Falling apart!

Well, things are packed, visas delivered, documents ready, AND.....tears are falling! We are so excited about going to get our son, but leaving Anna Claire is so tough. Today alone, I have cried on a parent at our school, the neighbor, and our friend Jeremy Belk who fixed my glasses for me. We so appreciate everybody who has helped us on our journey so far. There is a a quote that it takes a village to raise a child; it takes a village to adopt one too.
Thank you to the staff at my school who donated shoes for the children at the orphanage. Altogether, we have packed 24 pairs! We can't wait to see all those happy feet.
We received an itinerary from our agency today. We are still scheduled to arrive in DaNang on Sunday, September 2. We actually get to go to the child care center that day to meet Hoang (Isaac). We will also get to visit with him on Monday. We will actually take custody on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we are scheduled to fly to Hanoi to finish passport and visa paperwork.
You may have noticed that I put Isaac above. That is the name we are planning to give our son. We chose this name for several reasons. First, it is the name Abraham and Sarah gave to the son they waited so long for. While we have not had to wait as long as Abraham and Sarah, sometimes it has seemed like it. Isaac also means laughter. We look forward to lots of laughs with our son and our family of four. His initials will be IHI - which also stands for "In His Image." We believe both our children, and all people, are made in the image of God.
Please remember to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for us. We love all of you and look forward to reading your comments. If you go in to make a comment, just choose "anonymous" and you do not have to worry about a password. Just be sure to sign your name at the bottom.
Did I mention PRAY, PRAY, PRAY?

Just playing around!

Ok, this picture has nothing to do with the blog, but it is 10:30 at night and I can't sleep. I am thinking of all the things that still need to be done. I am playing with the laptop and importing images from the camera so I am sure I can do it when we get to Vietnam. Enjoy this picture of Anna Claire and her friend Raygan from the "High School Musical" party we had last Friday night. If AC looks excited, it is because that was the day we found out we were going to get Hoang!!! Take care and trust me, there will be plenty more to come.

Getting Ready

Well, this was a busy weekend. We finally purchased all of the gifts we have to take. Many of you have expressed your opinions on the gifts. Yes, it is a pain to think and plan that many gifts, but it has been there from the start and we have definitely heard horror stories about gifts that had to be purchased for other governments and officials. Ours are minimal. AND, most importantly, it in no way takes away from the "GIFT" that we are being given. The gifts we have purchased are just that, purchased gifts. The "gift" we are being given is a gift from our Heavenly Father and that is the kind of "gift" that cannot be compared! Thanks for understanding and helping us with this endeavor.

Like I said on the earlier blog, we overnighted our passports to the visa service in DC. Yesterday was a panic day, as I could not confirm that they had been received and I searched the house frantically trying to find copies of our passports. I could not find them. All I could think about was our only copy (the original) was somewhere in the postal system. But, last night at 10:00pm I confirmed that they had indeed been received. Hopefully all is there and can be processed quickly. Our flight arrangements are being made. As of now here is the path that will take us to our son:

Charlotte to Atlanta, Atlanta to Korea (15 hour flight), Korea to Hanoi, Vietnam, and the Hanoi to Danang. We will start on Friday, Aug. 31 at 8:58 and get to Danang by Sunday morning around 8am. I know this goes without saying, but please pray for this. Many things are going through my mind and I am the one who loves to fly!!!! You can only imagine what Jennifer is thinking.

Again, we love each and every one of you. If you have prayed, given a gift or just thought of us, we are truly grateful and appreciative. I can't say that enough. I can't wait to get back and introduce you to our new little boy! Love to all!

OH MY!!! We're Going to Vietnam!!!!!!

I don't have much time to type all this, but we just got a phone call from Robin at Holt. Apparently, the Vietnamese failed to tell Holt that we had entered the last step.....FOUR WEEKS AGO!!!!! She was calling to give us our travel dates. Are you sitting down???? We are scheduled to be in DaNang (that is where Hoang lives) on September 2. Yes, that is two weeks from Sunday! I haven't made sub plans, we haven't applied for our Visa's we haven't even PACKED!!!!!! So much to do. Just pray and keep Anna Claire in your prayers. We haven't told her as I have typed this, but we are going to tell her this afternoon. Lot's of mixed emotions. God is Great and I know that He will take care of us. Thank you for all you do and have done and will do. My mind is whirling and going at a rate I don't think is legal! We will keep you posted. Right now we are waiting on our travel agent to give us an itenarary so we can apply for our Visa's. That process take a week. So...applications to fill out and then we have to go finish buying the gifts to take to the orphanage and gov't officials. Lots to do. Love to all!!!!!

HELP ! ! ! We have fundraiser.

As many of you know, adoption can be quite costly. We are having another fundraiser to help us bring our son, Hoang, home. This is a great fundraiser that will help us as well as help you. Many of you already buy wrapping paper and cards for many occasions. We have teamed up with a company called Current that sells these items. It is very easy to order online and we get money back from your order. You get the goods, we get help with this costly endeavor. Here are the directions: 1) go to www.currentfun.com; 2) click on the "Start Shopping Now" button; 3) order the items you want by placing them in your shopping cart; 4) when you go to check out, choose the organization's state (North Carolina); 5) then choose the organization's name: Jennifer Ingram - adoption fund; It is that simple. The items are shipped to you and that is all you need to do to help us. We get 50% of the cost of each item. So, start shopping!!!! Just to give you an update on our progress, well, there isn't anything at this time. Jennifer spoke with Michelle last week and she told us that we were over the estimated average time frame for this step. She also told her that two couples had just received their travel approval to Danang, which let us know that things are being processed and not just at a stand still. Once we get out of this step, the last step takes about 4 weeks. So.....if we got a call today, we could plan to travel in about 6 weeks. Thanks for all your help and prayers. We are getting tired of waiting, but we know it will be worth it in the end. We love you and can't wait to post that we are traveling. Keep checking back and again, start shopping. We are putting a link to the website on the right hand side under "Links". Thanks again.