NEW PICS OF EMMA!!!

Like many Holt Vietnam families, we were blessed to get the third and final round of update pictures of Emma today. It's amazing how she has changed since we received the first bunch back in April. We have also received all of our travel schedule for the trip. The toys she is playing with are all things we sent her. It looks like we didn't get our first choice of hotels, not sure why as I know rooms are available. I am not sure what the deal is with that. We are still busy trying to get everything together. One week from today we'll be on our way!

I-600 APPROVAL AND TRAVEL DATES....

Last night about 9:30pm, we received one of the last pieces of the adoption puzzle, our I-600 approval! It took 40 working days. This morning we received our travel dates. We leave on September 19th and return on October 8th. Our giving and receiving ceremony is Monday, September 22nd. We have so many things to do in a very short time. Praise God for this blessing he has given us. More details as they come. Thank you for all your prayers and support! Thomas & Cathy
UPDATE: Today was a very busy day. I overnighted our passports and Visa applications to the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco. We should get that Monday or Tuesday. I booked our flights with Holt's travel agency. We leave at 6:30am on the 19th, go to Houston, then Tokyo, then Ho Chi Minh City. Unless it is full, Holt is booking us at the Somerset Chancellor Court in HCMC, and the Somerset Hoa Binh in Hanoi. Both are very nice. We have requested a 2 bedroom apartment which will be great for a toddler. If everything goes well, we will return October 8th, or hopefully sooner!

Day 35

This is my favorite weekend of the year! We close all of the pools on Monday! Now I can focus 100% on the trip ahead. I have told this story several times, but here we go again. Today is day 35 of the I-600 approval clock. The I-600 is what allows Emma to come to the U.S. In simple terms, USCIS says approval takes up to 60 working days. We could receive approval Monday, or it could be in early October. Whenever we get that email, we will leave for Vietnam about two weeks later. It's frustrating as the days tick by, but we have so many things to look forward to this fall and winter. Bringing Emma home, Abby & Kelly may have good news soon, Candice coming home for Christmas, OSU & PC North football, OKC NBA basketball, the Holidays, Skiing, Hawaii, and especially the joy of a toddler terrorizing the house! Yes, we get frustrated, but it's sort of a good frustration. Hope everyone is well. We look forward to I-600 approval very soon! Thanks and keep praying!

WE HAVE FINAL APPROVAL!!!

Today we received word that our adoption has been approved by the Binh Duong Province People's Committee. This is the final step with the Vietnamese government. She is now legally ours. Technically we could go get her now, but we do not have I-600 approval from the U.S. yet. We must have that approval to be able to bring her to the U.S. As I have said in many posts, the I-600 approval can take up to 60 working days. Today is day 30 so we could receive it any day. Whenever we are approved by Immigration, we will leave about two weeks after that. We are so close! Please pray for speedy I-600 approval so we can bring Emma home soon!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Today was the first of school for Cathy and I. We start much earlier than most schools around the country, but we also get out early as well. For me this is my 20th year as a teacher and for Cathy her 22nd. We are lucky to be able to do something we really love! This is our traditional first day of school photo. I really enjoyed my three classes today. The kids were great and we got off to a good start. Two of them are very large, 32 and 33 students. The other is only 18. I am teaching Oklahoma History and Cathy has Geometry and Teen Leadership.

There hasn't been anything new this week on the adoption front. It is day 23 of the I-600 process. We think the final Vietnamese approval will be completed by the end of the month. However we will not be able to travel until the I-600 is approved by the U.S. side. They tell the applicants that it will take up to 60 working days (October 6 in our case), but most Holt families have had approval in 30-45 working days ( August 22-September 16 in our case). Once we get I-600 approval we are cleared to travel. That is usually two to three weeks later. So, if we get everything opproved in late August/early September, we should travel two or three weeks later. That is close to what we have been thinking for several months. Hopefully our next post will be great news!

VERY NICE......

Okay Hank, I stole the thumbs up picture idea from ya! Sorry pal......
Anyway, some great news today! Our Child Dossier was approved by the MOJ! Now Holt will appear on our behalf, sign the committment papers, and then we will get approval from the People's Committee. These two steps usually take a month. If all goes well, we will get travel approval about the first of September and travel later in the month. At the same time, we are waiting for I-600 approval from the USCIS. That can take up to 60 working days (it was submitted July 14th), but it seems like for most Holt families, it is 30-45 days. That would put our I-600 approval between August 22 and September 16. Hopefully it will all come together in August and We'll have Emma Reese home by October! Thanks for all your prayers and support!

I-600 APPLICATION RECEIVED!!!

This morning we received an e-mail from USCIS in Ho Chi Minh City notifying us that our I-600 application (a very important step) has been received! Now the embassy staff will investigate Emma's case to verify that she is indeed an orphan. The time frame they give is 60 days, however it seems in most Holt adoptions it is around 45 days! That means we could possible be cleared for travel in early September! We are still waiting on Emma's dossier to be approved and should have word anyday! Looks like our goal of September travel is still most likely! Keep us in your prayers! Thanks!

EMMA' S ROOM

While we are anticipating approval of Emma's child dossier and our I-600 application to be submitted any day, we are very happy that her room is now ready for her arrival! Cathy loves to do crafts and has made many of the things in her room herself.

AUSTIN'S 20TH BD & 4TH OF JULY

Cathy and I celebrated the 4th

with both our families. In the

morning we went to the annual

4th of July parade in her home

town of Marlow, OK. This is the

13th consecutive year we have

attended together. We went with

Cathy's sister, brother-in-law, and

their two little ones, Judson and

Zoe. It was good to get to spend time with them as well as Cathy's mom and grandma. That evening we went to watch fireworks just north of my hometown EL Reno, OK with my family. We enjoyed hanging out with my mom, sister, and nieces. It was a fun 4th of July! On Sunday the 6th, we celebrated Austin's 20th birthday! We had Hideaway Pizza (famous in Oklahoma) and birthday cupcakes. Abby (Austin's sis) and Kelly (Abby's boyfriend) were there as well as Austin's girlfriend Jolene. We missed Candice (Austin's sis who is in Japan) but we know she was thinking of him. It was a small group, but we all enjoyed celebrating our son's 20th BD!

COZUMEL MEXICO

Here are a few family pics from our vacation to Cozumel. This should be about the last "Emmaless" vacation!

NEW PICTURES!

Well we are in Cozumel Mexico right now, but we were thrilled when we checked e-mail last night and saw the update from Holt. I will post some details later on, but for right no here are the new pics of our daughter!

FATHERS DAY 2008

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there and soon to be dads like me. In my mind I am sort of an "in between" dad. I have always tried to be a good step-father to Candice, Abby, and Austin, but I do understand that I can't replace their dad, nor do I want to try to. I am very happy that Abby & Austin got to spend Father's Day with their dad Tom and I am sure Candice is thinking about him from Japan. The kids have always treated me awesome and I love you guys very much!

I also want to give a special HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my dad, Lanny Keller, and Cathy's dad Ed Wells! Also my brother Mike Keller and brother-in-law Woody Wilson. They are all great dads that I look up to.

Since we don't actually have Emma yet, that also contributes to my "in between" status. I don't actually feel like a dad just yet, but that will change soon. Cathy made me this awesome little book that I want to share with you. The pics aren't great, but I hope you can read the captions. It is very sweet and I will always treasure it! Enjoy!