“READOPTION” – WHAT IS IT? DO YOU NEED TO DO IT? SHOULD YOU DO IT? WHAT DOES IT INVOLVE? SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER REGARDING READOPTION By C.J. Lyford, Esq.* October 2, 2003 (rev.)

For many of you who have adopted abroad, the adoption of your child was completed abroad and is considered final under the applicable laws of the foreign country. Now you have to decide if you must or should “readopt” under your state’s adoption laws.

1. WHAT IS “READOPTION”?

The... more

The Legal-eaze website provides excellent information concering readoption. The following document can be found here

Readoption -- The Advantages

As many of you already know, there is an enormous amount of red tape among governmental offices in the U.S. For instance, most states recognize foreign adoption decrees as final. However, USCIS (U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services, formerly BCIS and... more

Even though Ella's adoption was finalized in Viet Nam, we still chose to readopt her in our home state. This will provide her with a United States birth certificate with my husband and I listed as parents, a legal name change and an American finalization of the adoption. We sent in our paperwork last week and should be scheduled a court date in June. Finding the proper paperwork (without hiring a lawyer) was a bit confusing and complicated, so I wanted to post a series of informative articles about readoption in the hopes that it may help someone.

Every... more

The topic of changing your adopted child’s name is a much talked about and at times heated discussion on adoption forums and groups. It’s an issue that will always be a hot topic and cause adoptive parents to second guess their instincts and question whether or not they are doing the best thing for their child.

I feel that it is a personal decision that certainly deserves a good amount of thought and consideration. In an older child adoption, the child may feel strongly attached to his name, or he may want a fresh start with a new... more

When I was first researching adoption I was a little confused by the term “culture camp.” Now that I’ve learned more about them, I’m very interested in going as a family when Ella is old enough to appreciate it. Culture or Heritage camps exist in all parts of the country and are geared towards helping adopted kids connect with their heritage and culture of their birth country. Aside from Viet Nam specific camps, there are plenty of multicultural ones that welcome adoptees from different backgrounds.

Here are the Viet Nam / Southeast... more

I’m a theatre girl. I hold a bachelors and masters degree in theatre arts and was active in the theatre community for many years. My husband shares this passion, so needless to say we were beyond excited to see attend the Water Puppet (Mua Roi Nuoc) theatre in Hanoi. We arrived at the theatre, chose our seats and exhaled. Just being in a theatre, on the other side of the world, was comforting and homey.

Sure, the water puppet show is a tourist attraction and there are many shows per evening to accommodate... more

In Friday's Life With Ella post there was a bear in the picture (sitting in front of the map), and I love this little bear so much that I wanted to write about her. She's one of my favorite items that we got in Viet Nam.

We ate quite a few meals at the Moca Cafe in Hanoi which is down near the lake, and near the Catholic Church. Walking around window shopping one day we came across this adorable little boutique shop and decided to go in. It was actually the cute personalized teddy bears in the window that drew... more

Families With Children from Viet Nam is a national organization with regional chapters that support families like ours, with kids from Viet Nam. It's also a wonderful resource for prospective adoptive parents and provides support for families in all stages of adoption.

We contacted our local group shortly after we came home with Ella and learned that they had a yahoogroup where events and gathering are posted. I can't wait until there's a get together that we can attend! How wonderful for us and Ella to be able to meet other families like ours who live in our own state.

Here is the link for you to find your own local chapter : http://www.fcvn.org/fcv_chapters.htm

If... more

We went with two other adopting families and our agency's coordinator to explore the infamous Hanoi Hilton. I was not especially looking forward to this trip and was nervous about what we might see. It was depressing and upsetting, but it's been turned into such a tourist attraction that some of the depravity is missing. The life sized statues of prisoners were the hardest to see~especially the room that held women and children.

While we were touring the site our group was approached by a somewhat flustered... more

While we were in Hanoi we survived on La Vie bottled water. We had been prepared to only consume bottled water and warned to never go near the local water supply. I had heard horror stories of people becoming violently ill from brushing their teeth with their hotel's tap water or getting a drop or two of water from their shower in their mouth. So we arrived sufficiently nervous and ready to do all we could to only use bottled water.

Turns out that we really had no reason to be so nervous - bottled water is EVERYWHERE!... more