tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62819131230873468802024-03-05T22:43:05.042-05:00. . . The Viet Nam Chapter"Sensing that a long journey awaited, she put hope in her handbag and strode boldly toward her future"Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-12352332079056332472008-02-24T19:04:00.003-05:002008-08-24T16:09:57.947-04:00Oyyyyyyy!If you happen to be interested or even if you found this by accident, the blog was moved to:http://sharonchroniclesadoption.wordpress.com/Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-36027972778273497472008-01-11T13:14:00.001-05:002008-01-11T13:41:36.522-05:00Moving on . . . . .After deliberating over the turmoil in Viet Nam (which I can do nothing about aside from the discussions and letters written to the offices of my representatives) I have decided that the turmoil in the blogging community was something that was not necessary for me to participate in (which I CAN do something about). I have posted supportive comments to a couple of people even while I was on a Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-59189664812595067942007-11-17T21:39:00.001-05:002007-11-17T21:41:25.382-05:00STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!!!!I am in the process of making a change. If you would like to know the link to the new blog, please email me. I may post the link in the next day or so, but until I work out some kinks, just email me if you want the new link.My eml addy is : sharon at tokobobo dot comStay tuned . . . . .Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-82338599174177320702007-11-16T09:49:00.000-05:002007-11-16T10:42:37.546-05:00State of the Union Address . . . .MyMy, yo Mama is a hot mess.In my infertility support group meeting last night I walked in upset at the state of VN adoptions and in the 2+ hour course of the meeting I got ok, then freaked out again, then ok again, then back, then I left ok. This, of course, is even now that I am officially out my estrogen surge part of the month people!!!!!!I couldn't get a solid read from the group on whether Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-24071810707791219242007-11-14T22:29:00.000-05:002007-11-15T22:05:49.491-05:00Put your swatters away . . . . it is just my baby bedding.OK, so . . . . Oh ye of little faith. I am putting my money where my mouth is. I am resisting my usual tendency to expect my house of cards to crumble. I am trying to out run my little cloud of negativity that is desperately trying to find me. I am putting on my "Happy Face" and just doing what I am told. Ergo . . . . I finally went big baby shopping tonight. How do you like MyMy's ensemble? Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-29049113293652287292007-11-13T10:58:00.001-05:002007-11-13T12:22:42.110-05:00. . . . And now I am done.Many of my friends who are not adopting have no idea what has gotten my panties in a wad. To sum it up:1. There are unethical adoption practices going on in Viet Nam right now. EGADS!!!!!! THAT has NEVER happened before . . . . not in ANY country!!! The hysteria calls for the program to be shut down. Mainly by people who are kissing their ETHICALLY adopted children goodnight every night. They Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-69335756747774903882007-11-11T08:00:00.000-05:002007-11-11T08:37:57.892-05:00Yes, I have been under a rock. I think I'll go back now too.How refreshing to logon after being "under a rock" for a couple of weeks and find some PAP's who are not willing to stand by and be nailed to a cross by some of the issues cropping up in VN concerning adoption. For those of you that do not know (family and friends of mine that were terrified this might not work out since it is an international adoption vs. domestic), VN is in turmoil right now. Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-69993653531632139902007-11-09T19:22:00.000-05:002007-11-09T19:26:47.499-05:00AHEM! *Steps up to the mic*A letter from the Department of Homeland Security.NOTICE OF FAVORABLE DETERMINATION CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR ADVANCE PROCESSING OF ORPHAN PETITION</>We have been "deemed fit by The United States Citizenship & Immigration Department to furnish proper care to an orphan or orphans as defined by Section 101(B)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. "I didn't expect this for 2 more monthsSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-31572987620204055702007-10-23T12:55:00.000-04:002007-10-23T12:56:01.652-04:00Get a Cup O' Joe . . . . this is a long one.I know how the Gub’ment works . . . I’ve seen them in action. MANY times. When they threaten you with a big fat DENIED across ANYTHING you need from them, they mean it! I think they get bonuses based on how many things they can deny. So . . . . cut to Camera 1: Saturday, October 20, 2007. We are off to Charlotte to USCIS-Land. We are to be fingerprinted by the Feds. Yeah. With much Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-57373231191923134192007-10-22T10:35:00.000-04:002007-10-22T10:41:45.844-04:00Not a happy post . . . .I was traumatized this weekend. We had our fingerprinting appointment with the FBI. I will write more later, but if anyone reading this blog is just starting out on the adoption process, do yourself a favor . . . . . .Don't believe all the horror stories you read about. And that means with ANY portion of the adoption process. Suffice it to say that I got so upset at a series of events on Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-56767920866775237642007-10-18T23:04:00.000-04:002007-10-18T23:15:33.574-04:00Whatcha think about these diaper bags? I kinda like #2, the red one . . . . . Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-72305874891047199042007-10-18T22:07:00.000-04:002007-10-19T00:04:06.338-04:00Today's post is sponsored by the letter "A"Daddy and I went to Dilly Dally, and upscale baby boutique. More about that later! To celebrate arriving at the "Middle-mester" in adoption world, we bought MyMy 2 little bows . . . . For those that don't know, "MyMy" is just my little Vietnamese nickname I'm using for my daughter so I don't give away her real name . . . . for now.Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-90638565460255141502007-10-16T23:48:00.000-04:002007-10-17T16:07:12.132-04:00I AM NOT A GEEK!I just play one on TV . . . and from time to time, I have to rehearse in public. This is the last 36 hours of my life. . . . give or take a few minutes.October 15, 9:15 am~Arrive at the Secretary of State's office after having "jogged" down the block with my DDD's swinging vulgarly to and fro. It was not a pretty sight. Tried to look calm as I was huffing for breath through the big double doors. Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-84391569627530695832007-10-16T15:48:00.001-04:002007-10-16T15:49:03.038-04:008That is the most beautiful number in the world. What could it possibly mean????????????Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-73278316244510099032007-10-15T14:05:00.000-04:002007-10-15T14:16:24.411-04:00This kinda thing is why I LOVE my placing agency so much!DAMN internet! It is my blessing and my curse! I found several little blurbs last night discussing how 4 poor families were kept apart after traveling to VN because of NOIDS (Notice of Intent to Deny) from the US government which will not allow them to bring their children home. I am told there are several reasons for this . . . . the most insidious being suspicion of unethical adoption practicesSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-16086266519416520522007-10-12T19:05:00.000-04:002007-10-12T19:06:40.551-04:00GULP. . . . Had a really nice chat with the VN coordinator at my adoption agency today. That's all I'll say for now. *where is my bouncing up and down clapping smiley?*Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-46073893491668128582007-10-11T09:31:00.000-04:002007-10-11T20:37:22.174-04:00YEAH! I got my first official "Here's Your Sign" comment! I love Bill Engvall . . . . he is the comedian that does the "Here's Your Sign" stuff, in case you didn't know. The idea is that people that are a few fries short of a happy meal or a few letters shy of a full keyboard should wear signs letting the rest of us know where they are on the food chain. Actually . . . . I got TWO of these comments in the same day this past weekend! Don't get me wrongSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-80753805344141721272007-10-11T09:28:00.000-04:002007-10-11T09:31:12.121-04:00AND IF ONE MORE PERSON!Asks me to do something or expects that I should have just read their neurotic, self-centered mind and figured out what they wanted me to do, I'm gonna go Madea on their ass! Sorry to have littered your sweet little blog with adult turd issues MyMy. Mommy will place nice now . . . . . ok, I'll try hard to play nice . . . . . . ok, I'll think about playing nice. ARGH! I promise not to commit anySharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-42497478183989277292007-10-10T15:01:00.000-04:002007-10-10T15:24:19.792-04:00Yeah Team!!!!Just got an email from my favorite social worker of all time!HOME STUDY IS BEING FED EX'D TO USCIS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will be getting our copy via USPS so I can get that authenticated and wrap up my dossier. 'Scuse me while I kiss the sky!Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-15104705748334333112007-10-10T08:08:00.000-04:002007-10-10T08:15:10.433-04:00Think I need to make a phone callI cannot get that little boy off my mind. He is obviously walking and most children are adopted before they are walking in VN. I wonder if he has special needs. I just want him. I don't know why, but I just do. I don't even know if my agency works with that orphanage or not. The agency that I do know that works with them has their VN program shut down right now. How in the world am I gonnaSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-23295469208416731442007-10-09T21:31:00.000-04:002007-10-09T21:35:51.170-04:00I want him!I was looking at some photos of someone who is currently in VN bringing their child home. This orphanage happens to be an orphanage that I have seen before in piccies from another couple that we met. So . . . . as I'm flipping through, this little boy in the white shorts/top ensemble just leaps off the page at me. He reminds me of a Vietnamese version of my precious little nephew Brooks. I want Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-24983334774622067722007-10-09T09:17:00.000-04:002007-10-09T09:30:27.502-04:00"Lights, Camera, Action . . . . and cue tears"I knew this was coming. And I knew what it was going to say. I lived this story so I knew. So why in the world did I get all verklempt reading my home study draft? This isn't even like getting a referral necessarily, but the tears flew anyway. I swear if I didn't know better (and I DO know better!), you'd think I was pregnant! I guess I get to "enjoy" the symptoms even though Miss MyMy Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-34674820652921966202007-10-07T09:37:00.001-04:002007-10-07T09:51:18.741-04:00Ahhh . . . . I feel a little better now!This International adoptive parenting blogworld thingy is a trip! I have noticed that many people are reluctant (and I do get why) to discuss their agency in open blog forum. Having read so much discussion about the ethics of the agency, I was a tiny bit worried that ours wasn't ethical enough if we were putzing right along at what in the adoption world is warp speed (only 4 more months 'til I Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-40237442780976384552007-10-02T20:34:00.000-04:002007-10-02T20:45:41.071-04:00Credit card app, catalogue, refinancing opportunity . . . . . USCIS LETTER!!!??????Holy shyte!!!!!!!Secretly . . . .or not so secretly . . . depending on who is reading this blog, I have been seething about it taking so long to get a fingerprint appointment with USCIS. Well . . . . today it came! We travel to Charlotte on October 20, a Saturday no less! I guess they do that since they won't let us go to an FBI satellite office 25 minutes from our house! But anyway . . . . WE Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281913123087346880.post-19390886393772734212007-10-02T15:26:00.000-04:002007-10-02T15:30:00.689-04:00OH WOW! We aren't child abusers!!! GROOVY! . . . . NEXT!Did I say how much I loved Sarah????? This is another email she just sent me:From: Sarah@**************.org [mailto:Sarah@************.org]Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 3:23 PMTo: *********, SharonSubject: RE: D'oh! I forgot to askSharon,I forgot to tell you that your child abuse clearances came in the mail last week.SarahThis was my response:OH GOOD!!! Glad to know I didn't lapse into a Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01211415843923673029noreply@blogger.com3