Friday, September 26, 2008

more news

Nehemiah's birth mother has been located! Thank you Lord!
The lab in the US sent a DNA kit today to the consulate in VN.
We were told to be prepared that getting a DNA date for a birth mother (to come in and be tested) has become difficult and to set our expectations that it could be 4ish weeks.

After that...

We will get results in about 4ish weeks that DNA is a match.
Then the consulate signs the pre-approval that paperwork is complete.
Then, things changed again and after pre-approval, we will receive notice on our G & R within 48 hours!

HOPING for a short wait for a DNA date!
N

Thursday, September 25, 2008

DNA and other news...

We are on step 12 and have been selected for DNA testing. This post is long and might be a little confusing, but hopefully you will get the gist of where we are in the process.

Nehemiah update:
STEP 12) Nehemiah's birth mother will be asked to complete a DNA test to determine parental relationship between the child and birth mother. This is to verify the child has not been kidnapped/black market, but has been truthfully relinquished. (stating 60 business days, more or less is possible)

How the DNA process works:
1. First the province locates birth mom
2. If birth mother is located and agrees to DNA testing, then our staff will contact CIS in Ho Chi Minh requesting a date for DNA testing to be completed
3. DNA kits will be sent after confirmation of date from consulate for DNA testing
4. Once, DNA has been completed the consulate will send the samples of the DNA back to the lab in the states
5. Then the lab will test the samples of the DNA and will send the results back to the Consulate in Ho Chi Minh
6. Dillon will also receive the results from the DNA and will forward those to you after we receive them from the lab
7. Once, the consulate in Ho Chi Minh receives the results from the lab, the next step is to wait on pre-approval (pre-approval = paperwork compelete and will travel soon)

After our DNA/pre-approval is complete we will continue our process...
STEP 13) Justice dept will review of our families dossier. They send all legal documents to the people's committee. (One week or longer)
STEP 14) The people's committee will review all the documents. The chairman gives an approval. After the approval, all documents are sent back to the justice dept for our Giving and Receiving ceremony. (One week or longer)
TRAVEL: Then we will get the most exciting call from Dillon…"Your Giving and Receiving Ceremony Day has been set for _____!" And we will be out the door to Vietnam to hug and kiss Nehemiah.

There are MANY positives about DNA and we are choosing to focus on these things!

Avi Joy update:
It was truly out of the blue (or like the Holy Spirit throwing a rock at your head) that we began to discuss (tearfully disucss) leaving Avi Joy at home while we make the trip to VN.

If interested in reading, here is our list of positives and negatives of her staying at home:
Positive:
Less Luggage to VN
Save money, (maybe $2,000ish) no full price airline ticket for Avi Joy
Easier time for us traveling the 50 hour journey by plane/layover/bus
Easier time getting to app'ts while in VN (not worrying about naptime, food, snack, potty)
Can leave a schedule for Avi Joy and list of fun outing to do, gifts, video of us for caretaker
Dillon International will be happy as they do not recommend children/family coming
Stay in school Monday's and children's bible study on Wed's
Avi Joy would not have to flip her internal clock there or back- 12 hour difference
We would be able to rest easier without her and 'flip' our bodies
This is not the last trip, will go back as a family with our children
One-on-one time with Nehemiah without Avi Joy, invaluable
Not worrying about two kids if they or we get sick in VN
Renewing for our marriage, alone time in the few days before we adopt Nehemiah
Extra time with family she may not see as often/ learning new things from others

Negative:
Who will watch her… everyone works or has a family schedule, major planning & sacrifice of others
Not knowing how long we will be there and making sure we have each day covered
What if we are in country for a long time (like 4 weeks+)
Her emotions, wouldn't be with mom or dad for 15-30 days
Our emotions, or moms, of not being with her, caring for her
If she stays at a place other than our house, not sleeping/napping well
Good family time…what other time will we- dad, mom, Avi Joy and brother be together for 15-30 days as a family
Invest in an international phone card, Skype, webcam, HA!
The nannies at the orphanage will not get to see/visit with Avi Joy
We will have no pictures when Avi Joy is young of visiting her homeland

LOTS for us to think about, but as of now, it seems we will leave her here. We will have to do some major praying, coordinating and asking for people to watch her for everything to come together. (Esp since we will have less than 10 days notice to travel.)

Other tidbits...
*Avi Joy singing, "You are my sunshine, my only tampon."
*Avi Joy's picture, Gary Thomas Photography http://www.gthomasphoto.com/index2.php?v=v1
* Avi Joy calling herself "Olga Marceeta," I mean who is that!

With love,
The Perrymans

"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow." Deuteronomy 10:17-18

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Avi Epy

This morning Avi Joy came in and told me she wrote her name on the oven. She chose letters from the fridge and moved them over to the oven actually spelling her name... or close anyway. I was still stunned at Avi Epy! She is one sharp cookie I tell you. Happy Sum Hop Day! Two years ago today we were in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam, adding our daughter to our family through the gift of adoption. What a little cutie. Oh how we love her!
New things this week: toddler bed.
This was day one... went in to find her pants/diaper off and toys moved into her bed.
Current obsession: Making sure all her friends have diapers on. I did not see her do this diaper-party, I happen to walk by and there was Oscar, piggy, Ella and baby all protected from leaks.
This dessert was soooo good that Avi Joy actually licked the plate. She had never done this before so you knew the Praline Cheesecake was a hit.
Lovin school: Mondays has been her school day. She loves going to school and talks often now about her teachers, playground, painting and friends. We got this cute shirt at China camp this summer.

"What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to Him?" Deuteronomy Chapter 4
Adam, Natasha, Avi Joy and Nehemiah

Monday, September 1, 2008

little giggle box

A new picture of Nehemiah received August 28th.

Labor day weekend was "working on Nehemiah's room" weekend. It looks precious now, but will look so much better once this little cutie is in his room. Isn't that smile sweet.
Honest mom moment:
I will say that my joy of new pictures was slightly deflated when 6 of my 7 pictures were blurry. I am not trying to be a Debbie-Downer here, I am thankful for them, its just these are the only pictures of him as a baby that will ever exist and I was sad that they did not turn out. I posted one of him laughing anyway because even though its blurry, it makes my heart happy.

My uncle Robert married a beautiful woman named Amy on 8-8-08. She was raised on Long Island, NY and we all went there for the wedding. She speaks Chinese, Taiwanese and English. Their family considers themselves the free Chinese because they were all born in Taiwan.

The wedding was an authentic Chinese wedding including: two 14 course meals, traditional tea ceremonies, ancestral blessings, native dress and lots of 'double happiness' wedding rituals.


Whats New... June-July pictures and Dillon Heritage Camp Pictures

Coming soon... Sum Hop Day, Sept 7th. In Vietnamese the words 'Sum Hop' mean 'coming together or uniting,' we use this phrase to celebrate the day we adopted Avi Joy in Vietnam. We have been home for two beautiful years, life just keeps getting better.

With Love,

Adam, Natasha, Avi Joy and Nehemiah

"O Lord, the king rejoices in Your strength. How great is his joy in the victories You give! You have granted him the desires of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips." Psalm 21:1-2