A year later

This weekend we applied for Ava's passport and sincerely feel that we have completed the "adoption paper chase". Proving to the passport office that she was an American citizen, with the name that we had given her, and that we were her parents was so much easier than I thought it was going to be - all the time that we spent crossing our 't's" and dotting our "i's" paid off.

We feel it is a good time to close this blog and move on to something more private. The day that we applied for her passport, September 22, 2007, was exactly one year from the day that we kicked the adoption process into high gear. It has been an amazing year of ups and downs. We received the greatest gift one could ever imagine and love being Ava's parents. We can never fully express in words the experience we have had or thank the people we have gotten to know along the way. Our friends, family, and complete strangers have been so generous, caring, and thoughtful.

For anyone involved in the adoption process - hang in there! Your baby is worth every bit of the roller coaster ride. For those considering adoption my biggest advice is to take one piece of paper at a time (but be aware that order makes a difference, some paper work takes a few months to process and others just need to be filled out), question and listen to your case worker, trust your gut, and prepare for the biggest adventure of your life. Oh, and yes - it is expensive and unpredictable but worth every expense (personal, spiritual, financial, trusting in the unknown) and unpredictable moment (where is the paperwork and did I fill it out correctly, who does the money go to and why, will they understand me, what does she look like, is she healthy, what happened to her birth parents, how many weeks will we be in a third week country, our travel has been delayed again, new parents alone in a hotel room for how many weeks with a baby that does not know us, a long flight with a baby that has only known us for a few weeks, adjustments to new surroundings, family, and so many more things). Thank you Lord for our little girl and for my husband!

Thank you to the people reading this, for praying for us, and for your support.

Take care & God bless,

Meg, Kurt and Ava Linh

p.s. In a few weeks I will be making this link less personal but leave it active with the hope that people interested in adoption, most specifically from Vietnam, find the information helpful.

Special thanks to the people who guided us through the process - Renee!!! from Family Connections, Nan, Darese, Doreen, Anita, Abby, our Moms, the IC adoption support group, the World Child International staff, my fellow bloggers, and yahoo group members. We learned so much from each of you.