Monday, December 18, 2006


Good news and bad news. The good news is we received a new picture of Reagan today! I’m not sure exactly when it was taken but she already looks so much bigger! Her little arms and legs have really filled out and we can finally see her hands. All of the families who have traveled to her orphanage thus far have mentioned they were very impressed with the care the children receive, but it’s reassuring to see for ourselves that our baby seems to be thriving.
The bad news is that there is a problem with our paperwork. Back in May we each had a physical, and later came back with a notary to have medical clearance letters signed and notarized. Unfortunately those letters expire next week and there’s no way they’ll be translated and “logged in” at the Vietnamese Dept of International Adoption before then. In anticipation of this problem we went through the whole process again in November – new exam, new notary, new letters – which is a bit tricky considering Dan and I have different doctors, neither of them have a notary in the building, each require a real appointment to sign the letters, and traveling notaries are expensive! But we got it all done and sent in to the Secretary of State in early December. They should have been returned by now, so our agency checked into it and determined that the letters would be rejected because our notary neglected to fill in the dates properly! They probably won’t be able to start processing the rest of our dossier until those letters are fixed, authenticated by the Secretary of State of California (which, by the way, is apparently the worst one of the 50 to work with), consularized by the Vietnamese consulate in San Fransisco, approved by our agency in Tulsa, and then finally forwarded to Vietnam. When all is said and done, this will probably set us back at least two weeks.
Okay, reading back over what I just wrote I imagine you’re probably all bored and overwhelmed with way too much information. Let’s just sum it up by saying, please pray that this will all get worked out quickly, that the translation process can be expedited, and that we’ll be able to catch up to the other two families we hope to be able to travel with. Maybe too this has given you a little glimpse into what we all go through to get these babies home! Thanks in advance for your prayers, and enjoy the new photo of our little peanut!

7 comments:

Nina's Blog said...

That is such a cute picture. She's grown a bit since the last picture you posted. We'll be praying for everything to work out smoothly so Reagan can finally be with her family.

Anonymous said...

She really is beautiful!! We watched the Christmas Child movie today, which stars SCC, and now my kids want to adopt. They are so sweet, but it'll probably be them who will get to live that adventure. I hope you're not too frustrated by the wait, hang in there.

Rachel said...

What a sweet picture! She does look very healthy and loved. I love her hair...it's kind of hard to see, but it looks spikey :) Too cute! I'm so anxious to see her come home...to see all of you together at last.

I'm sorry you're having paperwork difficulties - and at the worst time, too. I know there have been other families logged in with a just-expired doc or two. I'll pray it gets resolved quickly.

Heather said...

What a beauty! Sorry about the paperwork snag. I could tell you stories....But, it'll all go away when she is placed in your arms. It will happen! Keep you chin up!

Anonymous said...

She is beautiful Laura! We are praying God will give you peace and patience as you continue through this gift of adoption! You are truly remarkable people! We can't wait to meet her!

Dianna said...

Reagan is absolutely beautiful. I hope your paperwork is corrected quickly and that you're back on track in no time. It's frustrating - hang in there!

Anonymous said...

Oh, she is just way too beautiful.

-Shevon, ibalefamily.wordpress.com