The Journey Has Begun!

Myke & I cannot wait to be parents! We are so excited, words cannot even express. So where do I start this story? Well, we have decided to adopt from Vietnam. We first did a lot of research and decided the international adoption was ideal for us because of issues with termination of parental rights in domestic adoptions. We know that our adoption process is going to be filled with so many ups and downs, and that down is just one that we are not willing to face - no matter how remote the chance may be. So, we looked at the different countries that are currently open to US adoption and we were first drawn to China because of the popularity of the program and our love for Asian culture. In our early research stages, Myke met Tammie while shopping in Target - by chance or by fate? After speaking with Tammie, she introduced us to a local support community of families who have adopted from Asian countries - FCC South Florida. After further researching China adoption and learning about their program, we were pointed in the direction for Vietnam since China has a few restrictions that might have been a problem for us. Namely - you have to be married for two years and Myke and I are currently at 14 months of marriage, but going on 10 years together. We would have had to wait a few extra months to start. They also have some surgery restrictions and since I recently had surgery, we didn't want that to interfere with the adoption process. (More on that later.) Luckily for us, Vietnam does not have those restrictions and is currently processing adoptions faster than China - double bonus for us! So, after consulting with our new support group, I met Sandy, who has adopted two beautiful children from Vietnam - and 5 children in total. She has guided me and given me so much info already in such a short time of knowing her. She referred me to the agency she used: A.D.O.P.P.T. and we have chosen to go with this agency as well. So, our "paper chase" has now begun. We sent in our application to A.D.O.P.P.T. today and we have scheduled our home study for the end of the month. We are currently waiting on a copy of Myke's birth certificate so that we can send in our I-600A form to INS and apply for our passports. Stay tuned - its going to be an awesome ride!