Michelle Called!

Good news. Michelle called and left us a message today. She said that our Dossier (remember that is our legal documents that have been state sealed and Vietnamese certified!) was approved. She said that they are currently sending it to Danang which is the province where Hoang lives. She said that at this point we are looking at 2 - 3 months for travel approval. If we remember correctly, once we get travel approval, it will be about 2 - 3 weeks before we would actually go. Time to make arrangements and such. So.... it may be before we actually thought. It is funny, we have said from the start of this that it would be wonderful if God worked it out for us to go during the summer. I am certainly not trying to get ahead of God and His plan, but it seems to be going in that direction. Thanks again for all your prayers. I don't know who all is actually reading this, but I do know that God knows and He is working all the time. Praise Him! For now, I will leave you with two pictures of Hoang when he was younger.

Single No More!

OK. We got corrected copies of our marriage certificate. Thanks to the Madison County Register of Deeds and her pen! They corrected it by turning the "7" into a "9" with a pen! I could have done that! It is off to the Secretary of State who will "seal" it, which is authenticating it and then we will mail it to our agency. When they get it, they will mail it to the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco to certify it. WHEW!!! Then it will go to Vietnam so they will have a corrected copy of it. Michelle (our Holt worker) did tell us that this was not delaying us at all. They are ok with the fact that they have an incorrect copy and will proceed as normal. I wish I could give you a definite time line, but all we know is 3 to 4 months. Thank you for all your prayers. They really do help us. God is in this and we have just given over to His plan. That is all we can do. I have to keep reminding myself that God's plan is far greater than any plan I could ever imagine. God Bless!

We're not married!!!

OK. First of all, let me explain. Today, Michelle, our worker from Holt, called to tell me that everything was in Vietnam and going as planned. Except....they had found an error on our marriage certificate. My birthdate was listed as July 7 and my actual birthdate is September 7. Well....I came home only to discover that it was wrong on all of our copies. So, I called the Madison County courthouse and talked with a very nice lady who explained to me that I would have to sign an affidavit stating that my birthdate was incorrect, have two people from our wedding sign affidavits stating that I am who I was then and that I did marry Jennifer and that my REAL birthdate is indeed September 7. I asked if they could email me the copies of the affidavits and was told that they did not have email. WHAT??? Are you kidding me??? So they faxed (they had one next door!) the copies to my sister and we got them filled out and notarized. Then Jennifer reminded me of what I didn't want to hear. Once we get the corrected copy of our marriage certificate, then we have to have it state sealed (at least 2 weeks) and then once we send it to Holt, it has to be certified by the Vietnamese consulate in San Francisco (2 weeks) and then it can be sent to Vietnam. So settle in, this could be a bumpy ride! To say the least, we could either laugh (joke about the fact that we may not be married!) or cry! Please just pray!

The Waiting Family

Here we are, waiting for Hoang to come home. Anna Claire is very excited. Just thought we would also post some pictures of us also. Annabelle is just begging for Hoang to get here! Love to all!

Our Journey

First of all, Jennifer and I would like to say how blessed we are to have this opportunity. We have known for a long time that we would pursue this one day and that day is getting closer. We could not have gone this far without the help of our families. They have been so good to us. Also, we have felt the prayers of many of our friends. Thank you so much. At this time, we are being told that we should get travel approval in 3 to 4 months. Our Dossier (legal documents) were sent to Vietnam last week and will be translated. Then it is off to the government in Hanoi for their approval. We are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep praying that God will give us the strength to wait and the wisdom for what is to come. God bless you all!