Ella’s Re-Adoption Day was yesterday! It was relatively quick and easy, which surprised us. We decided against hiring an adoption attorney and I did all the paperwork myself; I figured that after compiling a dossier I could do anything! It was a wise decision because our documents were flawless and the meeting with the judge went smoothly; we certainly did not need a lawyer there to represent us.

I didn’t know what to expect going in, so I was pleasantly surprised at how it all was handled. My county must set aside... more

Prospective adoptive parents now have 42 adoption agencies that have been licensed by the Vietnamese Government to choose from. They are:

A.D.O.P.P.T Inc.: Phu Tho, Hung Yen, Ho Chi Minh City

Adopt International: Ben Tre

Adoption Center of Washington: Binh Thuan, Binh Duong

Adoption from the Heart: Ho Chi Minh City

Adoptions International Inc.: Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong

Adoptions Together, Inc.: Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa

Alliance for Children: Thua Thien Hue

Americans for International Aids and Adoptions: An Giang

Asian Children's... more

There is talk going on in Viet Nam adoption circles about agencies who are claiming to have adoption programs in Viet Nam without holding a license from the Vietnamese government. Such agencies claim that they are working with / partnering with / or covered under the umbrella of a licensed agency. If you are thinking of working with an agency like this, it will be in the best interest of you and your future child to run in the opposite direction. Fast. Parents adopting from Viet Nam currently have... more

Inspired by a reader’s comments and Faith’s post over at the Hoping to Adopt blog, I decided to dedicate a post to covering things to buy now, things to buy in Viet Nam, and things to buy after you get home.

Things to Buy Before You Travel

A few outfits for your new child(ren). If you can, wait until close to your travel date and ask your agency to get up to date height and weight... more

I was scanning through websites looking for photographs of Viet Nam that would take me back to my time there, and this picture fit the bill perfectly. Here we see a roadside bicycle repair shop, which are extremely common along city streets in Viet Nam. I was amazed when we saw our first motorbike repair “shop”. I noticed a jack and an air hose that led to a compressor type machine and wondered why these things were sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. It was after seeing a few of these set ups... more

After only having our daughter for a short time, one of the other moms in our group came back from shopping with a little doll for Ella. Her first doll! She was a handmade Vietnamese doll from Craft Link. She came with a little non la, but we weren’t sure about the safety of the lacquer on it going in the baby’s mouth, so it came off. Ella’s first dolly now sits on her dresser at home.

We had heard about Craft Link and wanted to shop there,... more

I strongly suggest researching your communication options in Viet Nam before you travel. If you have a few ideas and resources planned out before you leave, you will thank yourself when you’re in country and your mind is wrapped up in your new child. My husband and I called home from the hotel phone a few times and our parents called us, but that was ridiculously expensive. My main outlet and means for communication was my blog. We brought our laptop, so I was able to upload pictures in our... more

Getting your future child’s room ready before they come home can require some thought. The adoptive parents that I know are split down the middle about when to start getting ready. About half waited until they were very close to travel, because seeing a room all ready to go with no child in it was depressing. The other half started shopping and decorating before their official application was even submitted. They felt like the preparation helped calm their nerves and provided them with a tangible outlet... more

Looking at waiting children profiles can be heartbreaking, and I know many people avoid them because it’s too hard to see their little faces and read their stories. But many families are formed from agencies' waiting children lists and adopting a waiting child can be an amazing and rewarding way to build your family.

Waiting children are children who need homes, are paper ready to be adopted and often have mild to severe physical disabilities, emotional disorders, are of an older age or are part of a sibling set. In other words, these are the children... more

Many of us can credit our companion animals with helping us get through tough times. They’re likely used to being doted on and can be quite surprised when all that changes with the addition of a child into the mix of your household. In cases of international adoption, children often come home mobile or very close to mobile, so your cats and dogs won't get much quiet, still time to get to know to them. If your family pre-child was made up of you and furry, spoiled children; this new creature tearing... more