president of public policy with Holt International Children's Services, based in Eugene, Ore., which has operated in Vietnam since the 1970s. "We are concerned about any unethical practices, but I would not agree that these cases are indicative of adoptions in Vietnam."
Another adoption agency, Families Thru International Adoption, of Evansville, Ind., said that corruption exists everywhere and it is up to the adoption agencies to screen who they work with in Vietnam and other countries.
"There's always somebody that is trying to do something under the table, and when there are children involved, the results are even more horrific," said program director Salome Lamarche. "As an agency, we have a responsibility to be very careful who we work with in a country and to only work with organizations that work in a morally responsible manner."
She said her group has recently stopped taking applications for families who want Vietnamese children — but not because of concerns about corruption.
"We stopped because our waiting list is getting long and we thought it wasn't ethical to accept applications from families when we didn't know if we could match them with children," Lamarche said.
The U.S. suspended all adoptions from Vietnam in 2003 over concerns about corruption. Adoptions resumed in 2006 under a bilateral agreement intended to ensure they were above board.
That agreement expires Sept. 1, and many adoption agency officials believe the Vietnam program will be suspended again, at least temporarily.
"I can't see any possible way that this agreement is going to continue," said Tad Kincaid of Orphans Overseas in Portland, Ore. "There's certainly going to be a lapse."
The U.S. Embassy report is based on a review of hundreds of adoptions since they resumed in Vietnam in 2006.
Already, the U.S. Embassy concerns have left scores of Vietnamese adoptions in limbo, as American families wait for U.S. permission to bring the babies home.
Victoria Krebs of Chapel Hill, N.C., said that she and her husband have been waiting more than four months to find out if U.S. visas will be approved for the two girls they plan to adopt. They have pictures of the children and feel like they are already part of the family.
"They don't reply to my e-mails," Krebs said of U.S. immigration officials. "I don't have any specific information about my case."
A suspension in Vietnamese adoptions would not only put families on hold, but also threaten humanitarian work in Vietnam that is largely funded by American adoption agencies, such as foster care and programs that help keep families together, Cox said.
That occurred when the U.S. suspended Vietnamese adoptions in 2003, Cox said. "Since there were no adoptions, the groups didn't have the means to stay and help," she said.
Many people involved in Vietnamese adoptions strictly adhere to adoption laws, U.S. officials say.
But others have been flooding the system with cash to get babies for American parents, who pay up to $25,000 for an adoption.
With 42 U.S. adoption agencies licensed in Vietnam, the competition for babies is intense.
Some agencies have been paying orphanage directors $10,000 per referral, the report says, and some have taken orphanage directors on shopping sprees and junkets to the United States in return for a steady flow of babies.
"Adoption service providers have reported that cash and in-kind donations have been diverted by orphanage officials and used to finance personal property, private cars, jewelry, and in one case, a commercial real estate development," the report says.
Aloisi gave the AP a list of 10 particularly egregious cases, including the grandmother who gave away her grandchild.
The mother, working in another province for several weeks, had left the baby with her mother-in-law. She returned to discover the baby had been given up for adoption. Eventually, she got the baby back after U.S. officials uncovered the ruse during investigations as part of the U.S, visa approval process.
In another case, a baby was allegedly taken by hospital officials and turned over for adoption because the mother couldn't afford to pay her $750 hospital bill.
Hospital officials had inflated the bill, claiming the child had serious health problems. U.S. Embassy officials say they discovered the child was healthy. Again, the child was returned to its birth mother.
The report also says some orphanages have pressured birth mothers to give up their babies in return for about $450 — nearly a year's salary for many.
The problems have prompted U.S. officials to seek revisions before renewing the adoption agreement, including DNA tests for birth mothers and permission to conduct surprise investigations in provinces arranging U.S. adoptions.
Both of those conditions are unacceptable, said Long, the Vietnamese official.
Vietnamese law requires that Vietnamese officials approve and participate in any investigations, he said. And requiring DNA tests is impractical in a country where adoption is considered a private matter.
"The American side is trying to make it seem like this agreement is ending because of violations by the Vietnamese side," Long said. "It's not fair for them to blame us."
U.S. Embassy officials began raising questions last year, after their routine investigations turned up widespread inconsistencies in adoption paperwork.
They also noticed a suspicious surge in the number of babies listed as abandoned on adoption papers. That makes it impossible to confirm the infants were genuine orphans, or that their parents had knowingly put them up for adoption, as required by U.S. law.
In adoptions before 2003, 20 percent were abandoned babies. Since they resumed under tighter rules, that has risen to 85 percent, the embassy report says.
U.S. officials believe paperwork problems and reports of abandoned infants have risen in part because corrupt adoption workers are trying to cover up baby-selling.
They say their efforts to investigate have been blocked in six provinces, holding up adoptions for about 70 American families who have been matched with babies.
Please pray that we will be able to bring our baby home soon.
We just never imagined that after all we have already been through, we would have to wait and wonder about this adoption completing. We are still hoping for the best.
If you haven't already, please go to www.bringourchildrenhome.org and read about what you can do to help. The letters are working, but we could use more. Be sure to sign the petition as well. Thank you so much for your support!
Friday, April 18, 2008
It's finished!
I finally gave the crib bedding the finishing touches. Thank you, Margot, for helping me pick out and purchase the dots!
If Baby Wieds is a girl, we'll be changing that blue sheet to a pink one!
The room is really starting to come together. There are just a few more projects to finish before he (or she) moves in!
New friends are patiently waiting.
Stay tuned for the next project...
If Baby Wieds is a girl, we'll be changing that blue sheet to a pink one!
The room is really starting to come together. There are just a few more projects to finish before he (or she) moves in!
New friends are patiently waiting.
Stay tuned for the next project...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
hangin' in there
This past Monday marked five months since we logged in. One day soon I know that phone will ring, and we will see Baby Wieds for the first time. I don't have much else to report right now. We're keeping the faith!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Our Nikki
Thinking of you and missing you, sweet Nikki.
We said good-bye two years ago today.
THE RAINBOW BRIDGE
Author Unknown
There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth.
It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors.
Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land
of meadows, hills, and valleys with lush green grass.
When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place.
There is always food and water and warm spring weather.
The old and frail animals are young again.
Those who are maimed are made whole again.
They play all day with each other.
There is only one thing missing.
They are not with their special person who loved them on earth.
So, each day, they run and play until the day comes
when one suddenly stops playing and looks up!
The nose twitches! The ears are up! The eyes are staring!
And this one suddenly runs from the group.
You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet,
you take him or her in your arms and embrace.
Your face is kissed again and again and again,
and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together,
never to again be separated.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
longer waits and risks
We learned recently that the USCIS is now going to require a DNA test of the birth mom and baby. This test will confirm that the baby is matched with the birth parent who is voluntarily consenting to the adoption. Once the test results are received, the relationship will be confirmed, and the case will be approved OR referred for further investigation. The US Embassy may then require a second DNA test to verify that the baby is the same child that we were originally matched with.
While we see this process as a good way to ensure an ethical adoption, we are completely stessed because of what this means in terms of our timeframe since the MOU is expiring September 1.
Our understanding now is that we may not be able to complete our adoption!
It also means that if after we do get our referral our case falls under suspicion, there may be a long delay. If that baby becomes unavailable to us, it is also possible that we may not receive a new referral due to the MOU expiration date.
And therefore, no baby!
We are trying to learn as much as we can about these changes. I'll keep you informed.
How can you help???
Please go to the website: www.bringourchildrenhome.org
and see what you can do. There are letters and petitions available there.
Please keep all of us in your prayers each day so that Mark and I have a chance to become parents and share our lives with a child. As many of you know, we are pretty much at the end of our options for making that happen.
While we see this process as a good way to ensure an ethical adoption, we are completely stessed because of what this means in terms of our timeframe since the MOU is expiring September 1.
Our understanding now is that we may not be able to complete our adoption!
It also means that if after we do get our referral our case falls under suspicion, there may be a long delay. If that baby becomes unavailable to us, it is also possible that we may not receive a new referral due to the MOU expiration date.
And therefore, no baby!
We are trying to learn as much as we can about these changes. I'll keep you informed.
How can you help???
Please go to the website: www.bringourchildrenhome.org
and see what you can do. There are letters and petitions available there.
Please keep all of us in your prayers each day so that Mark and I have a chance to become parents and share our lives with a child. As many of you know, we are pretty much at the end of our options for making that happen.
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